Zimbabwe’s COVID- 19 vaccination roll-out: Urgent need to rethink strategies to improve the supply chain

No abstract

When culture, traditions and public health clash : a paradigm shift urgently needed to stem the spread of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe

No abstract available.http://www.samj.org.zadm2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Zimbabwe’s COVID19 vaccination roll-out : urgent need to rethink strategies to improve the supply chain

No abstract available.http://www.samj.org.zaSchool of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Different SARS-CoV-2 variants, same prevention strategies

No abstract available.https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/public-health-in-practicehj2023School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Estimated HIV Trends and Program Effects in Botswana

Background: This study uses surveillance, survey and program data to estimate past trends and current levels of HIV in Botswana and the effects of treatment and prevention programs. Methods/Principal Findings: Data from sentinel surveillance at antenatal clinics and a national population survey were used to estimate the trend of adult HIV prevalence from 1980 to 2007. Using the prevalence trend we estimated the number of new adult infections, the transmission from mothers to children, the need for treatment and the effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and adult and child deaths. Prevalence has declined slowly in urban areas since 2000 and has remained stable in rural areas. National prevalence is estimated at 26 % (25–27%) in 2007. About 330,000 (318,000–335,000) people are infected with HIV including 20,000 children. The number of new adult infections has been stable for several years at about 20,000 annually (12,000–26,000). The number of new child infections has declined from 4600 in 1999 to about 890 (810–980) today due to nearly complete coverage of an effective program to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). The annual number of adult deaths has declined from a peak of over 15,500 in 2003 to under 7400 (5000–11,000) today due to coverage of ART that reaches over 80 % in need. The need for ART will increase by 60 % by 2016. Conclusions: Botswana’s PMTCT and treatment programs have achieved significant results in preventing new child infections and deaths among adults and children. The number of new adult infections continues at a high level. More effective prevention efforts are urgently needed

The landscape of Covid-19 vaccination in Zimbabwe: A narrative review and analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the programme

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges for the population. The advent of national COVID-19 vaccination programmes was therefore welcome as a key control strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic, as evidence has shown that vaccination is the best strategy to reduce the adverse individual and population level adverse outcomes associated with infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Zimbabwe rolled out its vaccination programme in February 2021 with an ambitious target to vaccinate at least 60% of its eligible population by December 2021. However, by that time, the country was still to reach that target. To move the vaccination programme towards achieving this target, it is crucial to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the programme

Long-acting injectable drugs for HIV-1 pre-exposure prophylaxis : considerations for Africar Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa carries the highest burden of HIV-1 and AIDS. About 39% of all new infections in the world in 2020 were in this region. Oral PrEP was found to be very effective in reducing the risk of HIV-1 transmission. However, its effectiveness is highly dependent on users adhering to the drugs. The availability of long-acting injectable PrEP that eliminates the need for a daily pill may increase PrEP uptake and adherence in people who struggle to adhere to oral PrEP. The USA’s FDA approved long-acting cabotegravir (CAB-LA) for PrEP of HIV-1 in December 2021. In this review, we discussed the implementation challenges to the successful roll-out of CAB-LA in Africa and measures to address these implementation challenges. Some health system-level challenges include the cost of the drug, its refrigeration requirement, and the shortage of healthcare providers trained to administer parenteral medicines. In contrast, client challenges include lack of knowledge, accessibility of the drug, side effects, stigma, and lack of family and community support. These challenges can be addressed by several measures emanating from lessons learned from the successful implementation of ART, oral PrEP, and immunization in the continent. Some steps include advocating for waiving of CAB-LA patent licence, conducting demonstration projects in Africa, promoting the use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy, healthcare provider training, task shifting, community engagement, client education, and implementing adherence promotion strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/tropicalmedam2023School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Ensuring accelerated accessibility and affordability of treatment services for COVID-19 patients in Zimbabwe : an urgent call to action

Timely access to quality healthcare services is a basic human right. Governments globally have a responsibility to ensure wider coverage and access, particularly to essential and lifesaving healthcare services. For these reasons, there has been a strong call for universal health coverage. Private medical insurance promotes inequalities in accessing care, perpetuated by ever-widening socioeconomic gaps. In resource-constrained settings, the lower and more vulnerable social classes suffer more from disparities during crisis times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.http://www.samj.org.zadm2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

The cost and impact of male circumcision on HIV/AIDS in Botswana

The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to be a major issue facing Botswana, with overall adult HIV prevalence estimated to be 25.7 percent in 2007. This paper estimates the cost and impact of the draft Ministry of Health male circumcision strategy using the UNAIDS/WHO Decision-Makers' Programme Planning Tool (DMPPT). Demographic data and HIV prevalence estimates from the recent National AIDS Coordinating Agency estimations are used as input to the DMPPT to estimate the impact of scaling-up male circumcision on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. These data are supplemented by programmatic information from the draft Botswana National Strategy for Safe Male Circumcision, including information on unit cost and program goals. Alternative scenarios were developed in consultation with stakeholders. Results suggest that scaling-up adult and neonatal circumcision to reach 80% coverage by 2012 would result in averting almost 70,000 new HIV infections through 2025, at a total net cost of US$47 million across that same period. This results in an average cost per HIV infection averted of US$689. Changing the target year to 2015 and the scale-up pattern to a linear pattern results in a more evenly-distributed number of MCs required, and averts approximately 60,000 new HIV infections through 2025. Other scenarios explored include the effect of risk compensation and the impact of increasing coverage of general prevention interventions. Scaling-up safe male circumcision has the potential to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS in Botswana significantly; program design elements such as feasible patterns of scale-up and inclusion of counselling are important in evaluating the overall success of the program

Decision making conundrum as Zimbabwe experiences a harsh third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

No abstract available.https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparednesshj2023School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH