scholarly journals Evaluation of the Malaria Surveillance System in Kaduna State, Nigeria 2016

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Baffa S. Ibrahim ◽  
Aisha A. Abubakar ◽  
Ummulkhulthum A. Bajoga ◽  
Patrick M. Nguku
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Malaria Surveillance ◽  
Case Definitions ◽  
Malaria Burden ◽  
Mortality Case ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Public Health Surveillance System

ObjectiveTo describe the process of operation of the system and assessits key attributes, to determine the effectiveness and efficiency ofthe surveillance system and make appropriate recommendations tostakeholders for its improvement.IntroductionMalaria is a parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium falciparum.About 3.2 billion people worldwide are at risk of malaria.1Childrenand pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to the disease. Sub-Saharan Africa carries a high share of the global malaria burden.2Effective malaria surveillance system is essential in the control andelimination of malaria. Worldwide, there were an estimated 198million cases of malaria in 2013 and 584,000 deaths.1,3,4MethodsThis study was conducted using the “CDC’s Updated Guidelinesfor Evaluating Public Health Surveillance System, 2001”. Keystakeholders and Malaria Focal Persons were interviewed. IntegratedDisease Surveillance and Response case summary data from Januaryto December 2014 was reviewed. Data analysis was done usingMicrosoft Excel 2016 and Epi-info 7.ResultsThe system provides information on malaria trends, morbidityand mortality. Case definitions are well understood by participants.All Malaria focal persons (MFPs) were willing to continue usingthe system. Standardized data collection tools are available in 91%of Health Facilities (HF). The system was rated flexible by 91%of MFPs. The system was however not representative because datawere essentially from public health facilities only. The system hasan average timeliness of 37.7% and completeness of 59.4%, bothparameters were below the State’s 80% target. About 91% MFPs hadrefresher training, while 78% MFPs received supportive supervision.Main challenges identified were lack of commodities in all HFs, andinadequate mobile facilities in 70% of HFs.ConclusionsThe Kaduna state Malaria surveillance system is meeting itsobjectives. However, challenges are observed in its timeliness,representativeness, and data quality. Efforts should be made tointegrate tertiary and private health facilities into the system. MFPsneed more training on malaria reporting to improve timeliness anddata quality. There is the need to improve on the supply of malariatreatment commodities to all health facilities within Kaduna state.

scholarly journals Public health-relevant consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on malaria in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Katharina Heuschen ◽  
Guangyu Lu ◽  
Oliver Razum ◽  
Alhassan Abdul-Mumin ◽  
Osman Sankoh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Malaria Prevention ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Clinical Aspects ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Malaria Burden ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented challenges to health systems worldwide, including the control of non-COVID-19 diseases. Malaria cases and deaths may increase due to the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic in malaria-endemic countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This scoping review aims to summarize information on public health-relevant effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the malaria situation in SSA. Methods Review of publications and manuscripts on preprint servers, in peer-reviewed journals and in grey literature documents from 1 December, 2019 to 9 June, 2021. A structured search was conducted on different databases using predefined eligibility criteria for the selection of articles. Results A total of 51 papers have been included in the analysis. Modelling papers have predicted a significant increase in malaria cases and malaria deaths in SSA due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many papers provided potential explanations for expected COVID-19 effects on the malaria burden; these ranged from relevant diagnostical and clinical aspects to reduced access to health care services, impaired availability of curative and preventive commodities and medications, and effects on malaria prevention campaigns. Compared to previous years, fewer country reports provided data on the actual number of malaria cases and deaths in 2020, with mixed results. While highly endemic countries reported evidence of decreased malaria cases in health facilities, low endemic countries reported overall higher numbers of malaria cases and deaths in 2020. Conclusions The findings from this review provide evidence for a significant but diverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on malaria in SSA. There is the need to further investigate the public health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the malaria burden. Protocol registered on Open Science Framework: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/STQ9D

scholarly journals A spatial database of health facilities managed by the public health sector in sub Saharan Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Maina ◽  
Paul O. Ouma ◽  
Peter M. Macharia ◽  
Victor A. Alegana ◽  
Benard Mitto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Spatial Database ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Sector ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Public health relevant consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on malaria in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Katharina Heuschen ◽  
Guangyu Lu ◽  
Oliver Razum ◽  
Alhassan Abdul-Mumin ◽  
Osman Sankoh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Malaria Prevention ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Clinical Aspects ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Malaria Burden ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented challenges to health systems worldwide, including the control of non-COVID-19 diseases. Malaria cases and deaths may increase due to the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic in malaria endemic countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Objectives: This scoping review aims to summarize information on public health relevant effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the malaria situation in SSA. Methods: Review of publications and manuscripts on preprint servers, in peer-reviewed journals and in grey literature documents from December 1, 2019, to June 9, 2021. A structured search was conducted on different databases using predefined eligibility criteria for the selection of articles. Results: A total of 51 papers have been included in the analysis. Modeling papers have predicted a significant increase in malaria cases and malaria deaths in SSA due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many papers provided potential explanations for expected COVID-19 effects on the malaria burden; these ranged from relevant diagnostic and clinical aspects, to reduced access to health care services, impaired availability of curative and preventive commodities and medications, and effects on malaria prevention campaigns. Compared to previous years, fewer country reports provided data on the actual number of malaria cases and deaths in 2020, with mixed results. While highly endemic countries reported evidence of decreased malaria cases in health facilities, low endemic countries reported an overall higher numbers of malaria cases and deaths in 2020. Conclusions: The findings from this review provide evidence for a significant but diverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on malaria in SSA. There is the need to further investigate the public health consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the malaria burden.

scholarly journals Evaluation of near point‐of‐care viral load implementation in public health facilities across seven countries in sub‐Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline E Boeke ◽  
Jessica Joseph ◽  
Charles Atem ◽  
Clement Banda ◽  
Khady Diatou Coulibaly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Viral Load ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Public Health Facilities ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Evaluation of public health surveillance system performance in Dangila district, Northwest Ethiopia: a concurrent embedded mixed quantitative/qualitative facility-based cross-sectional study

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tefera Alemu ◽  
Hordofa Gutema ◽  
Seid Legesse ◽  
Tadesse Nigussie ◽  
Yirga Yenew ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
System Performance ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Public Health Surveillance ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Surveillance ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Public Health Surveillance System

Abstract Background Evaluation of a surveillance system should be conducted on regular bases to ensure that the system is working as envisioned or not. Therefore, we evaluated Dangila district’s public health surveillance system performance in line with its objectives. Methods In August 2017, a concurrent embedded mixed quantitative/qualitative, facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Dangila district among 12 health facilities/sites. The qualitative part involved 12 purposively selected key stakeholders interview. A semi-structured questionnaire adapted from updated CDC guideline for evaluating public health surveillance system was used for data collection through face to face interview and record review. The major qualitative findings were narrated and summarized based on thematic areas to supplement the quantitative findings. The quantitative findings were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2007. Results All necessary surveillance guidelines, registers and reporting formats were distributed adequately to health facilities. Only the district health office has Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (EPRP), but not supported by the budget required to respond in case an emergency occurred. There were no regular data analysis and interpretations in terms of time, place and person. Weekly report completeness and timeliness were 100 and 94.6% respectively. The information collected was considered relevant by its users to detect outbreaks early with high acceptability. All stakeholders agreed that the system is simple, easy to understand, representative and can accommodate modifications. Written feedbacks were not obtained in all health facilities. The supervision checklist obtained in the district was not adequate to assess surveillance activities in detail. The calculated positive predictive value for malaria was 11%. Conclusions The surveillance system was simple, useful, flexible, acceptable and representative. Report completeness and timelines were above the national and international targets. However, the overall implementation of the system in the district was not satisfactory to achieve the intended objective of surveillance for public health action due to the lack of regular data analysis and feedback dissemination. To create a well-performing surveillance system, regular supervision and epidemiologically analyzed and interpreted feedback system is mandatory.

Crowdsourcing Covid-19 signals in sub-Saharan Africa: Leveraging digital contributor networks for participatory surveillance of Covid-19 symptoms and deaths (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngozi A Erondu ◽  
Sagal A Ali ◽  
Mohamed Ali ◽  
Schadrac C Agbla
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan

BACKGROUND In sub-Saharan Africa, underreporting of cases and deaths has been attributed to various factors including, weak disease surveillance, low health-seeking behaviour of flu like symptoms, and stigma of Covid-19. There is evidence that SARS-CoV-2 spread mimics transmission patterns of other countries across the world. Since the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way research can be conducted and in light of restrictions on travel and risks to in-person data collection, innovative approaches to collecting data must be considered. Nearly 50% of Africa’s population is a unique mobile subscriber and it is one of the fastest growing smart-phone marketplaces in the world; hence, mobile phone platforms should be considered to monitor Covid-19 trends in the community. OBJECTIVE We demonstrate the use of digital contributor platforms to survey individuals about cases of flu-like symptoms and instances of unexplained deaths in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. METHODS Rapid cross-sectional survey of individuals with severe flu and pneumonia symptoms and unexplained deaths in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Zimbabwe RESULTS Using a non-health specific information platform, we found COVID-19 signals in five African countries, specifically: •Across countries, nearly half of the respondents (n=739) knew someone who had severe flu or pneumonia symptoms in recent months. •One in three respondents from Somalia and one in five from Zimbabwe respondents said they knew more than five people recently displaying flu and/or pneumonia symptoms. •In Somalia there were signals that a large number of people might be dying outside of health facilities, specifically in their homes or in IDP or refugee camps. CONCLUSIONS Existing digital contributor platforms with local networks are a non-traditional data source that can provide information from the community to supplement traditional government surveillance systems and academic surveys. We demonstrate that using these distributor networks to for community surveys can provide periodic information on rumours but could also be used to capture local sentiment to inform public health decision-making; for example, these insights could be useful to inform strategies to increase confidence in Covid19 vaccine. As Covid-19 continues to spread somewhat silently across sub-Saharan Africa, regional and national public health entities should consider expanding event-based surveillance sources to include these systems.

scholarly journals COVID-19 pandemic: the implications of the natural history, challenges of diagnosis and management for care in sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Omo-Aghoja ◽  
Emuesiri Goodies Moke ◽  
Kenneth Kelechi Anachuna ◽  
Adrian Itivere Omogbiya ◽  
Emuesiri Kohworho Umukoro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Diagnosis And Management ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Infection ◽  
Identification Technique ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Policies And Programs

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory infection which has afflicted virtually almost all nations of the earth. It is highly transmissible and represents one of the most serious pandemics in recent times, with the capacity to overwhelm any healthcare system and cause morbidity and fatality. Main content The diagnosis of this disease is daunting and challenging as it is dependent on emerging clinical symptomatology that continues to increase and change very rapidly. The definitive test is the very expensive and scarce polymerase chain reaction (PCR) viral identification technique. The management has remained largely supportive and empirical, as there are no officially approved therapeutic agents, vaccines or antiviral medications for the management of the disease. Severe cases often require intensive care facilities and personnel. Yet there is paucity of facilities including the personnel required for diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It is against this backdrop that a review of key published reports on the pandemic in SSA and globally is made, as understanding the natural history of a disease and the documented responses to diagnosis and management is usually a key public health strategy for designing and improving as appropriate, relevant interventions. Lead findings were that responses by most nations of SSA were adhoc, paucity of public health awareness strategies and absence of legislations that would help enforce preventive measures, as well as limited facilities (including personal protective equipment) and institutional capacities to deliver needed interventions. Conclusion COVID-19 is real and has overwhelmed global health care system especially low-income countries of the sub-Sahara such as Nigeria. Suggestions for improvement of healthcare policies and programs to contain the current pandemic and to respond more optimally in case of future pandemics are made herein.

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