the aid library

Cardiovascular diseases in Africa in the twenty-first century: Gaps and priorities going forward

Minja, N.W.; Nakagaayi, D.; Aliku, T. et al. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (2022) CC

In 2015, the United Nations set important targets to reduce premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths by 33% by 2030. Africa disproportionately bears the brunt of CVD burden and has one of the highest risks of dying from non-communicable dise...ases (NCDs) worldwide. There is currently an epidemiological transition on the continent, where NCDs is projected to outpace communicable diseases within the current decade. Unchecked increases in CVD risk factors have contributed to the growing burden of three major CVDs—hypertension, cardiomyopathies, and atherosclerotic diseasesleading to devastating rates of stroke and heart failure. The highest age standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to hypertensive heart disease (HHD) were recorded in Africa. The contributory causes of heart failure are changing—whilst HHD and cardiomyopathies still dominate, ischemic heart disease is rapidly becoming a significant contributor, whilst rheumatic heart disease (RHD) has shown a gradual decline. In a continent where health systems are traditionally geared toward addressing communicable diseases, several gaps exist to adequately meet the growing demand imposed by CVDs. Among these, high-quality research to inform interventions, underfunded health systems with high out-of-pocket costs, limited accessibility and affordability of essential medicines, CVD preventive services, and skill shortages. Overall, the African continent progress toward a third reduction in premature mortality come 2030 is lagging behind. More can be done in the arena of effective policy implementation for risk factor reduction and CVD prevention, increasing health financing and focusing on strengthening primary health care services for prevention and treatment of CVDs, whilst ensuring availability and affordability of quality medicines. Further, investing in systematic country data collection and research outputs will improve the accuracy of the burden of disease data and inform policy adoption on interventions. This review summarizes the current CVD burden, important gaps in cardiovascular medicine in Africa, and further highlights priority areas where efforts could be intensified in the next decade with potential to improve the current rate of progress toward achieving a 33% reduction in CVD mortality. more

Management of a cholera epidemic - Practical guide for doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, medical auxiliaries, water and sanitation specialists and logisticians
recommended

Médecins Sans Frontières MFS (2023) CC

Cholera is a transmissible diarrhoeal infection caused by Vibrio cholerae. Endemic and/or epidemic in over 40 countries (mainly in Africa and Asia), cholera continues to be a major global public hea...lth issue. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the number of cases reported worldwide represents in reality only 5 to 10% of actual cases. This guide is intended for medical and non-medical staff responding to a cholera outbreak. It attempts to provide concrete answers to the questions and problems faced by staff, based on the recommendations of reference organisations, such as WHO and UNICEF, as well as Médecins Sans Frontières’ experience in the field. It is divided into 8 chapters. Chapter 1, Cholera overview, outlines the epidemiological and clinical features of cholera. Chapter 2, Outbreak investigation, explains the method and stages of a field investigation, from the alert to implementation of initial activities. Chapter 3, Cholera control measures, details measures and tools to prevent and/or control cholera transmission and mortality in populations affected, or at risk of being affected, by an epidemic (curative care, prevention means and health promotion activities). Chapter 4, Strategies for epidemic response, addresses the roll-out strategies of the measures described in Chapter 3 which depend on context (e.g. urban, rural, endemic, non-endemic setting, etc.), resources and particular constraints. Chapter 5, Cholera case management, details the different stages of cholera treatment, from diagnosis through to cure. Chapter 6, Setting up cholera treatment facilities, focuses on the installation of treatment facilities that vary in size and complexity according to operational requirements (treatment centres and units and oral rehydration points). Chapter 7, Organisation of cholera treatment facilities, describes the organisation of these specialized facilities in terms of human resources, supply, water, hygiene and sanitation, etc. Chapter 8, Monitoring and evaluation, presents the key data to be collected and analysed during an epidemic to facilitate a tailored response and evaluate its quality and effectiveness. The guide includes various practical tools in the appendices to facilitate activities (e.g. water quality tests, job descriptions, documents, etc.). Moreover, the toolbox also contains additional tools in editable formats (individual patient file, cholera case register, pictograms). Despite all efforts, it is possible that certain errors may have been overlooked in this guide. Please inform the authors of any errors detected. To ensure that this guide continues to evolve while remaining adapted to field realities, please send any comments or suggestions. more

Automated Real-time Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology for Rapid and Simultaneous Detection of Tuberculosis and Rifampicin Resistance: Xpert MTB/RIF System

World Health Organization (2011) C_WHO

Policy Statement

Meeting of national HIV programme managers of Eastern European, Central Asian and non-EU/EEA countries

World Health Organization (Europe) (2018) C_WHO

Meeting report, 25-26 September 2017 Copenhagen, Denmark

Blueprint for the provision of comprehensive care for trans persons and their communities in the Caribbean and other anglophone countries

John Snow, Inc.; PAHO; World Health Organization; et al. (2019) C2

Accessed: 06.11.2019

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic response on intrapartum care, stillbirth, and neonatal mortality outcomes in Nepal: a prospective observational study

Ashish KC, R. Gurung, M.V Kinney, et al. (2020) CC

Understanding modelling approaches for sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, and nutrition

World Health Organization WHO; UNICEF and UNFPA (2021) C_WHO

Modelling the health impacts of disruptions to essential health services during COVID-19 Module 1 Several epidemiological models have been created to assess the potential impact of disruptions to essential health services caused by COVID-19 on morb... more

Modelling historical changes in the force-of-infection of Chagas disease to inform control and elimination programmes: application in Colombia

Cucunubá, Z.; Nouvellet, P.; Conteh, L. et al. BMJ Global Health (2022) CC

BMJ Glob Health 2017;2:e000345. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000345. WHO's 2020 milestones for Chagas disease include having all endemic Latin American countries certified with no intradomiciliary Trypanosoma cruzi transmission, and infected patients unde... more

Health systems resilience toolkit: a WHO global public health good to support building and strengthening of sustainable health systems resilience in countries with various contexts

World Health Organization WHO (2022) C_WHO

Tanzania's Countdown to 2015: an analysis of two decades of progress and gaps for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, to inform priorities for post-2015

Hoviyeh Afnan-Holmes, Moke Magoma, Theopista John, et al. (2015) CC

Lancet Glob Health 2015; 3: e396–409. Open Access

UNAIDS Action Framework: Universal Access for Men who have Sex with Men and Transgender People

Joint United Nations Programme on HIVAIDS (UNAIDS); UNDP (2009) C2

EMTCT Plus - Framework for Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis B, and Chagas

F. Pérez; M. B. Mello; L. Sereno; et al. Pan American Health Organization; World Health Organization (Americas) (2017) C_WHO

Sharing successful strategies from the Eastern Mediterranean Region in mitigating noncommunicable diseases and mentalhealth disorders during the COVID-19pandemic and beyond

World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (2023) C_WHO

The "Stories from the field" document by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean shares effective strategies from the Eastern Mediterranean Region for addressing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health challenges, particularl... more

HIV Epidemic Appraisals in Nigeria: Evidence for Prevention Programme Planning and Implementation: Data from the first eight States

Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria; National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA) (2013) C1

FEEDcities project: The food environment description in cities in Eastern Europe and Central Asia - Republic of Moldova

World Health OrganizationEurope (2017) C_WHO

This technical report contains the results from the FEEDcities Project – Eastern Europe and Central Asia, a cross-sectional survey of the local urban food environment conducted in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova between June ... August 2016. It characterizes the vending sites, the food offered and the nutritional composition of both industrial and homemade street foods. It also describes the nutritional composition of foods sold in supermarkets and fast-food outlets. The study was conducted within a bilateral partnership between the World Health Organization and the Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto, in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences and the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto (WHO registration 2015/591370 and 2017/698514). The study was funded through a voluntary contribution of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. more

Lolli-Methode als Grundlage einer SARS-CoV-2-Surveillance in Kitas und Schulen

Robert-Koch-Institut RKI (2021) C1

Epidemiologischen Bulletin 32/2021, 27 Juli 2021.Systematisches Testen auf SARS-CoV-2 in Kitas und Schulen kann einen wichtigen Beitrag leisten, um das dortige Infektionsgeschehen besser beurteilen zu können und das Übertragungsrisiko von Infektio... more

Impact of climate change on human infectious diseases: Empirical evidence and human adaptation

Xiaoxu Wu, Yongmei Lu, Sen Zhou et al. (2016) CC

Environment International Volume 86, January 2016, Pages 14-23 Climate change refers to long-term shifts in weather conditions and patterns of extreme weather events. It may lead to changes in health threat to human beings, multiplying existing hea... more

Stark choices: exploring health sector costs of policy responses to COVID-19 in low-income and middle-income countries

Torres-Rueda S.; S. Sweeney; F. Bozzani et al. BMJ Global Health (2021) C2

COVID-19 has altered health sector capacity in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Cost data to inform evidence-based priority setting are urgently needed. Consequently, in this paper, we calculate the full economic health sector costs o... more

Individual-level data in 680 102 adults, The state of diabetes treatment coverage in 55 low-income and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional study of nationally representative

Flood, D.; Seiglie, J.A.; Dunn, M.; et al. The Lancet healthy Longevity (2021) C2

Approximately 80% of the 463 million adults worldwide with diabetes live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). A major obstacle to designing evidence-based policies to improve diabetes outcomes in LMICs is the scarce availability of nat... more