COVID-19 vaccines will become available in Democratic Republic of Congo soon. Understanding communities’ responses to the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccines is important. We was conducted an analytical cross-sectional study online in 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo during the period from January to March 2021. A total of 11971 responses were included; mean age of respondents was 35.1±10.4 years; 79.4% were males; 90.5% had university school education and 55.4% has a high socioeconomic level. A frequency of poor perception of covid-19 vaccination is 75.6%. In a multivariable regression model, age between 46-55 years, 36-45 years and 26-35 years (aOR=1.54, CI: 1.27-1.87, aOR=1.70 CI: 1.35-2.13 and aOR =3.40, CI: 2.78–4.17, respectively), None profession and liberal profession (aOR=1.75, CI: 1.49-3.34 and aOR=2.52, CI: 1.89-3.34, respectively), moderate and low socioeconomic level (aOR=3.06, CI: 2.64-3.56 and aOR=5.89, CI: 4.11- 8.38, respectively), Low and very low risk of infection with COVID-19 (aOR=1.67, CI: 1.07-1.97 and OR=2.66, CI: 1.36-3.04, respectively; Moderate, low and very low risk of getting sick if you are infected (aOR=1.49, CI: 2.08-2.98, aOR=2.97 CI: 2.45-3.59 and aOR=3.89, CI: 3.11-4.82, respectively) were associated with a poor perception COVID-19 vaccination. In conclusion, the frequency of misperception in the Congolese population is high. It is associated with the poor perception of the disease and the socio-demographic characteristics of individuals.

More than 80% of the population in Africa by the World Health Organization (WHO) leans on endogenous knowledge to solve their primary health care problems. In this study, we examined the relevance of Costus afer Ker Gawl, a plant called ginger lily, spiral ginger or bush cane. It is believed to be used in traditional medicine practice (TMP) to treat and manage many conditions including diabetes mellitus, stomach ailments, arthritis, inflammation. These alleged traditional incited large researchers to conduct studies on the plant to amass scientific evidence. However, these results are sparse, and thus, an inventory through the present search using online search engines such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus and Chemical Abstracts for the period from 1990 to 2021; provides a bibliographic actualization on the plant, taking into account its traditional uses, phytochemical and nutritional constituents, pharmacological activities and toxicological effects. The online search included the use of the keywords, "Costus afer Ker-Gawl" or "Costus afer". It should be noted that the stem and leaves of the plant contain consistent amounts of micronutrients and macronutrients. The leaves, stem, rhizomes of C. afer contain several steroidal sapogenins, aferosides, dioscin and paryphyllin C and a flavonoid glycoside, kaempferol-3-O- \(\alpha\)-L-rhamnopyranoside. Experimental studies on various parts of the plant have shown biological activities such as anti-hyperglycemic, hepatocellular protection, cardioprotection, nephroprotection, CNS depressant, analgesic, antiarthritis, antibacterial and antioxidant. This wide range of biological properties of Costus afer Ker Gawl would be largely attributed to the essential oil compounds such as Sabinene, \(\beta\) -pinene and \(\beta\) -caryophyllene which are among the major compounds of this plant. Based on these obvious data, it is concluded that the plant could be used as an alternative and complementary therapy for many diseases related to oxidative stress so will guide us future research on the use of Costus afer Ker Gawl as an anti-inflammatory.

Context and objective. Major handicap for operational conditioning of troops, hypertension requires innovative approaches for its prevention and management. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of adapted physical activity (APA) on BP level of sedentary soldiers from Kinshasa garrison and the rate of hypertension control in those with high BP. Methods. Open, parallel randomized controlled trial carried out at Camp Lt-Colonel Kokolo (CVEC) from June 2016 to October 2017) in sedentary soldiers (57.6 %, hypertensives) allocated for 8 weeks to APA (n=119) or control (n=110). The randomization procedure used permuted blocks of four consecutive participants. The outcomes were baseline-adjusted betweengroup difference in BP level (all participants), in rate of BP control among hypertensives. Results. At the last available visit in 226 participants (119 vs 107), the baseline-adjusted BP difference between active and control group by intentionto- treat was 5.1 (95 % CI 1.2 -10.8)/3.0 (0.1-6.9) mmHg lower in the active group. The effect of APA was also significant across pre-specified categories of participants based on age, officers’ rank, and hypertension status. Among 129 analyzed drug treated hypertensives (68 vs 61), the rate of BP control remained unchanged in the control group (43.8 to 44.3%) but increased (43.5% to 85.3 %) in the active group yielding a baseline-adjusted between group difference of 40.7 (32.2; 49.2) %. The probability to achieve hypertension control was greater (HR: 3.38 [95% CI: 1.48- 4.84] in the active group. PP analysis of 122 soldiers (80 vs 42) with data at all scheduled visits yielded confirmatory results for BP reduction and for hypertension control by APA. The changes in BP were positively correlated with concomitant reductions in heart rate. Conclusion. Exercise training induced a significant BP reduction in sedentary militaries and improved the control rate among those with drug treated hypertension.

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