Planetary health and environmental sustainability in African health professions education.

CliMigHealth and the Education for Sustainable Healthcare (ESH) Special Interest Group of the Southern African Association of Health Educationalists (SAAHE) call for the urgent integration of planetary health (PH) and environmental sustainability into health professions curricula in Africa. Education on PH and sustainable healthcare develops much-needed health worker agency to address the connections between healthcare and PH. Faculties are urged to develop their own 'net zero' plans and to advocate for national and sub-national policies and practices that promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and PH.

Micronutrient supplementation in adults with HIV infection.

Background: Micronutrient deficiencies are common among adults living with HIV disease, particularly in low-income settings where the diet may be low in essential vitamins and minerals. Some micronutrients play critical roles in maintenance of the immune system, and routine supplementation could therefore be beneficial. This is an update of a Cochrane Review previously published in 2010.

Efavirenz or nevirapine in three-drug combination therapy with two nucleoside or nucleotide-reverse transcriptase inhibitors for initial treatment of HIV infection in antiretroviral-naïve individuals.

Background: The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (ART) has reduced the morbidity and mortality due to HIV infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) ART guidelines focus on three classes of antiretroviral drugs, namely nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) and protease inhibitors. Two of the most common medications given as first-line treatment are the NNRTIs, efavirenz (EFV) and nevirapine (NVP).

A cost-effective strategy for primary prevention of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in children with pharyngitis.

Primary prevention of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in children depends on prompt and effective diagnosis and treatment of pharyngitis at the primary level of care. Cost-effectiveness modeling shows that the most cost-effective strategy for primary prevention in South Africa (SA) is to use a simple symptomatic clinical decision rule (CDR) to diagnose pharyngitis in children presenting at the primary level of care and then to treat them with a single dose of intramuscular penicillin. Treat All and CDR2+ strategies are affordable and simple and miss few cases of streptococcal pharyngitis at the primary level of care.

Micronutrient supplementation for children with HIV infection.

Background: Micronutrient deficiencies are widespread and compound the effects of HIV disease in children, especially in poor communities. Micronutrient supplements may be effective and safe in reducing the burden of HIV disease. This review is an update of an earlier Cochrane review of micronutrient supplementation in children and adults which found that vitamin A and zinc are beneficial and safe in children exposed to HIV and living with HIV infection (Irlam 2010).

Interventions for squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva in HIV-infected individuals.

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva is described in the ophthalmic literature as a rare, slow-growing tumour of the eye, normally affecting elderly men around 70 years of age. In Africa, however, the disease is different. The incidence is rising rapidly, affecting young persons (around 35 years of age), and usually affecting women.

Micronutrient supplementation in pregnant women with HIV infection.

Background: Micronutrient deficiencies are widespread and compound the effects of HIV disease; micronutrient supplements may be effective and safe in reducing this burden.

Objectives: To assess whether micronutrient supplements are effective and safe in reducing mortality and morbidity in pregnant and lactating women with HIV infection and their infants.

Search Methods: The review has been updated three times since publication in 2005.

Efavirenz or nevirapine in three-drug combination therapy with two nucleoside-reverse transcriptase inhibitors for initial treatment of HIV infection in antiretroviral-naïve individuals.

Background: The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has reduced the morbidity and mortality due to HIV. The World Health Organisation (WHO) antiretroviral treatment (ART) guidelines focus on three classes of antiretroviral drugs, namely: nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) and protease inhibitors (PI). Two of the most common medications given in first-line treatment are the NNRTIs, efavirenz (EFV) and nevirapine (NVP).

Micronutrient supplementation in children and adults with HIV infection.

Background: Micronutrient deficiencies are widespread and compound the effects of HIV disease; micronutrient supplements may be effective and safe in reducing this burden.

Objectives: To assess whether micronutrient supplements are effective and safe in reducing mortality and morbidity in adults and children with HIV infection.

Search Strategy: The CENTRAL, EMBASE, PubMed, and GATEWAY databases were searched for randomised controlled trials of micronutrient supplements using the search methods of the Cochrane HIV/AIDS Group.

A systematic review of existing national priorities for child health research in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: We systematically reviewed existing national child health research priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the processes used to determine them.

Methods: Collaborators from a purposive sample of 20 WHO-AFRO Region countries, assisted by key informants from a range of governmental, non-governmental, research and funding organisations and universities, identified and located potentially eligible prioritisation documents. Included documents were those published between 1990 and 2002 from national or nationally accredited institutions describing national health research priorities for child health, alone or as part of a broader report in which children were a clearly identifiable group.