From 2000 to 2010, Rwanda implemented comprehensive health sector reforms to strengthen the public health system, with 
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                                        the aim of reducing maternal and newborn deaths in line with Millennium Development Goal 5, among many other improvements in national health. Based on a systematic review of the literature, national policy documents and three Demographic & Health Surveys (2000, 2005 and 2010), this paper describes the reforms and the policies they were based on, and provides data on the extent of Rwanda’s progress in expanding the coverage of four key women’s health services. Progress took place in 2000–2005 and became more rapid after 2006, mostly in rural areas, when the national facility-based childbirth policy, performance-based financing, and community-based health insurance were scaled up. Between 2006 and 2010, the following increases in coverage took place as compared to 2000–2005, particularly in rural areas, where most poor women live: births with skilled attendance (77% increase vs. 26%), institutional delivery (146% increase vs. 8%), and contraceptive prevalence (351% increase vs. 150%). The primary factors in these improvements were increases in the health workforce and their skills, performance-based financing, community-based health insurance, and better leadership and governance. Further research is needed to determine the impact of these changes on health outcomes in women and children.
                                    
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                                Rabies is a global public health problem with important socioeconomic impacts. Human rabies is preventable; almost all cases are transmitted through the bite 
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                                        of a rabid dog. Elimination of human rabies is possible. Technical support and tools are available. This report covers:
- Why investment is needed: key rationale.
- Investment purpose: global elimination of rabies.
- Investment in action: four case examples in Philippines, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Bangladesh.
- Summary results of case examples: Programme similarities and differences, and Health impact success stories from case examples.
                                    
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                                Many African countries were amongst the most rapid to respond to the emerging threat of COVID-19, implementing large-scale interventions at very ea
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                                        rly stages of their epidemic. As demonstrated in this document using very simple models, this rapid mobilization and timeliness of implementing control measures is likely to be an important determinant of their success. Indeed, as these measures were relaxed, subsequent waves of disease have been observed in many countries including South Africa, Kenya, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where such waves have severely impacted the health system by straining the supply of oxygen and ICU beds and inflicting a heavy toll on healthcare workers, often necessitating the re-imposition of control measures.
                                    
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                                Massoda Tonye et al. Malar J (2018) 17:156
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-018-2284-7
Background: In 2011, the demographic and health survey (DH
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                                        S) in Cameroon was combined with the multiple indicator
cluster survey. Malaria parasitological data were collected, but the survey period did not overlap with the high
malaria transmission season. A malaria indicator survey (MIS) was also conducted during the same year, within the
malaria peak transmission season. This study compares estimates of the geographical distribution of malaria parasite
risk and of the effects of interventions obtained from the DHS and MIS survey data.
                                    
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                                UNICEF analysis indicates that:
- Investments that increase access to high-impact health and nutrition interventions by poor groups have saved almost twice as many lives as equivalent investments in non-poor groups.
- Access to high-impact
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                                         health and nutrition interventions has improved rapidly among poor groups in recent years, leading to substantial improvements in equity.
- During the period studied, absolute reductions in under-five mortality rates associated with improvements in intervention coverage were three times faster among poor groups than non-poor groups.
- Because birth rates were higher among the poor, the reduction in the under-five mortality rate translated into 4.2 times more lives saved for every 1 million people. Indeed, of the 1.1 million lives saved across the 51 countries during the final year studied for each country, nearly 85 per cent were among the poor.
- Intensified focus on equity-enhancing policies and investments can help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goal newborn and child mortality targets (SDG3.2).
                                    
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                                BMC Res Notes  (2016) 9:182 DOI 10.1186/s13104-016-1993-7
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                This was a Phase 3, multi-center, randomized, open-label, parallel-group, active control study where 273 male and female patients with first stage Trypanosoma brucei gambiense HAT were treated at six sites: one trypanosomiasis reference center in Angola, one hospital in South Sudan, and four hospita
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                                        ls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between August 2005 and September 2009 to support the registration of pafuramidine for treatment of first stage HAT in collaboration with the United States Food and Drug Administration. Patients were treated with either 100 mg of pafuramidine orally twice a day for 10 days or 4 mg/kg pentamidine intramuscularly once daily for 7 days to assess the efficacy and safety of pafuramidine versus pentamidine. Pregnant and lactating women as well as adolescents were included.
                                    
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                                There is no guarantee that a successful pilot program introducing a reproductive health innovation can also be expanded successfully to the national or regional level, because 
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                                        the scaling-up process is complex and multilayered. This article describes how a successful pilot program to integrate the Standard Days Method (SDM) of family planning into existing Ministry of Health services was scaled up nationally in Rwanda. 
                                    
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                                The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all HIVinfected children before the age 
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                                        of two since 2010, but this implies an early identification of these infants. We described the Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission (PMTCT) cascade, the staffing and the quality of infrastructures in pediatric HIV care facilities, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
                                    
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                                DHS Further Analysis Reports No. 89 - The 2010 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey shows that 3 percent 
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                                        of Rwandan adults age 15-49 have been infected with HIV. The prevalence was much higher in urban areas, among women, and among adults who had multiple lifetime sexual partners and used a condom at last sexual intercourse. The
level of and differences in HIV prevalence in Rwanda in 2010 are very similar to those observed in 2005. Using data from the two recent Rwanda Demographic and Health Surveys, implemented in 2005 and
2010, this study examined changes in key HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and sexual behavior indicators. Significant changes in selected indicators during 2005 and 2010 were determined by Student ttest with p-values less than 0.05. 
                                    
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                                Global Health Science and Practice  February 2022, https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00237 
Key Findings:    Exposure to vaccination information from faith leaders and health facilities was associa
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                                        ted with increased likelihood of vaccination uptake. The significant association between exposure to a greater number of immunization information sources and increased likelihood of vaccination uptake reinforces the need for multiple sources to provide consistent and accurate immunization information to facilitate positive vaccination behavior. 
Key Implications:     Social and behavior change communication interventions may optimize the promotion of immunization services through multiple information sources such as health facilities and community-based assets including faith leaders and lay community health workers. Religion and faith play an important role in how people understand health and make health decisions. In Sierra Leone and other similar settings, interventions to improve uptake of immunization services may be enhanced by proactively engaging faith leaders.
                                    
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                                 DHS Working Papers No. 112 | Zimbabwe Working Papers No. 13
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                DHS Working Papers No. 110 | Zimbabwe Working Papers No. 11
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Lymphatic filariasis is a neglected tropical disease that can cause permanent disability through disruption of the lymphatic system. This disease is caused by parasitic filarial worms that are trans
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                                        mitted by mosquitos. Mass drug administration (MDA) of antihelmintics is recommended by WHO to eliminate lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. This study aims to produce the first geospatial estimates of the global prevalence of lymphatic filariasis infection over time, to quantify progress towards elimination, and to identify geographical variation in distribution of infection.
                                    
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                                15 July 2021. This report describes the demographics, clinical presentation, clinical outcomes, and risk factors among people living with HIV (PLHIV) who have been hospitalized for suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
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                                        The specific objectives of the analysis were to: 
    describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of PLHIV hospitalized for COVID-19
    assess whether PLHIV hospitalized with COVID-19 were at increased risk of presenting with severe or critical illness at admission and were at increased risk of in-hospital death compared to individuals not infected with HIV
    assess risk factors associated with severe or critical illness at hospital admission and of in-hospital death among PLHIV hospitalized for COVID-19.
                                    
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