Study Report August 2014
Curatio International Foundation (CIF) and the Association Tanadgoma would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by GFATM under the project “Establishment of evidence base for national HIV/AIDS program by strengthening of HIV/AIDS surveillance system in t...he country” (GEO-H-GPIC), which made this study possible.
The report was prepared by Dr. Ivdity Chikovani, Dr. Natia Shengelia, Lela Sulaberidze (CIF) and Nino Tsereteli (Tanadgoma).
Special thanks are extended to international consultants – Ali Mirzazadeh (MD, MPH, PhD Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, San Francisco Institute for Health Policy Studies & Global Health Sciences) for his significant contribution in study preparation, protocol and questionnaire design and data analysis and Abu S. Abdul-Quader (PhD, Epidemiologist, Global AIDS Program Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) for his valuable input in refining methodology and overall guidance during the study implementation.
Special thanks are extended to international consultants – Abu S. Abdul-Quader (PhD, Epidemiologist, Global AIDS Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) for his valuable input in refining methodology and overall guidance during the study implementation and Ali Mirzazadeh (MD, MPH, PhD Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, San Francisco Institute for Health Policy Studies & Global Health Sciences) for his significant contribution in the NSU study preparation, protocol and questionnaire design and data analysis.
Authors appreciate a highly professional work of Tanadgoma staff: the survey coordinator KhatunaKhazhomia; the interviewers: Ketevan Tchelidze, Nino Kipiani, Koba Bitsadze, Kakhaber Akhvlediani, ZazaBabunashvili, Rati Tsintsadze and the social workers: Archil Rekhviashvili, Tea Chakhrakia, Irina Bregvadze, Kakhaber Kepuladze, Ketevan Jibladze and Shota Makharadze for their input in the recruitment process.
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Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS) is a gynaecological disease caused by Schistosoma haematobium, a parasitic worm that is acquired by skin contact with freshwater contaminated by schistosome cerceriae. Communities in which the infection is most endemic have limited access to clean water and healt...hcare services. Up to 150 million adolescent girls and women are estimated to be at risk of FGS and about 16–56 milion womens are living with FGS, with the majority of these in sub-Saharan Africa. The variability of these estimates points to the fact that this neglected tropical disease is not well studied and frequently not prioritized by local, regional, and global health policy makers.
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A year ago, the second Special Session of the World Health Assembly (WHASS) unanimously agreed to start a diplomatic process for a new binding instrument aimed at ensuring the international community is better prepared for the next health emergencies. The establishment of an Intergovernmental Negoti...ating Body (INB) at the WHO paved the terrain for a proper negotiation, which has started to unfold. The INB will be releasing the “conceptual zero draft” of the treaty text in early December 2022.
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The purpose of the handbook is to provide those involved in nutrition coordination with relevant tools, guidance, information and resources to support their roles in facilitating predictable, coordinated and effective preparation for, and responses to, nutrition needs in humanitarian emergencies. Ra...ther than being prescriptive, the handbook aims to raises key issues encountered to date.
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Since the 1970s, voluntary contributions have become an increasingly important component of WHO's budget. As voluntary contributions tend to be earmarked for donor-specified programmes and projects, there are concerns that this trend has diverted focus away from WHO's strategic priorities, made coor...dination and attaining coherence more difficult, undermined WHO's democratic structures and given undue power to a handful of wealthy donors. In the past few years, the WHO Secretariat has pushed for donors to increase the amount of flexible funding they provide.
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COVID-19 disproportionately affects the poor and vulnerable. Community health workers are poised to play a pivotal role in fighting the pandemic, especially in countries with less resilient health systems. Drawing from practitioner expertise across four WHO regions, this article outlines the targete...d actions needed at different stages of the pandemic to achieve the following goals: (1) PROTECT healthcare workers, (2) INTERRUPT the virus, (3) MAINTAIN existing healthcare services while surging their capacity, and (4) SHIELD the most vulnerable from socioeconomic shocks. While decisive action must be taken now to blunt the impact of the pandemic in countries likely to be hit the hardest, many of the investments in the supply chain, compensation, dedicated supervision, continuous training and performance management necessary for rapid community response in a pandemic are the same as those required to achieve universal healthcare and prevent the next epidemic.
BMJ Global Health2020;5:e002550. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002550
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Disaster Recovery Toolkit
Tuberculosis cases, TB deaths
The TB section of the toolkit presents selected (a) programmatic output and (b) outcome and impact indicators for TB. In addition to recommended monitoring programs and measuring the outcomes and impact of TB programs, indicators for the strengthening of health systems, strengthening of community sy...stems and some indicators that measure quality of services are also included.
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Disaster Recovery Toolkit
Disaster Recovery Toolkit
Background: Community health worker (CHW) programmes are a valuable component of primary care in resource-poor settings. The evidence supporting their effectiveness generally shows improvements in disease-specific outcomes relative to the absence of a CHW programme. In this study, we evaluated expan...ding an existing HIV and tuberculosis (TB) disease-specific CHW programme into a polyvalent, household-based model that subsequently included non-communicable diseases (NCDs), malnutrition and TB screening, as well as family planning and antenatal care (ANC).
Methods: We conducted a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial in Neno District, Malawi. Six clusters of approximately 20 000 residents were formed from the catchment areas of 11 healthcare facilities. The intervention roll-out was staggered every 3 months over 18 months, with CHWs receiving a 5-day foundational training for their new tasks and assigned 20–40 households for monthly (or more frequent) visits.
Findings: The intervention resulted in a decrease of approximately 20% in the rate of patients defaulting from chronic NCD care each month (−0.8 percentage points (pp) (95% credible interval: −2.5 to 0.5)) while maintaining the already low default rates for HIV patients (0.0 pp, 95% CI: −0.6 to 0.5). First trimester ANC attendance increased by approximately 30% (6.5pp (−0.3, 15.8)) and paediatric malnutrition case finding declined by 10% (−0.6 per 1000 (95% CI −2.5 to 0.8)). There were no changes in TB programme outcomes, potentially due to data challenges.
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Over the 20 years that followed, this unique partnership has invested more than US$53 billion, saving 44 million lives and reducing the combined death rate from the three diseases by more than half in the countries in which the Global Fund invests.
Working Paper 589 July 2021T
The ‘Toolkit’ is targeted at practitioners responsible for implementing recovery programmes, their objective to provide a ‘how to’ guide on development, implementing and managing complex post-disaster recovery programmes.
Disaster Recovery Toolkit
One of the many gender inequities in the health and care workforce that COVID-19 has exposed is around the fit and design of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The rapid onset and scale of COVID-19 led to shortages of PPE in most countries, causing preventable infection and mortality among healthc...are workers and others on the front lines. Even though most health workers are women, manufacturing specifications for medical PPE are usually drawn up based on the male body and there have been many reports of PPE not designed for women's bodies.
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THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC, IRAQ, JORDAN, LEBANON, TURKEY, WEST BANK AND GAZA STRIP, EGYPT
Volume 20, September
Global smart update
Disaster Recovery Toolkit