MEDBOX has gathered a selection of over 60 African hits from different countries into a play list with the aim of raising awareness on the diverse ways to fight COVID-19 in addition to a COVID-19 Toolbox https://www.covid19box.org with all the up to date information on the pandemic. Feel free to pa...ss it onto your contacts, the poster can be printed and used in different settings such as cultural centers, hospitals and refugee camps. To the COVID-19 African hist playlist visit: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQvyjafXneiihYMqxMmrQLD_iwXvi3eiT.
Enjoy empowerment and rhythm! Spread the music, not the virus!
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sub-Saharan Africa has only 3% of the world’s health workers to cater for 11% of the world population, bearing over 25% of the global disease burden (WHO, 2014). With a steady increase in reported cases on the African Continent, the current COVID-1...9 pandemic threatens to overwhelm our already taxed health infrastructure. It is, therefore, imperative to take serious and urgent measures towards disease management and monitoring especially as the need for self-quarantine and contact surveillance rises.
In view of the infrastructural and resource gaps, technology should be considered for remote management of healthcare deliver to patients during this period. As it is abundantly clear, even countries with more advanced healthcare infrastructure and resources have struggled to treat COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients during this pandemic.
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This document draws on scientific evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic and from prior public health research on behaviour change, with the purpose of empowering African Union Member States to promote widespread adoption of masks in the general population. This document complements existing Africa CDC... technical guidance on the community use of face masks.
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COVID-19 has triggered the deepest global recession since the 1930s. Extreme poverty has risen for the first time in 22 years, and unemployment has increased dramatically. Women and young people aged 15 – 29 working in the informal sector are being hit the hardest. School closures have affected 91... per cent of students worldwide.
Political conflicts are more intense and taking a heavy toll on civilians, disproportionately affecting children. Women and girls are at increased risk of conflict-related sexual violence. Attacks against aid and health workers persist. For the ninth consecutive year, more than 90 per cent of casualties from explosive weapons in populated areas were civilians.
The last decade saw the highest-ever number of people internally displaced by conflict and violence, with many locked in a state of protracted displacement. There are an estimated 51 million new and existing IDPs, and the number of refugees has doubled to 20 million.
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COVID-19 has triggered the deepest global recession since the 1930s. Extreme poverty has risen for the first time in 22 years, and unemployment has increased dramatically. Women and young people aged 15 – 29 working in the informal sector are being hit the hardest. School closures have affected 91... per cent of students worldwide.
Political conflicts are more intense and taking a heavy toll on civilians, disproportionately affecting children. Women and girls are at increased risk of conflict-related sexual violence. Attacks against aid and health workers persist. For the ninth consecutive year, more than 90 per cent of casualties from explosive weapons in populated areas were civilians.
The last decade saw the highest-ever number of people internally displaced by conflict and violence, with many locked in a state of protracted displacement. There are an estimated 51 million new and existing IDPs, and the number of refugees has doubled to 20 million.
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The global pandemic has highlighted fragility in international supply chains and the dependency of many African countries on imported personal protective equipment (PPE). Market pressures have also increased prices for imported supplies and put additional pressure on areas with limited resources for... procurement. There is an urgent operational need to develop the domestic capacity to supply PPE from within the African continent. There is huge variation in Member
States industrial manufacturing capacity and the regulatory and testing capacity of government agencies at present. Growing number of companies, including micro- and small-medium enterprises, have responded by repurposing, albeit temporarily, to manufacture an assortment of PPEs. This workshop aims to bring together government representatives, industry, and subject matter experts on material testing and standards to promote the development of domestic production of safe and effective PPE made in Africa.
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In an effort to limit transmission and achieve pandemic control on the continent, Africa CDC is proposing the following measures to be taken by all Member States:
Remain vigilant
Countries should adapt or adopt best practices, strategies, guidelines and recommendations proposed by the Africa CDC... and World Health Organization (WHO), aimed at limiting transmission. Measures taken should strike a balance between saving lives and minimizing the impact of the pandemic on the economy and social wellbeing of citizens.
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ASLM in collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and in partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Amref and Last Mile Health present the Quality Assurance Framework for SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Testing for Diagnosis of COVID-19. This framework aims to pr...ovide general technical guidance to African Union Members States on the rollout, establishment, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 Ag RDT interventions so as to effectively and efficiently detect, control and minimise errors in the performance of COVID-19 laboratory testing processes. It describes the core components for quality assurance, resources mobilisation and advocacy for scale up, monitoring, evaluation, learning and accountability for SARS-CoV-2 implementation.
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ASLM in collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and in partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Amref and Last Mile Health present the Quality Assurance Framework for SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Testing for Diagnosis of COVID-19. This framework aims to pr...ovide general technical guidance to African Union Members States on the rollout, establishment, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 Ag RDT interventions so as to effectively and efficiently detect, control and minimise errors in the performance of COVID-19 laboratory testing processes. It describes the core components for quality assurance, resources mobilisation and advocacy for scale up, monitoring, evaluation, learning and accountability for SARS-CoV-2 implementation.
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Here you can download Infographics & Posters for Communication and Medica Actions
MedPPE emphasizes the role and timing of health workers jobs and offers specific information to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The guidelines are aimed at all personnel working in health facilities, including security guards, administrative and cleaning personnel, transfer assistants, nurses, biome...dical and imaging technicians, surgeons, and physicians, among others.
MedPPE provides guidance for the use of PPE according to workers’ function, the level of care they provide, and the multiple environments of primary health care and hospitals. The tool also clarifies the type of PPE needed when performing aerosol-generating procedures and other activities related to the care of patients infected or suspected of being infected with COVID-19.
However, use of PPE alone is not enough to protect against COVID-19. Hand hygiene and proper PPE dressing and undressing procedures must also be followed, along with the proper disposal and management of waste.
MedPPE is available in Spanish, English, Portuguese and French for iOS and Android devices.
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Limited coverage of laboratory services and long turnaround times from real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) for the detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been insufficient to meet the demands in many African countries in response... to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rapid antigen diagnostic tests (AgRDTs) are potentially useful as they can inform healthcare workers and individuals of their infection status at point-of-care testing
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February 2021.
Improving our response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Africa requires regularly updated information, constant innovation, and considerable support towards research and development (R&D) for priorities that respond to the African realities. Shaping the research agenda and stimula...ting the generation, translation, and dissemination of valuable knowledge is one of the core functions of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), African Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC), and WHO-AFRO. We need answers to a list of critical research questions that respond to the current realities on the African continent to guide the COVID-19 outbreak control efforts
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Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug approved for the treatment of parasitic infections, including strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis in humans. There is a reported increase in the use of ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 by the public in African Union Member States.
Currently..., there is:
1. No scientific evidence from pre-clinical studies on the therapeutic effect of ivermectin for the management of COVID-19;
2. No evidence of its clinical efficacy for the management of patients with asymptomatic, mild, moderate or severe COVID-19; and
3. No safety data regarding the use of ivermectin for COVID-19 in the majority of the published studies.
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17 February 2021
During the second joint meeting of African ministers responsible for health, ICT and transport on the rollout of the Africa Against COVID-19: Saving Lives, Economies and Livelihoods campaign, a call was made to African countries to work together towards harmonizing travel entry and... exit requirements, and to increase mutual recognition and cross-border information exchange for enhanced surveillance
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The African Development Bank has launched a consultation process with health ministers and other partners as it develops a strategy to drive enhanced access to health services across Africa through 2030.
Input from ministers in the Bank’s 54 regional member countries, development partners and c...ivil society is expected to strengthen the Bank’s Strategy for Quality Health Infrastructure in Africa (2021-2030). A robust scoping study titled “Good Health and Well-being” underpins the strategy.
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