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Worldwide trends in the burden of asthma symptoms in school-aged children: Global Asthma Network Phase I cross-sectional study

Asher, I.; Rutter, C.E.; Bissell, K. et al. The Lancet (2021) CC

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children globally. The Global Asthma Network (GAN) Phase I study aimed to determine if the worldwide burden of asthma symptoms is changing. This updated cross-sectional study used the same methods as the International study of Asthma and Allergies in Chi ... ldhood (ISAAC) Phase III. Asthma symptoms were assessed from centres that completed GAN Phase I and ISAAC Phase I (1993–95), ISAAC Phase III (2001–03), or both. We included individuals from two age groups (children aged 6–7 years and adolescents aged 13–14 years) who self-completed written questionnaires at school. We estimated the 10-year rate of change in prevalence of current wheeze, severe asthma symptoms, ever having asthma, exercise wheeze, and night cough (defined by core questions in the questionnaire) for each centre, and we estimated trends across world regions and income levels using mixed-effects linear regression models with region and country income level as confounders. Overall, 119 795 participants from 27 centres in 14 countries were included: 74 361 adolescents (response rate 90%) and 45 434 children (response rate 79%). About one in ten individuals of both age groups had wheeze in the preceding year, of whom almost half had severe symptoms. Most centres showed a change in prevalence of 2 SE or more between ISAAC Phase III to GAN Phase I. Over the 27-year period (1993–2020), adolescents showed a significant decrease in percentage point prevalence per decade in severe asthma symptoms (–0·37, 95% CI –0·69 to –0·04) and an increase in ever having asthma (1·25, 0·67 to 1·83) and night cough (4·25, 3·06 to 5·44), which was also found in children (3·21, 1·80 to 4·62). The prevalence of current wheeze decreased in low-income countries (–1·37, –2·47 to –0·27], in children and –1·67, –2·70 to –0·64, in adolescents) and increased in lower-middle-income countries (1·99, 0·33 to 3·66, in children and 1·69, 0·13 to 3·25, in adolescents), but it was stable in upper-middle-income and high-income countries. Trends in prevalence and severity of asthma symptoms over the past three decades varied by age group, country income, region, and centre. The high worldwide burden of severe asthma symptoms would be mitigated by enabling access to effective therapies for asthma. more

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COVID-19 in Yemen: preparedness measures in a fragile state

Dureab, F.; S. Al-Awlaqi and A.Jahn The Lancet (2020) CC

The Lancet DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30101-8 WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The pandemic eventually reached Yemen, with the first laboratory confirmed case announced on April 10. emen has structural vulnerabilities that have developed over a protracted period of conflic ... more

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Global estimates of the need for rehabilitation based on the Global Burden of Disease study 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Cieza A, Causey K, Kamenov K; et al. The Lancet (2020) CC

The Lancet. 1 December 2020. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32340-0. To our knowledge, this is the first study to produce a global estimate of the need for rehabilitation services and to show that at least one in every three people in the world needs rehabilitation at some point in the course of their ... more

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Trends in prevalence of blindness and distance and near vision impairment over 30 years: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study

GBD 2019 Blindness and Vision Impairment Collaborator The Lancet (2020) CC

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Causes of blindness and vision impairment in 2020 and trends over 30 years, and prevalence of avoidable blindness in relation to VISION 2020: the Right to Sight: an analysis for the Global Burden of D

GBD 2019 Blindness and Vision Impairment Collaborators The Lancet (2020) CC

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Tracking total spending on tuberculosis by source and function in 135 low-income and middle-income countries, 2000–17: a financial modelling study

Su Y., Garcia Baena I., Harle A. et al. The Lancet (2020) CC

Estimates of government spending and development assistance for tuberculosis exist, but less is known about out-of-pocket and prepaid private spending. We aimed to provide comprehensive estimates of total spending on tuberculosis in low-income and middle-income countries for 2000–17.

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What counts as development assistance for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health?

Templin T.; Bendavid E. The Lancet (2020) CC

There is no single answer to this question, and therefore no single way to do it. In The Lancet Global Health, Antonia Dingle and colleagues report the convening of a group of policy makers to discuss why we should track financing for RMNCH. The group developed a set of principles guiding what infor ... more

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Estimates of aid for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health: findings from application of the Muskoka2 method, 2002–17

Dingle, A.; Schäferhoff, M.; Borghi, J. et al. The Lancet (2020) CC

Background Four methods have previously been used to track aid for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH). At a meeting of donors and stakeholders in May, 2018, a single, agreed method was requested to produce accurate, predictable, transparent, and up-to-date estimates that coul ... d be used for analyses from both donor and recipient perspectives. Muskoka2 was developed to meet these needs. We describe Muskoka2 and present estimates of levels and trends in aid for RMNCH in 2002–17, with a focus on the latest estimates for 2017. Methods Muskoka2 is an automated algorithm that generates disaggregated estimates of aid for reproductive health, maternal and newborn health, and child health at the global, donor, and recipient-country levels. We applied Muskoka2 to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Creditor Reporting System (CRS) aid activities database to generate estimates of RMNCH disbursements in 2002–17. The percentage of disbursements that benefit RMNCH was determined using CRS purpose codes for all donors except Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the UN Population Fund; and UNICEF; for which fixed percentages of aid were considered to benefit RMNCH. We analysed funding by donor for the 20 largest donors, by recipient-country income group, and by recipient for the 16 countries with the greatest RMNCH need, defined as the countries with the worst levels in 2015 on each of seven health indicators. Findings After 3 years of stagnation, reported aid for RMNCH reached $15·9 billion in 2017, the highest amount ever reported. Among donors reporting in both 2016 and 2017, aid increased by 10% ($1·4 billion) to $15·4 billion between 2016 and 2017. Child health received almost half of RMNCH disbursements in 2017 (46%, $7·4 billion), followed by reproductive health (34%, $5·4 billion), and maternal and newborn health (19%, $3·1 billion). The USA ($5·8 billion) and the UK ($1·6 billion) were the largest bilateral donors, disbursing 46% of all RMNCH funding in 2017 (including shares of their core contributions to multilaterals). The Global Fund and Gavi were the largest multilateral donors, disbursing $1·7 billion and $1·5 billion, respectively, for RMNCH from their core budgets. The proportion of aid for RMNCH received by low-income countries increased from 31% in 2002 to 52% in 2017. Nigeria received 7% ($1·1 billion) of all aid for RMNCH in 2017, followed by Ethiopia (6%, $876 million), Kenya (5%, $754 million), and Tanzania (5%, $751 million). Interpretation Muskoka2 retains the speed, transparency, and donor buy-in of the G8's previous Muskoka approach and incorporates eight innovations to improve precision. Although aid for RMNCH increased in 2017, low-income and middle-income countries still experience substantial funding gaps and threats to future funding. Maternal and newborn health receives considerably less funding than reproductive health or child health, which is a persistent issue requiring urgent attention. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health. more

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Use of the WHO Access, Watch, and Reserve classification to define patterns of hospital antibiotic use (AWaRe): an analysis of paediatric survey data from 56 countries

Hsia Y., B. R Lee, A. Versporten, et al The Lancet (2019) C2

Improving the quality of hospital antibiotic use is a major goal of WHO’s global action plan to combat antimicrobial resistance. The WHO Essential Medicines List Access, Watch, and Reserve (AWaRe) classification could facilitate simple stewardship interventions that are widely applicable globally. ... more

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Tracking spending on malaria by source in 106 countries, 2000–16: an economic modelling study

Haakenstad A.; Harle A.; Tsakalos G. et al. The Lancet (2019) CC

Tracking global malaria spending provides insight into how far the world is from reaching the malaria funding target of $6·6 billion annually by 2020. Because most countries with a high burden of malaria are low income or lower-middle income, mobilising additional government resources for malaria m ... more

Past, present, and future of global health financing: a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 195 countries, 1995–2050

Global Burden of Disease Health Financing Collaborator Network The Lancet (2019) CC

Comprehensive and comparable estimates of health spending in each country are a key input for health policy and planning, and are necessary to support the achievement of national and international health goals. Previous studies have tracked past and projected future health spending until 2040 and ... more

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Corruption in global health: the open secret

Garcia, P.J. The Lancet (2019) CC

Corruption is embedded in health systems. Throughout my life—as a researcher, public health worker, and a Minister of Health—I have been able to see entrenched dishonesty and fraud. But despite being one of the most important barriers to implementing universal health coverage around the world, c ... more

Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Afshin, A.; Sur, P.J.; Fay, K.A. et al. The Lancet (2019) CC

The document presents a systematic analysis of dietary risks and their health impacts in 195 countries from 1990 to 2017. It highlights that suboptimal diets, such as those high in sodium and low in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, significantly contribute to non-communicable diseases like hear ... more

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The UCL–Lancet Commission on Migration and Health: the health of a world on the move

Ibrahim Abubakar, Robert W Aldridge, Delan Devakumar, et al. The Lancet (2018) CC

The UCL–Lancet Commission on Migration and Health steps into this political debate to provide evidence for cooperation and action on what is one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century. The Commission’s foundation is that migration and health are inextricably linked—and key to sustaina ... more

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Reaching the 90-90-90 target: lessons from HIV self-testing

C. Celum; R. Barnabas The Lancet; Elsevier Ltd (2018) CC

Published:December 21, 2018 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(18)30289-3

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Tracking aid for global health goals: a systematic comparison of four approaches applied to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health

Pitt C.; Grollman C.; Martinez-Alvarez M. et al The Lancet (2018) CC

Four initiatives have estimated the value of aid for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH): Countdown to 2015, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the Muskoka Initiative, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) policy marker. We ... more

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 328 diseases and injuries for 195 countries, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation - University of Washington The Lancet (2017) CC2

The Global Status Report on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) 2014 by the World Health Organization outlines the global impact of NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases, which are responsible for a significant portion of global mortality, particular ... more

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Guillain-Barré Syndrome outbreak associated with Zika virus infection in French Polynesia: a case-control study

Cao-Lormeau VM, Blake A, Mons S, Lastère S, Roche C, Vanhomwegen J, Dub T, Baudouin L, Teissier A, Larre P, Vial AL, Decam C, Choumet V, Halstead SK, Willison HJ, Musset L, Manuguerra JC, Despres P, Fournier E, Mallet HP, Musso D, Fontanet A, Neil J, Ghawché F The Lancet (2016) C3

Published Online: 29 February 2016. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00562-6 Please download directly from the webpage: http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736%2816%2900562-6.pdf

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Association between Zika virus and microcephaly in French Polynesia, 2013–15: a retrospective study

Simon Cauchemez, Marianne Besnard, Priscillia Bompard, Timothée Dub, Prisca Guillemette-Artur, Dominique Eyrolle-Guignot, Henrik Salje, Maria D Van Kerkhove, Véronique Abadie, Catherine Garel, Arnaud Fontanet, Henri-Pierre Mallet The Lancet (2016) C3

"Our findings provide a quantitative estimate of the risk of microcephaly in fetuses and neonates whose mothers are infected with Zika virus." Published Online: 15 March 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00651-6 Please download this article directly from the webpage: http://www.thela ... more

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Lancet Series Maternal Health

The Lancet (2016) CC

Each year, about 210 million women become pregnant and about 140 million newborn babies are delivered. The sheer scale of maternal health issues makes maternal well being and survival vital concerns. A decade after The Lancet published a Series on maternal survival, a new Series of six papers brings ... more