Wolkite University

Ethiopia possesses one of the world’s most remarkable geological landscapes, shaped by the East African Rift System and marked by active volcanism, extensive escarpments, deep gorges, alkaline lakes, and globally significant paleoanthropological sites. Despite this exceptional geoheritage, geotourism remains an underdeveloped niche within the country’s tourism sector, which has historically focused on cultural and ecological attractions. This systematic review synthesizes existing academic, policy, and geological literature to assess Ethiopia’s geotourism resources and critically examine their actual and potential contributions to Local Economic Development (LED). Using an integrated Sustainable Geotourism Development Framework, the study classifies geotourism assets, evaluates current development conditions, and analyzes socio-economic benefits, constraints, and future opportunities. Findings indicate that geotourism can significantly enhance LED by generating employment, stimulating micro- and small-scale enterprises, improving infrastructure, promoting gender-inclusive livelihoods, and strengthening cultural and geological stewardship within local communities. However, the sector is constrained by severe infrastructural gaps, weak geo-interpretative services, environmental degradation, policy fragmentation, and limited community participation. Case studies from the Simien Mountains and the Afar Depression highlight both the transformative potential of geotourism and the persistent challenge of revenue leakage away from host communities. Despite these constraints, Ethiopia holds substantial opportunities to position geotourism as a strategic pillar of sustainable development through policy reform, institutional coordination, UNESCO Global Geopark initiatives, technological innovation, and community-based enterprise models. The review concludes by proposing a comprehensive set of policy, institutional, and community-level recommendations aimed at embedding geotourism within Ethiopia’s broader economic and conservation agendas. Overall, geotourism represents a promising, yet underutilized pathway for inclusive, resilient, and place-based development in Ethiopia.

The use of textile fibre-reinforced composite materials for many alternative applications has significantly increased in the twenty-first century due to their lightweight nature and high strength-to-weight ratio. In this study, false banana fibres were used as reinforcement and unsaturated polyester resin as the matrix. The optimal ratio of fibre to matrix was established through an analysis of physico-mechanical parameters, including tensile, compressive, and flexural strengths, water absorption, and void fraction, utilising Design Expert software. Additionally, deformation, Von Mises stress, Von Mises strain, and velocity were analyzed using ANSYS simulation software. The composite exhibited water absorption of 1.5% over 24 to 48h, a void fraction of 1.02%, a tensile strength of 33.15MPa, a compressive strength of 29.69MPa, and a bending or flexural strength of 28.85MPa. Furthermore, the ANSYS results showed a maximum deformation of 0.60887mm, a maximum equivalent elastic strain of 0.0018815, a minimum value of 1.0375 × 10-10, a maximum equivalent stress of 22.27MPa, a minimum of 1.3877 × 10-5MPa, and a velocity streamline of 14.97m/s at 21rad/s. The simulated stresses were well below the material's measured strength limits, indicating a safe design under the analysed conditions.The weight of the developed composite blade was 31% lower than that of a conventional aluminum blade.

Unintended pregnancy is a significant public health concern, particularly in Sub-Saharan African countries. Notably, positive perception towards family planning integration among women is impactful in decreasing maternal morbidity and mortality, which also helps to normalize family planning services in the general health care system. This study assessed women’s perceptions of family planning integration across health service units among antenatal care attendees in Gurage Zones, Ethiopia. A facility-based study nested within a quasi-experimental study was conducted from December 2023 to October 2024 in two hospitals and six health centers in the two Gurage Zones. A consecutive sampling method was used to recruit 388 third-trimester pregnant women. Structured, interviewer-administered questionnaires using kobo toolbox were used to gather data, and descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used for the analysis. This study revealed that 76.03% of participants held negative perceptions toward the integration of family planning, whereas 23.97% expressed positive perceptions. Age, religious affiliation, education, and occupation were significant socio-demographic determinants. Women aged 25– 34 and ≥35 years, those from certain religious backgrounds, and participants with primary or no formal education were more likely to report positive perceptions, while housewives were less likely to report positive perceptions compared to government employees. This study revealed that perceptions toward family planning integration into the general health care system remain low. Targeted interventions are very important to address the negative perception in the community. Tailoring health education and counseling strategies, like decisional aids, can contribute to improved maternal health outcomes

Late HIV diagnosis remains a major barrier to HIV/AIDS control globally. According to UNAIDS, about 8.6million people living with HIV were diagnosed at advanced stages in early 2025, particularly in low-resource settings. Early diagnosis is vital for timely antiretroviral therapy and improved outcomes. In Ethiopia, despite national efforts to expand testing, late presentation to care persists. Limited and outdated evidence on determinants of late HIV diagnosis hinders targeted interventions. To identify determinants of late HIV diagnosis among HIV-positive patients attending ART clinics in the Amhara region, Northwest Ethiopia. An institution-based unmatched case-control study was conducted among 255 participants (127 cases and 128 controls) in West Gojjam Zone Hospitals from February to March 2025. Cases were individuals presenting with a CD4 count < 350 cells/µL or WHO stage III/IV, while controls had a CD4 count ≥ 350 cells/µL or WHO stage I/II. Participants were selected by simple random sampling. Data were collected through chart reviews and interviewer-administered questionnaires by trained nurses. Data entry was performed using EpiData version 4.3.6 and analyzed with SPSS version 25. Binary logistic regression was used to identify determinants of late diagnosis, with significance at p < 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals. Of the 255 recruited participants, 251 completed the study (125 cases and 126 controls), yielding a 98.4% response rate. Females accounted for 62.9% of respondents. HIV testing initiated by friends, family, or social contacts (AOR = 3.54; 95% CI: 1.34-9.36), provider-initiated testing and counseling (AOR = 3.49; 95% CI: 1.70-7.10), alcohol drinkers (AOR = 3.96; 95% CI: 2.13-7.38), individuals who had poor HIV knowledge (AOR = 3.24; 95% CI: 1.64-6.40), and perceived stigma (AOR = 4.82; 95% CI: 2.39-9.74) were statistically significant determinants of late HIV diagnosis. Late HIV diagnosis was strongly associated with non-voluntary testing, alcohol use, poor knowledge, and perceived stigma. Findings highlight the need for targeted interventions promoting voluntary testing, reducing stigma, and strengthening community awareness.

The highlands of Ethiopia are a well-known example of severely degraded landscapes in Africa, with concerns for food shortages. The Ethiopian Highlands Reclamation Study (EHRS) has documented the rates, underlying causes, and costs of land degradation, which resulted in intensive conservation and restoration efforts over the past decades. Despite the extensive effort devoted to the problem, the actual extent of conservation and restoration work has not been adequately quantified and documented. This prompted a crucial inquiry into the current environmental status to quantify the biophysical impacts of 20 years of Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) and restoration in the Ethiopian highlands. Quantitative data on the extent of conservation and restoration measures implemented were generated through a systematic analysis of metadata obtained from Ethiopia’s watershed database, maintained by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), with field validation in 56 sample watersheds. The analysis of change in land use/land cover (LU/LC) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was employed to examine the extent of vegetation restoration and forest cover change in the Ethiopian highlands from 2002 to 2022. The Google Earth Engine (GEE) was utilized for acquiring and processing satellite image data. The potential soil loss across different land-use types was quantified using the InVEST-SDR (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs Sediment Delivery Ratio) model, combined with other biophysical data disaggregated by physiographic regions to capture diversities in the biophysical settings. Erosivity, erodibility, digital elevation model, vegetation cover, and land management factors were the input data used for the InVEST-SDR model. The results showed that Ethiopia has achieved unprecedented progress in reversing land degradation over the past two decades, with nearly 28 million hectares of degraded landscapes treated through community mobilization and flagship programs. The forest area has increased from about 2.6 million ha in 2002 to 5.9 million ha in 2022. Conversely, the total area of bare land was reduced from 2.5 million hectares in 2002 to 830,000 hectares in 2022. Similarly, the average soil erosion rate on cultivated fields declined from 69 ton/ha in 2002 to 35 ton/ha in 2022, reflecting the cumulative impact of extensive land restoration and soil and water conservation interventions implemented across the Ethiopian highlands. These benefits underscore the effectiveness of combining community-led restoration, bottom-up conservation efforts with top-down policy support. Numerous Sustainable Development Goals, such as Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Climate Action (SDG 13), and Life on Land (SDG 15), can be achieved in part thanks to Ethiopia’s experience. Future research should focus on detailed watershed-level studies to study agro-ecological variations in conservation outcomes, conduct cost–benefit analyses of water and soil conservation measures, and implement long-term vegetation monitoring and socio-economic surveys to enhance community-led restoration efforts.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10661-025-14914-6.