INTRODUCTION: Health service use among the public can decline during outbreaks and had been predicted among low and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) started implementing public health measures across Kin...shasa, including strict lock-down measures in the Gombe health zone.
METHODS: Using monthly time series data from the DRC Health Management Information System (January 2018 to December 2020) and interrupted time series with mixed effects segmented Poisson regression models, we evaluated the impact of the pandemic on the use of essential health services (outpatient visits, maternal health, vaccinations, visits for common infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases) during the first wave of the pandemic in Kinshasa. Analyses were stratified by age, sex, health facility and lockdown policy (i.e, Gombe vs other health zones).
RESULTS: Health service use dropped rapidly following the start of the pandemic and ranged from 16% for visits for hypertension to 39% for visits for diabetes. However, reductions were highly concentrated in Gombe (81% decline in outpatient visits) relative to other health zones. When the lock-down was lifted, total visits and visits for infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases increased approximately twofold. Hospitals were more affected than health centres. Overall, the use of maternal health services and vaccinations was not significantly affected.
CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in important reductions in health service utilizsation in Kinshasa, particularly Gombe. Lifting of lock-down led to a rebound in the level of health service use but it remained lower than pre-pandemic levels.
more
Every year, nearly 250 million people move across borders temporarily or permanently for a job opportunity, studying, to flee a crisis back home, or for other reasons. Another 750 million move for similar reasons within the borders of their countries. With the understanding that human mobility affec...ts public health, and health affects human mobility and migrants, for decades, IOM has been providing critical health services to women, children and men on the move, while standing by governments for technical and operational support as needed. In 2019, in lower-income settings and in complex emergencies, along the world’s most perilous migration routes, in the aftermath of natural disasters or in response to disease outbreaks, IOM’s health teams have provided hundreds of thousands with primary health-care consultations, mental health and psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive health care, pre-migration health services, and much more.
This year, more than ever before, as the world reels from the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19, we have experienced that health is a cross-cutting component of overall human development and well-being.
more
Measuring progress towards universal health coverage.
This sixth edition of Health at a Glance Asia/Pacific presents a set of key indicators of health status, the determinants of health, health care resources and utilisation, health care expenditure and financing and quality of care across 27 Asia-...Pacific countries and territories. It also provides a series of dashboards to compare performance across countries and territories, and a thematic analysis on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Asia/Pacific health systems.
more
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 4 December 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6949e2
Lancet Glob Health 2020Published OnlineNovember 27, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30449-6
These guidelines – an update to the World Health Organization’s 2015 publication Consolidated strategic information guidelines – present a set of essential aggregate indicators and guidance on choosing, collecting and systematically analysing strategic information to manage and monitor the nat...ional health sector response to HIV.
more
Improvements in water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and wastewater management in all sectors are critical elements of preventing infections and reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as identified in the Global Action Plan to combat AMR. Yet, at present, WASH and wastewater management... actors and improvement actions are under-represented in AMR multi-stakeholder platforms and national action plans (NAPs). This WHO/FAO/OIE technical brief on WASH and wastewater management to reduce the spread of AMR provides a summary of evidence and rationale for WASH and wastewater actions within AMR NAPs and sector specific policy to combat AMR. Evidence and actions are presented in the domains of; coordination and leadership, households and communities, health care facilities, animal and plant production, manufacturing of antimicrobials, and surveillance and research.
more
The report finds that, as of 3 November, in 87 countries with age-disaggregated data, children and adolescents under 20 years of age accounted for 1 in 9 of COVID-19 infections, or 11 per cent of the 25.7 million infections reported by these countries. More reliable, age-disaggregated data on infect...ion, deaths and testing is needed to better understand how the crisis impacts the most vulnerable children and guide the response
more
This guidance is intended to be used by programme managers following the decision to introduce human papillomavirus (HPV) virological testing as a screening assay in their national cervical cancer prevention and control programme. The guidance includes a step-by-step process to be followed after the... decision has been made to specifically introduce and/or scale-up HPV virological testing for screening, which would be followed up with adequate management within the context of cervical cancer prevention
more
The Global Strategy for Tuberculosis Research and Innovation will support the efforts of governments and other stakeholders to accelerate TB research and innovation, and improve equitable access to the benefits of research.
Availabl in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian
This third regional report discusses gaps and challenges in reducing the harmful use of alcohol and how countries can reverse current trends in a cost-effective and expedited way.
This new edition highlights once again the importance of collecting disaggregated data to conduct gender-based analysis in order to determine, address, reduce, and eliminate the causes of gender-related inequalities.
Children in refugee situations face many potential dangers, such as violence, abuse, exploitation, discrimination, separation from their families, trafficking and military recruitment. The impact of these experiences can be devastating and long-lasting. Children have different needs from adults and ...these needs can only be identified and met if they are approached in a way that is specific to children.
The impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic has exacerbated the dangers faced by children in refugee situations and laid bare the need for their protection and for ensuring that all their human rights are upheld all the time.
The goal of this publication is to share examples of approaches by members of the Initiative that have proven effective for children.
more
Accessed on 20.10.2020
In its fight against maternal mortality, the government of Burkina Faso is supported
by the donor community which contributes to the health budget and also supports
specific projects aimed at improving access to health care. This report acknowledges
the efforts to address ...maternal mortality undertaken by the government with the help
of the donor community, as well as projects led by international and national NGOs.
more
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) provides a vast amount of information and the highest possible resolution for pathogen subtyping. The application of WGS for global surveillance can provide information on the early emergence and spread of AMR and further inform timely policy development on AMR control.... Sequencing data emanating from AMR surveillance may provide key information to guide the development of rapid diagnostic tools for better and more rapid characterization of AMR, and thus complement phenotypic methods. This document addresses the applications of WGS for AMR surveillance, including the benefits and limitations of current WGS technologies
more
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the inadequacy of investments in public health, the persistence of profound economic and social inequalities and the fragility of many key global systems and approaches.
A new publication - Waste Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: from response to recovery - reviews current practices for managing waste from healthcare facilities, households and quarantine locations accommodating people with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. Jointly produced by UNEP, th...e Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and the International Environmental Technology Centre, the report considers various approaches, identifies best practices and technologies, and provides recommendations for policy-makers and practitioners to improve waste management, over the long term.
more