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Background Uganda conducted its third mass long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) distribution campaign in 2021. The target of the campaign was to ensure that 100% of households own at least one LLIN per two persons and to achieve 85% use of distributed LLINs. LLIN ownership, use and associated factors were assessed 3 months after the campaign. Methods A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in 14 districts from 13 to 30 April, 2021. Households were selected using multistage sampling. Each was asked about LLIN ownership, use, duration since received to the time of interview, and the presence of LLINs was visually verified. Outcomes were having at least one LLIN per two household members, and individual LLIN use. Modified Poisson regression was used to assess associations between exposures and outcomes. Results In total, 5529 households with 27,585 residents and 15,426 LLINs were included in the analysis. Overall, 95% of households owned ≥ 1 LLIN, 92% of the households owned ≥ 1 LLIN < 3 months old, 64% of households owned ≥ 1 LLIN per two persons in the household. Eighty-seven per cent could sleep under an LLIN if every LLIN in the household were used by two people, but only 69% slept under an LLIN the night before the survey. Factors associated with LLIN ownership included believing that LLINs are protective against malaria (aPR = 1.13; 95% CI  1.04–1.24). Reported use of mosquito repellents was negatively associated with ownership of LLINs (aPR = 0.96; 95% CI 0.95–0.98). The prevalence of LLIN use was 9% higher among persons who had LLINs 3–12 months old (aPR = 1.09; 95% CI  1.06–1.11) and 10% higher among those who had LLINs 13–24 months old (aPR = 1.10; 95% CI  1.06–1.14) than those who had LLINs < 3 months old. Of 3,859 LLINs identified in the households but not used for sleeping the previous night, 3250 (84%) were < 3 months old. Among these 3250, 41% were not used because owners were using old LLINs; 16% were not used because of lack of space for hanging them; 11% were not used because of fear of chemicals in the net; 5% were not used because of dislike of the smell of the nets; and, 27% were not used for other reasons. Conclusion The substantial difference between the population that had access to LLINs and the population that slept under LLINs indicates that the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) may need to focus on addressing the main drivers or barriers to LLIN use. NMCP and/or other stakeholders could consider designing and conducting targeted behaviour change communication during subsequent mass distribution of LLINs after the mass distribution campaign to counter misconceptions about new LLINs.

Background: Anemia is a condition in which hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and/or red blood cell (RBC) numbers are lower than normal and insufficient to meet an individual’s physiological needs. The prevalence of anemia among women of reproductive age is high in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including Sierra Leone. However, data on anemia among lactating women in Sierra Leone are scarce. Therefore, this study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of anemia and determine its associated factors among lactating women in Sierra Leone. Methods: The 2019 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey (SLDH) data were used of which 1543 lactating women aged 15 to 49 years old had hemoglobin measurements. Multistage stratified sampling was used to select study participants and data were collected using validated questionnaires. Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with anemia among lactating women in Sierra Leone. Results: The general prevalence of anemia among lactating women in Sierra Leone was 52.9% (95% CI = 50.9-55.8). Almost a quarter, 23.8% (95% CI = 22.1-26.3) of the lactating women had mild anemia, 27.4% (95% CI = 25.3-29.7) had moderate anemia and 1.7% (95% CI = 1.1-2.5) had severe anemia. The use of modern contraceptives (aOR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.09-2.47), not being visited by a field worker in the past year (aOR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.12-2.03) and being Muslim (aOR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.11-1.91), were associated with higher odds of being anemic. Being given and having bought iron supplements during pregnancy (aOR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.25-0.87) was associated with less odds of being anemic. Conclusion: More than half of the lactating mothers in our study were anemic. The risk factors for anemia in our study included: use of modern contraceptives, not being visited by a field worker in the past year and being Muslim. Receiving iron supplements during pregnancy was protective against anemia. According to the results from this study, the recommendation for lactating women was to maintain routine interface with the healthcare system which includes being visited by a field worker who should prescribe and issue iron supplements to them. Lactating women especially Muslims should receive routine nutrition education by the health workers at the health facilities during antenatal care visits or postnatal care in regard to anemia and means of prevention and treatment. Community stakeholders should also work in collaboration to establish scalable methods to correctly identify pregnant women with risk factors, inform them about anemia with caution, and apply appropriate measures as trained or instructed

Background: Uganda has approximately 1.2 million people aged 15–64 years living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Previous studies have shown a higher prevalence of premalignant cervical lesions among HIV-positive women than among HIV-negative women. Additionally, HIV-infected womenare more likely to have their human papilloma virus (HPV) infection progress to cancer than non-HIV-infected women. We determined the prevalence of premalignant cervical lesions and their association with HIV infection among women attending a cervical cancer screening clinic at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) in southwestern Uganda. Methods: We conducted a comparative cross-sectional study of 210 women aged 22–65 years living with HIV and 210 women not living with HIV who were systematically enrolled from March 2022 to May 2022. Participants were subjected to a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire to obtain their demographic and clinical data. Additionally, Papanicolaou smears were taken for microscopy to observe premalignant cervical lesions. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine theassociation between HIV status and premalignant cervical lesions. Results: The overall prevalence of premalignant cervical lesions in the study population was 17% (n=72; 95% C.I: 14.1-21.4), with 23% (n=47; 95% C.I: 17.8-29.5) in women living with HIV and 12% (n=25; 95% C.I: 8.2-17.1) in women not living with HIV (p<0.003). The most common premalignant cervical lesions identified were low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) in both women living with HIV (74.5%; n=35) and women not living with HIV (80%; n=20). HIV infection was significantly associated with premalignant lesions (aOR: 2.37, 95% CI: 1.27–4.42,p=0.007). Conclusion: Premalignant cervical lesions, particularly LSILs, were more common in HIV-positive women than in HIV-negative women, highlighting the need to strengthen the integration of cervical cancer prevention strategies into HIV care programs.