A Learning Programme for Professionals
This research report provides results from the study on living conditions
among people with disabilities in Malawi. Comparisons are made between
individuals with and without disabilities and also between households with and without a disabled family member. Results obtained in Malawi are also comp...ared those obtained in earlier studies carried out in Namibia and Zimbabwe. The Malawian study was undertaken in 2003.
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PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210937
February 5, 2019
Journal of the International AIDS Society 2016, 19:20926
There is a growing interest in the potential contribution the private sector can make towards increasing access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in low‐ and middle‐income settings. This article describes a public–private partnership ...that was developed to expand HIV care capacity in Yangon, Myanmar. The partnership was between private sector general practitioners (GPs) and a community‐based non‐governmental organization (International HIV/AIDS Alliance).
https://doi.org/10.7448/IAS.19.1.20926
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The resources provide both the older as well as the updated Operational Guidelines for antiretroviral therapy centres, including administrative issues, functions and establishment of centres, reporting and recording tools, measures to improve retention in HIV care, supply chain management of drugs a...nd various other aspects that are essential to ensure quality treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.
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These guidelines form part of efforts to institutionalise the prevention and containment of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in health care facilities in South Africa, as outlined in the Antimicrobial Resistance Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan. The focus of these guidelines is on two inte...rrelated aspects of prevention of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) and their spread; and the application of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) practices at hospital level.
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Since the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978, community health volunteers (CHVs) have been at the forefront, providing health services, especially to underserved communities, in low-income countries. However, consolidation of CHVs position within formal health systems has proved to be complex and continue...s to challenge countries, as they devise strategies to strengthen primary healthcare. Malawi’s community health strategy, launched in 2017, is a novel attempt to harmonise the multiple health
service structures at the community level and strengthen service delivery through a team-based approach. The core community health team (CHT) consists of health surveillance assistants (HSAs), clinicians, environmental health officers and CHVs. This paper reviews Malawi’s strategy, with particular focus on the interface between HSAs, volunteers in community-based programmes and
the community health team. Our analysis identified key challenges that may impede the strategy’s implementation:
(1) inadequate training, imbalance of skill sets within CHTs and unclear job descriptions for CHVs; (2) proposed community-level interventions require expansion of pre-existing roles for most CHT members; and (3) district authorities may face challenges meeting financial obligations and filling community-level positions. For effective implementation, attention and further deliberation is needed on the appropriate forms of CHV support, CHT composition with possibilities of co-opting trained CHVs
from existing volunteer programmes into CHTs, review of CHT competencies and workload, strengthening coordination and communication across all community actors, and financing mechanisms. Policy support through the development of an addendum to the strategy, outlining opportunities for task-shifting between CHT members, CHVs’ expected duties and interactions with paid CHT personnel is recommended.
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