This study, and similar studies in Kenya, Mozambique, Swaziland, Uganda, and Zambia is the outcome of close collaborative by a team in Swaziland, with technical and financial support from the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa, UNAIDS Geneva, and the World Bank's Global HIV.../AIDS Program (Global AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Team). The study entailed using existing data and collecting new data to better know the country's HIV epidemic, know the country HIV response and how funding was allocated, so as to improve the HIV response and strengthen prevention based on evidence on what works to prevent new infections.
more
ECDC Technical Report, Fourth Update 3 July 2020
A regional guide for governments in Asia and the Pacific to review, update and develop policies to address antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use in animal production
Five months after the beginning of the desert locust upsurge in the Greater Horn of Africa and Yemen, and four months since the launch of the response plan (24 January 2020) a total of USD 130 million have been mobilized in the region.
As described in the recently published Food and Agriculture Org...anization of the United Nations (FAO) quarterly report (January to April 2020), a lot has been achieved already, thanks to generous contributions from resource partners and affected governments.
But bringing a desert locust upsurge under control and mitigating its impact on livelihoods and food security requires a prolonged effort and numerous factors could influence the duration and magnitude of the problem, including the widespread presence of COVID-19.
more
Antimalarial drug resistance has emerged as a threat to global malaria control efforts, particularly in the Greater Mekong subregion. Drawing on data collected through more than 1000 therapeutic efficacy studies as well as molecular marker studies of Plasmodium falciparum drug resistance, the Report... on antimalarial drug efficacy, resistance and response: 10 years of surveillance (2010–2019) presents a decade’s worth of data on drug efficacy and surveillance, as well as recommendations to monitor and protect the efficacy of malaria treatment in the decades to come.
more
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.
more
These WHO interim recommendations on the use of the Astra Zeneca – Oxford University AZD1222 vaccine against Covid-19 were developed on the basis of advice issued by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) and the evidence summary included in the background document referenc...ed below.
This document has been updated: Version 15 March 2022.
more
The authors state that researchers, governments and global agencies should proceed with particular care in the evaluation of candidate SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in LMICs, with effective communication to build trust and avoid generation of vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine efficacy is often highly variable betwee...n high-resource and low-resource settings
Archives of Disease in Childhood, vol.106 Issue 2
more
1 February 2021 to 31 January 2022
This infodemic management course applies evidence-based guidance to the COVID-19 pandemic. It covers key risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) principles and illustrates how they can be operationalized in the context of an extended outbreak that affects different populations with varyin...g risk levels. Illustrations from WHO headquarters, regions, and Ministries of Health provide concrete examples of messaging and other communication interventions developed during COVID-19.
more
The Handbook is a guide to the normative framework for humanitarian action and the operational approaches, coordination structures, and available tools and services that facilitate the mobilization of humanitarian assistance.
It estimates that there have been 228,000 additional deaths of children under five in these six countries [Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka] due to crucial services, ranging from nutrition benefits to immunisation, being halted.
It says the number of children being tr...eated for severe malnutrition fell by more than 80% in Bangladesh and Nepal, and immunisation among children dropped by 35% and 65% in India and Pakistan respectively...
It also estimates that there have been some 3.5 million additional unwanted pregnancies, including 400,000 among teenagers, due to poor or no access to contraception...
The interruption to health services also affected those suffering from other diseases - the report predicts an additional 5,943 deaths across the region among adolescents who couldn't get treated for tuberculosis, malaria, typhoid and HIV/Aids.
more
Waste Management & Research 39(1) DOI: 10.1177/0734242X211029175
This publication summarizes the facilitators and barriers that will be encountered in the deinstitutionalization process and identifies useful and proven interventions in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Four areas of work are identified with the respective guidelines or suggestions for actio...n, which should provide an operational guide for countries that are restructuring mental health services and moving toward the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric care.
more
This report presents the findings of the Estimating the Size of Populations through a Household Survey (ESPHS) study that took place in 2011. The study utilized a single household survey to estimate the size of several key populations, including sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM), injectin...g drug users (IDU), and clients of sex workers. These populations include several groups outlined in the National Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS as most at risk for HIV infection, specifically sex workers and MSM.
more
Since the emergence of COVID 19 in December 2019, various public health responses measures have been implemented to control the pandemic. Among measures taken by the Africa CDC was the launch of PACT initiative to accelerate COVID 19 testing. Key to the initiative is the engagement of Community Heal...th Workers (CHWs) in risk communication and community engagement (RCCE), surveillance activities for early case identification, contacts tracing and in facilitating referrals for testing and continuum of care.
As of 31 May 2021, Through PACT support, over 17154 CHWs have been trained and locally deployed in 24 AU Member states. The PACT supported CHWs visited more than 2,568,654 households for community engagement activities, active case search and contact tracing, identified 1,618,601 Contacts, 710,167 COVID 19 suspect cases based on the standard case definition and facilitated referrals for 553053 (78%) suspect cases for testing. These efforts were crucial for early identification and isolation of cases in limiting further transmission.
more
Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. (2013) 10(5):210-229
Plants are important sources of medicines. Herbal medicines in Lesotho are exposed to excessive exploitation and habitat destruction. Comprehensive information to promote proper use and conservation of these herbal medicines is lacking. ...This study described the uses of medicinal plants in Lesotho with comparative reference between practice and the literature, highlighting important ethno-medicinal information and conservation status of the plants. Additionally, the study established a repository and monograph for the herbal medicines in Lesotho.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajtcam.v13i1.20
more
PlosOne Published: July 14, 2021
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254339