Feasibility and Effectiveness of Using Community Testing Centers to Increase Access to COVID-19 Testing Services in Urban Mozambique.

Conventional diagnostic systems struggled to meet the fluctuating demand for testing across the different waves of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the walkthrough (WT) approach in extending access to COVID-19 testing to high-risk populations traditionally underrepresented at health facilities (HFs) and to observe its impact on testing demand. An interventional study was implemented in markets (WT markets) and ports (WT ports) in Maputo City and Province, Mozambique.

Pulmonary vascular disease in Africa: Lessons from registries.

The epidemiology of pulmonary vascular disease (PVD) remains unclear in Africa, where health systems do not reach the majority of the population and heath information systems are poorly developed. In this context, registries are particularly important in gathering crucial information on PVD, aiming at improving knowledge of the epidemiology and/or quality of care. While population-based registries are the main tool to identify incident cases, and be a better indicator of pulmonary vascular disease burden, hospital-based registries can give an indication of the demand for specific care services, which is useful for health policy and planning.