Health Topics
- Supporting the Manufacturing of Medical Supplies in Africa: Collaboration Between Africa CDC, Partners, and Member States
Inadequate supply of PPE, vaccines, and diagnostics during the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa created an opportunity to promote local manufacturing. Authors describe Africa CDC's contributions and highlight strategies for strengthening the pandemic response.
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Product Procurement, Prices, and Supply Chain in Zimbabwe: Lessons for Supply Chain Resiliency
The authors document how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted medical product supply chain and procurement in Zimbabwe, impacting medicine access and prices. Policies and interventions are needed to ensure ongoing supply chain resilience.
- Is Early Childhood Development Care at Public Health Facilities in Pakistan Effective? A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
An integrated early childhood development care intervention effectively reduced global development delays and improved growth outcomes in rural Pakistan.
- Unveiling Maternal Health Insights During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Pakistan: Using Causal Loop Diagrams to Illuminate and Prevent Unintended Policy Effects
The authors explain that using causal loop diagrams can visualize retrospectively the unintended negative consequences of COVID-19 related policies on maternal health and has potential to be used prospectively to foster decision-making to prevent those consequences.
- Measuring Effects of Counseling to Increase Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Adherence and Partner Support in South Africa Using the Healthy Relationship Assessment Tool
Authors examined the effectiveness of the Healthy Relationship Assessment Tool to guide counselors in supporting women to address relationship-related challenges to pre-exposure prophylaxis adherence and measured women's score changes after counseling over time.
- Strengthening Integrated Approaches for Family Planning and Menstrual Health
FP and menstrual health integration has the potential to improve individuals' health and well-being. The authors describe potential ways to integrate FP and menstrual health, outlining steps that stakeholders can take in designing integrated approaches.
- Health System Strengthening Through Professional Midwives in Bangladesh: Best Practices, Challenges, and Successes
The authors detail the establishment of the profession of globally standard midwives deployed into the national health care system in Bangladesh that improved the quality and availability of sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, and adolescent health services.
- Software Tools to Facilitate Community-Based Surveillance: A Scoping Review
Authors of this review identified software tools that could be used for community-based public health surveillance and facilitate faster communication of potential outbreaks, reporting, and coordination of response efforts.
- Exploring the Adaptations of the Free Maternity Policy Implementation by Health Workers and County Officials in Kenya
To achieve the objectives of the free maternity policy in Kenya and overcome implementation challenges, health care workers and county officials—as policy implementers—covertly and unofficially developed local arrangements and adaptive strategies.
- Lessons Learned From Building a Global Health Partnership on Obstetric Care in Madagascar
The authors share experiences of a global health partnership that worked to promote equity through a commitment to shared values and goals, engagement and communication, and mutual trust and respect.