Progress in nutrition related millennium development goals in Uganda before adoption of post-2015 development agenda: review of goals 1, 2 and 4

Promulgation of Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in year 2000 gave hope to the world that common interests and challenges such as poverty and hunger, education, gender equality and women empowerment, child mortality and maternal health, diseases such as, HIV/AIDS, malaria, environmental sustainability, as well as global partnerships that were affecting the world could, respectively, be prioritized and responded to within a timeframe of the year 2001 to 2015. In this case, the developing countries like Uganda were accorded great attention. Nutrition has been at the forefront of the MDG implementation as one of the daunting challenges affecting developing countries. This paper is based on a narrative review of quantitative and qualitative data aimed at establishing the progress Uganda made towards achieving the three nutrition related MDG (1, 2 and 4). A timeframe of 2001 when the goals were officially launched up to the deadline of 31st December 2015 and the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda was considered. The majority of Low and Middle Income Developing Countries (LMIDCS) failed to make substantial progress in achieving most of the goals, including the nutrition related goals. Uganda only achieved MDG one - target 1.A indicator of halving a proportion of people living below less than $ 1.25 a day. To some extent, this helped in alleviating poverty, creating jobs, and generating income and saving and other opportunities which are indeed catalysts to human development and socioeconomic wellbeing. Unfortunately, Uganda missed achieving the rest of the nutrition related MDG. They included: reducing underweight children under five years (MDG 1.8), increasing net enrollment of boys and girls in primary education (MDG 2.1), increasing proportion of pupils starting grade one to last primary grade (MDG 2.2), reducing child mortality rate per 1,000 live births (MDG 4.1) and reducing infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (MDG 4.2). However, the hope at this particular moment ought to be directed towards tracking and achieving goals in the Post-2015 Development Agenda whose aim is mainly to build on the progress of the MDG.Key words: Nutrition, Millennium Development Goals, Post-Development Agenda, Ugand

Perceived Physical and Mental Health and Healthy Eating Habits During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted the lives of people around the world since 2020. This study aims to reveal perceived impact of the coronavirus pandemic on physical and mental health and eating behaviors among people with disabilities and without disabilities in South Korea, as compared to other countries.Methods: A secondary analysis of a prospective cross-sectional study which was conducted with a web-based global survey.Results: Among the 3,550 responses from 65 countries, 2,621 responses with nation information were set as full data, 189 for South Korea and 2,432 for other countries. In Korea, there was no significant difference in healthy lifestyle behaviors between people with and without disabilities before the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived physical and mental health and changes in eating habits during the COVID-19 pandemic showed no significant difference between people with and without disabilities in Korea. There were significant differences in physical health and dietary habits, but no differences in its effect on mental health between people living in Korea and other countries in both people with and without disabilities groups. In other words, more than 60% of people in all groups (disability vs. non-disability, Korea vs. non-Korea) reported worse mental health than before the COVID-19 pandemic.Conclusion: In Korea and other countries, mental health showed a tendency to deteriorate regardless of the presence or absence of disability during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of healthy eating habits, Koreans were relatively less affected than people from other countrie

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors and Perceived Mental and Physical Health of People Living with Non-Communicable Diseases: An International Cross-Sectional Survey

The huge burden and vulnerability imposed by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how healthy lifestyle behaviors and the well-being of people living with NCDs need to be prioritized. The aim of our study is to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthy lifestyle behaviors and perceived mental and physical health among adults living with NCDs, as compared to people without NCDs. We conducted a cross-sectional study using a global online survey through Qualtrics. Over four months, 3550 participants from 65 countries worldwide responded to the survey. The study included 3079 surveys with no missing data (complete survey responses) that were used for analysis. People with NCDs were more likely to report statistically significant worsening physical health (p = 0.001) and statistically insignificant worsening mental health (p = 0.354) when compared to pre-pandemic levels. They reported lower rates of smoking during the pandemic than those without NCDs, and a statistically significant (p < 0.001) relationship was found between weight gain and NCDs. Therefore, the perceived physical and mental health, including changes in body weight and tobacco consumption, of people with NCDs were significantly impacted during the pandemic. In conclusion, this study indicates that the pandemic had a significant impact on perceived physical and mental health, changes in body weight, and tobacco consumption among people with NCDs

Measuring adherence to antiretroviral treatment in resource-poor settings: The clinical validity of key indicators

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Access to antiretroviral therapy has dramatically expanded in Africa in recent years, but there are no validated approaches to measure treatment adherence in these settings.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 16 health facilities, we observed a retrospective cohort of patients initiating antiretroviral therapy. We constructed eight indicators of adherence and visit attendance during the first 18 months of treatment from data in clinic and pharmacy records and attendance logs. We measured the correlation among these measures and assessed how well each predicted changes in weight and CD4 count.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We followed 488 patients; 63.5% had 100% coverage of medicines during follow-up; 2.7% experienced a 30-day gap in treatment; 72.6% self-reported perfect adherence in all clinic visits; and 19.9% missed multiple clinic visits. After six months of treatment, mean weight gain was 3.9 kg and mean increase in CD4 count was 138.1 cells/mm3.</p> <p>Dispensing-based adherence, self-reported adherence, and consistent visit attendance were highly correlated. The first two types of adherence measure predicted gains in weight and CD4 count; consistent visit attendance was associated only with weight gain.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study demonstrates that routine data in African health facilities can be used to monitor antiretroviral adherence at the patient and system level.</p

Changes to physical activity behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and their associated factors: a cross sectional survey of Mexican women

Background: On March 24, 2020, the Mexican Government established social distancing measures to address the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting home confinement affected daily lifestyle habits such as eating, sleeping, and physical activity (PA). The objectives of this study were to determine changes in PA behaviors among Mexican women due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess potential factors associated with these changes. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study based on an anonymous online questionnaire developed by the Task Force on Physical Activity for Persons with Disabilities (PAPD) within the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM). Descriptive, quantitative statistics were used for data analysis. A Chi-squared (χ²) test was used to explore associations between dependent and independent variables. Results: A total of 1882 surveys were completed. Among the respondents, 53.3% declared that their PA was reduced during the pandemic, 26.6% reported similar PA behavior, and 20.1% declared that their PA had increased during the pandemic. Lower PA behavior during the pandemic was associated with lower education levels, stricter pandemic constraints, obesity, and lower self-perceived functioning levels. A statistically significant association between poorer self-perceived mental health and decreased PA behaviors was also found. Respondents who were younger, self-perceived as unimpaired, not overweight, and whose income was not impacted by COVID-19 were associated with higher levels of reported physical and mental health. Conclusions: The study results identify disparities experienced in PA behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic among Mexican women and highlights the need for social support for PA participation