This review examines high-quality research evidence that synthesises the efects of extreme heat on human health in tropical
Africa. Web of Science (WoS) was used to identify research articles on the efects extreme heat, humidity, Wet-bulb Globe
Temperature (WBGT), apparent temperature, wind, Heat ...Index, Humidex, Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), heatwave, high temperature and hot climate on human health, human comfort, heat stress, heat rashes, and heat-related morbidity
and mortality
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Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including mental disorders, currently pose one of the biggest threats to health and development globally, particularly in low and middle income countries2. It is predicted that unless proven interventions are rapidly implemented in countries, in the short to medium ...term, health care costs will increase exponentially and severe negative consequences will ensue not only to individuals and families but to whole societies and economies. NCDs are already a major burden in South Africa, but without added rigorous and timely action the health and development consequences may well become catastrophic. Immediate and additional, high quality, evidence based and focussed interventions are needed to promote health, prevent disease and provide more effective and equitable care and treatment for people living with NCDs at all levels of the health system. The problem is further compounded by the rising global prevalence of multi-morbidity (defined as the coexistence of two or more chronic diseases in one individual).
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The article reviews the impact of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) on global health, emphasizing its significant burden on infants, children, and the elderly. It discusses current and emerging prevention strategies, including the development and implementation of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies.... The review highlights advancements in RSV research, the challenges of creating effective vaccines for different age groups, and the importance of global collaboration to reduce RSV-associated morbidity and mortality. It also calls for increased investment in research and public health measures to enhance prevention and treatment options.
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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is now one of the top three causes of death worldwide and 90% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
More than 3 million people died of COPD in 2012 accounting for 6% of all deaths globally. COPD represents an important public... health challenge that is both preventable and treatable. COPD is a major cause of chronic morbidity and mortality throughout the world; many people suffer from this disease for years and die prematurely from it or its complications. Globally, the COPD burden is projected to increase incoming decades because of continued exposure to COPD risk factors and aging of thepopulation.
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Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, imposing a consistent burden on health system. In recent years, prevalence of asthma symptoms became globally increased in children and adolescents, particularly in Low-Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Host (genetics, atopy) and environmental fa...ctors (microbial exposure, exposure to passive smoking and air pollution), seemed to contribute to this trend. The increased prevalence observed in metropolitan areas with respect to rural ones and, overall, in industrialized countries, highlighted the role of air pollution in asthma inception. Asthma accounts for 1.1% of the overall global estimate of “Disability-adjusted life years” (DALYs)/100,000 for all causes. Mortality in children is low and it decreased across Europe over recent years. Children from LMICs particularly suffer a disproportionately higher burden in terms of morbidity and mortality. Global asthma-related costs are high and are usually are classified into direct, indirect and intangible costs. Direct costs account for 50–80% of the total costs. Asthma is one of the main causes of hospitalization which are particularly common in children aged < 5 years with a prevalence that has been increased during the last two decades, mostly in LMICs. Indirect costs are usually higher than in older patients, including both school and work-related losses. Intangible costs are unquantifiable, since they are related to impairment of quality of life, limitation of physical activities and study performance. The implementation of strategies aimed at early detect asthma thus providing access to the proper treatment has been shown to effectively reduce the burden of the disease.
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asthma is a chronic inflammatory and a heterogeneous condition of respiratory system whose pathogenesis is linked with variable structural changes. The clinical manifestation of asthma includes attacks of breathlessness, cough, chest tightness and wheezing. Provision of basic equipment and test for ...asthma diagnosis and access to essential medicines by asthmatic patients reduces morbidity and mortality rates. Significant progress has been made in the diagnosis and management of asthma in other countries but not in the health care delivery system in Zimbabwe. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop algorithm for asthma diagnosis and management for Zimbabwe.
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In 2014, the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) reported that the highest prevalence of symptoms of severe asthma was found in the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Nigeria. While exposure to biomass fuel use may be an important risk factor in the deve...lopment of asthma, its association with asthma symptoms severity has not been well-established. The aim of this study is to extend the spectrum of environmental risk factors that may be contributing towards increasing asthma morbidity, especially asthma symptoms severity in rural schoolchildren in Nigeria and to examine possible asthma underdiagnosis among this population.
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The Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) was developed to measure the primary goals of asthma management as identified by international guidelines. All guidelines indicate that to achieve good control, treatment should minimise day- and night-time symptoms, activity limitation, airway narrowing and re...scue bronchodilator use and thus reduce the risk of life-threatening exacerbations and long-term morbidity. Three independent studies have provided evidence that the ACQ is valid for measuring asthma control and has strong measurement properties for use both in clinical practice and research. In addition, the smallest change in score that can be considered clinically important has been determined.
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The Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ)1 was developed and validated to measure the primary clinical goal of asthma management as identified by international guidelines. They indicate that to achieve good control, treatment should minimise day and night time symptoms, activity limitation, airway narr...owing and rescue bronchodilator use and thus reduce the risk of life-threatening exacerbations and long-term morbidity. The importance of including all aspects of control in the assessment of individual patients was emphasised by a recent factor analysis which showed that clinical asthma is composed of distinct components which are not closely correlated with each other.6 However, in some studies it may not be possible to collect airway calibre or short-acting β2-agonists data. Previous analysis of non-clinical trial data suggested that when ACQ scores are analysed as group data, the heterogeneity of the way in which individual patients present with inadequate control is lost in the estimation of the mean and the need to measure each individual component of asthma control may become unnecessary. In this analysis, ACQ data from a clinical trial was used to evaluate the measurement properties (reliability, responsiveness, validity and interpretability), of three shortened versions of the ACQ. In addition, we have examined whether the precision and accuracy of estimating the effect of the intervention on asthma control was maintained when the two questions concerning airway calibre and short-acting β2-agonists use were omitted from the trial analysis.
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Demographic and epidemiological transitions are changing the age structure of the population and the most common diseases. Non-communicable respiratory diseases are an increasing problem at both ends of the age range in low-income and middle-income countries. In children, who represent a large propo...rtion of the total population, the increasing problem of asthma is a strain on health services. Improved survival of the older population is increasing the proportion of morbidity and mortality attributable to chronic lung diseases. Health services in low-resource countries are poorly adapted to treating chronic diseases. Designed to respond episodically to acute disease, almost all historical investment has focused on infectious diseases. Crucial to the successful management of chronic diseases is an infrastructure designed to support pro-active management, providing not only an accurate diagnosis, but also a secure supply of cost effective drugs at an affordable price. The absence of such an infrastructure in many countries and the market failure that makes drugs generally more expensive in low-resource regions means that many people with chronic non-communicable lung diseases are not given effective treatment. This has damaging economic consequences. The common causes of poor lung health in lowincome countries are not the same as those in richer countries, and there is a need to study why they are so common and how best to manage them.
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Asthma is the most common non-communicable disease in children and remains one of the most common throughout the life course. The great majority of the burden of this disease is seen in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), which have disproportionately high asthma-related mortality relati...ve to asthma prevalence. This is particularly true for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Although inhaled asthma treatments (particularly those containing inhaled corticosteroids) markedly reduce asthma morbidity and mortality, a substantial proportion of the children, adolescents, and adults with asthma in LMICs do not get to benefit from these, due to poor availability and affordability. In this review, we consider the reality faced by clinicians managing asthma in the primary and secondary care in sub-Saharan Africa and suggest how we might go about making diagnosis and treatment decisions in a range of resource-constrained scenarios. We also provide recommendations for research and policy, to help bridge the gap between current practice in sub-Saharan Africa and Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) recommended diagnostic processes and treatment for children, adolescents, and adults with asthma.
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Asthma is the commonest chronic childhood disease and encompasses a spectrum of airway diseases with similar symptoms. Inaccurate diagnosis remains common, especially in younger children, with failure to characterize the different “asthmas.” Children worldwide repeatedly suffer symptoms which se...verely affect their everyday lives. Children die from asthma, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). In many countries, asthma prevalence is rising. Access to effective care and changing environments are hugely variable and may explain the higher morbidity in inner-city children, in LMICs, and in deprived populations in high-income countries. Despite the disease being eminently controllable, morbidity and mortality persist.
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Bonchial asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease in the world. In Kenya, it has been estimated that about 7.5% of the Kenyan population, nearly 4 million people, are currently living with asthma. Many cases tend to be underdiagnosed and undertreated which leads to high levels of morbid...ity and avoidable deaths. The consequences of poorly controlled asthma, including physical, mental, social, and economic impacts, are magnified in the poor on account of poor access to asthma services and sub-optimal quality of those services. With these guidelines, Kenya's Ministry of Health aims to work towards embedding asthma care in Universal Health Care (UHC) to ensure that quality asthma services are available in primary care settings with
referral networks strengthened for those who may require secondary and tertiary care. These national asthma guidelines will also ensure that treatment for asthma is standardized in both the public and the non-state health care sector.
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Despite recent global declines, under-five mortality remains high in many of the poorest countries. Barriers to timely
quality care, including user fees, distance to facilities and the availability of trained health workers and medical supplies,
hinder progress in further reducing morbidity and m...ortality
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The emergence of multifrug-resistant malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) has been identified as an emergency issue that may have catastrophic consequences on the future of malaria elimination in the GMS as well as globally. In recognition of the need for a cohesive regional response,... GMS countries have committed to a shared goal of eliminating malaria from the GMS by 2030 working within the framework of the Strategy for Malaria Elimination in the Greater Mekong Subregion 2015-2030. Population mobility has been identified as a key concern in the context of multidrug-resistant malaria; and in a region of highly porous borders where the majority of intra-Mekong migration occurs through informal channels, addressing the health needs of migrant populations has never been more critical.
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The COVID-19 pandemic’s immediate costs, measured in lives lost and damaged, have been appalling and continue to rise. In addition, its effects on individuals’ livelihoods and economies around the world have been deep and are likely to be long lasting. While saving lives was the near-exclusive f...ocus during the first phase of the crisis, governments are now trying to strike a delicate balance between preventing further economic damage by reopening parts of their economies, while managing the obvious health risks of doing so.
In the international mobility and migration arenas—policy areas enormously affected by the health and economic effects of the pandemic—this reflection considers both how these fields have fared thus far and the challenges that lay ahead
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L’un des principaux défis auxquels fait face le secteur de la santé au Togo est la mise à la disposition des décideurs, des partenaires et du public des données fiables, pertinentes et à temps opportun. Le présent annuaire des statistiques sanitaires a pour objectif, de contribuer à releve...r ce défi, en fournissant des informations de qualité sur le niveau de réalisation des plans d’action et des prestations de santé afin d’apprécier le niveau de performances de la mise en oeuvre des interventions à l’échelle du pays.
Cette publication retrace, sous forme de tableaux et de graphiques, les activités du département de la santé au Togo en 2016. Il s’agit : (i) des ressources en santé, (ii) de l’utilisation des services, (iii) des principales causes de morbidité et de mortalité, (iv) de la situation des maladies prioritaires et (v) des activités préventives et promotionnelles.
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Le présent document expose des recommandations exhaustives de l’OMS sur les soins prénatals systématiques à l’intention des femmes enceintes et des adolescentes. Le but de ces recommandations est de compléter les directives de l’OMS existantes sur la prise en charge des complications spé...cifiques associées à la grossesse. Elles sont destinées à refléter et à répondre à la nature complexe des problèmes entourant la pratique et la délivrance des soins prénatals et à donner la priorité à la santé et au bien-être de la personne – et pas seulement à la prévention de la mortalité et de la morbidité – selon une démarche visant le respect des droits de l’homme.
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The update of the ESTC was conducted as a joint endeavour with ERS, consulting experts from international societies and organisations, national TB programmes, civil society and affected communities. The second edition of the ESTC includes 21 standards in the areas of diagnosis, treatment, HIV and co...-morbidities and public health and prevention. The ESTC is a user-friendly guide for clinicians and public health workers to help them achieve optimal diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB
Available in 25 languages: https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/all-topics-ztuberculosisprevention-and-control/european-union-standards-tuberculosis-care
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Les périodes périnatale et néonatale constituent des moments critiques dans la vie des mères et des nouveau-nés. En effet, pendant ces périodes, des complications obstétricales, foetales et néonatales surviennent entrainant des mort-nés, des décès néonatals et des possibilités d’incap...acités si l’enfant survit. Les présentes directives nationales de santé des nouveau-nés, définies comme des lignes de conduite données par l’Autorité, en l’occurrence le Ministre de la Santé, visent à prévenir, dépister et prendre en charge ces complications en vue de d’améliorer la qualité des soins et de réduire la morbidité et la mortalité foetales et néonatales, ainsi que les handicaps à moyen ou long terme chez l’enfant. Les directives se focalisent principalement sur la période autour de l’accouchement, les premières heures et les sept (7) premiers jours de vie de l’enfant.
Pour les rendre opérationnelles, il faudrait
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