Documenting Community Health Worker Compensation Schemes and Their Perceived Effectiveness in Seven sub-Saharan African Countries: A Qualitative Study.

Introduction: Community health worker (CHW) incentives and remuneration are core issues affecting the performance of CHWs and health programs. There is limited documentation on the implementation details of CHW financial compensation schemes used in sub-Saharan African countries, including their mechanisms of delivery and effectiveness. We aimed to document CHW financial compensation schemes and understand CHW, government, and other stakeholder perceptions of their effectiveness.

[Reduction in malaria case-fatality rate after implementation of an emergency plan for improved case management in the Bittou health district, Burkina Faso].

Objective: To observe the evolution in malaria case-fatality rate among children under 5 years of age receiving care at the Bittou district hospital (CMA) after an improvement of the care practices. The management team implemented an emergency plan in 2016 with 5 components: i) health facilities staff sensitization to enable rapid referral of severe malaria cases to CMA; ii) reorganization of CMA paediatric emergencies to make a physician as the mainpoint of contact; iii) ensuring availability of supplies for severe malaria case management, including the availability of blood; iv) daily medical check-ups of hospitalized patients; v) reinforcement of clinical staff skills at all peripheral health facilities. At the same time were introduced i) free care for children under 5 years; ii) municipality involvement to finance ambulance fuel for the referrals of patients; iii) free blood collection in professional schools and soldiers; iv) a free telephone line between the health structures; v) presence of 5 medical doctors at the CMA.

Community-based delivery of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy in Burkina Faso: a qualitative study.

Background: Burkina Faso is among ten countries with the highest rates of malaria cases and deaths in the world. Delivery and coverage of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) is insufficient in Burkina Faso; In a 2016 survey, only 22% of eligible women had received their third dose of IPTp. It is also an extremely rural country and one with an established cadre of community healthcare workers (CHWs).

Anti-malarial efficacy and resistance monitoring of artemether-lumefantrine and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine shows inadequate efficacy in children in Burkina Faso, 2017-2018.

Background: The World Health Organization recommends regularly assessing the efficacy of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), which is a critical tool in the fight against malaria. This study evaluated the efficacy of two artemisinin-based combinations recommended to treat uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Burkina Faso in three sites: Niangoloko, Nanoro, and Gourcy.

Methods: This was a two-arm randomized control trial of the efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP).

A cluster randomized trial of delivery of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy at the community level in Burkina Faso.

Background: Malaria in pregnancy is responsible for 8-14% of low birth weight and 20% of stillbirths in sub-Saharan Africa. To prevent these adverse consequences, the World Health Organization recommends intermittent preventive treatment of pregnant women (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine be administered at each ANC visit starting as early as possible in the second trimester. Global IPTp coverage in targeted countries remains unacceptably low.

Expanding the Single-Visit Approach for Cervical Cancer Prevention: Successes and Lessons From Burkina Faso.

Background: Cervical cancer accounts for 23% of cancer incidence and 22% of cancer mortality among women in Burkina Faso. These proportions are more than 2 and 5 times higher than those of developed countries, respectively. Before 2010, cervical cancer prevention (CECAP) services in Burkina Faso were limited to temporary screening campaigns.

The West Africa Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program, a strategy to improve disease surveillance and epidemic control in West Africa.

The West Africa Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (WA-FELTP) which was established in September 2007, is an inter-country, competency-based, in-service and post -graduate training program in applied epidemiology and public health that builds the capacity to strengthen the surveillance and response system as well as epidemic control in the French-speaking countries where they are implemented. The overall purpose is to provide epidemiological and public health laboratory services to the public health systems at national, provincial, district and local levels. The program includes four countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Togo with an overarching goal to progressively cover all French speaking countries in West Africa through a phased-in approach.

Costs and impact of meningitis epidemics for the public health system in Burkina Faso.

Background: Epidemic meningococcal meningitis remains a serious health threat in the African meningitis belt. New meningococcal conjugate vaccines are relatively costly and their efficiency will depend on cost savings realized from no longer having to respond to epidemics.

Methods: We evaluated the cost and impacts to the public health system of the 2007 epidemic bacterial meningitis season in Burkina Faso through a survey at the different level of the health system.

Costs for households and community perception of meningitis epidemics in burkina faso.

Bacterial meningitis in the African meningitis belt remains 1 of the most serious threats to health. The perceptions regarding meningitis in local populations and the cost of illness for households are not well described. We conducted an anthropologic and economic study in Burkina Faso, in the heart of the meningitis belt.