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Cardiovascular diseases in Africa in the twenty-first century: Gaps and priorities going forward

Minja, N.W.; Nakagaayi, D.; Aliku, T. et al. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (2022) CC

In 2015, the United Nations set important targets to reduce premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths by 33% by 2030. Africa disproportionately bears the brunt of CVD burden and has one of the highest risks of dying from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide. There is currently an epide...miological transition on the continent, where NCDs is projected to outpace communicable diseases within the current decade. Unchecked increases in CVD risk factors have contributed to the growing burden of three major CVDs—hypertension, cardiomyopathies, and atherosclerotic diseasesleading to devastating rates of stroke and heart failure. The highest age standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to hypertensive heart disease (HHD) were recorded in Africa. The contributory causes of heart failure are changing—whilst HHD and cardiomyopathies still dominate, ischemic heart disease is rapidly becoming a significant contributor, whilst rheumatic heart disease (RHD) has shown a gradual decline. In a continent where health systems are traditionally geared toward addressing communicable diseases, several gaps exist to adequately meet the growing demand imposed by CVDs. Among these, high-quality research to inform interventions, underfunded health systems with high out-of-pocket costs, limited accessibility and affordability of essential medicines, CVD preventive services, and skill shortages. Overall, the African continent progress toward a third reduction in premature mortality come 2030 is lagging behind. More can be done in the arena of effective policy implementation for risk factor reduction and CVD prevention, increasing health financing and focusing on strengthening primary health care services for prevention and treatment of CVDs, whilst ensuring availability and affordability of quality medicines. Further, investing in systematic country data collection and research outputs will improve the accuracy of the burden of disease data and inform policy adoption on interventions. This review summarizes the current CVD burden, important gaps in cardiovascular medicine in Africa, and further highlights priority areas where efforts could be intensified in the next decade with potential to improve the current rate of progress toward achieving a 33% reduction in CVD mortality. more

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‘You must carry your wheelchair’ – barriers to accessing healthcare in a South African rural area

Richard Vergunst, Leslie Swartz, Gubela Mji, Malcolm MacLachlan & Hasheem Mannan Global Health Action (2015) CC

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South African Health Review 2019. Chapters at the glance
recommended

Sanders, S. Health System Trust HST (2020) C1

22nd edition Each of the 20 chapters deals with aspects of the UHC journey, dedicated towards an equitable and inclusive national health system that leaves no-one behind. While some authors describe the fundamental changes and practical considerations required to reconfigure the country's health sy... more

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The contribution of religious entities to health in sub-Sahara Africa

Schmid B, Thomas E, Olivier J and Cochrane JR. African Religious Health Assets Programme (ARHAP) (2008) CC

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Agricultural adaptation: Six categories of good practices and technologies in Africa

Unique Kulima Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (2021) C1

The threats posed by climate change to agriculture are now well known. Climate change has already resulted in a negative trend in mean crop yield per decade, and this is likely to continue as the century unfolds. In Africa, 650 million people are currently dependent on rain- fed agriculture and, des... more

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Changing the landscape: Core Curriculum on Disability Rights for Undergraduate Law Students in Africa

OSF and OSISA the Centre for Human RightsPretoria University Law Press (PULP) Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) (2015) C1

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Government policy interventions to reduce human antimicrobial use: A systematic review and evidence map

Van Katwyk, S. R.; Grimshaw, J. M.; et al (2019) C2

BACKGROUND: Growing political attention to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) offers a rare opportunity for achieving meaningful action. Many governments have developed national AMR action plans, but most have not yet implemented policy interventions to reduce antimicrobial overuse. A systematic evidenc...e map can support governments in making evidence-informed decisions about implementing programs to reduce AMR, by identifying, describing, and assessing the full range of evaluated government policy options to reduce antimicrobial use in humans. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Seven databases were searched from inception to January 28, 2019, (MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PAIS Index, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and PubMed). We identified studies that (1) clearly described a government policy intervention aimed at reducing human antimicrobial use, and (2) applied a quantitative design to measure the impact. We found 69 unique evaluations of government policy interventions carried out across 4 of the 6 WHO regions. These evaluations included randomized controlled trials (n = 4), non-randomized controlled trials (n = 3), controlled before-and-after designs (n = 7), interrupted time series designs (n = 25), uncontrolled before-and-after designs (n = 18), descriptive designs (n = 10), and cohort designs (n = 2). From these we identified 17 unique policy options for governments to reduce the human use of antimicrobials. Many studies evaluated public awareness campaigns (n = 17) and antimicrobial guidelines (n = 13); however, others offered different policy options such as professional regulation, restricted reimbursement, pay for performance, and prescription requirements. Identifying these policies can inform the development of future policies and evaluations in different contexts and health systems. Limitations of our study include the possible omission of unpublished initiatives, and that policies not evaluated with respect to antimicrobial use have not been captured in this review. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge this is the first study to provide policy makers with synthesized evidence on specific government policy interventions addressing AMR. In the future, governments should ensure that AMR policy interventions are evaluated using rigorous study designs and that study results are published. more

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Health and Socio-Economic Impacts of Physical Distancing for Covid-19 in Africa. Policy Brief

Barasa, E.; et al. KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme and African Academy of Sciences (2020) CC

Physical distancing measures are important to reduce COVID-19 transmission. However, when stringently applied, they can result in negative health and socio-economic impacts. This report draws on a rapid review of available literature, case studies from across Africa and expert knowledge to make reco... more

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Contextual factors around the sexual abuse of people with disabilities in East Africa

Mary-Ann Waddell & Rob Aley Advantage Africa, FIRAH, Resource Center Applied Research and Disability (2015) C2

Knowledge based upon a descriptive literature review of applied research

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The reality of managing asthma in sub-Saharan Africa – Priorities and strategies for improving care

Mortimer, K.; Masekela, R.; Ozoh, O.; et al. (2022) CC2

Asthma is the most common non-communicable disease in children and remains one of the most common throughout the life course. The great majority of the burden of this disease is seen in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), which have disproportionately high asthma-related mortality relati... more

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Impact of community-led and community-based HIV service delivery beyond HIV: case studies from eastern and southern Africa

UNAIDS (2025) C1

The objectives of the research presented in this report were to identify case studies of community-led HIV-related health and social inclusion service delivery organizations in eastern and southern Africa; describe the typologies of the services provided; and identify evidence of their service deliv... more

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Impact of COVID-19 in Africa: a scenario analysis to 2030 - July 2020

Cilliers, J.; et al. Institute for Security Studies ISS (2020) CC

This report presents three scenarios on the impact of COVID-19 in Africa using economic growth forecasts, mortality and efforts to ameliorate impact through social grants. Likely effects are examined on per capita income, poverty and the attainment of selected Sustainable Development Goals targets. ... more

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Evaluation of a point-of-care blood test for identification of Ebola virus disease at Ebola holding units, Western Area, Sierra Leone, January to February 2015.

Walker, N.F.; et al. (2015)

Euro Surveill. 2015 Mar 26;20(12). pii: 21073.

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Noncommunicable diseases in Africa: Youth are key to curbing the epidemic and achieving sustainable development
recommended

Naik, W. & Kaneda, T. Population Reference Bureau (2015) C2

Policy Brief | April 2015 | This brief accompanies the data sheet, Addressing Risk Factors for Noncommunicable Diseases Among Young People in Africa: Key to Prevention and Sustainable Development, and its data appendix, which provide all available country-specific data on four key NCD risk factors a... more

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Cardiovascular Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa Compared to High-Income Countries: An Epidemiological Perspective

Yuyun, M.F.; Sliwa, K.; Kengne, A.P. et al. Global Heart (2020) CC

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the second common cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounting for about 35% of all deaths, after a composite of communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases. Despite prior perception of low NCDs mortality rates, current evidence suggests t... more

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Ambient air pollution and non-communicable respiratory illness in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of the literature

Glenn, B. E.; Espira, L. M.; Larson, M. C.; Larson, P. S. BMC (2022) CC2

Aerosol pollutants are known to raise the risk of development of non-communicable respiratory diseases (NCRDs) such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and allergic rhinitis. Sub-Saharan Africa’s rapid pace of urbanization, economic expansion, and population growt... more

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Taenia solium taeniosis/cysticercosis and the co-distribution with schistosomiasis in Africa

Braae, U.; Saarnak, C.; Mukaratirwa, S. et al. Parasites and Vectors (2015) CC

The major neglected tropical diseases, Taenia solium taeniosis/cysticercosis and schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma mansoni or S. haematobium are presumed to be widely distributed in Africa. Taenia solium taeniosis/ cysticercosis has been reported as an emerging disease in different regions of Af... more