Expanding access to quality health services through task sharing
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Lancet Glob Health 2020Published OnlineNovember 27, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30449-6
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                The Lay Counselor Cadre in Botswana
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Over one third of all deaths in Kenya in 2019 were attributed to NCDs (Vos et al., 2020). The four major NCDs – CVDs, cancer,
diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases – accounted for 57% of these deaths. Furthermore, the direct and indirect economic
impact of NCDs is significant- Kenya is sai
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                                        d to have lost Ksh 230 billion or 3.4% of its gross domestic product in 2016 from rising
NCD-related medical costs and indirect productivity losses. At the household level, an estimated decrease of 28.6% in income
due to NCDs was reported in 2007 (Mwai & Muriithi, 2016; Mensah et al., 2020). Therefore, preventing and managing NCDs are
significant public health and economic priorities.
                                    
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                                The application of digital health technology is growing at a rapid rate in Africa, with the goals of improving the delivery of healthcare services and more effectively reaching out to remote and underserved communities. The lack of enabling guidelines and standards across the continent, on the other
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                                         hand, makes it difficult to share data in a meaningful way across the continent.
Considering this, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) established a task force of 24 members to provide expertise and guidance in the development of AU HIE guidelines and standards. Members of the task force were subject matter experts working in Africa and internationally on the collection, analysis, and exchange of health information. Some of these experts had been involved in previous consultations on defining Africa CDC’s health information systems strategy. A chairperson, co-chairperson, and secretary were elected to engage the task force members in different technical working groups.
                                    
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                                Policy Brief. 24 June 2022. This policy brief, one of two on the updated hepatitis C (HCV) guidelines, focuses on the new recommendations on simplified service delivery for a public health approach to HCV testing, care and treatment. These recommendations include decentralization, integration and 
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                                        task-sharing, in addition to the use of point-of-care (POC) HCV viral load assays and reflex viral load testing.
                                    
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                                Robust clinical research capacity in low- and middle-income countries is key to stemming the spread of epidemics, according to a new report from the International Vaccines Task Force (IVTF). The report lays out how to develop the political support, 
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                                        financing and coordination required to build this capacity as a crucial component of global epidemic preparedness. The IVTF was convened by the World Bank Group (WBG) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) in October 2017.
                                    
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                                Planned and regulated task shifting and task sharing can have a range of benefits. It can ensure a rational optimization of the available health wo
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                                        rkforce, address health system shortages of specialized health-care professionals, improve equity in access to health care and increase the acceptability of health services for those receiving them. This guideline provides a range of options for expanding of health worker roles in the provision of safe abortion care, the management of complications of abortion (also known as post-abortion care in some settings and provided as part of emergency obstetric care) and for post-abortion contraception provision.
                                    
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                                A Resource Book of Inclusive Practices
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Background
Asthma education, a key component of long-term asthma management, is challenging in resource-limited settings with shortages of clinical staff. Task-shifting educational roles to lay (non-clinical) staff is a potential solution. We condu
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                                        cted a randomised controlled trial of an enhanced asthma care intervention for children in Malawi, which included reallocation of asthma education tasks to lay-educators. In this qualitative sub-study, we explored the experiences of asthmatic children, their families and lay-educators, to assess the acceptability, facilitators and barriers, and perceived value of the task-shifting asthma education intervention.
Methods
We conducted six focus group discussions, including 15 children and 28 carers, and individual interviews with four lay-educators and a senior nurse. Translated transcripts were coded independently by three researchers and key themes identified.
Results
Prior to the intervention, participants reported challenges in asthma care including the busy and sometimes hostile clinical environment, lack of access to information and the erratic supply of medication. The education sessions were well received: participants reported greater understanding of asthma and their treatment and confidence to manage symptoms. The lay-educators appreciated pre-intervention training, written guidelines, and access to clinical support. Low education levels among carers presented challenges, requiring an open, non-critical and individualised approach.
Discussion
Asthma education can be successfully delivered by lay-educators with adequate training, supervision and support, with benefits to the patients, their families and the community. Wider implementation could help address human resource shortages and support progress towards Universal Health Coverage.
                                    
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                                The objective of this guidance document is to support the public health professionals
in implementing effective surveillance of cholera in at-risk, endemic and epidemic
areas. This document has been developed by the Surveillance Working Group of the
Global 
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                                        Task Force for Cholera Control (GTFCC) at the World Health Organization based
on the existing documents, guidelines, tools and articles related to surveillance of
cholera disease, as well as technical discussions with experts held during GTFCC
meetings.
                                    
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                                Medicinal plants occupied an important position in the socio-cultural, spiritual and medicinal arena of rural people of India. T
The present report is based on contribution made by members of the task force and many other experts on medicinal plant
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                                        s. We hope the report on implementation will promote sustainable and equitable development of medicinal plants sector provide "Health for All", boost exports, and will improve livelihood of the people and green the country for the present and the
generation to come.
                                    
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                                The 2020 Financing for Sustainable Development Report, the fifth report of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development, provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of sustainable finance. Prepared by more than 60 agencies of the Un
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                                        ited Nations system and partner international organizations, the report brings together a wide range of expertise and perspectives. It puts forward a set of policy recommendations to mobilize financing flows, and align them with economic, social and environmental priorities. These recommendations should assist Member States and all other stakeholders as they work toward fully implementing the Addis Agenda and achieve the SDGs.
                                    
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                                front cover © Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                This guide is an introduction on how to integrate logistics management information systems (LMIS) with geographic information systems (GIS). It covers the value of integrating these two systems, the steps in assessing if it is currently viable to link the systems, how to set the linkage, the process
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                                        es for using LMIS within a GIS platform, and finally how to sustain the linkage. The aim of this guide is to assist logistics managers, decisionmakers and technical experts in understanding the value of integrating GIS and of the process involved in integrating these two systems.
                                    
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                                MSF provides treatment for HIV and tuberculosis (TB) in more than 20 countries around the world.  The report Burden sharing or burden shifting? How the HIV/TB response is being derailed examines the situation in nine countries where MSF runs program
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                                        mes: Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar and Zimbabwe. With a focus on the financial resources available, this report highlights the current risks and gaps in HIV and TB service delivery in these countries.
Given the findings of gaps in diagnosis, prevention and care services and dwindling resources, MSF calls for a robust assessment of the needs and the resource capacity of each affected country, and calls on international donors to ensure that the financial burden is shared, rather than shifted onto those countries worst affected by the diseases.
                                    
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                                Water security, or having the right amount and quality of water in the right place at the right time, fosters social and economic progress. Where water is sufficient to meet demand, it can promote economy wide growth and enable countries to reach their food security, energy security, and human devel
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                                        opment goals. Where it is scarce, excessive, or unclean it can exacerbate multiple dimensions of poverty. Neither of these two worlds is protected from future water crises, which are heavily influenced by changing local circumstances
                                    
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