scholarly journals “Between a Rock and a Hard Place”: The Coronavirus, Livelihoods, and Socioeconomic Upheaval in Harare’s High-Density Areas of Zimbabwe

2021 ◽  
pp. 0169796X2110300
Author(s):  
Eric Kushinga Makombe
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
High Density ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Socioeconomic Outcomes ◽  
Economic Anxiety ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Broad Objective

For Zimbabwe, the confirmed Covid-19 deaths for 2020 numbered in the hundreds, not thousands. Still, Covid-19 could not have come at a worse time owing to a myriad of crises the country was going through. As a result, the Covid-19 pandemic was much more than a public health crisis as it threatened already vulnerable people, putting lives and livelihoods at risk. This article focuses on the socioeconomic impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic, examining the social pattern of its unfolding and impact, analyzing the institutional and communal responses to the disease, and marking the effects of its aftermath in Harare’s high-density residential spaces. The research design captures a broad empirical picture of what was happening by specifically drawing on case study examples from Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe. The broad objective of the research brings out how low-income households experienced the Covid-19 pandemic compared to higher-income households as informed by sex-based differences, access to healthcare, and food. It also captures the differential impacts and inequalities in socioeconomic outcomes, livelihoods, poverty reduction, and human development informing these household experiences. Beyond this, the study captures and highlights how the Covid-19 crisis led to widespread instances of food insecurity, economic anxiety, and general disenfranchisement from alternative sources of income that, in turn, created further social upheaval. The last strand of this article exposes the implications of some of the public health measures instituted in attempts to tackle Covid-19.

Eating NAFTA

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyshia Gálvez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Food System ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The North ◽  
The World

In the two decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, Mexico has seen an epidemic of diet-related illness. While globalization has been associated with an increase in chronic disease around the world, in Mexico, the speed and scope of the rise has been called a public health emergency. The shift in Mexican foodways is happening at a moment when the country’s ancestral cuisine is now more popular and appreciated around the world than ever. What does it mean for their health and well-being when many Mexicans eat fewer tortillas and more instant noodles, while global elites demand tacos made with handmade corn tortillas? This book examines the transformation of the Mexican food system since NAFTA and how it has made it harder for people to eat as they once did. The book contextualizes NAFTA within Mexico’s approach to economic development since the Revolution, noticing the role envisioned for rural and low-income people in the path to modernization. Examination of anti-poverty and public health policies in Mexico reveal how it has become easier for people to consume processed foods and beverages, even when to do so can be harmful to health. The book critiques Mexico’s strategy for addressing the public health crisis generated by rising rates of chronic disease for blaming the dietary habits of those whose lives have been upended by the economic and political shifts of NAFTA.

Curating the Evidence About COVID-19 for Frontline Public Health and Clinical Care: The Novel Coronavirus Research Compendium

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492110587
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Redd ◽  
Lauren S. Peetluk ◽  
Brooke A. Jarrett ◽  
Colleen Hanrahan ◽  
Sheree Schwartz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Successful Model ◽  
Medical Response ◽  
Public Consumption ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

The public health crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a deluge of scientific research aimed at informing the public health and medical response to the pandemic. However, early in the pandemic, those working in frontline public health and clinical care had insufficient time to parse the rapidly evolving evidence and use it for decision-making. Academics in public health and medicine were well-placed to translate the evidence for use by frontline clinicians and public health practitioners. The Novel Coronavirus Research Compendium (NCRC), a group of >60 faculty and trainees across the United States, formed in March 2020 with the goal to quickly triage and review the large volume of preprints and peer-reviewed publications on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 and summarize the most important, novel evidence to inform pandemic response. From April 6 through December 31, 2020, NCRC teams screened 54 192 peer-reviewed articles and preprints, of which 527 were selected for review and uploaded to the NCRC website for public consumption. Most articles were peer-reviewed publications (n = 395, 75.0%), published in 102 journals; 25.1% (n = 132) of articles reviewed were preprints. The NCRC is a successful model of how academics translate scientific knowledge for practitioners and help build capacity for this work among students. This approach could be used for health problems beyond COVID-19, but the effort is resource intensive and may not be sustainable in the long term.

scholarly journals Lessons earned and lessons learned: What should be done next to counter the COVID-19 infodemic?

European View ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-163
Author(s):  
Nad’a Kovalčíková ◽  
Ariane Tabatabai
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Societal Challenges ◽  
The World ◽  
Information Manipulation ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

As governments and citizens around the world have struggled with the novel coronavirus, the information space has turned into a battleground. Authoritarian countries, including Russia, China and Iran, have spread disinformation on the causes of and responses to the pandemic. The over-abundance of information, also referred to as an ‘infodemic’, including manipulated information, has been both a cause and a result of the exacerbation of the public health crisis. It is further undermining trust in democratic institutions, the independent press, and facts and data, and exacerbating the rising tensions driven by economic, political and societal challenges. This article discusses the challenges democracies have faced and the measures they have adopted to counter information manipulation that impedes public health efforts. It draws seven lessons learned from the information war and offers a set of recommendations on tackling future infodemics related to public health.

scholarly journals Coronavirus Pandemic: a major public health crisis for the developed and developing world

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. 366-369
Author(s):  
Rooh Ullah ◽  
Muhammad Suleman Rana ◽  
Mehmood Qadir ◽  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Niaz Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Viral Infection ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
The World ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Day By Day

Pandemic of novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in China is now become global public health crisis. At present 87.64% of the world is infected by this deadly illness. The risk from this epidemic depends on the nature of the virus, including how well it transmits from person to person, and the complications resulting from this current illness. The novel coronavirus has killed thousands of people in China and other countries as well; its rate of mortality is increasing day by day. There is an urgent need to control the virus by developing vaccine or any other antiviral drugs to save the world from this deadly viral infection.

scholarly journals Early surveillance and public health emergency disposal measures between novel coronavirus disease 2019 and avian influenza in China: a case-comparison study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiantian Zhang ◽  
Wenming Shi ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Ge Bai ◽  
Ruiming Dai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Avian Influenza ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Comparison Study ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Case Comparison ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
And Control

AbstractBackgroundThe novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is spreading rapidly throughout China and the world. Hence, early surveillance and public health emergency disposal are considered crucial to curb this emerging infectious disease. However, studies that investigated the early surveillance and public health emergency disposal for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 outbreak in China are relatively few. We aimed to compare the strengths and weaknesses of early surveillance and public health emergency disposal for prevention and control between COVID-19 and H7N9 avian influenza, which was commended by the international community, in China.MethodsA case-comparison study was conducted using a set of six key time nodes to form a reference framework for evaluating early surveillance and public health emergency disposal between H7N9 avian influenza (2013) in Shanghai, China and COVID-19 in Wuhan, China.FindingsA report to the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China, for the first hospitalized patient was sent after 6 and 20 days for H7N9 avian influenza and COVID-19, respectively. In contrast, the pathogen was identified faster in the case of COVID-19 than in the case of H7N9 avian influenza (12 days vs. 31 days). The government response regarding COVID-19 was 10 days later than that regarding avian influenza. The entire process of early surveillance and public health emergency disposal lasted 5 days longer in COVID-19 than in H7N9 avian influenza (46 days vs. 41 days).ConclusionsThe identification of the unknown pathogen improved in China between the outbreaks of avian influenza and COVID-19. The longer emergency disposal period in the case of COVID-19 could be attributed to the government’s slower response to the epidemic. Improving public health emergency management could lessen the adverse social effects of emerging infectious diseases and public health crisis in the future.ContributorsTZ, WS, and LL designed the project, processed and analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. YW, GB, RD, and QW edited the manuscript. All authors revised the draft.

scholarly journals An Interim Report on the Dental Practice Management: COVID-19

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Somar Mirinal ◽  
Mohadeb-Somar Jhassu Varsha Naveena ◽  
Somar Mirinal
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
New Public Health ◽  
Transmission Modes ◽  
New Public ◽  
Isolation Management ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

There is a new public health crisis threatening the world with the emergence and spread of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Due to the specialty of oral healthcare settings, the risk of cross infection is severe among patients and oral healthcare practitioners as they work in close proximity to their patients employing droplet and aerosol generating procedures. The transmission modes of SARS-coronavirus appear to be through droplet spread and close contact. Although the principle of universal precautions is widely advocated and followed throughout the dental community, it is not sufficient to help control the spread of this highly contagious disease. Management protocols must be modified to minimize public health risks. This includes the identification, isolation, management and report of possible and probable cases and contacts. Patient assessment should include questions on recent travel to infected areas and, contacts of patients, fever and symptoms of respiratory infections. Hence, there is a need for strict and efficient infection control protocols as the patient may be symptomatic as well as asymptomatic.

Delhi’s public health crisis and the neglect of urbanisation

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Turok
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Civil Society Organisations

India’s capital city Delhi is facing an unprecedented public health crisis that is not receiving sufficient government attention. Rapid urbanisation is part of the challenge. For too long public authorities have neglected the needs of its expanding poor communities for decent and dignified living conditions. Meanwhile, affluent groups benefit from various government privileges that seem difficult to justify. One way of disrupting the inertia is for civil society organisations to engage communities in building a compelling evidence base to hold decision-makers to account and demand social change.

Understanding COVID-19 – The Pandemic of 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 94-102
Author(s):  
Prasaath Sastha K R ◽  
Balasubramanian Arul ◽  
Ramalingam Kothai
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
World Health ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Unknown Etiology ◽  
Director General ◽  
Causative Organism ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The World ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

It all started in December 2019, a seafood market in Wuhan, China, with a series of pneumonia alike cases admitted with severe acute respiratory depression. Since they were unable to detect the precise cause, they named it "Pneumonia of unknown etiology". Later it was identified as SARS COV 2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome – coronavirus 2). At first, the disease spread locally affecting the people of Wuhan, and then started spreading throughout China, creating a worldwide panic. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 in China as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from China and local healthcare units organized an intensive outbreak investigation program. The causative organism of this infection is a new virus that belongs to the “coronavirus (CoV)” family. After which the disease was called nCoV-19 (Novel coronavirus – 19). On February 11, 2020, the WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, renamed the disease as "COVID-19," which is the acronym of "coronavirus disease 2019". Viral epidemics like SARS-CoV in 2002, H1N1 influenza in 2009, and the most recent one the MERS-CoV Middle East Respiratory Distress Syndrome Coronavirus (first identified in Saudi Arabia) in 2012 threatened the health of mankind in the past two decades. All of these were successfully prevented by systematically approaching the problem to solve it. Healthcare professionals around the world are well trained to manage any type of health crisis. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 as a "PANDEMIC" pointing to over 118,000 cases and 80,000 dead in 110 countries or more. In a media briefing, the WHO Director General said: "This is not just a public health crisis, it is a crisis that will touch every sector, so every sector and every individual must be involved in the fight."

scholarly journals Early Surveillance and Public Health Emergency Responses Between Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Avian Influenza in China: A Case-Comparison Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiantian Zhang ◽  
Qian Wang ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Ge Bai ◽  
Ruiming Dai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Avian Influenza ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Comparison Study ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Case Comparison ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Background: Since the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been a worldwide pandemic, the early surveillance and public health emergency disposal are considered crucial to curb this emerging infectious disease. However, studies of COVID-19 on this topic in China are relatively few.Methods: A case-comparison study was conducted using a set of six key time nodes to form a reference framework for evaluating early surveillance and public health emergency disposal between H7N9 avian influenza (2013) in Shanghai and COVID-19 in Wuhan, China.Findings: A report to the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China, for the first hospitalized patient was sent after 6 and 20 days for H7N9 avian influenza and COVID-19, respectively. In contrast, the pathogen was identified faster in the case of COVID-19 than in the case of H7N9 avian influenza (12 vs. 31 days). The government response to COVID-19 was 10 days later than that to avian influenza. The entire process of early surveillance and public health emergency disposal lasted 5 days longer in COVID-19 than in H7N9 avian influenza (46 vs. 41 days).Conclusions: The identification of the unknown pathogen improved in China between the outbreaks of avian influenza and COVID-19. The longer emergency disposal period in the case of COVID-19 could be attributed to the government's slower response to the epidemic. Improving public health emergency management could lessen the adverse social effects of emerging infectious diseases and public health crisis in the future.

scholarly journals Beyond the Disease: Contextualized Implications of COVID-19 for Children and Young People Living in Eastern and Southern Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaymarlin Govender ◽  
Richard G. Cowden ◽  
Patrick Nyamruze ◽  
Russell Armstrong ◽  
Luann Hatane
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

The COVID-19 pandemic has created extraordinary challenges and prompted remarkable social changes around the world. The implications of the novel coronavirus and the public health control measures that have been implemented to mitigate its impact are likely to be accompanied by a unique set of consequences for specific populations living in low income-countries that have fragile health systems and pervasive social-structural vulnerabilities. This paper discusses the implications of COVID-19 and related public health interventions for children and young people living in Eastern and Southern Africa. Actionable prevention, care, and health promotion initiatives are proposed to attenuate the negative effects of the pandemic and government-enforced movement restrictions on children and young people.

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