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Providing Maternal Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nepal

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By the beginning of 2020, Nepal had reached a tipping point with over 60% of births occurring in a health facility—a three times increase from just 18% in 2006.

National lockdown happened very early in Nepal, on March 21, 2020, well before any community spread of COVID-19. The lockdown took the form of severe restrictions on transport and closure of outpatient departments of many hospitals.

In this article, the authors compare intrapartum care before and during the lockdown period in Nepal. The number of institutional births decreased by 52·4% during the first 2 months of lockdown, and women in relatively disadvantaged ethnic groups were found to be affected more than those in more advantaged groups, indicating a widening equity gap due to COVID-19. They also found that quality of care in the hospitals was compromised compared with before lockdown.

Source: Providing Maternal Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nepal

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    The COVID Tracking Project

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    The COVID Tracking Project is a volunteer organization launched from The Atlantic and dedicated to collecting and publishing the data required to understand the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States.

    Every day, their teams collect data on COVID-19 testing and patient outcomes from all 50 states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia. The dataset is currently in use by national and local news organizations across the United States and by research projects and agencies worldwide. Their data API (which allows sites and apps to import our dataset automatically) receives about two million requests per day.

    On April 15, they launched the COVID Racial Data Tracker, a partnership between the COVID Tracking Project and the Center for Antiracist Research that collects, publishes, and analyzes racial data on the pandemic within the United States.

    Source: The COVID Tracking Project

      Views 636

      Vaccine Confidence: A Global Analysis Exploring Volatility, Polarization, and Trust

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      This study reports that there is growing evidence of vaccine delays or refusals due to a lack of trust in the importance, safety, or effectiveness of vaccines, alongside persisting access issues. Although immunization coverage is reported administratively across the world, no similarly robust monitoring system exists for vaccine confidence. In this study, vaccine confidence was mapped across 149 countries between 2015 and 2019.

      The study’s findings highlight the importance of regular monitoring to detect emerging trends to prompt interventions to build and sustain vaccine confidence.

      Source: Vaccine Confidence: A Global Analysis Exploring Volatility, Polarization, and Trust

        Views 508

        Gearing Up for Effective COVID-19 Vaccine Communication

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        This article offers tips to prepare for effective COVID-19 vaccine communication.

        The tips are:

        • Resist the urge to overpromise.
        • Be honest about what we don’t know.
        • Stick to solid ground.
        • Build trust in the process.
        • Go back to basics.

        Source: Gearing Up for Effective COVID-19 Vaccine Communication

          Views 751

          Coronavirus: Why are Women Paying a Heavier Price?

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          Women have shown better COVID-19 outcomes than men – in part thanks to an additional X chromosome and sex hormones like oestrogen, which provoke better immune responses to the virus that causes COVID-19. But any such advantage is reversed when it comes to the social and economic effects of the pandemic; here the brunt falls heaviest on women.

          What has disproportionately affected women is insecurity and loss of employment because women tend to work in informal sectors with no financial protection or benefits. Data gathered by UN Women shows that of all healthcare workers infected with COVID-19 in Spain and Italy, 72 percent and 66 percent respectively were women.

          Source: Coronavirus: Why are Women Paying a Heavier Price?

            Views 1001

            Three Lessons from the Global South on Combating the Pandemic

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            This article, by Dr Muhammad Musa of BRAC International, a Bangladesh-based NGO, states that top-down measures to curb the spread of the virus – dramatic steps like lockdowns and bans on large gatherings – pose an immediate threat to families in the poorest communities.

            He writes that the key to fixing this situation is community engagement and the involvement of local leaders.

            Source: Three Lessons from the Global South on Combating the Pandemic

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              COVID-19 Facilitator Guide

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              The Breakthrough ACTION Guyana COVID-19 Facilitator Guide is a set of cue cards that are used by community facilitators to conduct community meetings or one on one sessions with community members.

              The guide contains simple and important information about COVID-19 and helps the community facilitator in providing accurate information to the community.

              Source: COVID-19 Facilitator Guide

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                Talking to Community: Behavioural Change in the Age of COVID-19

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                Response to public health emergencies requires changes in regular behavioural patterns. Encouraging these changes requires coordination and an understanding of the culture and communities affected.

                This article, written by Pramudith D. Rupasinghe, describes experiences with Ebola and COVID-19 wherein behavior change was an integral part of working with communities to prevent infection, care for the sick, and learn about the disease in Sri Lanka and Liberia.

                Source: Talking to Community: Behavioural Change in the Age of COVID-19

                  Views 899

                  COVID-19: Long Term Health Effects

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                  This guidance from Public Health England explains that around 10% of mild coronavirus (COVID-19) cases who were not admitted to a hospital have reported symptoms lasting more than 4 weeks. A number of hospitalized cases reported continuing symptoms for 8 or more weeks following discharge.

                  It suggests that patients recovering from COVID-19 infection should speak to their family doctor about local care pathways for support and assessment of any long-term symptoms or health problems.

                  Source: COVID-19: Long Term Health Effects

                    Views 795