Institutional mistrust and child vaccination coverage in Africa
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Abstract
Introduction Despite considerable improvements in vaccination coverage over the last decade, half of the world’s unvaccinated and undervaccinated children are located in Africa. The role of institutional trust in explaining vaccination gaps has been highlighted in several qualitative reports but so far has only been quantified in a small number of high-income countries.
Methods We matched information on child vaccination status from the Demographic Health Surveys with information on institutional trust from the Afrobarometer surveys at the subnational level. A total of 166 953 children from 41 surveys administered in 22 African countries covering 216 subnational regions were used. Based on a principal component analysis, we constructed an institutional mistrust index that combined the level of mistrust in the head of state, parliament, electoral system, courts and local government. Associations be
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In a year that saw access to reproductive health services diminish due to COVID-19 and associated restrictions, International Women’s Day 2021 provided a welcome opportunity to reflect on, learn about and advocate for important women’s health topics, including access to safe abortion. Unsafe abortion remains a huge cause of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity.
The World Health Organization estimates that around 13% of maternal deaths are attributable to unsafe abortion, and that around 3 in every 4 abortions in Africa and Latin America are unsafe. According to the 2011 Demographic Health Survey, unsafe abortion was a leading cause of preventable maternal death in Mozambique, one of ten countries in FIGO’s Advocating Safe Abortion Project. In order to reverse this dramatic situation that affects girls and women, the new Penal Code of 2014 was approved (law Nr 35/2014 of December 31st), that was revised in 2019 (Law Nr 24/2019 of December 24th), which included,
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Deworming women during pregnancy has a positive effect on child survival and health
A recent study has found that mothers receiving deworming treatment during pregnancy reduce by 14% the risk of their child dying within the first four weeks after birth. Another benefit is that treating pregnant women with anthelminthic medicines can avoid low birthweight.
The study, conducted on 95 Demographic Health Survey datasets and collected on more than 800 000 births, utilized birth histories to measure the impact of routine deworming medicine during antenatal care on subsequent neonatal mortality and low birthweight for births between 1998 and 2018 in 56 lower income countries.
“Pregnant women who received deworming medication were associated with a 14% reduction in risk for neonatal mortality, with no difference between high and low transmission countries,” said Bhavneet Walia
Some of the symptoms are fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, profuse sweating and anaemia.
Data obtained from the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) revealed that about 11 persons die from malaria related issues every hour in Nigeria.
The data, which quoted the WHO World Malaria Report 2020, also showed that nearly 61 million malaria cases occur in Nigeria annually, with one of four global malaria cases occurring in the country.
WHO Country Representative, Dr Walter Kazadi-Mulombo, said malaria remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. He said the country continues to bear the disproportionate brunt of the malaria toll accounting for 27 percent and 23 percent of global cases and deaths respectively.
SPOTCHECK: JHB s mayor shares debunked and flawed SA rape statistics
By senior researcher Cayley Clifford
As South Africa continues to grapple with gender-based violence, the City of Johannesburg’s mayor, Geoff Makhubo, took to Twitter to share startling statistics about sexual violence.
“SA has been confirmed to be the rape capital in the world,” he tweeted to his nearly 20,000 followers in April 2021. The post attracted more than 10,000 reactions, including 4,300 shares.
SA has been confirmed to be the rape capital in the world. According to Interpol it’s estimated that a woman born in SA has a greater chance of being raped than learning to read. This is an alarming state, we can t pretend like all is well#YellowForSurvivors Geoff Makhubo (@GeoffMakhubo) April 17, 2021