Faculty Opinions recommendation of Translating research into policy: lessons learned from eclampsia treatment and malaria control in three southern African countries.

Adoption of development agendas at different levels – national, regional, continental, and global level – has led to an unprecedented increase in demand for official statistics. This increase has not only brought to the fore a litany of challenges facing National Statistical Systems (NSSs) in Africa but also it has created opportunities for strengthening statistical production and development. This paper underscores the need for countries to take full advantage of these opportunities and increase investments in statistics, undertake data innovation, and expand and diversify data ecosystems, leveraging on the foundations of the data revolution for sustainable development and in line with current international statistical frameworks. The paper posits that these improvements will not happen coincidentally nor through ad hoc, piecemeal and uncoordinated approaches. Rather they will happen through more systematic, coordinated and multi-sectoral approaches to statistical development. The National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) is presented as a comprehensive and robust framework for building statistical capacity and turning around NSSs in African countries. The paper unpacks the NSDS; elaborates the NSDS processes including; mainstreaming sectors into the NSDS, the stages of the NSDS lifecycle and the role of leadership in the NSDS proces; highlights NSDS extension; presents the design and implementation challenges, and the key lessons learned from the NSDS processes in Africa in the last 15 years or so.

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Competing interests, clashing ideas and institutionalizing influence: insights into the political economy of malaria control from seven African countries

Health Policy and Planning ◽

10.1093/heapol/czaa166 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Justin Parkhurst ◽

Ludovica Ghilardi ◽

Jayne Webster ◽

Robert W Snow ◽

Caroline A Lynch

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Malaria Control ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

African Countries ◽

Health Community ◽

Control Programmes ◽

Control Decision ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Economic Considerations

Abstract This article explores how malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa is shaped in important ways by political and economic considerations within the contexts of aid-recipient nations and the global health community. Malaria control is often assumed to be a technically driven exercise: the remit of public health experts and epidemiologists who utilize available data to select the most effective package of activities given available resources. Yet research conducted with national and international stakeholders shows how the realities of malaria control decision-making are often more nuanced. Hegemonic ideas and interests of global actors, as well as the national and global institutional arrangements through which malaria control is funded and implemented, can all influence how national actors respond to malaria. Results from qualitative interviews in seven malaria-endemic countries indicate that malaria decision-making is constrained or directed by multiple competing objectives, including a need to balance overarching global goals with local realities, as well as a need for National Malaria Control Programmes to manage and coordinate a range of non-state stakeholders who may divide up regions and tasks within countries. Finally, beyond the influence that political and economic concerns have over programmatic decisions and action, our analysis further finds that malaria control efforts have institutionalized systems, structures and processes that may have implications for local capacity development.

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Deploying triple artemisinin-based combination therapy (TACT) for malaria treatment in Africa: ethical and practical considerations

Malaria Journal ◽

10.1186/s12936-021-03649-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Paulina Tindana ◽

Freek de Haan ◽

Chanaki Amaratunga ◽

Mehul Dhorda ◽

Rob W. van der Pluijm ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Resistance ◽

Combination Therapy ◽

Southeast Asia ◽

Malaria Control ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Line Treatment ◽

African Continent ◽

First Line ◽

First Line Treatment ◽

Made In

AbstractMalaria remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa, particularly in children under five years of age. Availability of effective anti-malarial drug treatment is a cornerstone for malaria control and eventual malaria elimination. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is worldwide the first-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria, but the ACT drugs are starting to fail in Southeast Asia because of drug resistance. Resistance to artemisinins and their partner drugs could spread from Southeast Asia to Africa or emerge locally, jeopardizing the progress made in malaria control with the increasing deployment of ACT in Africa. The development of triple artemisinin-based combination therapy (TACT) could contribute to mitigating the risks of artemisinin and partner drug resistance on the African continent. However, there are pertinent ethical and practical issues that ought to be taken into consideration. In this paper, the most important ethical tensions, some implementation practicalities and preliminary thoughts on addressing them are discussed. The discussion draws upon data from randomized clinical studies using TACT combined with ethical principles, published literature and lessons learned from the introduction of artemisinin-based combinations in African markets.

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Russian aircrews in Africa (eyewitness narrative accounts)

Азия и Африка сегодня ◽

10.31857/s032150750013880-0 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 69

Author(s):

Natalya S. Ulanova

Keyword(s):

Lessons Learned ◽

Highly Qualified ◽

Flight Crew ◽

African Countries ◽

Contract Work ◽

Cultural Conditions ◽

Doing Business ◽

Civil Aircraft ◽

Local Residents ◽

Market Relations

The last decade of the 20th century saw another boom in the supply of Soviet-made civil aircraft to the countries of Africa. Hundreds of highly qualified aviation specialists from all post-Soviet states were involved in its operation and maintenance. Market relations, new for many of them, the aggressive way of doing business on the part of entrepreneurs, as well as the complicated military and political situation in some regions, have led to the formation of a certain type of business and personal relationships. Lessons learned over the thirty years of work in special economic and socio-cultural conditions are still actual. Nevertheless, this aspect of Russia-Africa relations remains one of the least studied. Analysis of the narratives of the eyewitnesses - pilots, flight engineers, translators - is still the only way to know more about some hallmarks of the African aviation market, which still has a significant shadow segment. For this study the narratives of a Russian flight engineer who has worked as a flight crew member in various African countries for more than ten years were collected. The recollections presented relate to the first organized trip to South Africa and Mozambique in 1992, and to the later period of private contract work in Angola and Rwanda, and are interesting because they trace the formation of psychological and ethnocultural aspects of business and personal contacts with the employers, local residents and co-workers.

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Seeking Research Questions from Implementers: Considerations for Leveraging Ground Actors Research Needs in the Fight against Malaria in West Africa.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-65587/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Tete Sitou Amouh ◽

Saidou Malam Ekoye ◽

Césaire Damien Ahanhanzo ◽

Tinga Robert Guiguemdé ◽

Issiaka Sombié

Keyword(s):

West Africa ◽

World Bank ◽

Malaria Control ◽

Program Implementation ◽

Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽

Control Program ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

African Countries ◽

Malaria Control Program ◽

Research Questions

Abstract In Sahel countries in West Africa malaria remains a public health scourge. To strengthen the fight against malaria, weaknesses, and solutions must be identified before programs implementation. This study reports experiences gained from collaborations between decision-makers and researchers. This project was undertaken in the framework of the regional World Bank funded project titled: Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases in the Sahel (SM/NTD). The objectives of this World Bank program are to identifying bottlenecks in program implementation as well as the related research questions they enticed. National malaria control program managers and prioritization workshops were used as working method to identify research questions. These identified priority research questions were implemented in selected countries. The results of this study showed that priority issues were related to prevention, governance, drugs, monitoring, and evaluation of programs. The first five priority questions were related to (1) factors of compliance with drug doses for the second and third days during the seasonal chemoprevention (SMC) campaigns, (2) the contribution of community-based distributors to the management of severe cases of malaria in under 5 years-old children, (3) the SMC efficacy, (4) artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACTs) tolerance and efficacy according to existing guidelines, and (5) the quality of malaria control at all levels of the health system. In conclusion, this work showed the effectiveness of collaboration between implementers, programs managers, and researchers in identifying research questions. Furthermore, the results of this study will contribute to improve the implementation of malaria control programs across African countries.

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Cultural Considerations for the Adaptation of a Diabetes Self-Management Education Program in Cotonou, Benin: Lessons Learned from a Qualitative Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18168376 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (16) ◽

pp. 8376

Author(s):

Halimatou Alaofè ◽

Sarah Yeo ◽

Abidemi Okechukwu ◽

Priscilla Magrath ◽

Waliou Amoussa Hounkpatin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fruits And Vegetables ◽

Financial Burden ◽

Cultural Beliefs ◽

Management Program ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Self Management ◽

African Countries ◽

Treatment Information ◽

Culturally Sensitive Interventions ◽

Sub Saharan

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) poses a disproportionate burden on Benin, West Africa. However, no diabetes intervention has yet been developed for Benin’s contexts. This study aimed to explore specific cultural beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and environmental factors to help adapt a diabetes self-management program to patients with T2D from Cotonou, in southern Benin. Methods: Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions (FDGs) involving 32 patients with T2D, 16 academic partners, and 12 community partners. The FDGs were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim from French to English, and then analyzed thematically with MAXQDA 2020. Results: Healthy food was challenging to obtain due to costs, seasonality, and distance from markets. Other issues discussed were fruits and vegetables as commodities for the poor, perceptions and stigmas surrounding the disease, and the financial burden of medical equipment and treatment. Information about local food selections and recipes as well as social support, particularly for physical activity, were identified, among other needs. When adapting the curriculum, gender dynamics and spirituality were suggested. Conclusions: The study demonstrates the need for culturally sensitive interventions and a motivation-based approach to health (spiritual and emotional support). It also lays the groundwork for addressing T2D contextually in Benin and similar sub-Saharan African countries.

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Earth observation in support of malaria control and epidemiology: MALAREO monitoring approaches

Geospatial health ◽

10.4081/gh.2015.335 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Jonas Franke ◽

Michael Gebreslasie ◽

Ides Bauwens ◽

Julie Deleu ◽

Florian Siegert

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Vector Control ◽

Malaria Control ◽

Malaria Incidence ◽

Modern Technology ◽

Earth Observation ◽

Malaria Vector Control ◽

Support Vector ◽

African Countries ◽

Control Programmes

Malaria affects about half of the world’s population, with the vast majority of cases occuring in Africa. National malaria control programmes aim to reduce the burden of malaria and its negative, socioeconomic effects by using various control strategies (<em>e.g.</em> vector control, environmental management and case tracking). Vector control is the most effective transmission prevention strategy, while environmental factors are the key parameters affecting transmission. Geographic information systems (GIS), earth observation (EO) and spatial modelling are increasingly being recognised as valuable tools for effective management and malaria vector control. Issues previously inhibiting the use of EO in epidemiology and malaria control such as poor satellite sensor performance, high costs and long turnaround times, have since been resolved through modern technology. The core goal of this study was to develop and implement the capabilities of EO data for national malaria control programmes in South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique. High- and very high resolution (HR and VHR) land cover and wetland maps were generated for the identification of potential vector habitats and human activities, as well as geoinformation on distance to wetlands for malaria risk modelling, population density maps, habitat foci maps and VHR household maps. These products were further used for modelling malaria incidence and the analysis of environmental factors that favour vector breeding. Geoproducts were also transferred to the staff of national malaria control programmes in seven African countries to demonstrate how EO data and GIS can support vector control strategy planning and monitoring. The transferred EO products support better epidemiological understanding of environmental factors related to malaria transmission, and allow for spatio-temporal targeting of malaria control interventions, thereby improving the cost-effectiveness of interventions.

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