Forests, trees and green spaces, hereinafter ‘forests and trees’ for short, provide multiple goods and services that contribute to human health. These include medicines, nutritious foods and other non-wood forest products (NWFPs). Globally, at l...east 3.5 billion people use NWFPs, including medicinal plants, which are particularly important for vulnerable groups and Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs).
During periods of crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for forest products typically increases amongst these groups. Forests and trees also contribute to better health by playing a role in climate change
mitigation and adaptation, contributing to regulating the carbon cycle, but also moderating the micro-climate, filtering pollutants from the air and protecting settlements against the effects of extreme events such as droughts and flash floods.
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The increasing amounts of official development assistance (ODA) for health have been aimed primarily at fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Neglected tropical diseases (NTD), one of the most serious public ...t medbox">health burdens among the most deprived communities, have only recently drawn the attention of major donors. While frequently stated, the low share
of funding for NTD control projects has not been calculated empirically. Our analysis of ODA commitments for infectious disease control for the years 2003 to 2007 confirms that Development Assistance Committee (DAC)-countries and multilateral donors have largely ignored funding NTD control projects. On average, only 0.6% of total annual health ODA was dedicated
to the fight against NTDs while the average share of control projects for HIV/AIDS was 36.3%, for malaria 3.6%, and for tuberculosis 2.2%. This allocation of health ODA does not reflect the diseases’ respective health burdens.
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The Creditor Reporting System was analysed for official development assistance funding disbursements towards TB control in 11 conflict-affectedstates, 17 non-conflict-affected fragile states and 38 comparable non-fragile states. The amounts of funding, funding relative to burden, funding relative to... malaria and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) control, disbursements relative to commitments, sources of funding as well as funding activities were extracted and analysed.
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The World Heart Federation (WHF) commenced a Roadmap initiative in 2015 to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease and resultant burgeoning of healthcare costs. Roadmaps provide a blueprint for implementation of priority solutions for the principal cardiovascular diseases leading to death... and disability. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of these conditions and is an increasing problem due to ageing of the world’s population and an increase in cardiovascular risk factors that predispose to AF. The goal of the AF roadmap was to provide guidance on priority interventions that are feasible in multiple countries, and to identify roadblocks and potential strategies to overcome them.
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Introduction Community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly being tasked to prevent and manage cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors in underserved populations in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs); however, little is known... about the required training necessary for them to accomplish their role. This review aimed to evaluate the training of CHWs for the prevention and management of CVD and its risk factors in LMICs.
Methods A search strategy was developed in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, and five electronic databases (Medline, Global Health, ERIC, EMBASE and CINAHL) were searched to identify peer-reviewed studies published until December 2016 on the training of CHWs for prevention or control of CVD and its risk factors in LMICs. Study characteristics were extracted using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and quality assessed using Effective Public Health Practice Project’s Quality Assessment Tool. The search, data extraction and quality assessment were performed independently by two researchers.
Results The search generated 928 articles of which 8 were included in the review. One study was a randomised controlled trial, while the remaining were before–after intervention studies. The training methods included classroom lectures, interactive lessons, e-learning and online support and group discussions or a mix of two or more. All the studies showed improved knowledge level post-training, and two studies demonstrated knowledge retention 6 months after the intervention.
Conclusion The results of the eight included studies suggest that CHWs can be trained effectively for CVD prevention and management. However, the effectiveness of CHW trainings would likely vary depending on context given the differences between studies (eg, CHW demographics, settings and training programmes) and the weak quality of six of the eight studies. Well-conducted mixed-methods studies are needed to provide reliable evidence about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of training programmes for CHWs.
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Background
Noncommunicable diseases are major contributors to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Modifying the risk factors for these conditions, such as physical inactivity, is thus essential. Addressing the context or circumstances in which physical activity occurs may promote physical activity a...t a population level. We assessed the effects of infrastructure, policy or regulatory interventions for increasing physical activity.
Methods
We searched PubMed, Embase and clinicaltrials.gov to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs), controlled before-after (CBAs) studies, and interrupted time series (ITS) studies assessing population-level infrastructure or policy and regulatory interventions to increase physical activity. We were interested in the effects of these interventions on physical activity, body weight and related measures, blood pressure, and CVD and type 2 diabetes morbidity and mortality, and on other secondary outcomes. Screening and data extraction was done in duplicate, with risk of bias was using an adapted Cochrane risk of bias tool. Due to high levels of heterogeneity, we synthesised the evidence based on effect direction.
Results
We included 33 studies, mostly conducted in high-income countries. Of these, 13 assessed infrastructure changes to green or other spaces to promote physical activity and 18 infrastructure changes to promote active transport. The effects of identified interventions on physical activity, body weight and blood pressure varied across studies (very low certainty evidence); thus, we remain very uncertain about the effects of these interventions. Two studies assessed the effects of policy and regulatory interventions; one provided free access to physical activity facilities and showed that it may have beneficial effects on physical activity (low certainty evidence). The other provided free bus travel for youth, with intervention effects varying across studies (very low certainty evidence).
Conclusions
Evidence from 33 studies assessing infrastructure, policy and regulatory interventions for increasing physical activity showed varying results. The certainty of the evidence was mostly very low, due to study designs included and inconsistent findings between studies. Despite this drawback, the evidence indicates that providing access to physical activity facilities may be beneficial; however this finding is based on only one study. Implementation of these interventions requires full consideration of contextual factors, especially in low resource settings.
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The aim of the present paper is to review capacity building in public health nutrition (PHN), the need for which has been stressed for many years by a range of academics, national and international organis...ations. Although great strides have been made worldwide in the science of nutrition, there remain many problems of undernutrition and increasingly of obesity and related chronic diseases. The main emphasis in capacity building has been on the nutrition and health workforce, but the causes of these health problems are multifactorial and require collaboration across sectors in their solution. This means that PHN capacity building has to go beyond basic nutrition and beyond the immediate health workforce to policy makers in other sectors. The present paper provides examples of capacity building activities by various organisations, including universities, industry and international agencies. Examples of web-based courses are given including an introduction to the e-Nutrition Academy. The scope is international but with a special focus on Africa. In conclusion, there remains a great need for capacity building in PHN but the advent of the internet has revolutionised the possibilities.
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Submitted to The Lesotho National Federation of Disabled (LNFOD)
Lancet Glob Health 2021 Published Online December 13, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00463-
This guide provides a comprehensive overview of essential information related to immunization, including technical information about vaccines, a review of immunization program management best practices, guidance on the delivery of immunization services, monitoring and evaluation, disease surveillanc...e, and the role of behavior change.
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Towards Attaining the Highest Standard of Mental Health
This document provides a systematic approach in developing a coordinated, standardized, reliable, efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable specimen transport and referral system to support IVHD and VL testing networks. This document provides technical and programmatic recommendations on the approp...riate specimen storage and transportation of specimens for HIV VL and IVHD testing. Along with the national guidelines for specimen storage and transport, these standards should provide guidance on the creation or improvement of specimen referral networks and specimen transport systems. In addition, standard operating procedures (SOPs) targeting drivers and persons responsible for packing of specimens and results return are included in this document.
No publication year indicated in the document.
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This landscape analysis aims to:
1. Identify and document supportive policies and best practices in family planning program implementation
2. Assess the quality of family planning service provision
3. Propose recommendations for scaling up best family planning practices and new interv...entions to improve program effectiveness and increase utilization of contraception
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These guidelines form part of efforts to institutionalise the prevention and containment of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in health care facilities in South Africa, as outlined in the Antimicrobial Resistance Strategic Framework and Implementation ...Plan. The focus of these guidelines is on two interrelated aspects of prevention of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) and their spread; and the application of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) practices at hospital level.
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July 2014
This report was made possible through support provided by the One Million Community Health Workers Campaign, mPowering Frontline Health Workers, Intel, and USAID. This report was author...ed by Cindil Redick for mPowering Frontline Health Workers under the terms of Contract No. GHS-A-00-08-00002-00. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID.
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Pakistan Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP) was formed in the wake of international and national efforts for AMR curtailment. A group of experts from microbiology, infectious diseases and veterinary medicine formed a core group at the ...ute-to-highlight medbox">organizational meeting of GARP in Kathmandu, Nepal in July 2016. In the meeting, this core group was expanded to include other members from different sectors with the selection of the Chair and co-chairs. These were asked to serve on a voluntary basis, in their own individual capacities, with no personal gains, or gains to the institutions to which they are affiliated. The first phase of GARP took place from 2009 to 2011 and involved four countries: India, Kenya, South Africa and Vietnam. Phase one culminated in the 1st Global Forum on Bacterial Infections, held in October 2011 in New Delhi, India. In 2012, phase two of GARP was initiated with the addition of working groups in Mozambique, Tanzania, Nepal and Uganda. Phase three has added Bangladesh, Lao PDR, Nigeria, Pakistan and Zimbabwe to the network to date.
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