Nego-feminism as a strategy to improve access to abortion in sub-saharan Africa.

Background: Abortion is partially legal in 48 of 54 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA); however, abortion laws are generally weakly implemented, and evidence suggests that extending abortion rights does not necessarily improve abortion access.

Objective: Reflecting on the implementation challenges faced by the laws extending rights to abortion in SSA, and enriching this approach by considering complementary avenues to overcome barriers in access to abortion.

Argument: Reproductive justice is a theory that emphasizes the importance of contexts and different levels of societal forces in shaping reproductive freedom.

COVID-19 and its effects on food producers: panel data evidence from Burkina Faso.

Introduction: Burkina Faso implemented stringent measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that profoundly affected its economy and might have exacerbated food insecurity. While prior studies have assessed the impact of these measures on consumers, there is a dearth of evidence of its effects on food producers in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims (i) to evaluate the repercussions of COVID-19 on the possession of food production assets and on the number of livestock owned; and (ii) to determine the correlation between the food insecurity experience scale (FIES) score, ownership of these assets, and the number of livestock owned.

Health Planning in Times of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso: The Role of Its National Strategic Pandemic Management Committee.

Context: Presenting the COVID-19 crisis as a pandemic misleadingly implies a certain homogeneity between the regions of the Globe in terms of their burden and reactions. However, from the outset of the crisis, countries presented different epidemiological realities and sometimes adopted divergent, even opposing measures. Curiously, the heterogeneity of responses persisted as scientific evidence accumulated about COVID-19 and the strategies for dealing with it.

Vaccination coverage in rural Burkina Faso under the effects of COVID-19: evidence from a panel study in eight districts.

Background: Improving infant immunization completion and promoting equitable vaccination coverage are crucial to reducing global under-5 childhood mortality. Although there have been hypotheses that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic would decrease the delivery of health services and immunization campaigns in low- and middle-income countries, the available evidence is still inconclusive. We conducted a study in rural Burkina Faso to assess changes in vaccination coverage during the pandemic.

Spatial Clustering and Risk Factors for Malaria Infections and Marker of Recent Exposure to Plasmodium falciparum from a Household Survey in Artibonite, Haiti.

Targeting malaria interventions in elimination settings where transmission is heterogeneous is essential to ensure the efficient use of resources. Identifying the most important risk factors among persons experiencing a range of exposure can facilitate such targeting. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in Artibonite, Haiti, to identify and characterize spatial clustering of malaria infections.

Acceptability, Feasibility, Drug Safety, and Effectiveness of a Pilot Mass Drug Administration with a Single Round of Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine Plus Primaquine and Indoor Residual Spraying in Communities with Malaria Transmission in Haiti, 2018.

For a malaria elimination strategy, Haiti's National Malaria Control Program piloted a mass drug administration (MDA) with indoor residual spraying (IRS) in 12 high-transmission areas across five communes after implementing community case management and strengthened surveillance. The MDA distributed sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and single low-dose primaquine to eligible residents during house visits. The IRS campaign applied pirimiphos-methyl insecticide on walls of eligible houses.

Change in childbearing intention, use of contraception, unwanted pregnancies, and related adverse events during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a panel study in rural Burkina Faso.

Evidence on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected women's reproductive health remains scarce, particularly for low- and middle-income countries. Deleterious indirect effects seem likely, particularly on access to contraception and risk of unwanted pregnancies, but rigorous evaluations using quasi-experimental designs are lacking. Taking a diachronic perspective, we aimed to investigate the effects of the pandemic on four indicators of women's reproductive health: history of recent adverse events during pregnancy (past), use of contraception and unwanted pregnancies (present), and childbearing intentions (future).

Does abolishing user fees for family planning increase contraception use? An impact evaluation of the national policy in Burkina Faso.

Background: Unmet needs for contraception constitute a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Several mechanisms have been tested to reduce the financial barrier and facilitate access to family planning services, with inconclusive results. Based on the positive impacts following the introduction of free health care for pregnant women, Burkina Faso decided to extend its national policy and abolished direct payment for family planning services.

The sociodemographic characteristics and social determinants of visual impairment in a homeless population in the Montreal area.

Objective: Homelessness is a serious social and public health concern in Canada. Individuals experiencing homelessness face numerous health problems and barriers in accessing health services. Visual impairment can exacerbate the lower quality of life experienced by people who are homeless, but its incidence among this population has been poorly documented in the literature.

Etramp5 as a useful serological marker in children to assess the immediate effects of mass drug campaigns for malaria.

Introduction: Serological methods provide useful metrics to estimate age-specific period prevalence in settings of low malaria transmission; however, evidence on the use of seropositivity as an endpoint remains scarce in studies to evaluate combinations of malaria control measures, especially in children. This study aims to evaluate the immediate effects of a targeted mass drug administration campaign (tMDA) in Haiti by using serological markers.

Methods: The tMDA was implemented in September-October 2018 using sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and single low-dose primaquine.

Factors Associated With Human IgG Antibody Response to Anopheles albimanus Salivary Gland Extract, Artibonite Department, Haiti, 2017.

Serological data can provide estimates of human exposure to both malaria vector and parasite based on antibody responses. A multiplex bead-based assay was developed to simultaneously detect IgG to Anopheles albimanus salivary gland extract (SGE) and 23 Plasmodium falciparum antigens among 4185 participants enrolled in Artibonite department, Haiti in 2017. Logistic regression adjusted for participant- and site-level covariates and found children under 5 years and 6-15 years old had 3.

Using experience to create evidence: a mixed methods process evaluation of the new free family planning policy in Burkina Faso.

Background: In 2019, Burkina Faso was one of the first countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to introduce a free family planning (FP) policy. This process evaluation aims to identify obstacles and facilitators to its implementation, examine its coverage in the targeted population after six months, and investigate its influence on the perceived quality of FP services.

Methods: This process evaluation was conducted from November 2019 through March 2020 in the two regions of Burkina Faso where the new policy was introduced as a pilot.

The prevalence and causes of visual impairment among the male homeless population of Montreal, Canada.

Clinical Relevance: Homeless populations have lower health indicators, including in eye care. Few data exist on the levels and causes of visual impairment in Canadian homeless populations, and none in Montreal.

Background: This study aims to characterise the causes and levels of visual impairment, as well as eye care services utilisation among the Montreal homeless.

Free healthcare for some, fee-paying for the rest: adaptive practices and ethical issues in rural communities in the district of Boulsa, Burkina Faso.

In Burkina Faso, in July 2016, user fees were removed at all public healthcare facilities, but only for children under 60 months of age and for "mothers", i.e. for reproductive care.

Women's decision-making power in a context of free reproductive healthcare and family planning in rural Burkina Faso.

Background: In 2016, the national user fee exemption policy for women and children under five was introduced in Burkina Faso. It covers most reproductive healthcare services for women including prenatal care, delivery, and postnatal care. In subsequent years, the policy was gradually extended to include family planning.

The Immediate Effects of a Combined Mass Drug Administration and Indoor Residual Spraying Campaign to Accelerate Progress Toward Malaria Elimination in Grande-Anse, Haiti.

Background: Haiti is planning targeted interventions to accelerate progress toward malaria elimination. In the most affected department (Grande-Anse), a combined mass drug administration (MDA) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) campaign was launched in October 2018. This study assessed the intervention's effectiveness in reducing Plasmodium falciparum prevalence.

Management of uncomplicated malaria among children under five years at public and private sector facilities in Mali.

Background: Prompt and effective malaria diagnosis and treatment is a cornerstone of malaria control. Case management guidelines recommend confirmatory testing of suspected malaria cases, then prescription of specific drugs for uncomplicated malaria and for severe malaria. This study aims to describe case management practices for children aged 1-59 months seeking treatment with current or recent fever from public and private, rural and urban health providers in Mali.

User fee policies and women's empowerment: a systematic scoping review.

Background: Over the past decade, an increasing number of low- and middle-income countries have reduced or removed user fees for pregnant women and/or children under five as a strategy to achieve universal health coverage. Despite the large number of studies (including meta-analyses and systematic reviews) that have shown this strategy's positive effects impact on health-related indicators, the repercussions on women's empowerment or gender equality has been overlooked in the literature. The aim of this study is to systematically review the evidence on the association between user fee policies in low- and middle-income countries and women's empowerment.

Effects of terrorist attacks on access to maternal healthcare services: a national longitudinal study in Burkina Faso.

Introduction: Most of the literature on terrorist attacks' health impacts has focused on direct victims rather than on distal consequences in the overall population. There is limited knowledge on how terrorist attacks can be detrimental to access to healthcare services. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of terrorist attacks on the utilisation of maternal healthcare services by examining the case of Burkina Faso.

Risk Factors for Malaria Infection and Seropositivity in the Elimination Area of Grand'Anse, Haiti: A Case-Control Study among Febrile Individuals Seeking Treatment at Public Health Facilities.

The island of Hispaniola aims to eliminate malaria by 2025; however, there are limited data to describe epidemiologic risk factors for malaria in this setting. A prospective case-control study was conducted at four health facilities in southwest Haiti, aiming to describe factors influencing the risk of current and past malaria infection. Cases were defined as individuals attending facilities with current or recent fever and positive malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT), while controls were those with current or recent fever and RDT negative.

Nationwide Monitoring for Plasmodium falciparum Drug-Resistance Alleles to Chloroquine, Sulfadoxine, and Pyrimethamine, Haiti, 2016-2017.

Haiti is striving for zero local malaria transmission by the year 2025. Chloroquine remains the first-line treatment, and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (SP) has been used for mass drug-administration pilot programs. In March 2016, nationwide molecular surveillance was initiated to assess molecular resistance signatures for chloroquine and SP.