A call for strengthened evidence on targeted, non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 for the protection of vulnerable individuals in sub-Saharan Africa

Colebunders, Robert; Fodjo, Joseph Nelson Siewe; Vanham, Guido; Bergh, Rafaël Van den

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2020.08.060

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The second, the topics and references. Category Topic and references Change to medical practice Mental health care [254] , [257] , [261] , [273] , [274] , [275] ; Emergency care [276] , [277] ; Substance abuse [253] , [263] , [278] , [279] , [280] ; Oncological care [264] , [281] Health care practices [255] , [259] , [262] , [282] , [283] , [284] ; Pediatric care [283] , [285] Other care [256] , [260] , [268] , [286] , [287] , [288] Modeling Modeling approaches [28] , [265] , [289] , [290] , [291] , [292] , [293] ; Transmission dynamics [294] , [295] , [296] , [297] , [298] Mobile phone data [29] ;

estimation [258] Effect of NPIs Effects on: children ...…”

Section: Comments And/or Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several comments and/or perspectives focus on different aspects of modeling COVID-19 dynamics and NPIs. In particular, we find articles discussing epidemic modeling efforts [28] , [265] , [289] , [290] , [291] , [292] , [293] , analyzing knowns and unknowns of transmission dynamics [294] , [295] , [296] , [297] , [298] , presenting opportunities to model and control the spreading of COVID-19 enabled by novel data streams such as mobile phone data [29] , and discussing the challenges in

estimation [258] .…”

Section: Comments And/or Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A review

2021

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Infectious diseases and human behavior are intertwined. On one side, our movements and interactions are the engines of transmission. On the other, the unfolding of viruses might induce changes to our daily activities. While intuitive, our understanding of such feedback loop is still limited. Before COVID-19 the literature on the subject was mainly theoretical and largely missed validation. The main issue was the lack of empirical data capturing behavioral change induced by diseases. Things have dramatically changed in 2020. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have been the key weapon against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and affected virtually any societal process. Travels bans, events cancellation, social distancing, curfews, and lockdowns have become unfortunately very familiar. The scale of the emergency, the ease of survey as well as crowdsourcing deployment guaranteed by the latest technology, several Data for Good programs developed by tech giants, major mobile phone providers, and other companies have allowed unprecedented access to data describing behavioral changes induced by the pandemic. Here, I review some of the vast literature written on the subject of NPIs during the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, I analyze 348 articles written by more than 2518 of authors in the first 12 months of the emergency. While the large majority of the sample was obtained by querying PubMed, it includes also a hand-curated list. Considering the focus, and methodology I have classified the sample into seven main categories: epidemic models, surveys, comments/perspectives, papers aiming to quantify the effects of NPIs, reviews, articles using data proxies to measure NPIs, and publicly available datasets describing NPIs. I summarize the methodology, data used, findings of the articles in each category and provide an outlook highlighting future challenges as well as opportunities.

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estimation [258] Effect of NPIs Effects on: children ...…”

Section: Comments And/or Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

estimation [258] .…”

Section: Comments And/or Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A review

2021

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“…It has been recently suggested that locally implemented COVID-19 preventive strategies could potentially explain, at least in part, the as yet slow spread of COVID-19 in SSA. 8 9 The present study collected data which could shed some more light on this issue. In our ongoing longitudinal study, preventive behaviours cover individual protection measures by the study’s participants and collective prevention strategies implemented by administrative, religious or medical authorities in the area covered by the survey.…”

Section: Methods and Analysismentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Recently, another strong hypothesis has been put forward, suggesting that the extensive implementation of local preventive strategies may have played a crucial role in substantially lowering the spread of the disease. 8 9 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19-related attitudes, risk perceptions, preventive behaviours and economic impact in sub-Saharan African countries: implementing a longitudinal phone-based survey protocol in rural Senegalese households

et al. 2021

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IntroductionRural areas are considered safe havens against the increased spread of COVID-19 and associated restrictive measures, especially in contexts where public authorities are not in a position to systematically and substantially ease COVID-19-induced economic shocks. In the current sub-Saharan Africa context, still marked by uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19, we present the protocol of an ongoing longitudinal study aimed at investigating COVID-19-related attitudes, risks perceptions, preventive behaviours and economic impact in rural areas in Senegal.Methods and analysisA prospective randomised longitudinal study of 600 households located in three semiurban villages and nine randomly selected rural villages in the Niakhar area (located 135 km East of Dakar). Three ad hoc phone surveys are administered to 600 heads of households, their housewives in charge of managing the household and a relative living temporarily in the household, respectively. In addition to sharing identical sets of questions on several topics (risks perceptions, attitudes to curfew, attitudes to vaccines, beliefs about COVID-19 infection), the three separate survey questionnaires also include other topics (economic impact, local preventive strategies) whose related questions differ between questionnaires. As analysing evolutions is the study’s primary focus, data on all the topics covered will be collected in three waves unless the spread of COVID-19 by mid-2021 justifies extending data collection. The present article presents the study protocol and details about the implementation of the first wave of data collection which started in July 2020. The decision to wait before presenting the protocol was based on the unprecedented context the COVID-19 pandemic.Ethics and disseminationThe survey’s protocol was approved by the Senegalese National Ethical Committee for Research in Health (131/MSAS/CNERS/Sec) and received authorisation from both the Senegalese Ministry of Health (619/MSAS/DPRS/DR) and the French Commission on Information Technology and Liberties (CNIL 2220771).

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“…However, extensive research on the effects of the pandemic on these vulnerable populations in West Africa has been limited. Furthermore, even fewer studies have reviewed African countries’ targeted interventions to limit the effects of measures such as lockdowns on vulnerable populations and have examined the effectiveness of such interventions on the wellbeing of vulnerable populations [ 16 , 17 ]. Additionally, based on our findings, not many studies have examined the role that managing the Ebola epidemic has played in a country’s response to managing COVID-19, particularly in efforts to protect vulnerable populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reported health and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable populations and implemented solutions in six West African countries: A media content analysis

et al. 2021

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Coronavirus has spread worldwide with over 140 million cases and resulting in more than 3 million deaths between November 2019 to April 2021, threatening the socio-economic and psychosocial stability of many families and communities. There has been limited research to understand the consequences of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations in West Africa, and whether such consequences differ by countries’ previous experience with Ebola. Using a media analysis of leading online news sources, this study identified the populations particularly vulnerable to the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic, described the consequences of COVID-19 experienced by these populations, and reported on the solutions to address them. All articles from the selected news sources published between January 1 and June 30, 2020 on 6 West African countries were imported into Dedoose. A total of 4,388 news articles were coded for excerpts on vulnerable populations, only 285 excerpts of which mentioned the existing effects of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations or implemented solutions. News articles from countries with past experience with Ebola were more likely to mention the pandemic’s effects on vulnerable populations, especially on incarcerated people. Vulnerable groups were reported to have experienced a range of effects including economic disruptions, heightened domestic and sexual abuse, arbitrary arrests, health care inaccessibility, and educational challenges throughout the pandemic. With implications for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030 in West Africa, these countries should consider and focus more strategic efforts on vulnerable populations to overcome their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and to achieve the SDG for 2030.

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A call for strengthened evidence on targeted, non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 for the protection of vulnerable individuals in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract: Highlights Curbing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, may be difficult in sub-Saharan Africa. Overall COVID-19-related mortality remains low because of the young population. Protecting vulnerable individuals from severe disease should be a priority.

Cited by 9 publications

References 18 publications

Non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A review

Non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A review

COVID-19-related attitudes, risk perceptions, preventive behaviours and economic impact in sub-Saharan African countries: implementing a longitudinal phone-based survey protocol in rural Senegalese households

Reported health and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable populations and implemented solutions in six West African countries: A media content analysis

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