Reflections on "Ministry" within the Ministry of Public Health in Developing Countries.

This paper is a reflection on the word, "ministry" within the ministry of public health, and draws attention to the religious connotation to enunciate the breadth and depth of the ministry mandate in public health service, education and practice in developing countries.

Harnessing the potentials of masters/mistresses of ceremony to promote community health and wellbeing amidst COVID-19 and other public health challenges.

Public health risk communication and general health information dissemination efforts require multiple approaches to sustainably engage communities to pursue individual and collective preventive actions. Engaging only highly skilled professionals to deliver public health messages, particularly in low and middle-income countries is expensive. Thus, masters/mistresses of ceremony (MCs) have the potential to contribute to disseminating evidence-based messages to communities on existing, emerging or re-emerging public health issues in developed and developing countries, thereby complementing existing dissemination efforts being made towards malaria, HIV/AIDS and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) prevention and control, among others.

We need to start thinking about promoting the demand, uptake, and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines NOW!

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is spreading rapidly within countries around the world, thus necessitating the World Health Organisation (WHO) to project that the peak of the pandemic has not been reached yet. Globally, COVID-19 public health control measures are being implemented; however, promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates are still in the early-stage clinical trials. Judging from previous vaccine programs around the world and the challenges encountered in the distribution and uptake, there seems to be no guarantee that there will be widespread acceptance and equitable distribution of the new COVID-19 vaccines when they are approved for use.

"We Need a Song of Hope": Responding to the COVID-19 Informational and Psychospiritual Needs of Residents of a Gated Community in the Philippines.

The brutal disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic require dynamic ways of responding, not only to the informational needs of communities, but also engaging and creating interventions they consider relevant to their psychospiritual needs. Using the design thinking steps, we identified, developed and tested the type and nature of a unique song which residents of a gated community needed in their journey through COVID-19 lockdowns and government restrictions. The design thinking model provided clear steps for engaging residents to develop an anti-COVID-19 song of hope to cope with the physical, sociopolitical, psychological and spiritual trauma caused by the pandemic.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Research and Research Capacity Strengthening in Africa: Perspectives from the region.

Developing the capacity to effectively carry out public health research is an integral part of health systems at both the national and global levels and strengthening research capacity is recognized as an approach to better health and development in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Especially fields such as sexual and reproductive health (SRH) would require inter-disciplinary teams of researchers equipped with a range of methodologies to achieve this. In November 2013, as part of the International Family Planning Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a group of African researchers came together to discuss the gaps and strategies to improve sexual and reproductive health research and research capacity strengthening in Africa.

Developing culturally-oriented strategies for communicating women's health issues: a church-based intervention.

Context: In developing countries, messages on maternal health are often developed and conveyed without due regard to the literacy and cultural context of communities. Culturally-acceptable approaches are, however, necessary to increase awareness on womens health issues, especially in cultures where oral tradition is important.

Objective: To describe the processes adopted to engage church-based women support groups to develop innovative culturally-based strategies for communicating womens health matters.

Lay health workers in primary and community health care for maternal and child health and the management of infectious diseases.

Background: Lay health workers (LHWs) are widely used to provide care for a broad range of health issues. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of LHW interventions.

Objectives: To assess the effects of LHW interventions in primary and community health care on maternal and child health and the management of infectious diseases.

Perceived church-based needs and assets for HIV/AIDS prevention in an urban Nigerian community.

Health intervention programs have the potential to use church-based assets to address a wide range of health issues. This study examined the assets Nigerian church members believed their churches needed, including the assets they thought they had to engage in HIV/AIDS prevention activities. Eight hundred and thirty members from 83 churches completed a questionnaire designed from forum focus group data.

Perceived importance of church-based assets to HIV/AIDS prevention and control in a Nigerian city.

This study explored the extent to which church members thought the assets they might have to engage in HIV/AIDS prevention and control activities were important. Eight hundred and thirty members from 83 Christian churches in Aba, Nigeria completed a multi-item survey questionnaire designed to obtain information on the importance they attached to church-based assets relevant to HIV/AIDS prevention and control. The rating of importance of assets was on a scale of 1 to 5.

Lay health workers in primary and community health care.

Background: Lay health workers (LHWs) are widely used to provide care for a broad range of health issues. However, little is known about the effectiveness of LHW interventions.

Objectives: To assess the effects of LHW interventions in primary and community health care on health care behaviours, patients' health and wellbeing, and patients' satisfaction with care.

Knowledge, attitude and practice of family planning in rural communities in Nigeria.

Maternal and infant mortality rates, coupled with a high population growth rate, are unacceptably high in Nigeria. More recently, the Nigerian government endorsed the promotion of reproductive health, including family planning, through maternal and child health services. The Ohaozara Local Government Area (LGA) introduced a Five-Year Action Plan (FYAP) in 1989.