This blog is a part of # COVID19Africa Series. Click for French version. The first line of health care is not only the primary level of care, it also ensures coordination of care and of patient information. However, in the DRC, its role seems to be in tatters due to the Congolese government’s ill-coordinated and ineffectively […]
Category: Africa
The forgotten first line: response to COVID-19 in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo
This blog is a part of #COVID19Africa Series. Click for French version The first line of care, the front line, is the patients’ first point of contact, the coordinator of care, the interface between the community and the health system, and is responsible for the health of a specific population. In much of sub-Sahara Africa and […]
Une première ligne des soins primaires oubliée face à la pandémie du COVID19 : le cas de la ville de Lubumbashi, République Démocratique du Congo
This blog is a part of #COVID19Africa Series. Click for English version La première ligne des soins, ligne de front, assure la fonction de premier contact, de coordination des soins sur la personne, d’interface entre la communauté et le système de santé, de mémoire et synthèse des informations, et de responsabilité sanitaire des populations. Représentée par les […]
Short-termism: The bane of health sector development in Nigeria
We all love quick wins. Quick wins represent our aspiration of implementing interventions that are relatively easy to achieve and hopefully impactful. Short-termism is a situation where the focus is on short-term results at the expense of long-term interests. Considering the modest progress made in strengthening Nigeria’s chronically weak health systems despite successive Government and donor efforts, we need some […]
R N Karuga: “Building a resilient and responsive health system needs strong community support”
“Forget about these people in the national office,” said Maria (not her real name). “They are not in touch with reality!” Maria is a district health manager in Kenya. This was her response when I asked how closely she works with the national Ministry of Health in delivering community health services. In 2013, the governance […]
Aderemi Oyedeji and Anja Choon: Stigmatization of mental health problems in Nigeria
The BMJ Global Health blog Mental health is neglected and stigmatized globally and across societies, in spite of its high burden. Moreover, in Nigeria, mental health is not just neglected but remains completely absent from key health sector documents. There is a glimmer of hope though, in the form of a revised mental health policy from 2013, […]