Infectious disease outbreaks have long posed a public health threat, especially in Africa, where the incidence of infectious outbreaks has risen exponentially. Although, Africa has witnessed several outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola virus disease and other epidemic-prone diseases, little attention has been given towards strengthening the health surveillance systems. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered the region's already due to inefficient and ineffective health surveillance systems. However, the impact posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on health systems in the region has been catastrophic, it has also stressed the importance of rethinking and focusing on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we examine how Africa's poor disease surveillance systems affected the responses and strategies aimed at COVID-19 containment. To ensure early disease outbreak identification and prompt public health interventions in Africa, the current disease surveillance and response mechanisms must be strengthened.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical worldwide health issue that jeopardizes our ability to fight illnesses. However, despite being a natural phenomenon, AMR is exacerbated in the world by inappropriate administration of an antimicrobial medication such as under-use or overuse by the general population, farmers, and various health professionals. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has put the world in a shocking state. The pandemic exacerbated the problem of antimicrobial resistance, which was largely caused by irrational off-label use of antivirals, anthelmintics, antimalarials, and, most notably, macrolide antibiotics. As a result, monitoring the AMR progression during the pandemic has been critical. The One Health Approach is progressively becoming the most widely utilized and recommended approach in the ongoing fight against AMR. The aim of this article is to address the lack of teachings in AMR and the One Health Approach in health student training curricula, as well as to provide recommendations that can be implemented as we progress beyond the COVID-19 era.

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Acne vulgaris is a common skin disorder with a complicated etiology. Papules, lesions, comedones, blackheads, and other skin lesions are common physical manifestations of Acne vulgaris, but the individual who has it also regularly has psychological repercussions. Natural oils are being utilized more and more to treat skin conditions since they have fewer negative effects and are expected to provide benefits. Using network pharmacology, this study aims to ascertain if neem oil has any anti-acne benefits and, if so, to speculate on probable mechanisms of action for such effects. The neem leaves (Azadirachta indica) were collected, verified, authenticated, and assigned a voucher number. After steam distillation was used to extract the neem oil, the phytochemical components of the oil were examined using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The components of the oil were computationally examined for drug-likeness using Lipinski’s criteria. The Pharm Mapper service was used to anticipate the targets. Prior to pathway and protein–protein interaction investigations, molecular docking was performed to predict binding affinity. Neem oil was discovered to be a potential target for STAT1, CSK, CRABP2, and SYK genes in the treatment of Acne vulgaris. In conclusion, it was discovered that the neem oil components with PubChem IDs: ID_610088 (2-(1-adamantyl)-N-methylacetamide), ID_600826 (N-benzyl-2-(2-methyl-5-phenyl-3H-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)acetamide), and ID_16451547 (N-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2-(1-phenyltetrazol-5-yl)sulfanylpropanamide) have strong affinities for these drug targets and may thus be used as therapeutic agents in the treatment of acne.

The Nigerian Government recently signed into a law a policy on 31 December 2021 that mandates the payment of an excise duty of 10 NGN (about US$0.02) per liter on all nonalcoholic and sweetened beverages in the country 1 . Some of the stated reasons were to discourage excessive sugar consumption in beverages, which can lead to a variety of health problems, including diabetes and obesity and to increase excise duties and revenue for healthcare and other essential spending 1 . Without doubt, this has sparked a flare of reactions and opinions on either side of the relevance of the new policy, its impact on healthcare and the economy at large.Nigeria shares a large portion of the global soft drink market and is projected to increase to a market size of 10 billion US$ (in retail prices) between 2021 and 2026 in the country. This is an indication that over-consumption of sugar in beverages is becoming a public health problem that requires urgent attention 2 . Many countries have previously enacted laws to impose or increase taxes on specific foods, such as soft drinks, sweets, chocolate, ice cream, or other unhealthy foods, with the goal of combining budgetary and health benefits 3 . A strong rationale for this is that an imposition of tax increases the price of such products, which in turn reduces consumption 4 . It is also true that when 'sugar taxes' are combined with incentives to eat better foods, the potential for improved health is much greater 5 . Ensuring the health of all citizens is the core responsibility of any country's health system and reducing the intake of sugarsweetened beverages could be beneficial in combatting the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases.However, the enforcement of this policy without any longterm research, conducted in tandem to assess its efficacy in reducing the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages 1. Olatunji S, Orjiude A. New tax on carbonated drinks'll worsen