African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Ghana

This paper examines the regressive nature of the value-added tax and proposes an integrated framework combining a uniform value-added tax rate with progressive, digitally administered rebates. The model was performed using household- and firm-level microsimulations with Monte Carlo methods. It demonstrates that equity can be reached without revenue neutrality being undermined. Simulation results for a calibrated 2024–2025 economy show the proposed rebate structure reduces the effective tax burden on the lowest income quintile from 13.5% to 5.4% of income, delivering a net cash benefit of USD 786.88 and a welfare gain of 6.10%. The policy is projected to generate a robust average VAT revenue of USD 17.44 million, with a 97.8% probability of a positive fiscal impact, while reducing the poverty rate by 2.6% and lowering inequality (Gini coefficient of utility to 0.199). The outcomes present a welfare gain for the poor, a small firm-level effect, and a decrease in poverty and inequality. The results suggest a feasible policy route towards a more equitable tax system, thus promoting indirectly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities).

Series compensations are implemented to reduce line reactance, improve voltage profiles, and boost power transfer capacity in long-distance transmissions. This study evaluates the effects of series compensation on load flows, voltage stability, transmission losses, and power transfer using PSS®E simulations coupled with Newton-Raphson load flow analysis. The study used a systematic placement methodology combining Voltage Sensitivity Analysis and Line Reactance Screening to identify optimal capacitor locations in the IEEE 14-bus network, specifically targeting Lines 13 - 14 and 9 - 14, both directly connected to the weakest bus. Simulation scenarios across 0% - 50% compensation levels reveal improvements of up to +1.1% in weakest-node voltage, approximately 15% - 16% increase in power transfer capacity, and measurable reductions in line losses in both lines. These outcomes highlight significant system performance gains even in lightly loaded networks. A first-level SSR frequency screening is also reported to verify that the 20% - 50% compensation range does not introduce an obvious resonance concern for the benchmark case.

The paper proposes a foundational architectural blueprint for developing and incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, especially Large Language Models (LLMs), in the socio-technical environment specific to Africa. Although AI’s potential to transform the continent is boundless, serious gaps remain in systematically engineering datasets from varied, frequently informal, and fractured African sources for successful AI model ingestion. Traditional AI methods are either insufficient or biased, as they often are developed and trained on Western-centric data that fails to consider Africa with its unique linguistic diversity, fragmented information, and rich and often oral culture. Thus, there is an urgent need for a design philosophy that emphasises local relevance, cultural specifics, and direct connection to regional issues. It focuses on the engineering perspective needed to provide the basis and approach for designing and implementing foundational data architecture to fill existing gaps. Similarly, the proposed Afrocentric AI Training and Renewal Architecture introduces a unified framework for the smooth incorporation of data from academic libraries, transaction management systems, and activities in informal processes into an autonomous, self-adapting AI system. This architecture, spanning from data sourcing and engineering to training and deployment with a closed feedback loop, aims to produce culturally relevant and efficient AI solutions for the continent. The success of the resulting engineering solution rests on interdisciplinary potentials, which focus on social sciences, economics, and cultural studies to make the resulting datasets highly aligned with the socio-economic realities across the continent and genuinely fit-for-purpose.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is characterized by chronic hemolysis, resulting in the release of extracellular heme, which contributes to oxidative stress and inflammation. Heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1), an inducible enzyme that degrades heme into cytoprotective by‐products, plays a critical role in mitigating heme‐induced toxicity. This study analyzed serum HO‐1 levels in 2309 individuals with SCD (53% female; median age: 12 years) from the SickleGenAfrica cohort, comprising 57% hemoglobin SS disease (Hb SS), 30% hemoglobin SC disease (Hb SC), 3.1% Hb sickle beta plus thalassemia (Sβ+ thalassemia), and 9.9% Hb S‐hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (Hb S‐HPFH). Median HO‐1 levels were threefold higher in children under 16 years (69.8 ng/mL; interquartile range [IQR]: 29.8–137.6) compared to adults (23.1 ng/mL; IQR: 7.8–62.4; P < 0.001), with peak levels observed in the 6–10‐year age group. Across all subgroups, including sex, genotype, and hydroxyurea use, children consistently exhibited higher HO‐1 levels than adults, with Hb SS patients showing the highest levels. Haptoglobin and hemopexin, key scavengers of hemoglobin and heme, respectively, were depleted in all patients, particularly in children. Overall, HO‐1 levels in SCD patients were markedly elevated compared to healthy populations. These findings highlight the pronounced elevation of HO‐1 in pediatric SCD patients, suggesting its potential protective role against heme‐induced toxicity, especially during childhood.

Abstract Social protection has increasingly become a central tool of governments to deal with vulnerabilities and poverty in society. In the context of policy and governance challenges, there has been a shift from a governance approach that focused extensively on governmental actors to one involving a multiplicity of actors in a process of collaborative governance. However, limited studies have been conducted in terms of how stakeholders have been collaborating with the government to enhance the effectiveness of policy and program development and implementation. Focusing on Ghana’s Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), one of Ghana’s flagship social protection programs, we present the collaborative implementation architecture that underpins the program’s implementation. Using data obtained mainly from secondary sources complemented with key informant interviews, within the framework of collaborative governance, we argue that the LEAP’s implementation architecture is a good example of collaborative governance and may account for its popularity. This article observes that the design and management of the LEAP program is shaped by vertical collaboration involving engagements between transnational actors and state officials observed at the deliberative and design stages, while the implementation and delivery of the program rely on horizontal collaboration that prioritizes the active involvement of beneficiary communities.

ABSTRACT This study constructs a compartmental model that incorporates the dynamics of implementing a double‐dose vaccination for the Mpox disease. The study further explores the pattern of saturated transmission dynamics of the Mpox disease. This model was studied through the Caputo fractional derivative as the Mpox disease has been shown to have memory dynamics. We discussed the existence and uniqueness of the Mpox disease model. Again, through the Hyers‐Ulam and Hyers‐Ulam‐Rassias stability criteria, we have shown that the model is resilient to unexpected changes in the population. A thorough sensitivity study was performed on the model. It was observed that the effective implementation of the double‐dose vaccination and minimizing direct contact between the infected and the uninfected could help eradicate the Mpox disease from the population. In the numerical simulation section, the dynamics of the memory effect in the model were explicitly exhibited as the disease continuously declined whenever . Finally, we have shown that an effective implementation of isolation and treatment measures contributes massively to controlling the Mpox disease in the population.