Knowledge of African Traditional Medicine System: Immunomodulation

African traditional medicine is one of the oldest forms of health-care system in the continent that has continued to be relevant. It is usually holistic, treating mind and body, and includes aromatherapy, bone setting, circumcision, herbs, homeopathy massaging, spiritual therapies, maternity care, psychiatric care, music therapy, and many more. It is a very old and culturally informed method of health management that humans have used against diseases that have threatened existence. More than 60,000 of the world's higher plant species can be found in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands. These are about one-fourth of the global total and less than the 8% of the medicinal plants sold internationally from Africa. This scarcity could be due to lack of data on the traditional uses of many African plants as the knowledge is transferred orally by storytellers and traditional healers though in recent times, there are some information in print. Immunomodulation is seen as an essential feature of immunotherapy whereby immune responses are provoked, heightened, decreased, or avoided. Immune responses have been observed to be either cellular co-receptor expression, class switching, cytokine secretion, histamine release, immunoglobulin secretion, lymphocyte expression, or phagocytosis. Immune system dysfunction is responsible for various diseases like allergies, asthmas, arthritis, cancers, and infectious diseases. So modulation of immune responses is required in controlling diseases. This is requisite nowadays because of the upsurge of infectious diseases like superbugs caused by Multi-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the coronavirus (COVID-19) plus other emerging diseases. The historical view of African Traditional Medicine (ATMs) will be discussed from the point of view of specific plants used for immunomodulation in the ATMs and their efficacies following the trend of use and development of herbal medicines from crude formulations to refined dosage forms and procedures over time. Most of the ATMs are prepared as tonics and bitters to heighten and keep up immune defenses. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.

Setting the scene

"Young People, Violence and Strategic Interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)" brings together data and case studies from a range of SSA countries. While the findings are diverse, a set of themes predominate: they reveal that violence, embedded in everyday lived realities, is a complex and urgent issue that should be comprehensively probed. While moments of political and xenophobic violence are reflected upon, critical attention is firmly on young women and their grappling with sexual and gender-based violence. The COVID lens has magnified micro-struggles and long-standing structural problems showing how inequities and disadvantages have created an infrastructure through which violence has been exacerbated. There is also a focus on masculinities constructed by oppressive histories, social and economic crises, and state disregard, but with the message that marginality should not be reified, nor the gendered practices of young men oversimplified. In all the chapters, contextual specificities and insightful case studies offer thoughts and arguments about the ways in which violence manifests, what interventionist strategies are compelling, and how young people's proactive involvement in interventions could begin to address the problem of violence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Arbovirus and its potential to lead the next global pandemic from sub-Saharan Africa: What lessons have we learned from COVID-19?

Risk and predisposing factors for viral zoonoses abound in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region with significant public health implications. For several decades, there have been several reports on the emergence and re-emergence of arbovirus infections. The lifetime burden of arboviral diseases in developing countries is still poorly understood. Studies indicate significant healthcare disruptions and economic losses attributed to the viruses in resource-poor communities marked by impairment in the performance of daily activities. Arboviruses have reportedly evolved survival strategies to aid their proliferation in favorable niches, further magnifying their public health relevance. However, there is poor knowledge about the viruses in the region. Thus, this review presents a survey of zoonotic arboviruses in SSA, the burden associated with their diseases, management of diseases as well as their prevention and control, mobility and determinants of infections, their vectors, and co-infection with various microorganisms. Lessons learned from the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic coupled with routine surveillance of zoonotic hosts for these viruses will improve our understanding of their evolution, their potential to cause a pandemic, control and prevention measures, and vaccine development.Copyright © GERMS 2022.

Males' experiences of gender-based violence in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A review of literature

Globally, gender-based violence (GBV) continues to be a serious global health, human rights, and development issue. There is no standard definition of GBV, but it can be enacted under different forms such as physical violence, sexual violence, economic violence, psychological and emotional aggression (including coercive tactics) directed at someone because of their biological sex or gender identity. Most literature focuses on violence against females (both heterosexual and homosexual) and children, with little focus on males' perspectives. Most GBV narratives present males as perpetrators of violence. Recent statistics show that intimate partner violence (IPV) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to increased unemployment, substance abuse and reduced economic status. Recent country specific statistics are sparse but understanding the males' perceptions and experiences of GBV can assist with identifying appropriate interventions to deal with GBV. This critical review highlights critical knowledge gaps in the existing literature and a need for future research within Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Constitutional Resilience and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from Sub-Saharan Africa

This book explores the resilience of constitutional government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, connecting and comparing perspectives from ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa to global trends. In emergency situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, a state has the right and duty under both international law and domestic constitutional law to take appropriate steps to protect the health and security of its population. Emergency regimes may allow for the suspension or limitation of normal constitutional government and even human rights. Those measures are not a license for authoritarian rule, but they must conform to legal standards of necessity, reasonableness, and proportionality that limit state action in ways appropriate to the maintenance of the rule of law in the context of a public health emergency. Bringing together established and emerging African scholars from ten countries, this book looks at the impact government emergency responses to the pandemic have on the functions of the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary, as well as the protection of human rights. It also considers whether and to what extent government emergency responses were consistent with international human rights law, in particular with the standards of legality, necessity, proportionality, and non-discrimination in the Siracusa Principles. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

COVID-19 and the View from Africa

In Africa, refusal of COVID-19 and other vaccines is widespread for different reasons, including disbelief in the existence of the virus itself and faith in traditional remedies. In sub-Saharan countries, refusal is often made worse by opposition to vaccines by the religious establishments. This is a pressing problem, as Africa has the highest vaccine-avoidable mortality rate for children under the age of five in the world. Dialogue between those wishing to promote vaccines and those who resist them is essential if the situation is to be improved. This article argues that Western and other aid agencies seeking to promote vaccination programs need to develop a dialogue with resisters, and in this process to embrace and commend the ancient African philosophical tradition of Ubuntu, incorporating it into these programs as a way to overcome such entrenched resistance. The paper concludes with concrete recommendations for how to accomplish this goal.

A study of internet-facilitated violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Sub-Saharan Africa

Before the influx of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), Africa was seen as a dark continent (Agwe-Mbarika et al., 2011). In 2016, the United Nations General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution declaring Internet access a human right and the intentional Internet disruption a human rights violation. This is contained in resolution A/HRC/32/L.20 of 2016. Recent reports also declare that Internet access falls under the freedom of expression (La Rue, 2011). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The impact of COVID-19 on safe abortion access in Africa: An analysis through a framework of reproductive justice and lens of structural violence.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus causing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic heightened restrictions on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), especially concerning safe abortion access. The African region has been particularly susceptible to the impact of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive health services. Using a framework of reproductive justice, we interviewed key informants from the Mobilizing Action around Medication Abortion (MAMA) Network regarding the impacts of structural violence and COVID-19 on SRHR programming in Africa, particularly programming on self-managed abortion. We identified themes of lacking infrastructures of support, emergent marginality, and neocolonial funding environments as facets of structural violence within the context of the MAMA Network, as heightened by the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Barriers and facilitators of HPV vaccination in sub-saharan Africa: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide. Globally, both men and women have a 50% risk of being infected at least once in their life. HPV prevalence is among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), at an average of 24%. HPV causes different types of cancers, including cervical cancer (CC), which is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in SSA. HPV-vaccination has been proven to be effective in reducing HPV induced cancers. SSA countries are delayed in reaching the WHO's target of fully vaccinating 90% of girls within the age of 15 by 2030. Our systematic review aims to identify barriers and facilitators of HPV-vaccination in SSA to inform national implementation strategies in the region. METHODS: This is a mixed method systematic review based on the PRISMA statement and The Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers' Manual. Search strategies were adapted to each selected database: PubMed/MEDLINE, Livivo, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and African Journals Online for papers published in English, Italian, German, French and Spanish between 1 December 2011 and 31 December 2021. Zotero and Rayyan were the software used for data management. The appraisal was conducted by three independent reviewers. RESULTS: A total of 20 articles were selected for appraisal from an initial 536 articles. Barriers included: limited health system capacities, socio-economic status, stigma, fear and costs of vaccines, negative experience with vaccinations, COVID-19 pandemic, lack of correct information, health education (HE) and consent. Additionally, we found that boys are scarcely considered for HPV-vaccination by parents and stakeholders. Facilitators included: information and knowledge, policy implementation, positive experience with vaccinations, HE, stakeholders' engagement, women's empowerment, community engagement, seasonality, and target-oriented vaccination campaigns. CONCLUSIONS: This review synthesizes barriers and facilitators of HPV-vaccinations in SSA. Addressing these can contribute to the implementation of more effective HPV immunization programs targeted at eliminating CC in line with the WHO 90/70/90 strategy. REGISTRATION AND FUNDING: Protocol ID: CRD42022338609 registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). Partial funds: German Centre for Infection research (DZIF) project NAMASTE: 8,008,803,819.

Short-Term Impact of "Amaka Amasanyufu" Multiple Family Group Intervention on Mental Health Functioning of Children With Disruptive Behavior Disorders in Uganda.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluate the mid-intervention (8 weeks) and short-term (16 weeks) impact of a culturally adapted multiple family group (MFG) intervention, "Amaka Amasanyufu," on the mental health of children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) and primary caregivers in Uganda. METHOD: We analyzed data from the Strengthening mental health and research training in Sub-Saharan Africa (SMART) Africa-Uganda study. Schools were randomized to the following: a control group; an MFG facilitated by parent peers (MFG-PP); or an MFG facilitated by community health workers (MFG:CHW). All participants were blinded to interventions provided to other participants and study hypotheses. At 8 weeks and 16 weeks, we evaluated differences in depressive symptoms and self-concept among children and in mental health and caregiving-related stress among caregivers. Three-level linear mixed-effects models were fitted. Pairwise comparisons of post-baseline group means were performed using the Sidak adjustment for multiple comparisons and standardized mean differences. Data from 636 children with DBDs and caregivers (controls: n = 243, n = 10 schools; MFG-PP: n = 194, n = 8 schools; MFG-CHW: n = 199, n = 8 schools) were analyzed. RESULTS: There were significant group-by-time interactions for all outcomes, and differences were observed mid-intervention, with short-term effects at 16 weeks (end-intervention). MFG-PP and MFG-CHW children had significantly lower depressive symptoms and higher self-concept, whereas caregivers had significantly lower caregiving-related stress and fewer mental health problems, than controls. There was no difference between intervention groups. CONCLUSION: Amaka Amasanyufu MFG intervention is effective for reducing depressive symptoms and improving self-concept among children with DBDs while reducing parental stress and mental health problems among caregivers. Given the paucity of culturally adapted mental health interventions, this provides support for adaptation and scale-up in Uganda and other low-resource settings. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: SMART Africa (Strengthening Mental Health Research and Training); https://clinicaltrials.gov/: NCT03081195.

The COVID-19 Pandemic, Social Ties, and Psychosocial Well-Being of Middle-Aged Women in Rural Africa.

The study contributes to the understanding of the societal impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the Global South by examining longer term implications of pandemic-induced disruptions and deprivations for social ties and psychosocial well-being. Using data from a survey of middle-aged women in rural Mozambique, the author finds a negative association between the pandemic-triggered household economic decline and perceived changes in the quality of relations with marital partners, non-coresident children, and relatives, but not with generally more distant actors, such as coreligionists and neighbors. In turn, multivariable analyses detect a positive association of changes in the quality of family and kin ties with participants' life satisfaction, regardless of other factors. Yet women's expectations for changes in their household living conditions in the near future show a significant association only with changes in the quality of relations with marital partners. The author situates these findings within the context of women's enduring vulnerabilities in low-income patriarchal settings.

Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sub-Saharan African Third-Year Students Studying Computer Science and Information Technology

Low vaccination rates, inferior-quality vaccines, limited testing, and a lack of funding forced many institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa into online-learning-only environments for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instructors scrambled to put classes online. Only in 2022 did some face-to-face classes resume. Unforeseeable and unprecedented circumstances forced university personnel to function with reduced budgets and without regard for the return to in-person classes. We taught, studied, and analyzed a cohort of third-year Sub-Saharan African students who spent their first two years of studies online. We describe the struggles they faced and what can be done to make up for their shortcomings and missed opportunities. We quantify the shortcomings through focus groups, an analysis of what parts of an accredited program would have fallen short, interviews, and through anecdotal evidence. Our findings can help those who suffered a similar fate. These observations can be applied to non-STEM disciplines. © 2023 IEEE.

Application of the socio-ecological model in the efforts to end COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa: The challenges and success stories

The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) was detected in December 2019 in the Hubei Province of China. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. The WHO thus proposed country and technical guidelines in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper reviewed the preparedness of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries in ending the pandemic through the adoption of the WHO guidelines. The Socio-Ecological Model was adopted as a conceptual framework in conducting our analysis. We realized that while striving to implement the WHO guidelines, a plethora of microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem factors make it difficult for SSA countries to achieve the desired results aimed at halting the spread of the virus. SSA countries may, therefore, not be able to end the COVID-19 pandemic soon. We recommend various interventions including short-and long-term loan facilities from donor agencies, decentralization of COVID-19 testing to sub-national levels, and increased community engagement to improve risk communication and adherence to public health measures to end the spread of COVID-19 in SSA. © 2023 Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and the Medical Association of Malawi.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Presidential Tweets, the U.S.–U.K. Free Trade Agreement, Humanitarian Intervention, and China's Bilateral Relations

" Words Matter: Presidents Obama and Trump, Twitter, and U.S. Soft Power. Graph [9] concentrate on the issues that soured the initial optimism for a U.S.-U.K. free trade agreement between President Trump and Prime Minister Johnson which did not come to its planned fruition by 2020. EN Social Media Foreign Policy Twitter Soft Power Obama Trump Boris Johnson Humanitarian Intervention President Clinton Bosnia Kosovo China Sri-Lanka Kazakhstan South Korea ASEAN Sub-Saharan Africa Information Technology. NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Presidential Tweets, the U.S.-U.K. Free Trade Agreement, Humanitarian Intervention, and China's Bilateral Relations. [Extracted from the article] Copyright of World Affairs is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Embracing e-health systems in managing the COVID 19 pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the policy responses adopted to curtail it have drastically altered how health services are delivered around the globe. To enable the public to continue accessing health care, e-health innovations have become the most viable tool to provide convenient, timely, effective and safe care, while reducing the spread of the virus. This paper utilized data from existing literature to explore the benefits and challenges of implementing e-health technologies in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) amid this pandemic. Evidence suggests that these technologies have the potential to strengthen public health systems in SSA as they have in First World countries. However, there are a number of challenges that need to be addressed first in order to realize the full promises of e-health on the continent. The paper proposes that African governments should come together and implement similar e-health policies, share software, expertise and other critical ICT infrastructure as it can result in the successful implementation of e-health innovations, while reducing the financial burden associated with their set up.

Restoring Epistemic Credibility for Expert Communities in Sub-Saharan Africa

In this paper, we engage with Heidi Grasswick's argument on epistemic distrust as an epistemic value. We show how expert communities have in the past perpetuated epistemic harm to people of colour as recipients of knowledge. We highlight the adverse effects of these harms in our social milieu by limiting our discussion to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in sub-Saharan Africa. We then conclude that the scepticism of the COVID-19 vaccines by people of colour within the aforementioned locale can be understood in the context of epistemic distrust. Finally, We show how epistemic credibility toward the expert community, precisely scientific communities, by the non-expert community can be restored. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Revista de Filosofía is the property of Revista de Filosofia-Universidad del Zulia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

COVID-19 and the Motorcycle Taxi Sector in Sub-Saharan African Cities: A Key Stakeholders' Perspective

This article assesses the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the urban motorcycle taxi (MCT) sector in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). MCToperators in SSA provide essential transport services and have shown ingenuity and an ability to adapt and innovate when responding to different challenges, including health challenges. However, policymakers and regulators often remain somewhat hostile toward the sector. The article discusses the measures and restrictions put in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and key stakeholders' perspectives on these and on the sector's level of compliance. Primary data were collected in six SSA countries during the last quarter of 2020. Between 10 and 15 qualitative interviews with key stakeholders relevant to the urban MCT sector were conducted in each country. These interviews were conducted with stakeholders based in the capital city and a secondary city, to ensure a geographically broader understanding of the measures, restrictions, and perspectives. The impact of COVID-19 measures on the MCT and motor-tricycle taxi sector was significant and overwhelmingly negative. Lockdowns, restrictions on the maximum number of passengers allowed to be carried at once, and more generally, a COVID-19-induced reduction in demand, resulted in a drop in income for operators, according to the key stakeholders. However, some key stakeholders indicated an increase in MCT activity and income because of the motorcycles' ability to bypass police and army controls. In most study countries measures were formulated in a non-consultative manner. This, we argue, is symptomatic of governments' unwillingness to seriously engage with the sector. © National Academy of Sciences: Transportation Research Board 2021.

COVID-19 and Microeconomic Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Study on Ethiopian and Nigerian Households

The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic on overall welfare depends on the resilience of microeconomic units, particularly households, to cope and recover from the shocks created by the pandemic. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where the pandemic has been less pervasive, the pandemic is expected to increase food insecurity, vulnerability, and ultimately poverty. To accurately measure the welfare impact of the pandemic on the macroeconomy, it is important to account for the distributional impact on households and the ability of households to cope with it, which reflects their microeconomic resilience. In this paper, we seek to determine the differential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on household microeconomic resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa. We use direct measurements of economic indicators to measure the impact of the pandemic on 6249 households across Ethiopia and Nigeria. Given that resilience is a latent variable, the FAO's Resilience Index Measure Analysis (RIMA) framework is utilized to construct the resilience index. We hypothesize that the pandemic created differential economic impacts among households and ultimately household microeconomic resilience. Study findings show that government containment measures improved household microeconomic resilience, while self-containment measures lowered microeconomic resilience. Additionally, households that relied on wage employment and non-farm businesses as their main source of livelihood were found to be more microeconomic resilient.

Prioritizing health and productivity to support urban and informal women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa

Urban women entrepreneurs (WEs) in the informal sector play a largely overlooked role in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). WEs also leverage collective action strategies to support each other. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely hampered the activities of WEs in the urban informal sector. The detrimental health and economic implications of sidelining urban WEs in Sub-Saharan Africa can be avoided by bridging the gap between the needs of urban WEs in the informal sector and the policies developed. This paper outlines strategies to fully integrate the experiences of urban WEs into state interventions to improve their wellbeing and economic productivity. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Mpox in pregnancy: Management, risks and challenges in Africa and lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data on mpox in pregnancy are currently limited. Historically, only 65 cases in pregnancy have been reported globally since mpox was discovered in 1958. This includes 59 cases in the current outbreak. Vertical transmission was confirmed in one patient. Pregnant women are at high risk of severe disease owing to immunological and hormonal changes that increase susceptibility to infections in pregnancy. African women appear to be at higher risk of mpox infection and adverse outcomes in pregnancy for epidemiological and immunologic reasons, in addition to the background high rates of adverse feto-maternal outcomes in the region. This risk is potentially heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the possibility of mpox virus exportation/importation as a result of the lifting of movement restrictions and trans-border travels between countries affected by the current outbreak. Furthermore, coinfection with mpox and COVID-19 in pregnancy is possible, and the clinical features of both conditions may overlap. Challenges of diagnosis and management of mpox in pregnancy in Africa include patients concealing their travel history from healthcare providers and absconding from/evading isolation after diagnosis, shortage of personal protective equipment and polymerase chain reaction testing facilities for diagnosis, vaccine hesitancy/resistance, and poor disease notification systems. There is a need for local, regional and global support to strengthen the capacity of African countries to address these challenges and potentially reduce the disease burden among pregnant women in the continent.