Health Systems In sub-Saharan Africa Research Articles

Healthcare system barriers and facilitators to hypertension management in Ghana.

Background: Hypertension continues to pose a significant burden on the health systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Multiple challenges at the health systems level could impact patients' blood pressure outcomes. There is a need to understand the gaps in health systems to improve their readiness to manage the rising burden of hypertension Objective: To explore health system barriers and opportunities for improved management of hypertension in Ghana, West Africa. Methods: We conducted 5 focus group discussions involving 9 health facility leaders and 24 clinicians involved in hypertension treatment at 15 primary-level health facilities in Kumasi, Ghana. We held discussions remotely over Zoom and used thematic analysis methods. Results: Four themes emerged from the focus group discussions: (1) financial and geographic inaccessibility of hypertension services; (2) facilities' struggle to maintain the supply of antihypertensive medications and providers' perceptions of suboptimal quality of insured medications; (3) shortage of healthcare providers, especially physicians; and (4) patients' negative self-management practices. Facilitators identified included presence of wellness and hypertension clinics for screening and management of hypertension at some health facilities, nurses' request for additional roles in hypertension management, and the rising positive practice of patient home blood pressure monitoring. Conclusion: Our findings highlight critical barriers to hypertension service delivery and providers' abilities to provide quality services. Health facilities should build on ongoing innovations in hypertension screening, task-shifting strategies, and patient self-management to improve hypertension control. In Ghana and other countries, policies to equip healthcare systems with the resources needed for hypertension management could lead to a high improvement in hypertension outcomes among patients.

Point prevalence of evidence-based antimicrobial use among hospitalized patients in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Excessive and improper use of antibiotics causes antimicrobial resistance which is a major threat to global health security. Hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the highest prevalence of antibiotic use. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the pooled point prevalence (PPP) of evidence-based antimicrobial use among hospitalized patients in SSA. Literature was retrieved from CINAHL, EMBASE, Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Meta-analysis was conducted using STATA version 17. Forest plots using the random-effect model were used to present the findings. The heterogeneity and publication bias were assessed using the I2 statistics and Egger’s test. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO with code CRD42023404075. The review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. A total of 26, 272 study participants reported by twenty-eight studies published from 10 countries in SSA were included. The pooled point prevalence of antimicrobial use in SSA were 64%. The pooled estimate of hospital wards with the highest antibiotic use were intensive care unit (89%). The pooled prevalence of the most common clinical indication for antibiotic use were community acquired infection (41%). The pooled point prevalence of antimicrobial use among hospitalized patients were higher in SSA. Higher use of antibiotics was recorded in intensive care units. Community acquired infection were most common clinical case among hospitalized patients. Health systems in SSA must design innovative digital health interventions to optimize clinicians adhere to evidence-based prescribing guidelines and improve antimicrobial stewardship.

How are health systems in sub-Saharan Africa adapting to protect human health from climate change threats? A scoping review and case study

BackgroundSub-Saharan Africa stands out as one of the regions most affected by the climate crisis, while it has contributed to the problem only marginally. The foreseen negative effect on health adds great stress to the already overburdened health systems. Health systems' adaptation to climate change is, therefore, urgently needed to better protect human health. There is, however, scant evidence on how adaption is being planned and implemented in Africa. The aim of this study was to review the literature on health system adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa. MethodsIn this scoping review and case study, we first carried out the scoping review, searching for publications on adaptation measures using the PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases on July 1, 2023. We included papers in English and French that addressed the adaptation of health systems in countries in sub-Saharan Africa without time limit. Second, we did a case study of the design and implementation of the National Adaptation Plan of Benin, with a specific focus on the policy-making process underlying the plan, whereby we used the health policy triangle as a policy analysis framework. Data were collected through a document review of national policy plans, reports, and evaluations. FindingsA total of 14 papers met the inclusion criteria, showing that climate change adaptation remains a niche in the literature for sub-Saharan Africa. Most included papers were authored by individuals from high-income countries. Health system adaptation measures cover seven domains: health systems strengthening; policy and planning; financing and implementation; information and capacity building; societal resilience; disaster risk prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery; and mitigation. The review found that the dominant role of global agencies in supporting or steering health system adaptation planning contributes to policy mimicry across countries, as confirmed by the case study of the adaptation plan in Benin. Benin's National Adaptation Plan prioritised three climate hazards: heat, drought, and flooding. Although the financial and technical inputs of international agencies effectively support Benin's adaptation planning, these inputs might induce a more narrow focus that does not fully respond to Benin's needs in terms of climate shocks and adaptation priorities. InterpretationHealth systems in sub-Saharan Africa are already adapting to climate change. Future research could focus on how national governments could develop adaptation plans that are responsive to local needs by making the needs analysis and priority-setting processes more inclusive of local stakeholders. FundingThe Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid.

Time to bring female genital schistosomiasis out of neglect.

Female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) is a chronic gynaecological disease affecting girls and women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), caused by the parasite Schistosoma (S.) haematobium. FGS is associated with sexual dysfunction, reproductive tract morbidity and increased prevalence of HIV and cervical precancer lesions. Key peer-reviewed published literature. FGS screening and diagnosis require costly equipment and specialized training, seldom available in resource-limited settings. FGS surveillance is not included in wider schistosomiasis control strategies. The interplay of FGS with other SRH infections is not fully understood. Integration of FGS within sexual and reproductive health (SRH) control programmes needs to be explored. There are no standardized methods for individual or population-based FGS screening and diagnosis, hindering accurate disease burden estimates and targeted resource allocation. Treatment recommendations rely on public health guidelines, without rigorous clinical evidence on efficacy. Integrating FGS screening with SRH programmes offers an opportunity to reach at-risk women with limited access to healthcare services. Home-based self-sampling coupled with handheld colposcopes operated by primary healthcare workers show promise for FGS diagnosis and surveillance at scale. There is growing interest in decentralizing strategies for FGS screening and diagnosis. The accurate predictions on the 'cost-effectiveness' of these approaches will determine their affordability and feasibility within the overburdened health systems in SSA. Clinical trials are needed to optimize FGS treatment. Longitudinal studies can expand on the epidemiological knowledge on co-morbidities and integration within other SRH interventions.

Rheumatology in Cameroon: History, Challenges, and Future.

Rheumatology is a medical specialty that deals with diseases of bones, joints, tendons, and muscles. It is a relatively young specialty in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Cameroon. We believe that current and future generations need to know the history and challenges of rheumatology in Cameroon, which not only is a mainstay of Central Africa but also reflects many other health systems in sub-Saharan Africa, to properly identify the challenges facing this specialty and define appropriate strategies for developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The HIV/AIDS responses pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa: A basis for sustainable health system strengthening post–COVID-19

In May 2023, the World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 was no longer a global emergency. The impact of COVID-19 on the provision of HIV/AIDS services was not that severe due to the reprogramming of key resources. For health systems in sub-Saharan Africa to become resilient to future pandemics, lessons should be learned from the successful HIV/AIDS response in the region, and how the HIV/AIDS services were successfully adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we reviewed the 6 World Health Organization health system building blocks on how the best practices from the provision of HIV/AIDS services and the services’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic can be used as a basis for restoring and strengthening health systems to offer universal access to quality essential health services. The success of the leadership and governance for universal access to anti-retroviral therapy can be a blueprint for the realization of universal health coverage. Significant efficiencies that resulted in the reduction in anti-retroviral therapy costs can be leveraged to ensure cheaper essential drugs while differentiated service delivery models can be used to improve health service accessibility. New technologies that have proven to be successful in HIV/AIDS care can also be used in the care of other diseases, including disease outbreaks. The strong health information systems developed for HIV programs can be used as a foundation for developing health information systems for the whole health sector while the healthcare professionals trained for the provision of HIV/AIDS services can be trained to provide services for a variety of other conditions.

Incidental radiological findings during clinical tuberculosis screening in Lesotho and South Africa: a case series

BackgroundChest X-ray offers high sensitivity and acceptable specificity as a tuberculosis screening tool, but in areas with a high burden of tuberculosis, there is often a lack of radiological expertise to interpret chest X-ray. Computer-aided detection systems based on artificial intelligence are therefore increasingly used to screen for tuberculosis-related abnormalities on digital chest radiographies. The CAD4TB software has previously been shown to demonstrate high sensitivity for chest X-ray tuberculosis-related abnormalities, but it is not yet calibrated for the detection of non-tuberculosis abnormalities. When screening for tuberculosis, users of computer-aided detection need to be aware that other chest pathologies are likely to be as prevalent as, or more prevalent than, active tuberculosis. However, non­-tuberculosis chest X-ray abnormalities detected during chest X-ray screening for tuberculosis remain poorly characterized in the sub-Saharan African setting, with only minimal literature.Case presentationIn this case series, we report on four cases with non-tuberculosis abnormalities detected on CXR in TB TRIAGE + ACCURACY (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04666311), a study in adult presumptive tuberculosis cases at health facilities in Lesotho and South Africa to determine the diagnostic accuracy of two potential tuberculosis triage tests: computer-aided detection (CAD4TB v7, Delft, the Netherlands) and C-reactive protein (Alere Afinion, USA). The four Black African participants presented with the following chest X-ray abnormalities: a 59-year-old woman with pulmonary arteriovenous malformation, a 28-year-old man with pneumothorax, a 20-year-old man with massive bronchiectasis, and a 47-year-old woman with aspergilloma.ConclusionsSolely using chest X-ray computer-aided detection systems based on artificial intelligence as a tuberculosis screening strategy in sub-Saharan Africa comes with benefits, but also risks. Due to the limitation of CAD4TB for non-tuberculosis-abnormality identification, the computer-aided detection software may miss significant chest X-ray abnormalities that require treatment, as exemplified in our four cases. Increased data collection, characterization of non-tuberculosis anomalies and research on the implications of these diseases for individuals and health systems in sub-Saharan Africa is needed to help improve existing artificial intelligence software programs and their use in countries with high tuberculosis burden.

Hospital disaster preparedness in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of English literature

BackgroundDisasters are increasing worldwide, with Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) being one of the most prone regions. Hospitals play a key role in disasters. This study provides a systematic review of the evidence on disaster preparedness by hospitals in SSA countries based on English literature.MethodsA systematic literature review was conducted of articles published between January 2012 and July 2022. We searched PubMed, Elsevier, Science Direct, Google Scholar, the WHO depository library and CDC sites for English language publications. The key inclusion criteria were: publications should have been published in the above period, deal with hospital disaster preparedness in SSA, the full paper should have been available, and studies should have presented a comparison between hospitals and/or a single hospital.ResultsResults indicate improvements in disaster preparedness over time. However, health systems in SSA are generally considered vulnerable, and they find it difficult to adapt to changing health conditions. Inadequately skilled healthcare professionals, underfunding, poor knowledge, the absence of governance and leadership, lack of transparency and bureaucracy are the main preparedness barriers. Some countries are in an infancy stage of their health system development, while others are among the least developed health system in the world. Finally, a major barrier to disaster preparedness in SSA countries is the inability to collaborate in disaster response.ConclusionsHospital disaster preparedness is vulnerable in SSA countries. Thus, improvement of hospital disaster preparedness is highly needed.

Assessing the efficiency of health systems in achieving the universal health coverage goal: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

ObjectiveUniversal health coverage (UHC) is a major pathway to save many people from catastrophic and impoverishing healthcare spending and address the inequality in health and healthcare. The objective of this paper is to assess the efficiency with which health systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are utilizing healthcare resources to progress towards achieving the UHC goal by 2030.MethodsThe study followed the guidelines proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank joint UHC monitoring framework and the computational operationalization approach proposed by Wagstaff et al. (2015) to estimate the UHC index for each of the 30 selected SSA countries. The bootstrapping output-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to estimate the bias-corrected technical efficiency scores and examine the environmental factors that influence health system efficiency.ResultsThe estimated UHC levels ranged from a minimum of 52% to a maximum of 81% (SD=8.6%) with a median coverage of 66%. The average bias-corrected efficiency score was 0.81 left(95% CI:0.77-0.85right). The study found that education, governance quality, public health spending, external health funding, and prepayment arrangements that pool funds for health had a positive significant effect on health system efficiency in improving UHC, while out-of-pocket payment had a negative impact.ConclusionThe results show that health systems in SSA can potentially enhance UHC levels by at least 19% with existing healthcare resources if best practices are adopted. Policymakers should aim at improving education, good governance, and healthcare financing architecture to reduce out-of-pocket payments and over-reliance on donor funding for healthcare to achieve UHC.

Community Health Worker programmes’ integration into national health systems: Scoping review

Community health worker (CHW) programmes, when adequately integrated into mainstream health systems, can provide a viable, affordable and sustainable path to strengthened health systems that better meets demands for improved child health, especially in resource-constrained settings. However, studies that report on how CHW programmes are integrated into respective health systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are missing. This review presents evidence on CHW programmes' integration into National Health Systems for improved health outcomes in SSA. Sub-Saharan Africa. Six CHW programmes representing three sub-Saharan regions (West, East, and Southern Africa) were purposively selected based on their deemed integration into respective National Health Systems. A database search of literature limited to the identified programmes was then conducted. Screening and literature selection was guided a scoping review framework. Abstracted data were synthesised and presented in a narrative form. A total of 42 publications met the inclusion criteria. Reviewed papers had an even focus on all six CHW programmes integration components. Although some similarities were observed, evidence of integration on most CHW programme integration components varied across countries. The linkage of CHW programmes to respective health systems runs across all reviewed countries. Some CHW programme components such as CHW recruitment, education and certification, service delivery, supervision, information management, and equipment and supplies are integrated into the health systems differently across the region. Different approaches to the integration of all the components depict complexity in the field of CHW programme integration in the region.Contribution: The study presents synthesized evidence on CHW programmes integration into national health systems in SSA.

The role of health service delivery networks in achieving universal health coverage in Africa

Most countries in Africa are faced with health system problems that vary from one to the next. Countries with a low Human Development Index (HDI) seem to be more prone to challenges in health service delivery. To mark its 70th anniversary on World Health Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) selected the theme “Universal Health Coverage (UHC): Everyone, Everywhere” and the slogan “Health for All. ”UHC refers to ensuring that all people have access to needed health services (including prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliation) of sufficient quality to be effective while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship. UHC is a WHO’s priority objective. Most governments have made it their major goal. This paper provides a perspective on the challenges of achieving UHC in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It also endeavors to spotlight the successful models of Health Service Delivery Networks (HSDNs) that make significant strides in making progress towards achieving UHC. HSDNs propose models that facilitate the attainment of affordability and accessibility while maintaining quality in delivering health services. Additionally, it brings up to speed the challenges associated with setting up HSDNs in health systems in SSA. It then makes propositions of what measures and strategic approaches should be implemented to strengthen HSDNs in SSA. This paper further argues that UHC is not only technically feasible but it is also attainable if countries embrace HSDNs in SSA.

Estimating HIV incidence in sub-Saharan Africa

Over the past 3 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected health systems in sub-Saharan Africa that were already highly burdened by other infectious diseases such as HIV.1 Although substantial progress has been made in reducing new HIV infections globally, Africa is still disproportionately affected, accounting for two-thirds of all people living with HIV.2 The global target to achieve 95% of HIV testing, treatment, and controlled viral suppression by 2030 requires nuanced and innovative ways of understanding HIV transmission dynamics at the national, regional, and subregional levels, and availability of new treatments and preventive strategies on a broad scale.

Embracing e-health systems in managing the COVID 19 pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa

The COVID-19 pandemic and the policy responses adopted to curtail it have drastically altered how health services are delivered around the globe. To enable the public to continue accessing health care, e-health innovations have become the most viable tool to provide convenient, timely, effective and safe care, while reducing the spread of the virus. This paper utilized data from existing literature to explore the benefits and challenges of implementing e-health technologies in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) amid this pandemic. Evidence suggests that these technologies have the potential to strengthen public health systems in SSA as they have in First World countries. However, there are a number of challenges that need to be addressed first in order to realize the full promises of e-health on the continent. The paper proposes that African governments should come together and implement similar e-health policies, share software, expertise and other critical ICT infrastructure as it can result in the successful implementation of e-health innovations, while reducing the financial burden associated with their set up.

Health systems strengthening through policy-level integration of community health worker programs into national health systems for improved health outcomes - scorecard metrics validation: A bifactor structural equation model approach.

Subsequent to the demonstrated potential of community health workers (CHWs) in strengthening health systems to improve health outcomes, recent literature has defined context and guidelines for integrating CHW programs into mainstream health systems. However, quantitative measures for assessing the extent of CHW program integration into national health systems need to be developed. The purpose of this study was to validate a newly developed scale, Community Health Worker Program Integration Scorecard Metrics (CHWP-ISM), for assessing the degree of integration of CHW programs into national health systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Data obtained through a pilot study involving a purposively selected sample of 41 participants selected from populations involved in CHW programs work in selected countries of SSA formed the basis of a 31-item bifactor model. Data were collected between June and December 2019. By applying a latent variable approach implemented with structural equation modeling, data analysis was mainly done using the R statistical environment, applying factor analysis procedures. Dimensionality, construct validity, and the CHWP-ISM scale's internal consistency were assessed. Confirmatory factor analysis of the CHW-ISM bifactor model supported a co-occurring CHW integration general factor and six unique domain-specific factors. Both the comparative fit index (CFI) and Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) fit indices were above 0.9, while the root mean square of the residuals (RMSR) was 0.02. Cronbach's alpha (α), Guttman 6 (Lambda 6), and Omega total (ωt) were above 0.8, indicating good scale reliability. Statistical significance of the bifactor model suggests that CHW integration has to be examined using factors that reflect a single common underlying integration construct, as well as factors that reflect unique variances for the identified six subject-specific domains. The validated CHWP-ISM could be useful to inform policy advisers, health systems, donors, non-governmental organizations, and other CHW program stakeholders with guidance on how to quantitatively assess the integration status of different components of CHW programs into respective critical functions of the health system. Improved integration could increase CHW program functionality, which could in turn strengthen the healthcare systems to improve health outcomes in the region.

EHealth or e-Chaos: The use of Digital Health Interventions for Health Systems Strengthening in sub-Saharan Africa over the last 10 years: A scoping review.

Digital health solutions are a potent and complementary intervention in health system strengthening to accelerate universal access to health services. Implementing scalable, sustainable, and integrated digital solutions in a coordinated manner is necessary to experience the benefits of digital interventions in health systems. We sought to establish the breadth and scope of available digital health interventions (DHIs) and their functions in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a scoping review according to the Joanne Briggs Institute's reviewers manual and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses - Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist and explanation. We retrieved data from the WHO Digital Health Atlas (DHA), the WHO e-Health country profiles report of 2015, and electronic databases. The protocol has been deposited in an open-source platform - the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/5kzq7. The researchers retrieved 983 digital tools used to strengthen health systems in sub-Saharan Africa over the past 10 years. We included 738 DHIs in the analysis while 245 were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria. We observed a disproportionate distribution of DHIs towards service delivery (81.7%, n = 603), health care providers (91.8%, n = 678), and access and use of information (84.1%, n = 621). Fifty-three percent (53.4%, n = 394) of the solutions are established and 47.5% (n = 582) were aligned to 20% (n = 5) of the system categories. Sub-Saharan Africa is endowed with digital health solutions in both numbers and distinct functions. It is lacking in coordination, integration, scalability, sustainability, and equitable distribution of investments in digital health. Digital health policymakers in sub-Saharan Africa need to urgently institute coordination mechanisms to terminate unending duplication and disjointed vertical implementations and manage solutions for scale. Central to this would be to build digital health leadership in countries within SSA, adopt standards and interoperability frameworks; advocate for more investments into lagging components, and promote multi-purpose solutions to halt the seeming "e-chaos" and progress to sustainable e-health solutions.

The African Health Initiative's Role in Advancing the Use of Embedded Implementation Research for Health Systems Strengthening.

<h3>Key Messages</h3> The embedded implementation research (EIR) approach involves engaging policy makers and decision makers at each stage from the design to the dissemination of research and increases the likelihood of the use of research evidence to better inform policy and management decisions. The African Health Initiative is an example of a public enterprise that has demonstrated success in developing domestic research capacity and strengthening health systems in sub-Saharan Africa by integrating the EIR approach into its projects. Further efforts and investments are needed to increase the sustainability and scalability of the EIR approach to improve the performance of national health systems.

Embedding Research on Implementation of Primary Health Care Systems Strengthening: A Commentary on Collaborative Experiences in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Mozambique

Achieving universal health care coverage requires the adoption of primary health care policies and delivery strategies that are evidence based. Although this has been confronted by manifold challenges, particularly in the health systems of sub-Saharan Africa, there are promising approaches for accomplishing this objective. Salient among these is embedding implementation research (i.e., the study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) into routine practice) into policy making and implementation processes. Since 2007, the African Health Initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation supported partnerships that strengthened primary health systems and policy implementation in 7 countries in sub-Saharan Africa using the embedded implementation research as a core strategy. This programmatic review and analysis aims to identify the core features and processes that characterized how the partnerships operationalized the embedded implementation research approach and understand the factors that helped and constrained partnerships' effective use of this approach. For this, we drew upon findings from a desk review that consisted of 30 examples of embedded implementation research conducted by 3 African Health Initiative partnerships between 2016 and 2021 in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Mozambique. In addition, we conducted and analyzed 13 in-depth interviews with embedded implementation research stakeholders of the 3 projects. Core features and processes of embedded implementation research were: (1) the leadership role of policy decision makers and implementation leaders; (2) positioning research with program implementation at multiple levels of health systems; (3) multidisciplinary and multisectoral partnerships; (4) focus on research capacity building; and (5) real-time feedback loops and knowledge translation. Factors influencing the effectiveness of the embedded implementation research experiences involved: (1) the implementation climate and leadership; (2) opportunities and capacities to circulate and absorb new information; and (3) stakeholders' baseline knowledge and embedded scientists' identification within their organizations.

Abstract P089: Health Facility Readiness For Hypertension Management In Ghana, West Africa

Background: Hypertension continues to be a growing health burden in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The health systems in SSA are ill-equipped to manage patients with hypertension. The current study explored hypertension service readiness at the health facilities in Kumasi, Ghana. Methods: We purposively recruited 11 (out of over 200) health facilities that provide hypertension services in Kumasi, Ghana. At each facility, we administered the Hypertension Service Availability and Readiness tool. The main outcome of interest was hypertension service readiness regarding the availability of hypertension guidelines, provider and their training, equipment, diagnostics, and anti-hypertensive medications. We used descriptive analysis and reported counts (%) and median (Interquartile Range). Results: Five facilities (46%) were of medium size with 50-100 bed-capacity, four (36%) were government-owned, five (46%) treated patients with hypertension in a hypertension clinic while the rest managed them in the general outpatient department (Table). At least one provider had received cardiovascular disease training at 7 (64%) facilities. Hypertension-related patient education materials and treatment guidelines were available in 6 (54%) and 8 (72%) facilities, respectively. Also, 7 (64%) had all of the first-line anti-hypertensive medications (as stipulated in Ghana Standard Treatment Guidelines) available. Conclusion: We identified gaps in provider training, patient education, and first-line medication availability related to hypertension in Ghana. This study calls for policy changes to improve hypertension management and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Systematic review: Decentralised health information systems implementation in sub-Saharan Africa

Globally the health space is being revolutionised by rapid digital transformation to support care activities, promote healthier lifestyles and ensure informed decision making to improve service delivery. However, many health systems in sub-Saharan Africa are yet to realise the full potential of health information systems (HIS) as a digital transformation initiative. The objective of this article is to establish how the sociotechnical challenges in Africa’s health systems can be addressed by recommending a fitting approach to implement HIS relevant to the context of the continent. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) technique was applied to search, identify and filter articles over a 10-year period by applying inclusion and exclusion criteria accordingly. Only 42 articles satisfied the objective of this article. The emergent themes include contextual factors, coordination and collaboration, data complexity, organisation structure, accountability and stakeholders’ perspectives. The results indicated that less attention has been given to how the implementation approach could impact the output of health systems. In conclusion, the authors argue that a decentralised approach to the implementation of HIS is more appropriate for Africa’s health systems. The premise of the authors’ argument is informed by the tiered structure of health systems, varying levels of infrastructural development and use of large volumes of health-related data for resources allocation at the national level. Future studies should investigate the processes for formulation and evaluation of health policies to actively redress the administrative issues associated with the current functional HIS in each African country.Transdisciplinarity Contribution: The paper contributes to the practical implications of implementing HIS in sub-Saharan African health systems by highlighting the contextual realities and data governance complexities that support a decentralised approach towards ensuring resilience and health security.

The Ground Is Full of Pitfalls: Association of Chronic Kidney Disease, Conflict Zones, and the Quality of Healthcare in Africa

Public health in sub-Saharan African countries is experiencing a double burden of diseases. First, for decades, these countries have been struggling against infectious diseases. Second, the demographic transition in the area is leading to a rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Unfortunately, the health systems in sub-Saharan Africa are vulnerable, under-resourced, and unable to address these public health issues. Furthermore, protracted political instability and the consequent conflict zones are worsening the situation. In this short essay, the authors report their real-world experience of providing kidney care for patients with NCDs and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Bunia, the capital city of the Ituri, a north-eastern district of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that has been conflict-ridden for years. In conclusion, there is a lack of evidence and research regarding the heavy burden of NCDs and the appropriate healthcare policy in humanitarian settings such as conflict zones. A co-ordinated, standardised, and evidence-based approach is strongly recommended to reach affected populations in these areas.