African National Public Health Institutes Responses to COVID-19: Innovations, Systems Changes, and Challenges

Binder, Sue; Ario, Alex Riolexus; Hien, Hervé; Mayet, Natalie; Jani, Ilesh; Ihekweazu, Chikwe; Abate, Ebba; Nsanzimana, Sabin; Yavo, William; Halatoko, Wemboo Afiwa; Murugasampillay, Shiva; Ilori, Elsie; Zoonekyndt, Amandine; McLean, Callie; Millogo, Claude; Nikjooy, Edris; Viso, Anne-Catherine; Seib, Katherine; Whitney, Ellen A. Spotts

doi:10.1089/hs.2021.0094

Cited by 13 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The response of the public to the call centers in the respective countries was overwhelming. For instance, in South Africa, call center of country's National Public Health Institute (NPHI), the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, received about 146,000 calls in 1 day ( 23 ). Similarly, to be able to effectively trace suspected contacts of confirmed cases and prevent further spread of the virus, Ethiopia and Ghana have designed several mobile Apps (COVID-19 tracker mobile app) that trace contact, share data and patient information among the health workers for timely response ( 24 ).…”

Section: Health Information Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and Health Systems Functioning in Sub-Saharan Africa Using the “WHO Building Blocks”: The Challenges and Responses

Amu

Dowou

Saah

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has made major progress in improving access to health care over the past three decades. Despite efforts made toward achieving universal health coverage, the health systems of countries in the sub-region are inundated by a myriad of challenges that have become more virulent amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper discusses the health systems challenges and responses in SSA amidst the COVID-19 using the World Health Organization's (WHO) building blocks of health systems functioning. Long-lasting abysmal health system financing and insufficient government investment in SSA pose major challenges to the effective health systems functioning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation also makes it difficult for the health system to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic and at the same time, cater for other essential health services. Countries in SSA must prioritize the reformation of their health systems through effective health system policy development and implementation, human resources development, training, service delivery, governance and regulation, and sustainable health financing.

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Section: Health Information Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and Health Systems Functioning in Sub-Saharan Africa Using the “WHO Building Blocks”: The Challenges and Responses

Amu

Dowou

Saah

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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show abstract

“…Those authors conducted a literature review and listening sessions comprising leaders from 10 Africa NPHIs and documented common challenges faced by these NPHIs and innovations. However, they report that their methods did not systematically document NPHI activities with regard to COVID-19, and the article does not document the role of NPHIs outside of Africa ( 26 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploratory Literature Review of the Role of National Public Health Institutes in COVID-19 Response

Zuber¹,

Sebeh²,

Jarvis³

et al. 2022

Emerg. Infect. Dis.

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To help explain the diversity of COVID-19 outcomes by country, research teams worldwide are studying national government response efforts. However, these attempts have not focused on a critical national authority that exists in half of the countries in the world: national public health institutes (NPHIs). NPHIs serve as an institutional home for public health systems and expertise and play a leading role in epidemic responses. To characterize the role of NPHIs in the COVID-19 response, we conducted a descriptive literature review that explored the research documented during March 2020–May 2021. We conducted a name-based search of 61 NPHIs in the literature, representing over half of the world’s NPHIs. We identified 33 peer-reviewed and 300 gray articles for inclusion. We describe the most common NPHI-led COVID-19 activities that are documented and identify gaps in the literature. Our findings underscore the value of NPHIs for epidemic control and establish a foundation for primary research.

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“…There was an expanded decentralization of laboratory capacity, and new capacities in existing laboratories, such as molecular biology, were added. Additional laboratory staff were also trained during the pandemic ( Binder et al., 2021 ). As an example, Zimbabwe, which has one National Microbiology Reference Laboratory, decentralized diagnostic testing for COVID-19 from this single laboratory to provincial and district laboratories, leveraging on existing human resources and platforms.…”

Section: Leveraging On Improved Diagnostics To Shift From a Syndromic...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Abnormal vaginal discharge among women of reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa: the need for a paradigm shift from a syndromic approach to specific pathogen identification and directed treatment

Murewanhema¹,

Moyo²,

Mhango³

et al. 2022

IJID Regions

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African National Public Health Institutes Responses to COVID-19: Innovations, Systems Changes, and Challenges

Cited by 13 publications

References 23 publications

COVID-19 and Health Systems Functioning in Sub-Saharan Africa Using the “WHO Building Blocks”: The Challenges and Responses

COVID-19 and Health Systems Functioning in Sub-Saharan Africa Using the “WHO Building Blocks”: The Challenges and Responses

Exploratory Literature Review of the Role of National Public Health Institutes in COVID-19 Response

Abnormal vaginal discharge among women of reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa: the need for a paradigm shift from a syndromic approach to specific pathogen identification and directed treatment

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