the aid library

LIST OPTIONS

Filter

9711

Assessing the Impact of Workforce Nutrition Programmes on Nutrition, Health and Business Outcomes: A Review of the Global Evidence and Future Research Agenda

Dhillon, C.N.; Ortenzi, F. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2023) CC

One in three people globally suffers from at least one form of malnutrition, leading to poor health outcomes and low productivity in the workplace. The workplace offers an important, relatively unexploited opportunity to address malnutrition in all its forms. This narrative literature review aims to... more

Download (44)

View PDF (32)

Africa’s Health Financing in a New Era

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) (2025) CC

Africa’s health sector is facing an unprecedented financing crisis, driven by a sharp decline of 70% in Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 2021 to 2025 and deep-rooted structural vulnerabilities. This collapse is placing immense pressure on Africa’s already fragile health systems as ODA ...is seen as the backbone of critical health programs: pandemic preparedness, maternal and child health services, disease control programs are all at risk, threatening Sustainable Development Goal 3 and Universal Health Coverage. Compounding this is Africa’s spiraling debt, with countries expected to service USD 81 billion by 2025—surpassing anticipated external financing inflows—further eroding fiscal space for health investments. Level of domestic resources is low. TThe Abuja Declaration of 2001, a pivotal commitment made by African Union (AU) member states, aimed to reverse this trend by pledging to allocate at least 15% of national budgets to the health sector. However, more than two decades later, only three countries—Rwanda, Botswana, and Cabo Verde—have consistently met or exceeded this target (WHO, 2023). In contrast, over 30 AU member states remain well below the 10% benchmark, with some allocating as little as 5–7% of their national budgets to health. In addition, only 16 (29%) of African countries currently have updated versions of National Health Development Plan (NHDP) supported by a National Health Financing Plan (NHFP). These two documents play a critical role in driving internal resource mobilisation. At the same time, public health emergencies are surging, rising 41%—from 152 in 2022 to 213 in 2024—exposing severe under-resourcing of health infrastructure and workforce. Recurring outbreaks (Mpox, Ebola, cholera, measles, Marburg…) alongside effects of climate change and humanitarian crises in Eastern DRC, the Sahel, and Sudan, are overwhelming systems stretched by chronic underfunding. The situation is worsened by Africa’s heavy dependency with over 90% of vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics being externally sourced—leaving countries vulnerable to global supply chain shocks. Health worker shortages persist, with only 2.3 professionals per 1,000 people (below the WHO’s recommended 4.45), and fewer than 30% of systems are digitized, undermining disease surveillance and early warning. Without decisive action, Africa CDC projects the continent could reverse two decades of health progress, face 2 to 4 million additional preventable deaths annually, and a heightened risk of a pandemic emerging from within. Furthermore, 39 million more Africans could be pushed into poverty by 2030 due to intertwined health and economic shocks. This is not just a sectoral crisis—it is an existential threat to Africa’s political, social, and economic resilience, and global stability. In response, African leaders, under Africa CDC’s stewardship, are advancing a comprehensive three-pillar strategy centered on domestic resource mobilization, innovative financing, and blended finance. more

External Link

Access to Medications for Cardiovascular Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Wirtz, V.J.; Kaplan, W.A.; Kwan, G.F. Circulation (2016) CC

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) represent the highest burden of disease globally. Medicines are a critical intervention used to prevent and treat CVD. This review describes access to medication for CVD from a health system perspective and strategies that have been used to promote access, including pro... more

Download (193)

View PDF (198)

African regional progress and status of the programme to eliminate lymphatic filariasis: 2000–2020

Deribe K., Bakajikaa D. K., Zourea H. MG. et al The royal society of tropical medicine and hygiene (2021) C2

To eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF) by 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a campaign against the disease. Since the launch in 2000, significant progress has been made to achieve this ambitious goal. In this article we review the progress and status of the LF programme in Afric... more

Download (90)

View PDF (74)

Measurement properties and interpretation of three shortened versions of the asthma control questionnaire

Juniper, E. F.; Svensson, K.; Mörk, A-C.; et al. Respiratory Medicine (2005) 99, 553–558 (2005) CC2

The Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ)1 was developed and validated to measure the primary clinical goal of asthma management as identified by international guidelines. They indicate that to achieve good control, treatment should minimise day and night time symptoms, activity limitation, airway narr... more

External Link

L'innocuité des vaccins contre la COVID-19

Organisation Mondiale de la Santé OMS (2021) C_WHO

Cet article fait partie d’une série d’explications à propos de la mise au point et de la distribution des vaccins.

Download (114)

View PDF (150)

Myocarditis and pericarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in children: Interim guidance

SickKids (2020) CC

External Link

Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines

World Health Organization WHO (2021) C_WHO

31 March 2021 This article is part of a series of explainers on vaccine development and distribution. Learn more about vaccines – from how they work and how they’re made to ensuring safety and equitable access – in WHO’s Vaccines Explained series. Countries around the world are rolling ou... more