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Male Genital Schistosomiasis Along the Shoreline of Lake Malawi: Baseline Prevalence and Associated Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Among Local Fishermen in Mangochi District

Kayuni, S.; Alharbi, M.; Makaula, P. et al frontiers in Public Health (2021) CC

Schistosomiasis is a prevalent parasitic, neglected tropical disease (NTD) affecting over 220 million people globally, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The pathology of this disease in terms of intestinal, liver and urinary presentations is well-known, yet its chronic effect on host genitalia... more

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Report of the fourth WHO stakeholders meeting on gambiense and rhodesiense human African trypanosomiasis elimination: virtual meeting, 1–3 June 2021

World Health Organization WHO (2021) C_WHO

Since 2000, concerted efforts by national programmes, supported by public–private partnerships, nongovernmental organizations, donors and academia under the auspices and coordination of the World Health Organization (WHO), have produced important achievements in the control of human African trypan... more

Rethinking the Top-Down Approach to Schistosomiasis Control and Elimination in Sub-Saharan Africa

Onasanya A. et al. (2021) CC

The control and elimination of schistosomiasis have over the last two decades involved several strategies, with the current strategy by the World Health Organization (WHO) focusing mainly on treatment with praziquantel during mass drug administration (MDA). However, the disease context is complex wi... more

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South Africa’s capacity to conduct antimicrobial stewardship

Chetty, S. Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases (2021) CC

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a serious public health threat was globally acknowledged by WHO in 2015, through the launch of the Global Action Plan (GAP). With a limited number of new antibiotics in the developmental pipeline, many countries are in the process of establishing strategies for anti... more

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Human Rights based research into COVID-19 related violations with focus on persons with disabilities

Malawi Human Rights Commission (2021) CC

The goal of the study was to assess the feasibility of the COVID-19 measures and their resultant impact on Persons with Disabilities in Malawi. Specifically, the study addressed the following objectives: a) To evaluate Government’s response to COVID-19 following the adoption of the new measures... more

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National Guidelines for Diabetic Eye Care

Ministry of Health Malawi (2021) CC

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global epidemic with significant morbidity. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the specific microvascular complication of DM and affects 1 in 3 persons with DM. DR remains a leading cause of vision loss in working adult populations. Patients with severe levels of DR are report... more

National Guidelines for Glaucoma Eyecare

Ministry of Health Malawi (2021) CC

Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness globally. In Malawi, glaucoma accounts for 15.8% of the blindness among people aged 50 years and above. Blindness from glaucoma is preventable with early detection and timely treatment. However, glaucoma management remains a challenge to eye care... more

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Capacity building training programme for public health officials in maternal and child health in Ethiopia, Kenya and Malawi

Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health CESH CESH (2021) CC

The purpose of the programme is to build capacity within the public health sector in the field of reproductive, maternal and newborn health. The programme is an on-line training programme including modules on Quality Improvement, Leadership and Management and a Practical project module when the part... more

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Policy options to mitigate a drop in fiscal space for health and HIV following the COVID-19 pandemic — Case studies from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jamaica and Lesotho, November 2020

UNAIDS (2021) CC

To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and HIV expenditure, UNAIDS carried out a modelling study on fiscal space for health and HIV. From a sample of 28 countries, three countries—the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jamaica, and Lesotho—were selected to capture health and HIV ... more

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South African cardiovascular risk stratification guideline for non-cardiac surgery

Alphonsus, C.; Naidoo, N.; Motshabi, P. et al. South African Medical Journal (2021) CC

The South African (SA) guidelines for cardiac patients for non-cardiac surgery were developed to address the need for cardiac risk assessment and risk stratification for elective non-cardiac surgical patients in SA, and more broadly in Africa. The guidelines were developed by updating the Canadian ...Cardiovascular Society Guidelines on Perioperative Cardiac Risk Assessment and Management for Patients Who Undergo Non-cardiac Surgery, with a search of literature from African countries and recent publications. The updated proposed guidelines were then evaluated in a Delphi consensus process by SA anaesthesia and vascular surgical experts. The recommendations in these guidelines are: 1. We suggest that elective non-cardiac surgical patients who are 45 years and older with either a history of coronary artery disease, congestive cardiac failure, stroke or transient ischaemic attack, or vascular surgical patients 18 years or older with peripheral vascular disease require further preoperative risk stratification as their predicted 30-day major adverse cardiac event (MACE) risk exceeds 5% (conditional recommendation: moderate-quality evidence). 2. We do not recommend routine non-invasive testing for cardiovascular risk stratification prior to elective non-cardiac surgery in adults (strong recommendation: low-to-moderate-quality evidence). 3. We recommend that elective non-cardiac surgical patients who are 45 years and older with a history of coronary artery disease, or stroke or transient ischaemic attack, or congestive cardiac failure or vascular surgical patients 18 years or older with peripheral vascular disease should have preoperative natriuretic peptide (NP) screening (strong recommendation: high-quality evidence). 4. We recommend daily postoperative troponin measurements for 48 - 72 hours for non-cardiac surgical patients who are 45 years and older with a history of coronary artery disease, or stroke or transient ischaemic attack, or congestive cardiac failure or vascular surgical patients 18 years or older with peripheral vascular disease, i.e. (i) a baseline risk >5% for MACE 30 days after elective surgery (if no preoperative NP screening), or (ii) an elevated B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)/N-terminal-prohormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) measurement before elective surgery (defined as BNP >99 pg/mL or a NT-proBNP >300 pg/mL) (conditional recommendation: moderate-quality evidence). Additional recommendations are given for the management of myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS) and medications for comorbidities. more

Acting Against Non-communicable Diseases in South Africa: Investing for the Healthier Future

World Health Organization WHO (2021) C_WHO

The growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including disability, violence and injuries, has devastating health consequences for individuals, families and communities and threatens to overwhelm health systems. It is recognized that failure to act on noncommunicable diseases in the short t... more

Guidelines for the management of asthma in adults and adolescents: Position statement of the South African Thoracic Society – 2021 update

Lalloo, U.G.; Kalla, I.S.; Abdool-Gaffar, S. et al. African Journal of Thoracic and Critical Care Medicine (2021) CC

sthma prevalence is increasing worldwide, and surveys indicate that most patients in developed and developing countries, including South Africa, do not receive optimal care and are therefore not well controlled. Standard management guidelines adapted to in-country realities are important to support ... more

A household-based community health worker programme for non-communicable disease, malnutrition, tuberculosis, HIV and maternal health: a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial in Neno Distr

Wroe, E.B.; Nhlema, B.; Dunbar, E.L. et al. BMJ Global Health (2021) CC

Background: Community health worker (CHW) programmes are a valuable component of primary care in resource-poor settings. The evidence supporting their effectiveness generally shows improvements in disease-specific outcomes relative to the absence of a CHW programme. In this study, we evaluated expan... more

Summary of National Priorities - Malawi

Community Health Roadmap United States Agency for International Development; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; The Rockefeller Foundation; World Bank Group; community health acceleration partnership; unicef (2021) CC

Malawi’s first National Community Health Strategy (NCHS, 2017-2022) defines a new community health system in which community health cadres, both formal and non-formal, deliver services of the Essential Health Package, with a focus on child and maternal health. It envisages an integrated approach t... more

Exploring equity and inclusion in Malawi’s National Disability Mainstreaming Strategy and Implementation Plan

Ebuenyi, I.D.; Smith, E.M.; Munthali, A. et al. International Journal for Equity in Health (2021) CC

Background Equity and inclusion are important principles in policy development and implementation. The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which equity and inclusion were considered in the development of Malawi’s National Disability Mainstreaming Strategy and Implementation Plan. Met... more

Asthma in South African adolescents: a time trend and risk factor analysis over two decades

Baard, C.B.; Franckling-Smith, Z.; Munro, J. et al. ERJ Open Research (2021) CC

The article "Asthma in South African adolescents: a time trend and risk factor analysis over two decades" investigates the prevalence and risk factors for asthma in Cape Town adolescents from 2002 to 2017. The study finds that while the overall prevalence of asthma remained similar, the severity of ... more

Task-shifting to improve asthma education for Malawian children: a qualitative analysis

Nkhalamba, L.; Rylance, S.; Muula, S. A. et al. Human Resources for Health (2021) CC

Background Asthma education, a key component of long-term asthma management, is challenging in resource-limited settings with shortages of clinical staff. Task-shifting educational roles to lay (non-clinical) staff is a potential solution. We conducted a randomised controlled trial of an enhanced a... more

Kenya Asthma Management Guideline

Ministry of Health (2021) CC

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... more

Multi-Sector Nutrition Education and Communication Strategy (NECS) II 2021-2025

Government of Malawi; Department of Nutrition; HIV and AIDS Ministry of Health (2021) CC2

The Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS (DNHA) in Ministry of Health and Population is grateful to all stakeholders who contributed to the development of the Nutrition Education Communication Strategy II. The DNHA acknowledges the financial and technical support from the World Bank and USAID throu... more

UNICEF’s HIV Programming in the Context of COVID-19: Building back better for children, adolescents and women

Unicef (2021) CC2

The coronavirus outbreak that began in 2019 (COVID-19) threatens to reverse years of hard-won gains in preventing and treating HIV. Fragile health systems are further stressed as health workers navigate an increased client load and demands at work while also being concerned for their own health and ... more