Addressing budget reduction and reallocation on health-related resources during COVID-19 pandemic in malaria-endemic countries

Diptyanusa, Ajib; Zablon, Karen Nelwin

doi:10.1186/s12936-020-03488-y

Cited by 34 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The demand for essential health services has been adversely affected by stay-at-home orders, stigma and fear of contracting COVID-19 infection, travel restrictions, increased financial barriers and misinformation about COVID-19 [5][6][7]. The provision of routine health services has been disrupted by the diversion of limited resources and health care workers for COVID-19 prevention and control efforts, the occupational risk faced by health care workers, the lack of personal protective equipment, and breakdowns in procurement and supply chains for medicines and commodities [7,8]. Similar reductions in the demand and provision of essential health services were observed during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Malaria incidence and mortality in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis of routine surveillance data

Gavi

Tapera²,

Mberikunashe

et al. 2021

Malar J

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Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed a unique challenge to health care systems globally. To curb COVID-19 transmission, mitigation measures such as travel restrictions, border closures, curfews, lockdowns, and social distancing have been implemented. However, these measures may directly and indirectly affect the delivery and utilization of essential health services, including malaria services. The suspension of indoor residual spraying (IRS) and insecticide-treated net (ITN) distribution, shortages of malaria commodities, and reduced demand for health services have hindered the continued delivery of malaria services. The overall goal of this analysis was to describe the trends in malaria incidence and mortality in Zimbabwe prior to and during the pandemic to understand the consequences of COVID-19-related changes in the delivery and utilization of malaria services. Methods Monthly data on the number of malaria cases and deaths by district for the period January 2017 to June 2020 were obtained from the national health management information system (HMIS). District-level population data were obtained from the 2012 Census. Malaria incidence per 1000 population and malaria deaths per 100,000 population were calculated for 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 and mapped to describe the spatial and temporal variation of malaria at the district level. Results Compared to the same period in 2017, 2018 and 2019, there was an excess of over 30,000 malaria cases from January to June 2020. The number of malaria deaths recorded in January to June 2020 exceeded the annual totals for 2018 and 2019. District level maps indicated that areas outside high malaria burden provinces experienced higher than expected malaria incidence and mortality, suggesting potential outbreaks. Conclusions The observed surge in malaria cases and deaths in January to June 2020 coincided with the onset of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe. While further research is needed to explore possible explanations for the observed trends, prioritizing the continuity of essential malaria services amid the COVID-19 pandemic remains crucial.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Malaria incidence and mortality in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis of routine surveillance data

Gavi

Tapera²,

Mberikunashe

et al. 2021

Malar J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Recently, WHO emphasized that malaria control programmes in malaria-endemic countries should be done while protecting the vulnerable communities and healthcare professionals against COVID-19 pandemic [48]. Despite WHO' recommendations, sub-Saharan African countries including Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Comoros deferred the insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor residual spraying campaigns amid COVID-19 pandemic [49].…”

Section: Opportunities For Integrating Mobile Phones In Malaria Prevementioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 on Malaria Elimination: Juxtaposing Indoor Residual Spraying and Mobile Phones in Buhera Rural District, Zimbabwe

Mbunge

Millham

Sibiya

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundGlobally, malaria remains one of the leading health problems decimating population in Africa with an estimated 228 million cases of malaria and 405 000 deaths occurred worldwide in 2018. In Zimbabwe, like other sub-Saharan countries, is fighting both elusive malaria and COVID-19 that continues to overwhelm the already overburdened healthcare system. Zimbabwean rural healthcare centres including Buhera district experience dire impact of malaria and COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the study presents the impact of COVID-19 on malaria control measures and reflects on indoor residual spraying (IRS) activities pre and post the outbreak of COVID-19 while introspecting milestones and challenges encountered when executing IRS activities; and opportunities to integrate mobile technologies into malaria elimination.MethodsA retrospective study of malaria cases and IRS reports was carried out. Malaria cases per each health centre from 2015-2020 were collected from DHIS in Buhera rural district.ResultsThe study shows that the overall IRS acceptance rate in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 was 100%, 58.5%, 66.6%, 52.8% and 83.3%, respectively. The absolute rooms sprayed in 2017 are 2.55% above those sprayed in 2016 but are 8.46% below those sprayed in 2015. The coverage failed to reach impact levels in most of the wards due but not lack of resources, limited to inadequate community sensitization, and competing programmes which were running concurrently with IRS. Also, the study revealed that malaria confirmed cases increased tremendously in 2020 as compared to the previous years, particularly from 2015-2019 because of delayed IRS coverage, COVID-19 restrictions, heavy rains, differed and inconsistent social and behaviour change communication, lack of community engagement, delayed procurement of equipment and lack of funding among others. ConclusionsThe study revealed that moving from malaria prevention to elimination is possible in low malaria incidence areas in Buhera rural district. However, new challenges including cyclones and COVID-19, disrupts of movements of medical equipment, delayed IRS activities, social and behaviour change communication and IEC campaigns and mandatory national lockdowns. It is therefore imperative to integrate mobile phones into malaria control strategies during COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen awareness campaigns while maintaining COVID-19 regulations.

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“…When most countries find signs of COVID-19, there is often a large area of COVID-19 infection, which makes the public health system construction in most countries difficult to respond to the development of COVID-19 in time. Second, the strong infectivity of COVID-19 causes many people to be infected, which leads to the shortage of health resources for the treatment of COVID-19 ( 2 , 3 ). Especially for underdeveloped countries, unsound medical technology prevents the infected people from getting timely and effective treatment, which increases the risk of death.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on the Experience of Public Health System Construction in China's COVID-19 Prevention

Zhang

2021

Front. Public Health

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Background: China's experience in the process of COVID-19 prevention provides a reference for other countries in the world. This article studied the experience of public health system construction in China's COVID-19 prevention.Methods: Based on literature review and theoretical analysis, this paper constructs a theoretical framework of national public health system construction in health crisis. Based on this theoretical framework, combined with the policies and measures formulated by the Chinese government in the process of COVID-19 prevention, this article evaluate the advantages and deficiencies of China's public health system construction in response to COVID-19.Results: The Chinese government ensured the adequate supply of health resources, improved people's ability to pay medical expenses, and adopted advanced public health propaganda methods based on the Internet to help people grasp the basic information and development trend of COVID-19 in the process of COVID-19 prevention. At the same time, the utilization efficiency of health resources was low in China, people's ability to pay for medical expenses was unequal, and the disclosure of virus information in the early stage of the outbreak of COVID-19 is not timely.Conclusions: Other countries can learn from the advantages of China's public health system construction and avoid China's deficiencies in the process of public health system construction, which will help them improve the efficiency of COVID-19 prevention.

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Addressing budget reduction and reallocation on health-related resources during COVID-19 pandemic in malaria-endemic countries

Cited by 34 publications

References 12 publications

Malaria incidence and mortality in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis of routine surveillance data

Malaria incidence and mortality in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis of routine surveillance data

Impact of COVID-19 on Malaria Elimination: Juxtaposing Indoor Residual Spraying and Mobile Phones in Buhera Rural District, Zimbabwe

Study on the Experience of Public Health System Construction in China's COVID-19 Prevention

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