Strengthening primary health care through community health workers in South Asia.

Unlabelled: The growing health challenges in South Asia require further adaptations of community health worker (CHW) programs as a key element of primary health care (PHC). This paper provides a comparative analysis of CHW programs in five countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), examines successes and challenges, and suggests reforms to better ensure highly performing CHW programs. To examine CHW programs in the region, we conducted a narrative review of the peer-reviewed and grey literatures, as well as eliciting opinions from experts.

Improving quality of non-communicable disease services at primary care facilities in middle-income countries: A scoping review.

Health systems in middle-income countries face important challenges in managing the high burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD). Primary health care is widely recognized as key to managing NCDs in communities. However, the effectiveness of this approach is limited by poor quality of care (QoC), among others.

Exit strategies from lockdowns due to COVID-19: a scoping review.

Introduction: In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, countries have adopted various degrees of restrictive measures on people to reduce COVID-19 transmission. These measures have had significant social and economic costs. In the absence of therapeutics, and low vaccination coverage, strategies for a safe exit plan from a lockdown are required to mitigate the transmission and simultaneously re-open societies.

Antifungal activity of wogonin.

The antifungal activity of the wogonin isolated from Holmskioldia sanguinea Retz was determined on four different fungal organisms. The pure compound wogonin significantly inhibited the growth of Aspergillus niger, Penicillium frequentance, P. notatum and Botrytis cinerea, in a concentration dependent fashion, when tested by turbidity and spore germination methods.

Cassia grandis Linn. f. seed galactomannan: structural and crystallographical studies.

Cassia grandis is a small or medium sized tree, found in abundance throughout India. The seeds contain about 50% endosperm gum and possess the characteristics of becoming a potential source of seed gum. The purified polysaccharide has been characterized as a pure galactomannan having a mannose-galactose ratio of 3.