Health Non-governmental Organizations Research Articles

Sub-Saharan Africa preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A perspective of early career African scientists.

Emerging highly transmissible viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2 pose a significant global threat to human health and the economy. Since its first appearance in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, China, SARS-CoV-2 infection has quickly spread across the globe, with the first case reported on the African continent, in Egypt on February 14 th, 2020. Although the global number of COVID-19 infections has increased exponentially since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of new infections and deaths recorded in African countries have been relatively modest, suggesting slower transmission dynamics of the virus on the continent, a lower case fatality rate, or simply a lack of testing or reliable data. Notably, there is no significant increase in unexplained pneumonias or deaths on the continent which could possibly indicate the effectiveness of interventions introduced by several African governments. However, there has not yet been a comprehensive assessment of sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic that may have contributed to prevent an uncontrolled outbreak so far. As a group of early career scientists and the next generation of African scientific leaders with experience of working in medical and diverse health research fields in both SSA and resource-rich countries, we present a unique perspective on the current public health interventions to fight COVID-19 in Africa. Our perspective is based on extensive review of the available scientific publications, official technical reports and announcements released by governmental and non-governmental health organizations as well as from our personal experiences as workers on the COVID-19 battlefield in SSA. We documented public health interventions implemented in seven SSA countries including Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Cameroon, Zambia, South Africa and Botswana, the existing gaps and the important components of disease control that may strengthen SSA response to future outbreaks.

Managing Complex Crises

The pandemic of COVID-19 generated an unprecedented global crisis with immediate dramatic consequences on human health and life and with long term consequences in the economic, social, educational, and cultural domains in many countries all around the world. Governments, national health systems, educational systems, companies, banks, non-governmental organizations, and scientists from many research domains make great efforts to find solutions to all the problems initiated by this pandemic and to manage somehow this unexpected and very complex crisis. The purpose of this Special Issue is to publish papers dedicated to these new phenomena and, especially, to look at the managerial perspectives of developing effective solutions for ending that crisis and coping with its consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic is by all characteristics a Black Swan phenomenon that shocked our minds modeled primarily by deterministic and linear thinking. The Black Swan metaphor was introduced in literature by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his bestselling book The Black Swan. The impact of the highly improbable (2007), published by Penguin Books. Being a phenomenon with a very small probability, it is hardly accepted by deterministic thinking, and even by probabilistic thinking based on known probability distributions and not on disruptive forces. Also, our perception about the future is based on the space-time metaphor where the observer is moving and the time framework is stationary. That means we go toward the future in a continuum past-present-future following an evolutionary algorithm. A crisis is a result of a disruptive force that cannot be contained within an evolutionary thinking model. It can be understood if we change the time perception with the metaphor of moving time and stationary observer. That means the future comes toward us in an accelerated manner and we are taken by surprise. From a strategic perspective, when we go toward the future that is perceived as an extrapolation of the present time, we can design deliberate business strategies and implement them according to a certain time metric.

Social Support To Adolescents Living With HIV / AIDS: An Integrative Literature Review

Objective: To identify the scientific evidence of the literature on social support for adolescents with HIV / AIDS.
 Methods: An integrative review was carried out in the LILACS, BDENF and MEDLINE / PubMed databases, conducted in January 2017.
 Results: 12 articles, published between 2005 and 2015, were selected and analyzed, which pointed to the importance of social support to adolescents living with HIV / AIDS. It’s important to highlight the particular importance of support from relatives and non-relatives, especially regarding to health services and non-governmental organizations.
 Conclusions: The support offered by both family members and institutions is considered a potentiating factor in physical, social and psychological health, in positive behaviors and in coping with the condition of living with HIV and AIDS.

Bride Price Payment and Justification of Sexual Violence Among Women in Ghana*These authors contributed equally to this work.

Although insights on bride price and domestic violence have been explored in Ghana, very little is known about payment of bride price and the justification of sexual violence. We investigated the payment of bride price and justification of sexual violence among women (N = 4,222) in Ghana, dwelling on the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Two binary logistic regression models were fitted. We adjusted for significant sociodemographic variables. The findings revealed that women whose partners had paid their bride price had higher odds [OR = 1.54; CI = 1.174, 2.00] of justifying sexual violence, compared to those whose partners had not paid. We found that women with primary [AOR = 0.55; CI = 0.44-0.71] and secondary/higher [AOR = 0.47; CI = 0.36-0.60] levels of education had lower odds of accepting sexual violence. Women in the rich wealth quintile [AOR = 0.32; CI = 0.22, 0.46] had lower odds of justifying sexual violence. Our study has illustrated the need for women to appreciate that payment of bride price does not imply that their fundamental human rights have been bought by men, but they rather become partners. This information can form part of premarriage counselling and human rights initiatives by the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection. That is, the content of marriage counselling may be expanded to include issues on IPV, its implications, and legal consequences. Such information can develop personal realization and urge women to report any violent advances to the police and appropriate authorities for the required legal action to be taken. This may deter others to desist from violence perpetration against women. At the community level, chiefs and other leaders of high repute can be made anti-IPV ambassadors. The Ministry of Health and other nongovernmental anti-violence organizations can also collaborate to strengthen education on anti-sexual violence programs by using the mass media.

Sub-Saharan Africa preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A perspective of early career African scientists

Emerging highly transmissible viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2 pose a significant global threat to human health and the economy. Since its first appearance in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, China, SARS-CoV-2 infection has quickly spread across the globe, with the first case reported on the African continent, in Egypt on February 14 th, 2020. Although the global number of COVID-19 infections has increased exponentially since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of new infections and deaths recorded in African countries have been relatively modest, suggesting slower transmission dynamics of the virus on the continent, a lower case fatality rate, or simply a lack of testing or reliable data. Notably, there is no significant increase in unexplained pneumonias or deaths on the continent which could possibly indicate the effectiveness of interventions introduced by several African governments. However, there has not yet been a comprehensive assessment of sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic that may have contributed to prevent an uncontrolled outbreak so far. As a group of early career scientists and the next generation of African scientific leaders with experience of working in medical and diverse health research fields in both SSA and resource-rich countries, we present a unique perspective on the current public health interventions to fight COVID-19 in Africa. Our perspective is based on extensive review of the available scientific publications, official technical reports and announcements released by governmental and non-governmental health organizations as well as from our personal experiences as workers on the COVID-19 battlefield in SSA. We documented public health interventions implemented in seven SSA countries including Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Cameroon, Zambia, South Africa and Botswana, the existing gaps and the important components of disease control that may strengthen SSA response to future outbreaks.

Health Literacy Policy in Israel – Culturally Appropriate Health Systems

Abstract Background The diverse culture in Israel created the need for developing and implementing a national policy for culturally and linguistically appropriate health services. The need stems from trends in immigration to Israel, various levels of religiosity, and the ethnic diversity of the veteran population. Health literacy plays a prominent role in this policy. Methods A national policy directive was developed and disseminated by the Israel Ministry of Health calling for culturally appropriate health information to the public, communication while receiving healthcare including ongoing staff training, health promotion intervention, and research for needs assessment. Results The national policy has been implemented for the past five years in primary care, hospitals and non-governmental health organizations. Cultural health liaisons have been integrated into primary healthcare teams in over 30 community clinics caring for Ethiopian immigrants, telephone translation services are available for Amaharic/Tigrinia, Russian and Arabic speaking communities, quality healthcare standards defined on topics such as of diabetes, and training of staff on cultural sensitivity continuously conducted. Culturally appropriate printed and digital sources of health information are available for diverse ethnic and religious communities. Appropriate health promotion intervention is routinely implemented on healthy lifestyle, early detection, and self-care, focusing mainly on NCDs and system navigation, supported by applied research and evaluation. Conclusions The policy implementation was the result of significant investment by stakeholders at all levels and requires support for sustainability regarding health literacy, health behaviour and health outcomes. Resource allocation is necessary for assessment and outcome measurement, and for applying more participatory methods for policy development, training, implementation and evaluation.

Financial controlling and modeling in cost management of a medical organization

The article reveals the current trends in the development of financial controlling for the purpose of managing the cost of a medical organization. Over the past decade, the development of the health system has been considered not only from the standpoint of public policy aimed at improving social health services, but also in terms of activating private medicine, the scope of which is steadily growing. The revival of investment in non-governmental health organizations for the development of quality medical services is provided by the growth of investment attractiveness of private medicine. A significant role in strengthening the investment image of such companies is played by a realistic assessment of the potential market value of the business, in the management of which a special function is performed by financial controlling. The article covers the organization and practical application of methods and models for assessing the market value of business and financial controlling functions in the cost management system of a medical company.

Sub-Saharan Africa preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A perspective of early career African scientists.

Emerging highly transmissible viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2 pose a significant global threat to human health and the economy. Since its first appearance in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, China, SARS-CoV-2 infection has quickly spread across the globe, with the first case reported on the African continent, in Egypt on February 14 th, 2020. Although the global number of COVID-19 infections has increased exponentially since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of new infections and deaths recorded in African countries have been relatively modest, suggesting slower transmission dynamics of the virus on the continent, a lower case fatality rate, or simply a lack of testing or reliable data. Notably, there is no significant increase in unexplained pneumonias or deaths on the continent which could possibly indicate the effectiveness of interventions introduced by several African governments. However, there has not yet been a comprehensive assessment of sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic that may have contributed to prevent an uncontrolled outbreak so far. As a group of early career scientists and the next generation of African scientific leaders with experience of working in medical and diverse health research fields in both SSA and resource-rich countries, we present a unique perspective on the current public health interventions to fight COVID-19 in Africa. Our perspective is based on extensive review of the available scientific publications, official technical reports and announcements released by governmental and non-governmental health organizations as well as from our personal experiences as workers on the COVID-19 battlefield in SSA. We documented public health interventions implemented in seven SSA countries including Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Cameroon, Zambia, South Africa and Botswana, the existing gaps and the important components of disease control that may strengthen SSA response to future outbreaks.

Health non-governmental organizations (NGOs) amidst civil unrest: Lessons learned from Nicaragua

ABSTRACT The community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) framework recognises the crucial role that small- and medium-sized NGOs play during adverse events, particularly in marginalised communities. Despite the global frequency of civil unrest, its effect on NGOs’ programmatic, administrative, and operational capabilities is poorly understood. To this end, we completed in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight key informants representing seven health NGOs in Nicaragua several months after widespread and persistent civil unrest erupted in April 2018. Data analysis revealed that all NGOs experienced notable disruptions in community education and health promotion, healthcare provision, fundraising, and strategic planning. Further, NGOs experienced several key challenges in responding to crises, including mobility within and between communities, diminishing financial resources, and safety concerns for staff and volunteers. Several NGOs anticipated long-term adverse impacts. In light of these challenges, we propose that health NGOs create a plan of action to mitigate adverse impacts of civil unrest and promote population health. Specifically, a plan of action should address institutional planning, communication strategies, and partnerships and coalitions. We also propose important ways in which future research could build on this preliminary study.

Analysis of Constraints to Adoption of Sweet Potato Processing Technologies among Actors in South East, Nigeria

The study was conducted to analyze constraints to adoption of sweet potato processing technologies among actors in South East, Nigeria. Questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of eighty (80) respondents used for the study. Data were analyzed using mean score, standard deviation, factor analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. Results indicated that sex, educational level, marital status, processing experience and access to extension service had a positive influence on the adoption of sweet potato processing technologies in the study area. The respondents were highly constrained by inadequate processing machines/equipment (=2.88), high cost of processing produce (=2.86), inadequate knowledge of modern sweet potato processing techniques (=2.84), inadequate capital for start-off (=2.84), high cost of labor (=2.83), poor credit facilities (=2.80) and scarcity of processing materials like sweet potato tubers (=2.43). These variable constraints were further subjected to factor analysis and the variables were named technical and infrastructural factors. It is recommended that processors should be encouraged to form cooperative society to enable them to pool their resources together to obtain credit facilities and sweet potato labour saving processing technologies in order to increase productivity. There is also a need for creation of awareness by extension agents, public health agencies, nutritionists and non-governmental organizations on the usefulness of orange fleshed sweet potato in addressing Vitamin A Deficiency Syndrome.

Who is Replacing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages with Plain Water? Analyses of NHANES 2011–16 Data

Abstract Objectives In the United States, replacing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) with plain drinking water is recommended via by numerous public health agencies and non-governmental organizations. While declines in SSB consumption in the US are well-documented, it is not clear if consumers are replacing SSBs with other beverages, namely plain drinking water. Methods Beverage consumption data for 7453 children (4–18y) and 15,263 adults (≥19y) came from two 24 h dietary recalls in three most recent cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2011–2016). Consumption trends for water intakes (in mL/d) from SSBs and from drinking water were analyzed by gender, age group, family income, and race/ethnicity. Results Mean water intakes from SSBs declined from 322 mL/d to 262 mL/d (p-trend = 0.002) on average, whereas plain drinking water increased from 1011 mL/d to 1144 mL/d (p-trend = 0.0108). Statistically significant reductions in SSBs were observed only among men (-18%), younger participants (-26% in 4–8, -22% in 9–13, -33% in 14–19 and -30% in 20–30), those with lower incomes (family income-to-poverty ratio < 2.0), non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic black participants (p-trend < 0.05 for each). Within these population sub-groups, only non-Hispanic white participants, those with a family income to poverty ratio of 1–1.99, but not < 1.0, and children aged < 14y had a corresponding increase in plain water consumption. When examining types of water, non-Hispanic white participants replaced SSBs with tap water as opposed to bottled water, and the lower income group replaced SSBs with bottled water, as opposed to tap water. Conclusions The expected replacement of SSBs with plain drinking water was not uniformly observed across socio-demographic group. Only non-Hispanic Whites and lower income groups replaced SSB with water, whereas teenagers (14–19y) and non-Hispanic black participants did not. Understanding how and if specific population sub-groups are replacing a declining food/beverage category with another category has important population health implications. Funding Sources Analyses of publicly available federal NHANES databases were sponsored by PepsiCo Inc. and conducted by MS-Nutrition. The views expressed in this abstract are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of PepsiCo, Inc.

Misoprostol: The Social Life of a Life-saving Drug in Global Maternal Health

This paper is about a drug called misoprostol and its controversial clinical and social lives. Although originally developed as a prevention for gastric ulcers, in the 1980s, it developed an off-label reputation as an abortifacient. The drug’s association with clandestine abortion has profoundly shaped its social life as a marginal and suspect character in the realm of global maternal and reproductive health where it has the potential to prevent two major causes of maternal death––postpartum hemorrhage and unsafe abortion. The social life of misoprostol has also been shaped by the question of authoritative practice, that is, the question of who can deliver medicine. Both issues are about the specters of misuse of misoprostol: off-label, illegal, immoral, or by unlicensed providers. In this paper, I focus ethnographically on two women’s health nongovernmental organizations that have been conducting clinical testing and advocacy for the use of misoprostol for reproductive indications in global maternal health settings. Drawing on the notions of pharmaceutical activism and protocol feminism, I describe and analyze how the tools of evidence and authoritative practice have been reassembled in new networks of expertise toward the social justice goals of life, access, and dignity for women.

Prison conditions and standards of health care for women and their children incarcerated in Zimbabwean prisons.

The Sub-Saharan African (SSA) region remains at the epicentre of the HIV epidemic and disproportionately affecting women, girls and prisoners. Women in prison are a minority group and their special health needs relating to gender sensitivity, reproductive health, their children and HIV/AIDs are frequently neglected. Our study responded to this need, and aimed to investigate the issue. A qualitative study using focus group discussions and key informant interviews explored the perspectives of women in prison, correctional officers, correctional health professionals and non-governmental organisations around prison conditions and standards of health care while incarcerated in a large female prison in Zimbabwe. Narratives were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The three key themes that emerged are as follows: "Sanitation and hygiene in the prison", "Nutrition for women and children" and "Prison-based health services and health care". Divergence or agreement across perspectives around adequate standards of sanitation, hygiene, quality and adequacy of food, special diets for those with health conditions, access to health care in prison and the continuum of care across incarceration and community are presented. Understanding prison environmental cultures which shape correctional staff's understanding and responsiveness to women in prison, environmental health conditions and access to health care are vital to improve conditions and continuum of care in Zimbabwe. Policy and technical guidance continues to emphasise the need for research in SSA prisons to garner insight into the experiences of women and their children, with a particular emphasis on the prison environment for them, their health outcomes and health-care continuum. This unique study responded to this need.

Attitudes among working professionals toward immigrants and refugees living in Ecuador: Impacts on health and well-being.

To explore attitudes toward immigrants and refugees living in Ecuador. A transnationalism framework informed this qualitative study, which utilized a semi-structured interview guide to elicit responses from participants about their attitudes toward immigrants and refugees. Interviews were conducted in Spanish, audio-taped, transcribed, coded, and analyzed in Spanish to identify emergent themes. Demographic data were analyzed using SPSS. Participants (n=50) were recruited from five sectors that interact with refugees: health care, the press, the police, nongovernmental organizations, and education. Fifty interviews were conducted with adults in Quito, Ecuador, in 2017. Participants reported concerns about the health and well-being of immigrants and refugees, expressed a willingness to assist them, but within limits, noted discrimination and bias against refugees, and cited social policies and human rights as factors that influenced their attitudes. Our findings indicate that immigrants and refugees face challenges which impact their health and well-being, according to participants in the study. Social policies can influence attitudes, but are also affected by rapidly shifting immigration patterns. Migration flows in South America is an under-studied area of research, with opportunity for further public health nursing inquiry.

Who Tweets About Diabetic Foot on Twitter and Which Tweets Are More Attractive?

Diabetic foot is a serious problem for health care systems. Twitter can provide communication between people and it might be an informative tool for health care management. The purpose of this study is detecting the people or organizations that tweet about diabetic foot and analyze the interactions of these tweets on Twitter. All tweets containing the keyword "diabetic foot" in April 2019 were collected. The users were separated into 7 groups: patients with diabetes, health care providers, nongovernmental organizations, information sites and communication media, private companies, medical students, and others. Health care professionals and nonprofessionals were evaluated in likes, mentions, and retweets. The major group was health care providers. By 2-group comparisons of professionals and nonprofessionals, all likes, mentions, and retweets were significantly different (P = .02, P = .04, P < .001, respectively). We concluded that the tweets of health care professionals get more interaction than others. Twitter might be a useful tool to distinguish accurate information about diabetic foot. Also, health care professionals should use for making people aware of the diabetic foot and shed light on society.

Precarious employment and migrant workers\u2019 mental health: a protocol for a systematic review of observational studies

BackgroundPrecarious employment has become an urgent public health issue at a global scale with potential consequences for quality of life and health of employees, especially in vulnerable groups such as migrants. The primary aim of this systematic review is thus to analyze and summarize existing research on the association between precarious employment and migrant workers’ mental health.MethodsWe will search PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science (from January 1970 onwards) for original articles on observational studies (e.g., cohort, case-control and cross-sectional, and qualitative) published in English, German, Turkish, and Spanish. The primary outcome will be depression and anxiety disorders. Secondary outcomes will be burnout, sleeping problems, and occupational stress. Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. Potential conflicts will be resolved through discussion. The methodological quality (or risk of bias) of individual studies will be appraised using an appropriate tool. A narrative synthesis will summarize and explain the characteristics and findings of the studies. If feasible, we will conduct random effects meta-analyses where appropriate.DiscussionThis systematic review will analyze the ways in which precarious employment affects migrant workers’ mental health and the process that underlies this relationship. The results from the systematic review outlined in this protocol will be of interest to labor and health professionals, policy makers, labor unions, and non-governmental organizations. Our findings may encourage and impel related policy makers to establish human-focused, safe and healthy work environments, and workplace conditions.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO, CRD42019132560

Sutura2.0

AbstractWolof ethics ofsutura“discretion” have historically conflated perceived communicative excess with bodily contagion and associated both with queer subjects. For health non-governmental organizations (NGOs), online dating among gay Senegalese men presents two risks tosutura: contagious sex and contagious discourse. A Senegalese eHealth NGO hires gay men to send HIV/AIDS prevention messages through Facebook and online dating websites in order to contain HIV and, invokingsutura, contain queer communication and bodies. This NGO projects a heteronormative metapragmatic model of health communication, casting information as instrument of containment, and a unitary, de-eroticized digital self as informational messenger. In what I call queer biocommunicability, eHealth activists create erotically seductive digital personae incongruous with offline characteristics. Construed as communicative-bodily excess, digital seductions actually facilitate information exchange. NGOs instrumentalize queer biocommunicability to bolster a care framework that marginalizes queer subjects. This paper traces historical underpinnings and ethical-political implications of heteronormative biocommunicability’s dependence on queer transgression.

Adoption of Improved Sweet Potato Production Technologies among Small-scale Farmers in South East, Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine adoption of improved sweet potato production technologies among small-scale farmers in South East, Nigeria. Data were collected from a sample of 100 respondents using questionnaire. Percentage, mean score and multiple linear regression were used for data analysis. Results showed that majority (64.0%) of the respondents were male, married (85.0%) with a mean age of 55 years, having 81.0% of the respondents with a farming experience of 10-19 years. A greater percentage of the sweet potato producers sourced information on time of planting (55.0%), planting spacing (46.0%) and weeding (37.0%) from research institute while 36.0% sourced information on fertilizer application from fellow farmers. Adoption of improved sweet potato production technologies by producers in the study area included use of improved varieties (79%), planting spacing/distance used (81%), vine cutting (81%), fertilizer application (400 kg/ha, NPK 15:15:15) (91%), pest control (66%), harvesting (77%) and storage method (51%). The study recommended the need for awareness campaign by extension agents, public health agencies, nutritionists and non-governmental organizations on the availability of these sweet potato varieties that produce high yields for better returns. Efforts of government and non-governmental organizations are needed in encouraging sweet potato producers to adopt improved technologies through conduct of practical oriented training programmes, provision of suitable and necessary incentives and technologies in order to increase production and income.

Accelerating our response: Government of Canada five-year action plan on sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections.

Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI)-which include HIV, hepatitis B and C, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and human papillomavirus-remain significant public health issues both nationally and globally. In 2018, a Pan-Canadian STBBI Framework for Action (the Framework) was released by federal, provincial and territorial governments to provide an overarching and comprehensive approach to addressing STBBI for all those involved. This includes all levels of government, First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and leadership, frontline service providers, clinicians, public health practitioners, non-governmental organizations and researchers. The Framework includes strategic goals, guiding principles and pillars for action to address STBBI in Canada. In response, the Government of Canada released its own action plan in July 2019: Accelerating Our Response - Government of Canada Five-Year Action Plan on Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections (the Action Plan). This document identifies seven priority areas for federal action on STBBI over the next five years: 1) moving toward truth and reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples; 2) stigma and discrimination; 3) community innovation-putting a priority on prevention; 4) reaching the undiagnosed-increasing access to STBBI testing; 5) providing prevention, treatment and care to populations that receive health services or coverage of health care benefits from the federal government; 6) leveraging existing knowledge and targeting future research; and 7) measuring impact-monitoring and reporting on trends and results. The Government of Canada is currently working with provincial and territorial governments, First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners, and other stakeholders to develop STBBI indicators and targets for the Canadian context that are appropriate, feasible and measurable against the shared strategic goals of the Framework and the Action Plan. In addition, the Government of Canada has also committed to reporting annually on its progress in implementing the priority areas laid out in the Action Plan.

Sexual health services in the Arab region: Availability, access, and utilisation

ABSTRACTSexual health is shaped by cultural, economic, and social norms in society. In the Arab region, cultural sensitivities and taboos surrounding sexuality are prominent and may prevent individuals from accessing and utilising sexual health services. It is important to map out available sexual health services to identify the challenges in availability, access, and treatment, and determine opportunities for improvement. We collected data on sexual health services through (1) relevant published and unpublished literature, (2) Arab media which included forums, websites, blogs and posts, and online surveys conducted in the Arab region, (3) a questionnaire emailed to sexual and reproductive health experts, organisations, clinics, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), (4) phone and in-person formal and informal interviews with sexual health experts in the field, and (5) advice and recommendations from sexual health experts attending a World Health Organization (WHO) consultation meeting in Dubai related to sexual health in the Arab region. Although there is significant progress when it comes to the availability and provision of sexual health services in Arab countries, there is still a lot to be done to ensure that appropriate needs are met. This study discusses the implication of findings to inform programme and policy implementation in the region.