Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Services for HIV Prevention, Sub-Saharan Africa, 2020.

Beginning in March 2020, to reduce COVID-19 transmission, the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief supporting voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) services was delayed in 15 sub-Saharan African countries. We reviewed performance indicators to compare the number of VMMCs performed in 2020 with those performed in previous years. In all countries, the annual number of VMMCs performed decreased 32.

Clinical practice guidelines in India: Quality appraisal and the use of evidence in their development.

Background: Guideline development in India has come under increased scrutiny with a growing interest in the use of evidence for guideline development.

Methods: Guidelines on the four leading causes of disability adjusted life years in India (ischemic heart disease, lower respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, tuberculosis), published on or after 2010 was searched in electronic databases and by other methods and their quality appraised by using the AGREE-II appraisal tool. In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 individuals involved with the development of the included guidelines and the transcripts were analyzed using the framework approach.