Health-care seeking for childhood diseases by parental age in Western and Central Africa between 1995 and 2017: A descriptive analysis using DHS and MICS from 23 low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Globally, health care seeking for childhood diseases seems to be on the rise. However, progress is slow and still, many cases of infectious diseases in children remain untreated, leading to preventable child mortality. A better understanding of care seeking behaviour may help to further increase the probability that a sick child is taken to a health facility for care.

The wealth gradient in diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, and malaria in childhood over time: A descriptive analysis using DHS and MICS from Western and Central Africa between 1995 and 2017.

Background: While the prevalence of childhood diseases and related mortality have been decreasing over the past decades, progress has been unequally distributed. The poorest households often carry the highest disease burden. As morbidity and mortality also decline most slowly among children of the poorest households, socioeconomic status may become a more relevant risk factor for childhood diseases.

Prevalence of diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, and malaria over time (1995-2017): A regional analysis of 23 countries in West and Central Africa.

Backgound: The global community recognizes the urgent need to end preventable child deaths, making it an essential part of the third Sustainable Development Goal. Pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria still remain the leading causes of deaths among children under five years, especially in one of the poorest geographic regions of the world - West and Central Africa. This region carries a disproportionately high share of the global burden, both in terms of morbidity and mortality.

Galvanizing Action on Primary Health Care: Analyzing Bottlenecks and Strategies to Strengthen Community Health Systems in West and Central Africa.

Introduction: The renewed commitment to primary health care (PHC) presents an opportunity to strengthen health systems in West and Central Africa (WCA). Though evidence-based cost-effective interventions that are predicted to prevent up to one-third of maternal, newborn, and child health complications and deaths with universal coverage have been identified, more than 50% of people living in rural areas or from poor families still do not have access to these interventions in resource-constrained settings.

Methods: We conducted a multicountry systematic analysis of bottlenecks and proposed solutions to strengthen community health systems through a series of collaborative workshops in 22 countries in WCA.

Early Infant Male Circumcision in Cameroon and Senegal: Demand, Service Provision, and Cultural Context.

Background: Male circumcision is almost universal in North and West Africa, and practiced for various reasons. Yet there is little documentation on service delivery, clinical procedures, policies, and programmatic strategies. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) commissioned country program reviews in 2014 to shed light on the delivery of male circumcision services for infants in Cameroon and Senegal.