Insulin Growth Factor-I in Protein-Energy Malnutrition during Rehabilitation in Two Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres in Burkina Faso

Objective. To investigate the relationship between IGF-I and the nutritional status of West-African children hospitalised for nutritional rehabilitation. Patients and methods. A cohort study was performed in two centres for nutritional rehabilitation and education (CREN) in Burkina Faso. Children were followed and the anthropometric data as well as the capillary blood samples were taken on the 7th and on the 14th days after their admission. IGF-I levels were determined from dried blood spots on filter paper on IGF-I RIA, after separation of the IGF-I from its binding proteins, using Sep-Pak chromatography. Results. A total of 59 children was included in the cohort. The IGF-I mean geometric values (SD) were 6.3 (1.4) μg/L on admission, 8.6 (1.8) μg/L at day 7 and 13.6 (2.0) μg/L at day 14. The differences between these values were statistically significant (P < .001). There is a significant correlation between the changes of IGF-I with the change of weight for height Z-score (P = .01). Conclusion. These results suggest that IGF-I can be considered as a potential marker to follow the nutritional status of children admitted in hospital for protein and energy malnutrition

Task sharing for family planning services, Burkina Faso

© 2019, World Health Organization. All rights reserved. Problem In Burkina Faso, the coverage of services for family planning is low due to shortage of qualified health staff and limited access to services. Approach Following the launch of the Ouagadougou Partnership, an alliance to catalyse the expansion of family planning services, the health ministry created a consortium of family planning stakeholders in 2011. The consortium adopted a collaborative framework to implement a pilot project for task sharing in family planning at community and primary health-care centre levels in two rural districts. Stakeholders were responsible for their areas of expertise. These areas included advocacy; monitoring and evaluation; and capacity development of community health workers (CHWs) to offer oral and injectable contraceptives to new users and of auxiliary nurses and auxiliary midwives to provide implants and intrauterine devices. The health ministry implemented supportive supervision cascades involving relevant planning and service levels. Local setting In Burkina Faso, only 15% (2563/17 087) of married women used modern contraceptives in 2010. Relevant changes Adoption of new policies and clinical care standards expanded task sharing roles in family planning. The consortium trained a total of 79 CHWs and 124 auxiliary nurses and midwives. Between January 2017 and December 2018, CHWs provided injectables to 3698 new users, and auxiliary nurses or midwives provided 726 intrauterine devices and 2574 implants to new users. No safety issues were reported. Lessons learnt The pilot project was feasible and safe, however, financial constraints are hindering scale-up efforts. Supportive supervision cascades were critical in ensuring success

Effectiveness of a Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Programme in an Urban Hospital in Angola

BACKGROUND: Antiretroviral therapy is effective in reducing rates of mother-to child transmission of HIV to low levels in resource-limited contexts but the applicability and efficacy of these programs in the field are scarcely known. In order to explore such issues, we performed a descriptive study on retrospective data from hospital records of HIV-infected pregnant women who accessed in 2007-2010 the Luanda Municipal Hospital service for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). The main outcome measure was infant survival and HIV transmission. Our aim was to evaluate PMTCT programme in a local hospital setting in Africa. RESULTS: Data for 104 pregnancies and 107 infants were analysed. Sixty-eight women (65.4%) had a first visit before or during pregnancy and received combination antiretroviral treatment (ART) in pregnancy. The remaining 36 women (34.6%) presented after delivery and received no ART during pregnancy. Across a median cohort follow-up time of 73 weeks, mortality among women with and without ART in pregnancy was 4.4% and 16.7%, respectively (death hazard ratio: 0.30, 95% CI 0.07-1.20, p = 0.089). The estimated rates of HIV transmission or death in the infants over a median follow up time of 74 weeks were 8.5% with maternal ART during pregnancy and 38.9% without maternal ART during pregnancy. Following adjustment for use of oral zidovudine in the newborn and exposure to maternal milk, no ART in pregnancy remained associated with a 5-fold higher infant risk of HIV transmission or death (adjusted odds ratio: 5.13, 95% CI: 1.31-20.15, p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: Among the women and infants adhering to the PMTCT programme, HIV transmission and mortality were low. However, many women presented too late for PMTCT, and about 20% of infants did not complete follow up. This suggests the need of targeted interventions that maintain the access of mothers and infants to prevention and care services for HIV

Heavy burden of non-communicable diseases at early age and gender disparities in an adult population of Burkina Faso: world health survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>WHO estimates suggest that age-specific death rates from non-communicable diseases are higher in sub-Saharan Africa than in high-income countries. The objectives of this study were to examine, in Burkina Faso, the prevalence of non-communicable disease symptoms by age, gender, socioeconomic group and setting (rural/urban), and to assess gender and socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence of these symptoms.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We obtained data from the Burkina Faso World Health Survey, which was conducted in an adult population (18 years and over) with a high response rate (4822/4880 selected individuals). The survey used a multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling strategy to identify participants. The survey collected information on socio-demographic and economic characteristics, as well as data on symptoms of a variety of health conditions. Our study focused on joint disease, back pain, angina pectoris, and asthma. We estimated prevalence correcting for the sampling design. We used multiple Poisson regression to estimate associations between non-communicable disease symptoms, gender, socioeconomic status and setting.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall crude prevalence and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were: 16.2% [13.5; 19.2] for joint disease, 24% [21.5; 26.6] for back pain, 17.9% [15.8; 20.2] for angina pectoris, and 11.6% [9.5; 14.2] for asthma. Consistent relationships between age and the prevalence of non-communicable disease symptoms were observed in both men and women from rural and urban settings. There was markedly high prevalence in all conditions studied, starting with young adults. Women presented higher prevalence rates of symptoms than men for all conditions: prevalence ratios and 95% CIs were 1.20 [1.01; 1.43] for joint disease, 1.42 [1.21; 1.66] for back pain, 1.68 [1.39; 2.04] for angina pectoris, and 1.28 [0.99; 1.65] for asthma. Housewives and unemployed women had the highest prevalence rates of non-communicable disease symptoms.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our work suggests that social inequality extends into the distribution of non-communicable diseases among social groups and supports the thesis of a differential vulnerability in Burkinabè women. It raises the possibility of an abnormally high rate of premature morbidity that could manifest as a form of premature aging in the adult population. Increased prevention, screening and treatment are needed in Burkina Faso to address high prevalence and gender inequalities in non-communicable diseases.</p

Charge de travail des agents de santé dans un contexte de gratuité des soins au Burkina Faso et au Niger

La mise en place des mécanismes de subvention ou de gratuité des soins appuyés par les ONG au Burkina Faso et au Niger a entraîné une hausse importante de l’utilisation des services de santé de première ligne. Face à l’augmentation de la charge de travail perçue par le personnel soignant, l’objectif de cette étude était de mesurer leur charge de travail effective et d’estimer si les agents de santé étaient en mesure de faire face à la hausse engendrée par cette augmentation. Nous avons utilisé la méthodeWISN recommandé par l’OMS pour évaluer leur disponibilité en comparant, dans chaque pays, quatre centres de santé où intervient une ONG par rapport à quatre autres centres de santé où seule la politique de l’État est mise en place. Huit centres de centre ont été concernés par cette étude au niveau de chaque pays en 2011. Au Burkina Faso, l’effectif du personnel était supérieur ou égal à l’effectif requis dans les huit centres de santé. Au Niger, trois centres de santé sur quatre du district sanitaire de Keita (présence d’ONG) présentaient un effectif en personnel inférieur ou égal à l’effectif requis (Wisn ratio ≤ 1). Par contre, à Abalak (absence d’ONG), les centres de santé présentaient des effectifs supérieurs ou égaux aux effectifs requis (Wisn ratio ≥ 1). Cette étude montre que l’effectif en ressources humaines ne s’est pas adapté au Niger dans le cadre de la gratuité des soins soutenue par une ONG. Au Burkina Faso, cet effectif est actuellement suffisant pour faire face à la gratuité totale

Supplémentation prénatale en aliment fortifié et statut nutritionnel de la mère en milieu rural du Burkina Faso

L’état nutritionnel des femmes enceintes est important pour le pronostic de la grossesse et le poids de naissance des enfants. Cette étude a évalué les effets de la supplémentation maternelle alimentaire sur l’état nutritionnel de la mère à la fin de la grossesse sur un échantillon de 497 femmes de la cohorte MISAME-2. Sur l’ensemble de l’échantillon, le supplément alimentaire n’a pas amélioré l’état nutritionnel de la mère. Le gain pondéral net était supérieur de 0,42 kg (IC 95 % : -0,21 ; 1,05, P = 0,191) et le gain en indice de masse corporelle (IMC) était également supérieur de 0,18 kg / m2 dans le groupe d’intervention. Lorsque l’on considère seulement les femmes avec une carence énergétique chronique (IMC&lt;18,5 kg/m2), le supplément alimentaire a augmenté significativement le gain pondéral net (2,3 ± 3,5 kg vs 0,8 ± 3,6 kg, p = 0,002) et le gain en IMC (1,1 ± 1,4 kg/m2 vs 0,4 ± 1,4 kg/m2 p&lt;0,001). En outre, il y avait une corrélation positive entre le gain pondéral de la mère et le poids du nouveau-né. L’importance clinique de ce gain pondéral et les déterminants de la répartition du gain entre les mères et les foetus doivent être examinées dans les études ultérieures.Mots-clés: Micronutriments, supplément alimentaire, prénatal, gain pondéral, Burkina FasoEnglish AbstractNutritional status of pregnant women is important for the prognosis of the course and the outcomes of the pregnancy. This study assessed the effects of food maternal supplementation on maternal nutritional status of women at the end of pregnancy on a sample of 497 women out of the MISAME-2 cohort. In the overall sample, the food supplement did not improve maternal nutritional status. Maternal net weight gain was 0.42 kg higher in the food supplement group (95 % CI : -0.21, 1.05, P= 0.191) and the body mass index (BMI) gain was equally higher 0.18 kg/m2. When only women chronically energy deficient (BMI&lt;18.5 kg/m2) were considered, the food supplement increased significantly maternal net weight gain (2.3 ± 3.6 kg vs. 0.8 ± 3.6 kg for the multiple micronutrients (MMN) ; P= 0.002) and BMI gain (1.1 ± 1.4 kg/m2 vs. 0.4 ± 1.4 kg/m2 p&lt; 0.001). In addition, the effect was significantly greater for the subgroup of energy deficient women. The more weight gained during pregnancy the heavier the birth weight. This significance of this benefit and the determinants of the repartition of maternal total weight gain between mothers and fetuses need to be investigated in further studies.Keywords: Micronutrients, dietary supplement, prenatal, weight gain, Burkina Fas