Developing COVID‐19 emergency response centres in geographically challenged areas of Pakistan: A case study of the Aga Khan Development Network

Abstract

The inevitable COVID‐19 global pandemic has severely affected Pakistan’s fragile healthcare system. The system was already facing a significant burden of noncommunicable and other infectious diseases, and the pandemic further exacerbated the disease and the healthcare burden in Pakistan. In such a situation, people who live in geographically challenged areas with limited healthcare infrastructure and resources are more vulnerable to the impacts of a pandemic. The authors share the experience of the development of emergency response centres (ERCs) in the rural remote mountainous regions of Pakistan–Chitral, an initiative that the Government of Pakistan and Aga Khan Health Service Pakistan (AKHSP) implemented to manage the increasing rates of COVID‐19 cases in these areas. The authors outline the processes that need to be undertaken to develop such healthcare facilities in a short period of time and discusses the challenges of establishing and operating these centres and the lessons learnt during and after the development of these centres in the remote mountainous regions of Pakistan.

Evaluating the Triage of Suspected COVID-19 Cases in Sudan’s Emergency Settings: A Clinical Audit

“…A three-day capacity-building workshop on treatment pathways, standard operating procedures, and clinical guidelines for infection control and prevention (ICP) was attended by staff in a rural remote mountainous region of Pakistan, according to a recent study on the development of COVID-19 emergency response centers (ERCs). 12 It is regrettable to learn that one of the public hospitals evaluated in our study failed to provide the committed clinical staff with triage training and information on COVID-19 symptoms. The latter finding is devastating as it is well known that clear communication and training of healthcare facility staff is vital to ensure that the triage process is properly implemented in order to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.…”

“…8 Establishing an efficient triage is a critical initial step in emergency care during a pandemic, to enable healthcare professionals to rapidly assess patients' conditions and allocate appropriate levels of care based on urgency while ensuring the safety of healthcare workers and other patients. Since there have been limited publications from Sub-Saharan African nations on their established triage systems and protocols for suspected COVID-19 cases, [9][10][11][12] we aimed to evaluate the triage process for suspected COVID-19 cases in the emergency settings of Khartoum's hospitals. Through a comprehensive clinical audit, this paper provides valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the current triage systems in place for suspected COVID-19 cases in Sudan.…”