The pandemic and the problem of compliance with safety measures: The case of Egypt.

Analysing data from a nationally representative sample of 3442 interviews conducted in Egypt in 2020, this study examines the influence of four sets of factors in predicting compliance with the advice of healthcare professionals to combat the spread of COVID-19: demographics, knowledge and values, fear of the disease and denial, and the pandemic as a foreign invasion. The findings show that a higher likelihood of compliance is linked to socioeconomic status, awareness of the pandemic, reliance on a plurality of information sources, adherence to liberal values, and fear of the disease, but being male, young, employed, religious, fatalistic, and in denial of the severity of the pandemic lower this likelihood - all consistent with the results reported in the literature. In addition, this study highlights the link between compliance and such attributes of nationalism as national identity, national pride, the perception of the pandemic as a national event, and the willingness to sacrifice one's human right to combat the spread of the disease. Drawing on these factors, this paper suggests building societal consensus around the theme of national unity against the microparasitic invasion is the key to an effective strategy to combat the spread of the virus.

The rise in stunting in relation to avian influenza and food consumption patterns in Lower Egypt in comparison to Upper Egypt: results from 2005 and 2008 Demographic and Health Surveys.

BACKGROUND: A 2006 avian influenza (AI) outbreak resulted in mass removal of chickens in Lower Egypt, which decreased the household supply of poultry. Poultry, a key animal-source food, contains nutrients critical for child growth. This paper examines determinants of stunting between 2006 and 2008 in children 6 to 59 months of age within the context of the AI outbreak. METHODS: The 2005 and 2008 nationally representative Egypt Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHS) were used to analyse anthropometric data from 7,794 children in 2005 and 6,091 children in 2008. Children, 6-59 months of age, with length for age Z-score < -2 S.D. were categorized as stunted. Predictors of stunting were examined by bivariate and multivariable analyses, focusing on Lower Egypt, where a rise in stunting occurred, and Upper Egypt, where stunting declined. RESULTS: Between 2005 and 2008, Upper Egypt experienced a significant decline in stunting (28.8 to 21.8%, P < 0.001). Lower Egypt experienced a significant rise in stunting (16.6 to 31.5%, P < 0.001), coinciding with the 2006 AI outbreak. In Lower Egypt (2008), households owning poultry were 41.7% less likely to have a stunted child [aOR 0.58; 95% CI (0.42, 0.81) P = 0.002], and 12-47 month old children were 2.12-2.34 times [95% CI (1.39 - 3.63) P ≤ 0.001] more likely to be stunted than 6-11 month old children. Older children were likely affected by AI, as these children were either in-utero or toddlers in 2006. In Upper Egypt, stunting peaked at 12-23 months [aOR 2.62, 95% CI (1.73-3.96), P < 0.001], with lowered risk (22-32%) of stunting in 24-47 month old children [aOR1.65, 95% 1.07-2.53, P = 0.022, 24-35 month old] and [aOR 1.57, 95% CI 1.01-2.43, P = 0.043 36-47 months old]. A two-fold increase in child consumption of sugary foods between 2005 and 2008 was found in Lower Egypt (24.5% versus 52.7%; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Decreased dietary diversity, reduced poultry consumption, substitution of nutritious foods with sugary foods paralleled a reduction in household raising of birds, following the AI outbreak in Lower Egypt and not Upper Egypt. Increased feeding of sugary foods due to fear of illness or greater penetration of these foods may be related to stunting. Advice on infant and young child feeding is needed to improve dietary intake and reduce sugary food consumption.

Egypt demographic and health survey 2008

Health for all is the main health objective of the Egyptian government. To monitor and evaluate progress toward the achievement of this goal, reliable data are needed. These data come from two primary sources: the health service delivery system (service-based data) and the community (household-based data). The two types of data complement each other in enhancing the information available to monitor progress in the health sector. Beginning in 1980, a number of household surveys have been carried out in Egypt to obtain data from the community on the current health situation, including a series of Demographic and Health Surveys of which the 2008 EDHS is the most recent. The results of the 2008 EDHS show that several key maternal and child health indicators including antenatal care coverage, medical assistance at delivery, and infant and child mortality have improved. The survey also found that family planning use is rising and fertility is continuing to decline although at a slow pace. In addition, the 2008 Egypt DHS collected information relating to other health issues that Egypt is facing including knowledge and practices relating to avian influenza and the prevalence of high blood pressure among the adult population. By collecting and testing blood samples for the hepatitis C virus from respondents, the survey also provides the first nation-wide data on the prevalence of infection with the hepatitis C virus among the Egyptian population age 15-59 years. The findings of the 2008 EDHS together with service-based data are very important for measuring the achievements of the health program to date as well as for planning future interventions to address Egypt’s health challenges. Based on the above-mentioned considerations, it is very important that the results of the 2008 EDHS should be widely disseminated at different levels of health management, in the central offices as well as local governments, and to the community at large