This brief draws out some recommendations for Ebola response actors in North Kivu. It includes lessons learned primarily from (i) historical outbreaks in Congo; (ii) outbreaks in Uganda in 2000-01 and 2012; (iii) the 2014-2016 West African epidemic; (iv) the outbreak in Equateur Province in DRC (May...- July 2018), and (v) the ongoing outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces in DRC (August 2018 - ongoing). The full report can be accessed here: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/123456789/14160.
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Human African trypanosomiasis is caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in West and Central Africa and by T. brucei rhodesiense in East Africa; both species are endemic in Uganda. Trypanosoma brucei gambiense accounts for 98% of all cases of African trypanosomiasis, and T. brucei rhodesiense account...s for 2%. African trypanosomiasis has been targeted for eradication by the World Health Organization (WHO) and, as a result of control efforts, there has been a dramatic decrease (> 95%) in the number of reported cases worldwide.
Professional version as well as patient education
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Gambiense human African trypanosomiasis is a deadly infectious disease affecting West and Central Africa, South Sudan and Uganda, and transmitted between humans by tsetse flies. The disease has caused several major epidemics, the latest one in the 1990s. Thanks to recent innovations such as rapid di...agnostic tests for population screening, a single-dose oral treatment and a highly efficient vector control strategy, interruption of transmission of the causative parasite is now within reach. If indeed gHAT has an exclusively human reservoir, this could even result in eradication of the disease. Even if there were an animal reservoir, on the basis of epidemiological data, it plays a limited role. Maintaining adequate postelimination surveillance in known historic foci, using the newly developed tools, should be sufficient to prevent any future resurgence.
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The article "Barriers and determinants of asthma control in children and adolescents in Africa: a systematic review" analyzes factors contributing to poor asthma control in African youth. Based on studies conducted between 2014 and 2019 in Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa, the review identifies key... challenges such as limited access to asthma diagnosis, inadequate use of inhaled corticosteroids, and environmental and socio-economic factors. It finds that urban living, older age, and concurrent allergic conditions significantly affect asthma management. The study emphasizes the need for improved diagnostic tools, better access to treatment, and tailored public health interventions to enhance asthma outcomes in African children.
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The article is a scoping review that explores the challenges in diagnosing asthma in children in three sub-Saharan African countries: Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. It identifies key barriers, such as a lack of community awareness, inadequate healthcare access, limited diagnostic tools like spir...ometry, and insufficient knowledge among healthcare workers. The review also highlights the stigma associated with asthma and the absence of relevant diagnostic guidelines. Solutions proposed include community education, development and adherence to diagnostic guidelines, and strengthening healthcare systems. The study aims to inform policymakers and healthcare providers to improve asthma diagnosis and care for children in these regions.
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The monkeypox virus (MPXV) clade I epidemic that has been affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) since November 2023 has recently spread to several other African countries including Burundi, Rwanda,
Uganda and Kenya. The size of these outbreaks could be larger than reported due to un...der-ascertainment and
under-reporting.
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Integrated community case management (ICCM) – an approach where community-based health workers are trained to identify, treat and refer children under-five with pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria – is increasingly being used across sub-Saharan Africa to supplement the gaps in basic healthcare prov...ision. ICCM programmes have been endorsed by major international organisations and donors, and many African Ministries of Health as a key strategy for reducing child mortality.
This learning paper describes Malaria Consortium’s approach to and experience of engaging local communities in integrated community case management (ICCM) in Uganda, Zambia and Mozambique.
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This report investigates the impact of potential misclassification of samples on HIV prevalence estimates for 23 surveys conducted from 2010-2014. In addition to visual inspection of laboratory results, we examined how accounting for potential misclassification of HIV status through Bayesian latent ...class models affected the prevalence estimates. Two types of Bayesian models were specified: a model that only uses the individual dichotomous test results and a continuous model that uses the quantitative information of the EIA (i.e., the signal-to-cutoff values). Overall, we found that adjusted prevalence estimates matched the surveys’ original results, with overlapping uncertainty intervals. This suggested that misclassification of HIV status should not affect the prevalence estimates in most surveys. However, our analyses suggested that two surveys may be problematic. The prevalence could have been overestimated in the Uganda AIDS Indicator Survey 2011 and the Zambia Demographic and Health Survey 2013-14, although the magnitude of overestimation remains difficult to ascertain. Interpreting results from the Uganda survey is difficult because of the lack of internal quality control and potential violation of the multivariate normality assumption of the continuous Bayesian latent class model. In conclusion, despite the limitations of our latent class models, our analyses suggest that prevalence estimates from most of the surveys reviewed are not affected by sample misclassification.
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This guide includes information relevant for tuberculosis (TB) program and laboratory managers, as well as Ministry of Health officials across disease programs interested in establishing integrated solutions for specimen referral. Though TB-focused in name, it offers integration-oriented assessment,... design, and monitoring guidance related to improving coordination and efficiency, and is relevant for other programs as well. Country case studies include viral load and early infant diagnosis (EID) in Uganda and EID in Ethiopia.
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UNHCR, the UN Refuge Agency, and NGO partners are launching an appeal for US$2.7 billion to address the live-saving humanitarian needs of South Sudanese refugees in 2019 and 2020.
Five years on since the onset of a brutal civil war, over 2.2 million South Sudanese refugees have sought safety in six... neighboring countries Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic (CAR). Another 1.9 million remain internally displaced inside South Sudan
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Despite growing evidence on the impact of psychosocial support interventions, there is an urgent need for a stronger evidence base on approaches that effectively support children affected by armed conflict. To contribute to this evidence base, and building on a pilot study conducted in Uganda in 200...9, War Child conducted an exploratory outcome evaluation of its psychosocial support intervention ‘I DEAL’ in South Sudan and Colombia in 2012. The objective of the evaluation was to explore the outcomes that I DEAL achieves for children and the factors that influence the achievement of those outcomes to further inform and strengthen the intervention
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Active screening ongoing in 14 active IOMsupported PoE sites, namely: Yei airstrip, Yei SSRRC, Tokori, Lasu, Kaya, Bazi, Salia Musala, Okaba, Khor Kaya (along Busia Uganda Border) in Morobo County, Pure, Kerwa, Khorijo, Birigo in Lainya County and Bori.
Learn the ETAT+ guidelines on how to resuscitate a newborn baby who is born not breathing in this exciting 3D simulation training app. Navigate around a virtual reality hospital, find the equipment you need and quiz yourself with interactive quizzes, multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and perform simu...lated procedures.
In this simulated scenario, you are faced with a baby who is born not breathing and have to use your clinical skills to follow the ETAT + guidelines and save the baby's life. You are working against the clock and must select the correct medical equipment and carry out the key life-saving steps needed.
ETAT + guidelines for the management of paediatric emergencies are currently used for training healthcare professionals in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Myanmar and are supported by the UK's Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
LIFE (Life-saving Instruction for Emergencies) is a new smartphone and virtual reality (VR) medical simulation training platform for teaching healthcare workers in Africa and low-resource settings how to save lives using a fun and challenging 3D game. LIFE allows nurses, doctors, medical students, trainees and healthcare workers who want to learn key resus skills on their own smartphones, to enter a realistic 3D hospital environment using the latest game-engine technology to try out their skills on simulated patients.
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Medical Peace Work is an emerging field of expertise in health work, violence prevention, and peace-building. These interactive cases will introduce you to some of the key concepts, opportunities and dilemmas in the peace health field. This case is about encountering victims of torture in a GP’s ...surgery. It follows the story of a young woman from Uganda who is a victim of torture. This is one of seven Medical Peace Work courses.
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This year’s MPI results show that more than two-thirds of the multidimensionally poor—886 millionpeople—live in middle-income countries. A further 440 million live in low-income countries. In both groups, data show, simple national averagescan hide enormous inequality inpatterns of povertywith...in countries. For instance, in Uganda 55 percentof the population experience multidimensional poverty—similartotheaverage in Sub-Saharan Africa. But Kampala, the capital city, has an MPI rate of sixpercent, whileinthe Karamojaregion, the MPI soars to 96 percent—meaningthat partsof Ugandaspan the extremes of Sub-Saharan Africa.There is even inequality under the same roof. In South Asia, for example, almost a quarter ofchildren under five live in households where at least one child in the household is malnourished but at least one child is not.
There is also inequality among the poor. Findings of the2019 global MPI paint a detailed picture of the many differences in how-and how deeply -people experience poverty. Deprivationsamong the poor varyenormously: in general, higher MPI valuesgo hand in hand with greater variationin the intensity of poverty. Results also show that children suffer poverty more intensely than adults and are more likely to be deprived in all 10 of the MPI indicators, lackingessentialssuch as clean water, sanitation, adequate nutrition or primary education
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Eleven (11) districts in Rwanda were initially were considered most at risk of the outbreak, namely:
• Rusizi, Nyamasheke, Karongi, Rutsiro, Rubavu (bordering DRC)
• Musanze, Burera, Gicumbi and Nyagatare (bordering Uganda)
• Kigali city (comprised of 3 localities) due to the presence of Ki...gali International Airport.
The National Contingency plan was revised in February 2019 and two districts added to the list (Nyabihu and Nyanza), bring total districts at risk to 13. During the timeframe, the operation, however covered the 11 initial districts.
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For IST to be effective there is need for utilization of multiple techniques that will lead to transfer of competences (Bluestone et al. 2013). Learning settings should be selected to support relevant and realistic practice so as to increase the efficiency of IST. Alternatives to hotels such as trai...ning institutions and hospitals are viable options for reducing costs of IST as well as being appropriate venues (MOH 2012). There is documented evidence of involvement of academic institutions in providing health leadership capacity building through IST in other countries; for example, in Uganda, IST in leadership for doctors and nurses was done through a blended approach that included didactic and online sessions (Nakanjako et al. 2015). Adapting these concepts, FUNZOKenya piloted eight regional hubs, each serving a cluster of counties, which would train health workers for five years (2012-2016) on priority service delivery topics
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EQUIP: Ensuring Quality in Psychological Support is a joint WHO/UNICEF project to improve the competence of helpers and the consistency and quality of training and service delivery. The EQUIP platform makes freely available competency assessment tools and e-learning courses to support governments, t...raining institutions, and non-governmental organizations, both in humanitarian and development settings, to train and supervise the workforce to deliver effective psychological support to adults and children.
EQUIP enhances training and supervision for improved mental health and psychosocial support services.
EQUIP used a consensus-building approach including key stakeholders to develop the evidence-informed competency-based training materials and guidance, as well as the competency assessment tools. These resources have been tested in Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Nepal, Peru, Uganda and Zambia, with results demonstrating training improvements in groups that used the EQUIP platform. For example, use of EQUIP in Lebanon with children and adolescents led to an increase in mastery of core helping skills compared to standard training approaches.
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The main purpose of the meeting was to review tsetse control tools, activities and their contribution to the elimination of gHAT and the monitoring thereof. Seven endemic countries provided reports on recent and ongoing vector control interventions at the national level (Angola, Cameroon, Côte d’...Ivoire, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea and Uganda). Country reports focused on the in situations implementing and supporting vector control activities, the tools and the approaches in use, the coverage of the activities in space and time and their impacts on tsetse populations. Future perspectives for vector control in the respective countries were also discussed, including opportunities and challenges to sustainability.
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In East Africa, the trend in cross-border FGM puts at risk the progress achieved in eliminating the practice. The only way we can reach zero FGM by 2030 is by concerted and immediate action to address all aspects of FGM.
This policy brief highlights the cross-border dimension of FGM (Ethiopia, Keny...a, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda) in the East Africa region. The brief describes the factors that perpetuate cross-border FGM and the work that is being done to reduce the rates.
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