RésuméLa pandémie de COVID‐19 a renforcé les inégalités entre les sexes, en augmentant la charge domestique pesant sur les femmes et les filles, ainsi que la vulnérabilité de la main‐d'œuvre, essentiellement féminine et informelle, des métiers du care. Les autrices cherchent à savoir si les pays ont tenu compte de ces enjeux dans leur riposte à la crise en exploitant une base de données internationale recensant trois types de prestations de protection sociale (aide sociale, assurances sociales et programmes du marché du travail). Elles constatent des lacunes et proposent une réflexion sur les répercussions des politiques officielles, actuelles ou futures, sur les problématiques du care.

The double burden of material deprivation and the psychological consequences of violent conflict has long-lasting effects on children’s wellbeing. Assessing child needs is therefore crucial to inform policies and move from humanitarian assistance towards reconstruction and development. We provide an analysis of the situation of children in east Mosul, Iraq, using unique data from a rapid humanitarian assessment administered on the ground immediately following the city’s liberation from ISIL in 2017. We develop a counting measure of multidimensional deprivation using nine dimensions. This measure shows the similarities and dissimilarities in the incidence of each deprivation across children with different displacement statuses: Internally Displaced Person (IDP), IDP returnee, host, and stayee. IDP and returnee children are the two most deprived groups in multiple dimensions, and food security remains a pressing issue for IDP children in particular. We explore with econometric analysis the relationship between deprivation and vulnerability on the one hand and humanitarian aid on the other. While immediate assistance is correlated with fewer deprivations, many deprived children were still missed by assistance. Aid efforts during any humanitarian emergency should consider children’s distinct deprivations in a deliberate and targeted manner rather than treating them simply as members of vulnerable households.

BackgroundKangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a high impact, low technology and cost-effective intervention for the care of preterm and low birth weight newborn. Cote d’Ivoire adopted the intervention and opened the first KMC unit in 2019. This study aimed to assess barriers and facilitators of KMC implementation in Cote d’Ivoire, a year after its introduction, as well as proposed solutions for improving KMC implementation in the country.MethodThis was a qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews, carried out in September 2020 in the first KMC unit opened at the Teaching Hospital of Treichville. The study involved healthcare providers providing KMC and mothers of newborn who were receiving or received KMC at the unit. A thematic analysis was performed using both inductive and deductive (Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research-driven) approaches. NVivo 12 was used to assist with coding.ResultsA total of 44 semi-structured interviews were conducted, 12 with healthcare providers and 32 with mothers. The barriers identified were lack of supplies, insufficiency of human resources, lack of space for admission, lack of home visits, lack of food for mothers, lack of collaboration between health services involved in newborn care, increased workload, the beliefs of carrying the baby on the chest, father’s resistance, low rate of exclusive breastfeeding, lack of community awareness. Facilitators identified were training of healthcare providers, strong leadership, the low cost of KMC, healthcare providers’ perceived value of KMC, mothers−healthcare providers’ relationship, mothers’ adherence to KMC and the capacity of the KMC unit to network with external organizations. The proposed solutions for improving KMC implementation were volunteer staff motivation, intensifying education and counselling of mothers and families, the recruitment of a psychologist and the involvement of all stakeholders.ConclusionOur study highlighted the challenges to implement KMC in Cote d’Ivoire with unique and specific barriers to implementation. We recommend to researchers and decision makers to respectively design strategies and adopt intervention that specifically address these barriers and facilitators to a better uptake of KMC. Decision makers should also take into account the proposed solutions for a better implementation and scaling up of KMC.

Improving investments in primary health care has become a mounting priority in the context of Universal Health Coverage and India’s National Health Policy 2017 goal to provide cost-effective care. The paper uses the India National Health Accounts, health care providers and health care functions classifications, to allocate current health expenditures (CHE) to primary, secondary and tertiary (PST) care and analyse the trends and composition of PST expenditures between 2013–2014 and 2016–2017. Findings reveal that 45.2% of CHE was spent on primary care in 2016–2017. The government spends 52% of its CHE for primary care. Private spending on primary care has declined from 44% to 41% during the study period. Disaggregate analysis shows that 41% of primary care expenditures were on medicines, 29% on curative care and 15% on preventive care services. About 32% of primary care expenditures were spent at government facilities/providers as compared to 10% at private facilities/doctors. Private sector share of secondary care (38%) and tertiary care (75%) reinforces the role of private sector in providing secondary and tertiary care services. In cognisance of national and international goals, an additional investment of 0.7% of gross domestic product or additional US$11 (₹754) per capita would be required in primary care.

Background: Age influences pregnancy and childbirth. Pregnant women aged less than 20 years old or pregnant adolescents are not physically and mentally ready to cope with pregnancy or childbirth. The husband's support highly determines the health status of the mother. This research aimed to determine the relationship between husband support and the behavior of pregnant adolescents to face pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Gombong District, Kebumen Regency. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional approach. The population was all pregnant women aged less than 20 years in the Gombong District, Kebumen Regency. It used a saturated sampling technique involving 256 people. Data were analyzed using univariate and bivariate analysis to answer the percentage and the Chi-Square test to answer the research hypothesis. Results: The study showed that 130 (50.8%) husbands did not support the mothers, and 126 (49.2%) husbands supported the mothers. The result also showed that 116 (45.3%) of the pregnant women showed positive behavior, while140 (54.7%) pregnant women showed negative behavior. The chi-square test found a p-value of 0.005, which proved a significant relationship between the husband's support and the behavior of pregnant adolescents to overcome pregnancy during the covid-19 pandemic. Conclusion: Pregnant teenagers with husband support will prepare for pregnancy and childbirth programs more maturely to ensure the safety of both mother and fetus.

AbstractIntroductionHealth service use among the general public can decline during infectious disease outbreaks and has been predicted among low and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) implemented public health measures across Kinshasa, including strict lockdown measures in the Gombe health zone, to mitigate impact of the pandemic.MethodsUsing data from the Health Management Information System (January 2018 - December 2020), we evaluated the impact of the pandemic on the use of essential health services (total visits, maternal health, vaccinations, visits for common infectious diseases, and diagnosis of non-communicable diseases) using interrupted time series with mixed effects segmented Poisson regression models during the first wave of the pandemic. Analyses were stratified by age, sex, health facility, and neighbourhood.ResultsHealth service use dropped rapidly following the start of the pandemic and ranged from 16% for hypertension diagnoses to 39% for diabetes diagnoses. However, reductions were highly concentrated in Gombe (81% decline in total visits) relative to health zones without lockdown. When the lockdown was lifted, total visits, visits for infectious diseases, and diagnoses for non-communicable diseases increased approximately two-fold. Hospitals were more affected than health centres. Overall, the use of maternal health services and vaccinations was not significantly affected.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic resulted in important reductions in health service utilisation in Kinshasa, particularly Gombe. Lifting of lockdown led to a rebound in the level of health service use but it remained lower than pre-pandemic levels.Summary BoxWhat is already known about this subjectSubstantial declines in the use of health services among the general public have been well-documented during previous outbreaks of infectious diseases.Modelled studies predicted substantial increases in morbidity and mortality in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) mainly due to expected declines in the use of health services among the general public.Only a small number of studies have so far evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of health services in LMICs and none have also evaluated both the implementation and lifting of lockdown measures.What are the new findingsThis study found that overall use of health services declined in Kinshasa but was most pronounced in the Gombe health zone which was subject to strict lockdown measures.Some health services were more affected than others, most notably visits and tests for malaria and visits for new diagnoses of non-communicable diseases. Maternal and child health services were relatively unaffected.When the lockdown measures were lifted, health service utilization rebounded but remained at levels lower than those observed pre-pandemic.What do the new findings implyThe COVID-19 pandemic has likely had important effects on the use of health services among the general public throughout LMICs. However, evidence from Kinshasa suggests the effects may not be as widespread as previously assumed.The impact of strict social distancing measures needs on COVID-19 outcomes needs to be weighed off against the potential population-level health effects of these policies in various international contexts.

Little is known about factors influencing children's dietary intake in Mongolia, a country undergoing rapid nutrition transition. Using nationally representative data from the 2017 Mongolia National Nutrition Survey, we assessed the nutritional status of children aged <2 years and examined household, maternal, and child factors associated with feeding practices among children aged 6–23 months (n = 938). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify predictors of minimum meal frequency (MMF), minimum dietary diversity (MDD), and minimum acceptable diet (MAD). The prevalence of child stunting (length/height‐for‐age Z‐score < −2 SD) was 6.3%, and the prevalence of overweight (weight‐for‐height Z‐score > +2 SD) was 16.8%. The prevalence of anaemia and iron deficiency was 39.0% and 32.2%, respectively, and 73.5% and 85.5% of children had inadequate vitamin A and vitamin D status, respectively. Of children aged 6‐23 months, 92.1% (n = 864) had MMF, 49.6% (n = 465) had MDD, and 43.8% (n = 411) achieved MAD. Increased household wealth was positively associated with all three indicators, whereas severe food insecurity was not associated with MMF, MDD, or MAD. Older child age (odds ratio, 95% CI: 1.09 [1.06, 1.12]; p < .001) and maternal dietary diversity (odds ratio, 95% CI: 2.36 [1.67, 3.34]; p < .001) were positively associated with child MDD. Nutrition‐specific and nutrition‐sensitive efforts are needed to improve the dietary quality of infants and young children in Mongolia and reduce the high burdens of child micronutrient deficiency and overweight in the country.

AbstractHandwashing with water and soap, is among the most a cost-effective interventions to improve public health. Yet billions of people globally lacking handwashing facilities with water and soap on premises, with gaps particularly found in low- and middle-income countries. Targeted efforts to expand access to basic hygiene services require data at geospatially explicit scales. Drawing on country-specific cross-sectional Demographic and Health Surveys with georeferenced hygiene data, we developed an ensemble model to predict the prevalence of basic hygiene facilities in Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan and Uganda. The ensemble model was based on a multiple-level stacking structure, where five predictive modelling algorithms were used to produce sub-models, and a random forest model was used to generalise the final predictions. An inverse distance weighted interpolation was incorporated in the random forest model to account for spatial autocorrelation. Local coverage and a local dissimilarity index were calculated to examine the geographic disparities in access. Our methodology produced robust outputs, as evidenced by performance evaluations (all R2were above 0.8 with the exception of Malawi where R2= 0.6). Among the five study countries, Pakistan had the highest overall coverage, whilst Malawi had the poorest coverage. Apparent disparities in basic hygiene services were found across geographic locations and between urban and rural settings. Nigeria had the highest level of inequalities in basic hygiene services, whilst Malawi showed the least segregation between populations with and without basic hygiene services. Both educational attainment and wealth were important predictors of the geospatial distribution of basic hygiene services. By producing geospatially explicit estimates of the prevalence of handwashing facilities with water and soap, this study provides a means of identifying geographical disparities in basic hygiene services. The method and outputs can be useful tools to identify areas of low coverage and to support efficient and precise targeting of efforts to scale up access to handwashing facilities and shift social and cultural norms on handwashing.

Thailand is now faced with a double burden of malnutrition. Using nationally representative data from the 2015–2016 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, we utilized multinomial logistic regression models to examine factors associated with stunting only, wasting only, overweight only, concurrent stunting and overweight, and concurrent stunting and wasting among children 0–59 months of age (n = 11,068). The prevalences of <5 stunting only (height‐for‐age Z score < −2 SD) and wasting only (WHZ < −2 SD) were 8.5% and 4.7%, respectively. The prevalence of <5 overweight only (WHZ > +2 SD) was 7.8%. Children 12–23 months (risk ratio [RR], 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.47 [1.18, 1.83]; p < .01) and 24–35 months (RR, 95% CI: 1.56 [1.26, 1.94]; p < .001) were at increased risk for stunting only, compared with children 48–59 months. The strongest risk factor for stunting only was low birth weight (RR, 95% CI: 3.42 [2.86, 4.10]; p < .001). Children 0–5 months were at highest risk for wasting only, compared with children 48–59 months (RR, 95% CI: 2.91 [2.16, 3.92]; p < .001). Children 48–59 months and male children were more likely to be overweight only. Higher household wealth and smaller household size were also significant predictors of overweight only. A small proportion of children were concurrently stunted and overweight (1.3%) and concurrently stunted and wasted (0.6%). A multipronged approach focused on adequate prenatal care, improving breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, and mitigating the growing burden of overweight is needed to address the double burden of malnutrition in Thailand.