Health trends, inequalities and opportunities in South Africa’s provinces, 1990–2019: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study:
Since the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has experienced dramatic and rapid changes in population health.1 The first years of postapartheid South Africa were characterised by economic growth and notable steps towards reducing inequalities in health and high levels of mortality from infectious and maternal causes.
What Could Explain the Lower COVID-19 Burden in Africa Despite Considerable Circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus?
COVID-19 differential spread and impacts across regions is a major focus for researchers and policy makers. Africa has attracted tremendous attention due to predictions of catastrophic impacts that have not yet materialized. Early in the pandemic, the seemingly low African case count was largely attributed to low testing and case reporting.
Redesigning health systems for global heath security:
Africa was predicted to be hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, given its poor health systems. However, this outcome has not been the case. Despite the USA being the highest spender on health care globally,1 COVID-19 has shown that its primary care infrastructure is in much need of strengthening.
Transformation of the Tanzania medical stores department through global fund support: an impact assessment study:
The Tanzanian government has clearly recognised the critical role that access to safe and high-quality medicines and other health technologies play in ensuring optimal population health outcomes.3 To this end, the Medical Stores Department (MSD) was set up as an autonomous department of the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MoHCDGEC) through an Act of Parliament in 1994.
COVID-19 pandemic in the African continent: Forecasts of cumulative cases, new infections, and mortality :
The epidemiology of COVID-19 remains speculative in Africa. To the best of our knowledge, no study, using robust methodology provides its trajectory for the region or accounts for local context. This paper is the first systematic attempt to provide prevalence, incidence, and mortality estimates across Africa.
Health disparities across the counties of Kenya and implications for policy makers, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 :
The Government of Kenya prioritises health as a strategic sector in its national development agenda. In the national long-term development policy, outlined in Kenya Vision 2030,1 the government commits to making strategic investments in health service provision to improve the quality of life of its population. Further commitments are elaborated in Kenya Health Policy 2014–2030,2 which aims to achieve universal health coverage by scaling up priority health services to populations in need.
Technical and scale efficiency in the delivery of child health services in Zambia: results from data envelopment analysis :
Despite tremendous efforts to scale up key maternal and child health interventions in Zambia, progress has not been uniform across the country. This raises fundamental health system performance questions that require further investigation. Our study investigates technical and scale efficiency (SE) in the delivery of maternal and child health services in the country.
Health system productivity change in Zambia: A focus on the child health services :
Efficiency and productivity improvement have become central in global health debates. In this study, we explored productivity change, particularly the contribution of technological progress and efficiency gains associated with improvements in child survival in Zambia (population 15 million). Productivity was measured by applying the Malmquist productivity index on district-level panel data.
The imperative for systems thinking to promote access to medicines, efficient delivery, and cost-effectiveness when implementing health financing reforms: a qualitative study:
Health systems across Africa are faced with a multitude of competing priorities amidst pressing resource constraints. Expansion of health insurance coverage offers promise in the quest for sustainable healthcare financing for many of the health systems in the region. However, the broader policy implications of expanding health insurance coverage have not been fully investigated and contextualized to many African health systems.
Impact of funding modalities on maternal and child health intervention coverage in Zambia:
The Government of Zambia has equitable distribution of quality health care at the core of its ethos. The vision outlined by the government in the 1992 health policies and strategies, and successive national health strategic plans is to get health services as close to the family as possible. With this objective in mind, there have been spirited efforts to promote access to health services particularly by removing barriers associated with cost
Increased mining activities in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: an opportunity to improve the nutritional status of children under five-years-old:
Household poverty and poor access to health and other social amenities are key drivers of malnutrition and poor child health in most low-resources settings. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the backdrop of past instability, experiences a host of socio-economic factors that effectively result in malnutrition among under-five children – despite immense natural resources. Recent stability and enormous mineral resource wealth has attracted mining companies to invest in the eastern provinces of the country, presenting an opportunity to improve the nutritional and overall health status of children in the region. We therefore sought to describe the prevalence of malnutrition in the region, cognisant of these developments.
Population health trends analysis and burden of disease profile observed in Sierra Leone from 1990 to 2017:
Sierra Leone, in West Africa, is one of the poorest developing countries in the world. Sierra Leone has experienced several recent challenges namely, a civil war from 1991 to 2002, a massive Ebola outbreak from 2014 to 2016, followed by floods and landslides in 2017.In this study, we quantified the burden of disease in Sierra Leone over a 27-year period, from 1990 to 2017.
Health system lessons from the global fund-supported procurement and supply chain investments in Zimbabwe: a mixed methods study:
The Global Fund partnered with the Zimbabwean government to provide end-to-end support to strengthen the procurement and supply chain within the health system. This was accomplished through a series of strategic investments that included infrastructure and fleet improvement, training of personnel, modern equipment acquisition and warehouse optimisation. This assessment sought to determine the effects of the project on the health system.
Assessment of the Global Fund-supported procurement and supply chain reforms at the Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Agency: a mixed-methods study:
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) partnered with the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Agency (EPSA) in 2018–2019 to reform procurement and supply chain management (PSCM) procedures within the Ethiopian healthcare system. This assessment sought to determine the impact of the reforms and document the lessons learnt.
Insights and Opinions
The Critical-Minerals Race Could Fuel Global Inequality :
The Critical-Minerals Race Could Fuel Global Inequality :
The Critical-Minerals Race Could Fuel Global Inequality :
Preparing Now for the Next Disease X :
The Critical-Minerals Race Could Fuel Global Inequality :
The Critical-Minerals Race Could Fuel Global Inequality :
What Corporations Need to Know About Public Health :
The Critical-Minerals Race Could Fuel Global Inequality :
What Corporations Need to Know About Public Health :
Africa and Global Health Security:
Redesigning health systems for global heath security:
What Corporations Need to Know About Public Health :
Study Predicts COVID-19’s Impact Across Africa:
Redesigning health systems for global heath security:
Redesigning health systems for global heath security:
Redesigning health systems for global heath security:
Redesigning health systems for global heath security:
Redesigning health systems for global heath security:
Investing in Responsive and Resilient Healthcare Systems:
Bridging Data Access Gaps to Drive Innovation in Biopharma:
Investing in Responsive and Resilient Healthcare Systems:
Bridging the Data Divide in COVID-19:
Bridging Data Access Gaps to Drive Innovation in Biopharma:
Investing in Responsive and Resilient Healthcare Systems:
Bridging Data Access Gaps to Drive Innovation in Biopharma:
Bridging Data Access Gaps to Drive Innovation in Biopharma:
Bridging Data Access Gaps to Drive Innovation in Biopharma:
Data critical in pursuit of UHC dream:
Data critical in pursuit of UHC dream:
Bridging Data Access Gaps to Drive Innovation in Biopharma: