scholarly journals COVID-19 and its intersect with ethics and human rights in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (07) ◽  
pp. 910-12
Author(s):  
Farai Mutenherwa ◽  
Rouzeh Eghtessadi ◽  
Tafadzwa Dzinamarira ◽  
Godfrey Musuka
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Restrictive Measures

Confirmed new cases of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have accelerated in Sub-Saharan Africa against a backdrop of fragile health systems, a high burden of comorbidities and socioeconomic instability. The context makes the region particularly vulnerable to the virus and its impact. As cases escalate, the need to tailor-make COVID-19-related response strategies to the African context is imperative. This paper aims to discuss key considerations on the public health response to the pandemic and its intersection with ethics and human rights. With this perspective, we bring attention to the conflict between healthcare workers’ obligations and patient rights under the unclear policy and regulatory frameworks and the application of restrictive measures in the context of poverty. The indirect effects of the pandemic on already existing health problems are also highlighted. We appeal to the African States to establish appropriate systems which integrate human rights-based approaches to COVID-19 response. These systems should be ethically sound systems and ensure no-one is left behind in terms of testing, access to therapeutics and vaccination, and social protection; based on lessons learned over the past 12 months of the pandemic’s presence in SSA, and patterns emerging across the globe.

Das Recht auf soziale Sicherung nach der VN Behindertenrechtskonvention und dessen Implementierung in Uganda und Ghana

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Groß
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
State Obligations ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Right ◽  
Human Rights Based Approach

‘Disability may increase the risk of poverty, and poverty may increase the risk of disability.’ Breaking this cycle is a major challenge for the international community, especially the countries of the Global South. As the most recent human rights treaty of the United Nations, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities also specifies the right to social protection. This study deals with the question of to what extent a human rights-based approach characterised by need orientation and accessibility can be derived from specific state obligations. In addition, it examines the efforts to implement such an approach in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this context, the study shows that it has been possible to both develop innovative concepts that consider the realities of the lives of local people with disabilities in Uganda and Ghana and, at the same time, to ensure the implementation of international human rights law in those two countries.

scholarly journals Relative burdens of the COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID BELL ◽  
Kristian Schultz Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Life Years ◽  
African Populations ◽  
Life Years Lost ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Hiv Aids

Objectives: While the COVID-19 pandemic has had considerable global impact, recorded mortality in sub-Saharan Africa has been relatively low. Ensuring the public health response creates overall benefit is therefore critical. However, the highly age-dependent nature of COVID-19 mortality makes comparisons of disease burden challenging unless considered in terms of metrics that incorporate life years lost and time lived in adverse health. We therefore assessed the relative disease burdens of COVID-19 and the three major epidemic-causing pathogens; malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, in sub-Saharan Africa. Design: We compared estimates of 2020 disease burdens in sub-Saharan African populations in terms of mortality and Disability-Adjusted Life Years lost (DALYs) for COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, applying known age-related mortality to UN estimates of sub-Saharan population age structure. We further compared exacerbations of these diseases predicted to occur through the COVID-19 public health response. Data was derived from public sources, predicted disease exacerbations from those published by international agencies. Main outcome measures: Mortality and DALYs lost Results: For sub-Saharan African populations north of South Africa, recorded COVID-19 DALYs lost in 2020 was 2.0%, 1.2% and 1.3% of those estimated for tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria respectively. The predicted exacerbations alone of each of these comparator diseases were greater than the estimated COVID-19 burden. Including South Africa and Lesotho, COVID-19 DALYs lost were ≤6% of each of these predicted disease burdens and dominated by them in all age groups below 70 years. Conclusions: The analysis here suggests a relatively low impact from COVID-19. While all four epidemics continue, concentration on COVID-19 runs a high risk of increasing the overall health burden, further increasing global inequities in health and life expectancy, and needs to be guided by clear economic evaluation.

scholarly journals Community-driven citizen science approach to explore cardiovascular disease risk perception, and develop prevention advocacy strategies in sub-Saharan Africa: a programme protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kufre Joseph Okop ◽  
Kathy Murphy ◽  
Estelle Victoria Lambert ◽  
Kiya Kedir ◽  
Hailemichael Getachew ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease Risk ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Background In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which experiences a disproportionately high cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden, population-based screening and prevention measures are hampered by low levels of knowledge about CVD and associated risk factors, and inaccurate perceptions of severity of risk. Methods This protocol describes the planned processes for implementing community-driven participatory research, using a citizen science method to explore CVD risk perceptions and to develop community-specific advocacy and prevention strategies in the rural and urban SSA settings. Multi-disciplinary research teams in four selected African countries will engage with and train community members living in rural and urban communities as citizen scientists to facilitate conceptualization, co-designing of research, data gathering, and co-creation of knowledge that can lead to a shared agenda to support collaborative participation in community-engaged science. The emphasis is on robust community engagement, using mobile technology to support data gathering, participatory learning, and co-creation of knowledge and disease prevention advocacy. Discussion Contextual processes applied and lessons learned in specific settings will support redefining or disassembling boundaries in participatory science to foster effective implementation of sustainable prevention intervention programmes in Low- and Middle-income countries.

scholarly journals Conducting clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and lessons learned from the Malawi Cryptosporidium study

Trials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neema Toto ◽  
Elaine Douglas ◽  
Markus Gmeiner ◽  
Lynn K. Barrett ◽  
Robert Lindblad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Social Protection in Sub-Saharan Africa: Will the Green Shoots Blossom?

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Angel Niño-Zarazúa ◽  
Armando Barrientos ◽  
David Hulme ◽  
Sam Hickey
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan

Not your typical “historian”

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 523-533
Author(s):  
Adrienne Lefevre ◽  
Madison Walter-Garcia ◽  
Kimberly Hanson ◽  
Julia Smith-Easley
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Incident Management ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Health Community ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Purpose In the incident command system (ICS) structure, response documentation is formally found within the planning section. However, longer term emergency responses have demonstrated the need for a flexible and innovative role that encompasses a variety of activities, including response documentation, communications science, real-time evaluation of major themes, and information management. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This need can be universally met through the functional role of “Historian,” a term specific to ICS, or in the case of public health response, incident management system (IMS). It should be noted that the Historian role discussed is not related to the academic study of history, but to archiving key successes and challenges during a response. Ideally the Historian should be activated at the start of an emergency response and remain active to capture the overall picture of the response, including internal information, such as lessons learned, response activities, and decision-making processes. Findings The Historian compiles details of response activities that inform leadership, donors and external communications products while alleviating pressures on the planning section. The primary, minimum output of an IMS Historian is a response timeline, which notes major internal and external events during a response with emphasis on major themes, lessons learned, and creating a user-friendly interface to display this information (see the list “Abbreviated Example of Hurricane Matthew Response Timeline” in the text). Originality/value In a world with competing priorities and ongoing emergencies, the Historian’s role of archiving details of response efforts can help the international public health community to share lessons learned and contribute to lower morbidity and mortality among those affected by emergencies.

scholarly journals Public health response and lessons learned from the 2014 chikungunya epidemic in Grenada

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin S Forde ◽  
Francis Martin ◽  
George Mitchell ◽  
Satesh Bidaisee
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Vector Control ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Epidemiological Surveillance ◽  
Mosquito Vector ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Island State ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Multiple Challenges

In June 2014, the first cases of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) were diagnosed on the island of Carriacou, part of the tri-island state of Grenada. In the three months that followed, CHIKV spread rapidly, with conservative estimates of the population infected of at least 60%. Multiple challenges were encountered in the battle to manage the spread and impact of this high–attack rate virus, including 1) limited indigenous laboratory diagnostic capabilities; 2) an under-resourced health care system; 3) a skeptical general public, hesitant to accept facts about the origin and mode of transmission of the new virus; and 4) resistance to the vector control strategies used. Lessons learned from the outbreak included the need for 1) a robust and reliable epidemiological surveillance system; 2) effective strategies for communicating with the general population; 3) exploration of other methods of mosquito vector control; and 4) a careful review of all health care policies and protocols to ensure that effective, organized responses are triggered when an infectious outbreak occurs.

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