SAMJ Review Vol. 108 No.3
The biosphere underlies the whole sustainable development concept, as the layer on
which society and the economy rely. Nature and biodiversity fuel the natural cycles
and life-support systems of the planet, on which humanity ultimately depends.
Psychol Behav Sci Int J 5(5): PBSIJ.MS.ID.555675 (2017)
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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Demographic and Health Surveys, Working Paper
The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2010 Study has published disability-adjusted life year (DALY) data
at both regional and country levels from 1990 to 2010. Concurrently, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
(IHME) has published estimates of development assistance for health (DAH) at th...e country-disease level for this
same period of time.
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1-13 December 2018 | Geneva, Switzerland UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board Issue date: 23 November 2018
UNAIDS/PCB (43)/18.32
A Global Analysis of Antimicrobial Resistance and Its Drivers.
Since the first State of the World’s Antibiotics report in 2015, antimicrobial resistance has leveled off in some high-income countries but continues to rise in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where access to antibiotic...s has risen with increases in gross domestic product per capita. Per capita antibiotic consumption in LMICs is lower than in high-income countries, despite a higher infectious disease burden; however, consumption rates are rapidly converging. These trends reflect both better access to antibiotics for those who need them and increases in inappropriate antibiotic use.
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Anema et al. AIDS Research and Therapy 2011, 8:13 http://www.aidsrestherapy.com/content/8/1/13
The mandate of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme is to provide leadership and stewardship to accelerate intense and coordinated efforts to reduce the adult TB burden of 290 per 100,000 population recently established in the 2013 National TB Prevalence Survey. Other key challenges are low T...B case notification, unacceptably high TB death rates, low antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage among TB/HIV patients and low drug-resistant notification and treatment.
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Joule 5, 2687–2714 October 20, 2021 Cell Press
The new Global Strategy aims to achieve the highest attainable standard of health for all women, children and adolescents, transform the future and ensure that every newborn, mother and child not only survives, but thrives.