The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse recent progress in reducing the global burden of tuberculosis. The global number of deaths for tuberculosis could increase by around 200.000–400.000 in 2020 alone, as result of essential tuberculosis services disruptions due to the reallocation of human, financial and other resources from tuberculosis to the COVID-19 response, as reported by WHO: https://bit.ly/35KyzD
Workshop: Ethics review preparedness during COVID-19
Glad to be among the speakers https://bit.ly/3er42gC
INTEGRATION
“This project will improve malaria prevention strategies for both children, pregnant women and families as a whole as the study is being conducted in families which will raise awareness of malaria prevention. Furthermore, the proposed strategy can reduce the high risk estimated by the WHO that deaths from malaria double as a result of the interruption of interventions due to the Covid-19 pandemic “, are the words of the evaluators appointed by the European Commission (EDCTP) to examine the INTEGRATION project proposal.
Trusting in a positive outcome, the consortium of African and European researchers who developed the project proposal (Mali, Burkina Faso, France, U.K. and Italy) is now committed to providing further information and clarification to the assessors, who will complete the evaluation in January 2021.
Gloria Mason, Director for the Liberia National Ethics Review Board and member of the LiberHetica, speaker at international seminars on ethics in data sharing
Proud to have Gloria Mason, Director for the Liberia National Ethics Review Board and member of the LiberHetica (http://liberhetica.org) project in the panel of joint online seminars examining the GFBR (Global Forum on Bioethics in Research) and PHEPREN (Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Ethics Network) ethics recommendations in the context of data sharing and research response to COVID-19 pandemic. For more info + registration visit: https://bit.ly/2HF15No
From 2003 at the forefront of supporting Sub-Saharan Africa’s response to poverty-related infectious diseases, EDCTP plays a key role also in the African response to Covid-19
Indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on malaria in Africa
In Africa, pregnant women and young children are the most vulnerable to malaria.
However, malaria control interventions and strategies have achivied important results in the last years.
COVID-19 has now made these interventions critical, and could undo the results obtained so far, as highlighted by scientists in the Lancet: https://bit.ly/2Tfyxwn.
Potentially, COVID-19 could indirectly cause more deaths than it already does directly, in the context of Africa’s weak and fragile health systems.
WHO Office in Sierra Leone involved in hands washing promotion against coronavirus
All the materials and training to properly wash hands that we have provided to orphanages in Sierra Leone as part of the “Soap Bubbles Against Coronavirus” initiative continue to be crucial in the prevention of diseases such as coronavirus. We therefore very much welcome the similar initiative just undertaken by the WHO.
The WHO Office in Sierra Leone, in fact, supports state institutions in the fight against COVID-19 with the donation of hand washing, soap and face masks to the relevant Sierra Leonean Ministry
#SoapBubblesAgainstCoronavirus
Initiatives promoting hands washing against Covid-19 are growing
The fostering of hand washing included in the “Soap bubbles against coronavirus” initiative will be among the topics of a WHO webinar today.
Heineken Africa Foundation will also launch an initiative similar to “Soap bubbles against the coronavirus”, with a national campaign in Sierra Leone aimed at promoting hand washing against the spread of Covid-19.
INTEGRATION, an intervention research to protect pregnant women from malaria
Pregnant women, babies and children under 5 years of age are the most vulnerable to malaria. In 2018, around 11 million pregnant women and 24 million children got malaria. Furthermore, the WHO estimates that due to Covid-19 there will be disruptions in the fragile national health systems that could lead to a doubling of malaria mortality this year, from 400,000 to about 800,000 deaths, more than those from Covid-19 itself.
INTEGRATION project is an intervention that strategically integrates malaria prevention treatments for pregnant women and children to change African national health prevention policies and protect millions of pregnant women from malaria every year.
INTEGRATION project has been developed by a consortium of universities, research institutes and NGO from 2 African countries (Burkina Faso and Mali) and 3 European countries (France, England and Italy), which submitted this research project to the European Commission (EDCTP).
Donne in gravidanza, neonati e bambini sotto i 5 anni di età sono i più vulnerabili alla malaria. Nel 2018, circa 11 milioni di donne in gravidanza e 24 milioni di bambini si sono ammalati di malaria. Inoltre, l’OMS stima che a causa del Covid-19 ci saranno disfunzioni nei fragili sistemi sanitari africani che potrebbero portare quest’anno a un duplicarsi della mortalità per malaria, passando da 400.000 a circa 800.000 morti, ben di più di quelli causati dal Covid-19 stesso.
INTEGRATION è un intervento che integra strategicamente i trattamenti di prevenzione della malaria per donne in gravidanza e bambini, in modo da potenzialmente cambiare le politiche di prevenzione sanitaria in Africa e proteggere dalla malaria per milioni di donne in gravidanza ogni anno.
INTEGRATION è nato da un consorzio di università, istituti di ricerca e ONG di 2 paesi africani (Burkina Faso e Mali) e 3 paesi europei (Francia, Inghilterra e Italia), che hanno presentato questo progetto al bando di ricerca alla Commissione Europea (EDCTP).
Soap bubbles against coronavirus in Uganda too !
The “Soap bubbles against coronavirus” initiative is sparking interest in other African nations as well. Indeed a group of young Ugandan decided to come together and create a group of volunteers to be able to bring their help to orphanages, to children and to anyone who is vulnerable in Uganda. These young Ugandans have thus begun to organize themselves and exchange information and experiences with the team in Sierra Leone. Thanks to this commitment, they managed to register their association “R-Evolution for the Children and Vulnerable” with the Ugandan authorities, and will soon be able to bring their help to those most in need. The willingness to commit for their people, their organizational capacities, their ownership of the initiative is really exciting.