Communities in snakebite endemic countries need to be properly educated on what to do in the event of a snakebite and what steps to take to lessen one from happening. These comprehensive prevention videos in multiple languages are resources YOU can share with school children, agricultural workers, h...omemakers. Help spread these important videos right on down to the people and regions affected.
Minutes to Die released snakebite prevention videos in 12 languages made for sharing and aimed at community health workers in Africa and India, produced by the Lillian Lincoln Foundation, along with the WHO, MSF, and a host of other NGOs.
more
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS) in 2015, there has been rapidly growing awareness among many African countries that they need to be doing more to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Africa Centres fo...r Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was officially inaugurated in January 2017 and will support countries commencing surveillance for serious infectious disease threats in Africa, including resistance. Review of the recent WHO GLASS report suggests that, while certain nations do have some surveillance systems in place, very few countries in Africa currently conduct effective routine surveillance.
African Journal of Laboratory MedicineISSN: (Online) 2225-2010, (Print) 2225-2002
more
Internationally, there is a growing concern over antimicro-bial resistance (AMR) which is currently estimated to ac-count for more than 700,000 deaths per year worldwide. If no appropriate measures are taken to halt its pro-gress, AMR will cost approximately 10 million lives andabout US$100 trillion... per year by 2050. In contrast tosome other health issues, AMR is a problem that con-cerns every country irrespective of its level of incomeand development as resistant pathogens do not respect borders.Despite the threat presented by AMR, the 2014 WorldHealth Organization (WHO) and the recent O’Neill re-port describe significant gaps in surveillance, standardmethodologies and data sharing. The 2014 WHOreport identified Africa and South East Asia as the regions without established AMR surveillance systems.
Tadesseet al. BMC Infectious Diseases (2017) 17:616 DOI 10.1186/s12879-017-2713-1
more
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.
more
7 June 2021
The Africa Regulatory Taskforce is a joint effort established by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) coordinated African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) Initiative, and the World Health Organisat...ion’s (WHO) African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF) to enable and provide support for an effective regulatory framework for COVID-19 Vaccines in Africa.
more
Mycetoma is a chronic, progressively destructive infectious disease of the subcutaneous tissues, affecting skin, muscle and bone. Mycetoma occurs in tropical and subtropical environments characterized by short rainy seasons and prolonged dry seasons that favour the growth of thorny bushes. Global bu...rden is not known, but the disease is endemic; it has been reported from countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. This course addresses the epidemiology of mycetoma, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, and public health interventions.
more
17 Febr. 2022. As part of the “Strategy to Achieve Global COVID-19 Vaccination by mid-2022”, global targets of 40% population coverage by end of 2021 and 70% coverage by June 2022 have been set by the World Health Organization (WHO), to successfully prevent severe illness and deaths, minimize so...cial disruption and economic consequences of COVID-19, curtail the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) and ultimately control the pandemic.
more
In Central and West Africa, regions together comprising 27 countries and 605 million people, the average person is exposed to particulate pollution levels that are more than 4 times the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline of 5 μg/m³1. If these particulate pollution levels persist, averag...e life expectancy in the regions would be 1.6 years lower, and a total of 971 million person-years would be lost, relative to if air quality met the WHO guideline. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, are the top three most polluted countries in the region.
more
Human African trypanosomiasis is caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in West and Central Africa and by T. brucei rhodesiense in East Africa; both species are endemic in Uganda. Trypanosoma brucei gambiense accounts for 98% of all cases of African trypanosomiasis, and T. brucei rhodesiense account...s for 2%. African trypanosomiasis has been targeted for eradication by the World Health Organization (WHO) and, as a result of control efforts, there has been a dramatic decrease (> 95%) in the number of reported cases worldwide.
Professional version as well as patient education
more
Human schistosomiasis otherwise called bilharzia, is a fresh- water snail transmitted intravascular debilitating disease resulting from infection by the parasitic dimorphic Schistosoma trematode worms, which lives in the bloodstream of humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) regards the disease ...as a neglected tropical disease, with an estimated 732 million persons being vulnerable to infection worldwide in renowned transmission areas. Steinmann and co-workers documented that over 200 million individuals from Africa, Asia, and South America are infected with this disease. The WHO further estimated that schistosome infections and geohelminths accounts for over 40% of the world tropical disease burden with the exclusion of malaria. Humans get infected with this disease when they make contact with water contaminated with the skin-penetrating cercariae. Prevalence of schistosomiasis, at present, is still high in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2008, 17.5 million people were treated globally for schistosomiasis, 11.7 million of those from sub-Saharan Africa only. Approximately 120 million individuals in sub-Saharan Africa have schistosomiasis-related symptoms while about 20 million undergo hardship as a result of chronic presentations of the disease.
more
Over the past twenty years, huge efforts made by a broad coalition of stakeholders curbed the last epidemic and brought the disease to the brink of elimination. In this paper, the latest figures on disease occurrence, geographical distribution and control activities are presented. Strong evidence in...dicates that the elimination of sleeping sickness ‘as a public health problem’ by 2020 is well within reach. In particular, fewer than one thousand new cases were reported in 2018, and the area where the risk of infection is estimated as moderate, high or very high has shrunk to less than 200,000 km2. More than half of this area is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The interruption of transmission of the gambiense form, targeted by the World Health Organization (WHO) for 2030, will require renewed efforts to tackle a range of expected and unexpected challenges. The rhodesiense form of the disease represents a small part of the overall HAT burden. For this form, the problem of under detection is on the rise and, because of an important animal reservoir, the elimination of disease transmission is not envisioned at this stage.
more
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) has been an alarming global public health issue. The disease affects mainly poor and marginalized people in low-resource settings and is caused by two subspecies of haemoflagellate parasite, Trypanosoma brucei and transmitted by tsetse flies. Progress made in HAT ...control during the past decade has prompted increasing global dialogue on its elimination and eradication. The disease is targeted by the World Health Organization (WHO) for elimination as a public health problem by 2020 and to terminate its transmission globally by 2030, along-side other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD). Several methods have been used to control tsetse flies and the disease transmitted by them. Old and new tools to control the disease are available with constraints.
Currently, there are no vaccines available. Efforts towards intervention to control the disease over the past decade have seen considerable progress and remarkable success with incidence dropping progressively, reversing the upward trend of reported cases. This gives credence in a real progress in its elimination. This study reviews various control measures, progress and a highlight of control issues, vector and parasite barriers that may have been hindering progress towards its elimination.
more
In 2012, the World Health Organisation (WHO) set out a roadmap for the control, elimination, or eradication of 17 neglected tropical diseases by 2020. Many were skeptical about the achievability of such goals. Now, still two years away from that end point, good news is emerging for gambiense human A...frican trypanosomiasis (HAT), or sleeping sickness, caused by the tsetse-fly−transmitted protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in West and Central Africa. The Rhodesiense form of the disease is being pursued under a separate programme.
more
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a lethal neglected tropical disease (NTD) transmitted by the bite of infected tsetse flies. The disease is also known as “sleeping sickness”. During the 20th century it caused enormous suffering in the endemic areas in sub-Saharan Africa. HAT transmission l...ast soared in the late 1990s, triggering a renewed, coordinated and very successful control effort. In this paper, we present achievements towards HAT elimination, with a focus on the WHO road map targets for 2020. In particular, reported cases continue to decline, from over 30,000 cases per year at the turn of the century to 663 cases in 2020. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, HAT surveillance was largely sustained, and the network of health facilities able to diagnose and treat the disease further expanded. Looking to the future, the World Health Organization (WHO) set bold new targets for HAT in its 2021–2030 road map for NTDs, namely: the elimination of transmission of gambiense HAT, which occurs in western and central Africa, and the elimination as a public health problem of rhodesiense HAT, which is found in eastern and southern Africa. The strong commitment of national health authorities and the international community will be essential if these goals are to be achieved.
more
To eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF) by 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a campaign against the disease. Since the launch in 2000, significant progress has been made to achieve this ambitious goal. In this article we review the progress and status of the LF programme in Afric...a through the WHO neglected
tropical diseases preventive chemotherapy databank, the Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN) portal and other publications. In the African Region there are 35 countries endemic for LF. The Gambia was reclassified as not requiring preventive chemotherapy in 2015, while Togo and Malawi eliminated LF as a public health problem in 2017 and 2020, respectively. Cameroon discontinued mass drug administration (MDA) and transitioned to post-MDA surveillance to validate elimination. The trajectory of coverage continues to accelerate; treatment coverage increased from 0.1% in 2000 to 62.1% in 2018. Geographical coverage has also significantly increased, from 62.7% in 2015 to 78.5% in 2018. In 2019, 23 of 31 countries requiring MDA achieved 100% geographic coverage. Although much remains to be done, morbidity management and disability prevention services have steadily increased in recent years. Vector control interventions conducted by other programmes, particularly malaria vector control, have had a profound effect in stopping transmission in some endemic countries in the region. In conclusion, significant progress has been made in the LF programme
in the region while we identify the key remaining challenges in achieving an Africa free of LF.
more
Mapping is a prerequisite for effective implementation of interventions against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Before the accelerated World Health Organization (WHO)/Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) NTD Mapping Project was initiated in 2014, mapping efforts in many countries were frequently ca...rried out in an ad hoc and nonstandardized fashion. In 2013, there were at least 2,200 different districts (of the 4,851 districts in the WHO African region) that still required mapping, and in many of these districts, more than one disease needed to be mapped. During its 3-year duration from January 2014 through the end of 2016, the project carried out mapping surveysfor one ormore NTDs in at least 2,500 districts in 37 African countries. At the end of 2016, most (90%) of the 4,851 districts had completed the WHO-required mapping surveys for the five targeted Preventive Chemotherapy (PC)-NTDs, and the impact of this accelerated WHO/AFRO NTD Mapping Project proved to be much greater than just the detailed mapping results themselves. Indeed, the AFRO Mapping
Project dramatically energized and empowered national NTD programs, attracted donor support for expanding these programs, and developed both a robust NTD mapping database and data portal. By clarifying the prevalence and burden
of NTDs, the project provided not only the metrics and technical framework for guiding and tracking program implementation and success but also the research opportunities for developing improved diagnostic and epidemiologic sampling tools for all 5 PC-NTDs—lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and trachoma.
more
Schistosomiasis is a chronic disease linked to poverty and is widely endemic, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. For decades, the World Health Organization has called for a larger role of the primary health care system in schistosomiasis control, and its integration within the routine activities of... primary health care facilities. Here, we reviewed existing studies on the integration of schistosomiasis control measures within the primary health care system, more precisely at the health centre, and we analysed their outcomes.
more
The control and elimination of schistosomiasis have over the last two decades involved several strategies, with the current strategy by the World Health Organization (WHO) focusing mainly on treatment with praziquantel during mass drug administration (MDA). However, the disease context is complex wi...th an interplay of social, economic, political, and cultural factors that may affect achieving the goals of the Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) 2021-2030 Roadmap. There is a need to revisit the current top-down and reactive approach to schistosomiasis control among sub-Saharan African countries and advocate for a dynamic and diversified approach.
more
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Biosafety and Biosecurity Initiative was launched by the Africa CDC in April 2019 with the aim of strengthening the African Union (AU) Member States’ biosafety and biosecurity systems and enabling them to comply with national and i...nternational requirements for biosafety and biosecurity including the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 and the multi-country Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). The World Health Organization (WHO) Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and the Global Health Security Index report confirmed the known capacity gaps in biosafety and biosecurity among Africa Union Member (AU).
The regional consultations by Africa CDC conducted between 2019-2021 highlighted the deficiency or limited availability of standardized and regionally recognized training programs in the continent, limiting biosafety and biosecurity capacity building efforts in the region. In response, Africa CDC working with AU Member States developed a home grown, implementable and accessible professional training and certification program that is both recognized and endorsed by AU Member States. The Regional Training and Certification Program for Biosafety and Biosecurity Professionals, for African Biosafety and Biosecurity Professionals (RTCP-BBP) has four (4) areas of specialization, namely
Selection, Installation, Maintenance and Certification of Biological Safety Cabinets
Biorisk Management
Design and Maintenance of Facilities Handling High Risk Pathogens (Biocontainment Engineering)
Biological Waste management
more
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Biosafety and Biosecurity Initiative was launched by the Africa CDC in April 2019 with the aim of strengthening the African Union (AU) Member States’ biosafety and biosecurity systems and enabling them to comply with national and i...nternational requirements for biosafety and biosecurity including the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 and the multi-country Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). The World Health Organization (WHO) Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and the Global Health Security Index report confirmed the known capacity gaps in biosafety and biosecurity among Africa Union Member (AU).
The regional consultations by Africa CDC conducted between 2019-2021 highlighted the deficiency or limited availability of standardized and regionally recognized training programs in the continent, limiting biosafety and biosecurity capacity building efforts in the region. In response, Africa CDC working with AU Member States developed a home grown, implementable and accessible professional training and certification program that is both recognized and endorsed by AU Member States. The Regional Training and Certification Program for Biosafety and Biosecurity Professionals, for African Biosafety and Biosecurity Professionals (RTCP-BBP) has four (4) areas of specialization, namely
- Selection, Installation, Maintenance and Certification of Biological Safety Cabinets
- Biorisk Management
- Design and Maintenance of Facilities Handling High Risk Pathogens (Biocontainment Engineering)
- Biological Waste management
more