The burden of epidemics of infectious diseases on the social and economic development of poorer countries is growing, but is not being sufficiently addressed. This paper argues that to reduce the impact of epidemics involves addressing complex issues that include prevention of disease, empowering communities, better access to health services at the community level, availability of health personnel and better infrastructure (especially for water and sanitation)
This is a comparison of donor interactions with national health systems in Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia - specifically: the health information systems, the supply chain systems for essential medicines, and human resources for health. It focuses on the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the World Bank’s Africa Multi-Country AIDS Program
These guidelines and 22 recommendations are designed to support for countries that face a high HIV burden and acute shortages within the health workforce. Task shifting involves the rational redistribution of tasks among health workforce teams. Specific tasks are moved, where appropriate, from highly qualified health workers to health workers with shorter training and fewer qualifications in order to make more efficient use of the available human resources for health. The key elements that must be in place if the approach is to prove safe, efficient, effective, equitable and sustainable, cover the need for consultation, situation analysis and national endorsement, and for an enabling regulatory framework. They specify the quality assurance mechanisms, including standardised training, supportive supervision, and certification and assessment, that will be important to ensure quality of care
This manual is designed to provide information and structure for a four-day training and a two-day planning workshop that will enable programme managers and health workers in resource-constrained settings to offer comprehensive, non-judgemental, and quality care and support to HIV-positive women and adolescent girls in the local context. The manual also encourages male involvement and promotes a holistic approach to integrated sexual and reproductive health (SRH) counselling and programme planning that links SRH and HIV and AIDS services
This is a report detailing the main themes that emerged from research in Zambia testing the effect of a package of community education and referral interventions to expand health and ARV literacy, achieve better health-seeking behaviour, improve equity of access, boost ARV adherence and improve prevention for people with HIV. In Zambia, the ARV treatment programme in public health institutions has started scale-up, aiming as a first goal to reach 10,000 people. Zambia's central board of health (CBoH) commissioned an operations research project through the Alliance and Horizons. The research sought to understand how health seeking behaviour, particularly for VCT, adherence to ARV treatment, prevention for people with HIV and equity of access to ART treatment programmes can be improved. Eleven themes emerged from these in-depth interviews and form the main body of the report. Information needs and misinformation about HIV/AIDS and ARVs cross-cut most themes. Key actions to support improvements in policy and advocacy in support of people living with HIV in Zambia are listed at the end
This manual is aimed at reducing stigma and discrimination in health care settings. Health workers' fears are based on real risks of medical transmission, due to lack of information and training and poor precaution practices. This manual uses participatory training methodologies to change health care workers' attitudes and provide practical information around patient rights and safe work environment. It covers a broad range of topics, including: stigma and discrimination, right to privacy and confidentiality, HIV transmission, standard precaution practices, post-exposure prophylaxis, and HIV testing
Contents: Module 1. Target diseases -- module 2. The vaccines -- module 3. The cold chain -- module 4. Ensuring safe injections -- module 5. Planning immunization session to reach every infant -- module 6. Holding an immunization session -- module 7. Monitoring and using you data -- module 8. Building community support for immunization
The "HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment Participant Guide" presents new knowledge and skills for delivering and organising clinical care and treatment services for people living with HIV/AIDS. The course is divided into 7 modules covering HIV prevention and care issues; managing patients with HIV related diseases; managing women and children with HIV; antiretroviral therapy; supporting people with HIV/AIDS; managing patients on antiretroviral treatment; and TB, women, children and post-exposure prophylaxis. A facilitator's guide accompanies this manual
The "HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment Participant Guide" presents new knowledge and skills for delivering and organising clinical care and treatment services for people living with HIV/AIDS. The course is divided into 7 modules covering HIV prevention and care issues; managing poatients with HIV related diseases; managing women and children with HIV; antiretroviral therapy; supporting people with HIV/AIDS; managing patients on antiretroviral treatment; and TB, women, children and post-exposure prophylaxis. A participant manual accompanies this manual
Successful HIV therapy requires 95% adherence. As antiretrovirals are becoming more widely available and an increasing number of ARV programmes are launched in developing countries, HIV patients need to be helped to strictly follow a treatment plan. This manual, one of the first adherence training tools developed in Africa, has been designed for health professionals in the province of Mombasa, but can be adapted to other contexts. It consists of four modules, each including Power Point presentations, suggested activities and additional informative material. Module 1 provides basic information on adherence, highlighting the consequences of non-adherence. Module 2 deals with all aspects of patient preparation for adherence and module 3 aims to provide trainees with specific skills in preparatory counseling for patients prior initiating ARV treatment. Finally, module 4 is designed to help health care providers assist patients during treatment
"This guide is intended for all health workers who may have to manage the complications of leprosy. It contains practical advice on how to recognise leprosy reactions and give the correct treatment. Also included is advice on referral of reactions and specialist treatment"
Hepatitis B is especially dangerous for infants, since they may carry the infection for the rest of their lives without knowing it. Chronic carriers can infect others and are at risk of serious liver disease in later life. However, the hepatitis B vaccine, if provided, helps protect infants against these problems. The vaccine's introduction to developing countries only began in the late 1980s, but many countries still cannot afford to administer the vaccine to all children. This paper summarises the lessons learned about effective advocacy with decision makers, communication with parents and caretakers, and training health staff regarding hepatitis B, gained from over ten years of experience introducing hepatitis B vaccine worldwide. It also includes the WHO 'aide-memoire' on hepatitis B
This paper explores the barriers to universal childhood immunization, including lack of resources, lack of information, and lack of advocacy and mobilization. It contains some very practical suggestions for what health workers can do to support immunization at the community level and beyond
Far fewer children than in the past are threatened by polio, diphtheria and measles thanks to the administration of basic vaccines through national immunization programmes. Nonetheless, a new generation of vaccines targeting other illnesses has not been as widely embraced. To begin to address this problem, surveys were undertaken of health care professionals, primarily pediatricians and general practitioners, and non-health care professionals, including health policy planners in the ministries of health and finance, officers at NGOs dealing with health issues, journalists who cover health care, academics and religious leaders, in Africa and Asia. This research was undertaken in order to develop a basic model of the decision making process that health professionals employ when considering whether to add vaccines to their national immunization programmes. This paper documents the findings of this exercise, and probes health workers' attitudes toward new vaccines in general, and toward the vaccines for Hib and rotavirus specifically
