Civil society and medical product access in Africa: Lessons from COVID-19.

Understanding health as a human right creates a legal obligation on countries to ensure access to timely, acceptable, and affordable health care. We highlight the importance of a meaningful role for civil society in improving access to well-regulated quality medical products in Africa; to support and be part of a regional social contract approach following the access issues that have been particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that African communities have a clear participatory role as important stakeholders in the regulatory lifecycle. Solidarity is important for a cohesive approach as formal government healthcare infrastructure may be minimal for some countries, with little training of communities available for disease management and insufficient money to fund people to organise and deliver health care. Some of the issues for civil society engagement with multi-stakeholders, and possible mitigating strategies, are tabulated to initiate discussion on facilitators and concerns of governments and other stakeholders for meaningful participation by patients, communities and civil society within a regional regulatory lifecycle approach. Solidarity is called for to address issues of equity, ethics and morality, stigmatisation and mutual empowerment - to sustainably support the region and national governments to develop greater self-sufficiency throughout the regulatory lifecycle. By creating a participatory space, patients, communities and civil society can be invited in with clear missions and supported by well-defined guidance to create a true sense of solidarity and social cohesion. Strong leadership coupled with the political will to share responsibilities in all aspects of this work is key.

Cucurbitaceae species used as traditional medicine in West Africa

Background: The use of some Cucurbitaceae species for the treatment of diseases is an ancient practice in traditional medicine systems in Africa and the cucurbitacins among others have been reported to be responsible for most of these healing activities. Aim: This review discusses the relevance of Cucurbitaceae species in traditional medicine in some west African countries. Methods: A literature search was conducted on electronic databases such as Google Books, Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science. The search involved the use of several terms and free text words which include 'Cucurbitaceae species in West Africa traditional medicine';'medicinal plants of the Cucurbitaceae family used to treat diseases in west African communities'. Results: Several Cucurbitaceae species are used in the region either in similar ways or different ways for the treatment of different diseases. The leaves are the most utilised plant parts and decoctions are the most common method of preparation. From this study, 18 species of Cucurbitaceae used for medicinal purposes were reviewed from Nigeria;4 from Benin, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali, respectively;1 from Togo;5 from Senegal;9 from Cameroon and 3 from Gabon and Burkina Faso, respectively. Momordica charantia and Momordica balsamina are often utilised for abortion in some west African countries. Momordica species and Lagenaria breviflora are utilised to treat diabetes, cough related to respiratory infections and viral infections such as measles and chickenpox Conclusions: In-depth research into these plants could help to develop a natural, novel cure for diabetes and coronavirus (COVID-19) and effective, cheap contraceptive. Contribution: This review highlights the significant role of Cucurbitaceae species in the treatment of a wide range of diseases and health issues in the WestAfrican traditional medicine system. The information provided could be used as a guide by research scientists for the formulation of natural products to cure a variety of diseases. © 2022. The Authors.

Sustainable Development and SDG-7 in Sub-Saharan Africa: Balancing Energy Access, Economic Growth, and Carbon Emissions.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shocked the global energy system. It has resulted in tremendous uncertainty and diminished the recent advances to increase access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy-an objective preserved in the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG-7). According to the IEA, attaining universal electricity access in Africa in line with SDG-7 entails annual investments of approximately $20 billion over the next decade. Given the sizeable magnitudes involved, it is inevitable that energy projects will need to rely on richer nations for energy aid. This paper explores the linkages between energy-related external aid, carbon emissions, per capita GDP, and electricity access for a sample of 30 low-income SSA countries over 1995 to 2016. Our econometric analysis reveals that while all types of energy aid facilitate economic growth in the long run, there is no direct impact of energy-related aid on electricity access. However, an increase in per capita GDP is positively associated with electricity access in both rural and urban areas. We also find that energy-related aid helps mitigate carbon emissions as well as contribute to GDP. Taken together, our results suggest that enhanced energy-related aid to low-income SSA countries can directly facilitate climate compatible growth and indirectly impel improvements in electricity access thereby helping with poverty reduction. We also advocate regional cooperation among SSA countries as a collective effort to confront shared energy challenges.

La pandémie de Covid-19 a bouleversé le système énergétique mondial. Cela a entraîné une très grande incertitude et a fait reculer les progrès réalisés récemment pour accroître l'accès à une énergie abordable, fiable, durable et moderne­un objectif qui fait partie de l'Objectif de développement durable 7 (ODD 7) des Nations Unies. Selon l'AIE, pour atteindre l'accès universel à l'électricité en Afrique, conformément à l'ODD 7, il faut des investissements annuels d'environ 20 milliards de dollars au cours de la prochaine décennie. Compte tenu de l'ampleur considérable de ce qui est en jeu, il est inévitable que les projets énergétiques aient besoin de s'appuyer sur les pays les plus riches pour obtenir une aide énergétique. Cet article explore les liens entre l'aide extérieure liée à l'énergie, les émissions de carbone, le PIB par habitant et l'accès à l'électricité, sur un échantillon de 30 pays à faible revenu d'Afrique subsaharienne de 1995 à 2016. Notre analyse économétrique révèle que même si tous les types d'aide énergétique contribuent à la croissance à long terme, il n'y a pas d'impact direct des aides liées à l'énergie sur l'accès à l'électricité. Cependant, il existe un lien entre l'augmentation du PIB par habitant et l'accès à l'électricité dans les zones rurales et urbaines. Nous constatons également que l'aide liée à l'énergie permet d'atténuer les émissions de carbone et contribue au PIB. Lorsqu'on les considère dans leur globalité, nos résultats suggèrent qu'une aide énergétique accrue auprès des pays à faible revenu d'Afrique subsaharienne peut directement faciliter une croissance respectueuse du climat et favoriser indirectement l'amélioration de l'accès à l'électricité, contribuant ainsi à la réduction de la pauvreté. Nous préconisons également la coopération régionale entre les pays d'Afrique sub-saharienne en tant qu'effort collectif pour relever des défis énergétiques communs.

Segmentation of African countries based on infection and death rates of COVID-19 before vaccination: A rigid population to source for workforce amidst the pandemic?

This study established segments among African countries to show the hierarchies of COVID-19 infection and death rates across the continent before the commencement of vaccination. Four clusters were extracted, each consisting of countries with a similar number of cumulative infections and deaths per 100 thousand population. When compared with the pre-vaccination figures from Europe, Americas, and Asia, it was observed that the African population exhibited a good level of rigidity and resilience to the pandemic, pre-vaccination. Majority of African countries - evaluating to 84% - were clustered into the segment with low infection and low death rates. Only 4% of the countries were clustered into the higher infection and highest death rates segment. This is an indication of the rigidity of a greater part of the African population to COVID-19 before vaccination. To forestall total business shutdown in the event of a similar pandemic in the future, multinational corporations could explore their workforce from the African population given the level of rigidity exhibited pre-vaccination.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic across Africa: Current Status of Vaccinations and Implications for the Future.

The introduction of effective vaccines in December 2020 marked a significant step forward in the global response to COVID-19. Given concerns with access, acceptability, and hesitancy across Africa, there is a need to describe the current status of vaccine uptake in the continent. An exploratory study was undertaken to investigate these aspects, current challenges, and lessons learnt across Africa to provide future direction. Senior personnel across 14 African countries completed a self-administered questionnaire, with a descriptive analysis of the data. Vaccine roll-out commenced in March 2021 in most countries. COVID-19 vaccination coverage varied from low in Cameroon and Tanzania and up to 39.85% full coverage in Botswana at the end of 2021; that is, all doses advocated by initial protocols versus the total population, with rates increasing to 58.4% in Botswana by the end of June 2022. The greatest increase in people being fully vaccinated was observed in Uganda (20.4% increase), Botswana (18.5% increase), and Zambia (17.9% increase). Most vaccines were obtained through WHO-COVAX agreements. Initially, vaccination was prioritised for healthcare workers (HCWs), the elderly, adults with co-morbidities, and other at-risk groups, with countries now commencing vaccination among children and administering booster doses. Challenges included irregular supply and considerable hesitancy arising from misinformation fuelled by social media activities. Overall, there was fair to reasonable access to vaccination across countries, enhanced by government initiatives. Vaccine hesitancy must be addressed with context-specific interventions, including proactive programmes among HCWs, medical journalists, and the public.

The significance of daily incidence and mortality cases due to COVID-19 in some African countries

With the current outbreak of COVID-19, the African countries have been on heightened alert to detect and isolate any imported and locally transmitted cases of the disease. It was observed that each of the daily COVID-19 incidence and mortality counts among African countries may not be independent. Result of the Ljung-Box test showed that each of the daily COVID-19 incidence and mortality counts among African countries was not independent, rather both are time-dependent. Analyzing daily COVID-19 incidence and mortality counts over time requires more specialized analytic tools. Trend analysis of daily counts of COVID-19 incidence and deaths is presented over time. Also, generalized estimating equation, a flexible tool for analyzing longitudinal data, is employed to analyze the daily COVID-19 mortality rates in African countries. Findings from this study showed that patterns of incidence cases among African countries are statistically different. There are significant monotone trends in the daily COVID-19 incidence and mortality counts of many countries in Africa. There is a positive weak linear relationship between the daily reported COVID-19 cases and the population of African countries. However, the magnitude of the observed association was particularly small. It was further deduced that the farther the number of days from the day of first incidence if the pandemic is not properly managed, the more the daily COVID-19 mortality rate in Africa. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.

To Use Face Masks or Not After COVID-19 Vaccination? An Impact Analysis Using Mathematical Modeling

The question of whether to drop or to continue wearing face masks especially after being vaccinated among the public is controversial. This is sourced from the efficacy levels of COVID-19 vaccines developed, approved, and in use. We develop a deterministic mathematical model that factors in a combination of the COVID-19 vaccination program and the wearing of face masks as intervention strategies to curb the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. We use the model specifically to assess the potential impact of wearing face masks, especially by the vaccinated individuals in combating further contraction of COVID-19 infections. Validation of the model is achieved by performing its goodness of fit to the Republic of South Africa's reported COVID-19 positive cases data using the Maximum Likelihood Estimation algorithm implemented in the fitR package. We first consider a scenario where the uptake of the vaccines and wearing of the face masks, especially by the vaccinated individuals is extremely low. Second, we consider a scenario where the uptake of the vaccines and wearing of the face masks by people who are vaccinated is relatively high. Third, we consider a scenario where the uptake of the vaccines and wearing of the face masks by the vaccinated individuals is on an upward trajectory. Findings from scenario one and scenario two, respectively, indicate a highly surging number of infections and a low recorded number of infections. For scenario three, it shows that the increased extent of wearing of the face masks by the vaccinated individuals at increasing levels of vaccine and face mask average protection results in a highly accelerated decrease in COVID-19 infections. However, wearing face masks alone also results in the reduction of the peak number of infections at increasing levels of face mask efficacy though the infections delay clearing.

Organic food consumption and eating habit in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

The purpose of the current study is to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected eating behavior and directed toward organic food and bio-products consumption in the North African region especially Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia as well as identify the variables that may affect the eating behavior of these population. Data were collected using an anonymous online survey on 1,244 respondents from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The results showed that the confinement did influence the consumption of healthy food to enhance people's immune system so as to prevent infection by the COVID-19, and other diseases. Moreover, academic level, gender, and country of residence were diversely correlated with the eating behavior during COVID-19 confinement. The understanding of people's eating behavior will help the public health to reshape future policies toward organic and bio-based food production;moreover, some further nutritional recommendations could be concluded to maintain a global better health status and improve body defence mechanism.

Assessment of schistosomiasis endemicity and preventive treatment on coronavirus disease 2019 outcomes in Africa.

Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, attention has been drawn to the possible interactions between the deadly disease and a few other infections. Although schistosomiasis and other neglected tropical diseases have been proposed to influence susceptibility to COVID-19, no study has looked into this. This study therefore investigated the impact of schistosomiasis on the transmission of COVID-19 and also evaluated the role of praziquantel treatment coverage on COVID-19 outcomes in African countries. The schistosomiasis endemicity and the preventive chemotherapy coverage index statuses were obtained from the World Health Organization databank. COVID-19 data were obtained from the Worldometer COVID-19 report. The data were adjusted and the percentage of COVID-19 cases confirmed, and active cases, recovery and deaths were computed. The COVID-19 outcomes were evaluated relative to schistosomiasis endemicity and treatment coverage. COVID-19 outcomes, especially active cases and recovery rates, were significantly improved in schistosomiasis nonendemic African countries (p < 0.05). While COVID-19 confirmed cases were significantly higher in countries with >75% schistosomiasis preventive chemotherapy coverage index (p < 0.05), improved COVID-19 outcomes were observed relative to active cases and recovery in countries with >75% preventive chemotherapy coverage index (p > 0.05). Schistosomiasis endemicity may be associated with negative COVID-19 outcomes, and higher praziquantel treatment coverage could reduce COVID-19 active cases and improve the recovery rate.

Leveraging best practices: protecting sub-Saharan African prison detainees amid COVID-19.

The risk of infection and death from COVID-19 is higher among older prisoners with pre-existing health conditions especially in sub-Saharan African. Hawks L et al. raise four concerns that need to be considered when developing public health and clinical responses to COVID-19 to protect prisoners. This paper applies these concerns to the sub-Saharan African context. These focus areas include 1) challenges of social distancing; 2) higher risk of severe infection and death; 3) difficulties health care systems may face in the case of COVID-19 surge; and 4) recommended solutions to prevent harm and preventing a public health catastrophe. Prisoners are more vulnerable and the time to take immediate actions to minimize an imminent COVID-19 outbreak and its impacts is now.