AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Several countries in Africa have either deployed or considering using digital contact-tracing (DCT) as part of their Covid-19 containment strategy, amidst calls for the use of technology to improve the efficiency of traditional contact-tracing. We discuss some of the complexities entailed in using DCT in Africa. Adopting a socio-technical perspective, we argue that if DCT design and deployment are not well thought out, it can lead to unintended consequences, particularly in a continent like Africa with disproportionate levels of digital divides and other structural inequalities. We suggest that any adoption of DCT by African countries must take account of their compatibility with local resources, values, social structure, and domestic political factors. Accordingly, we propose a process of whereby DCT adaptation is made to accommodate the unique institutional and technological characteristics of African countries by leveraging local practices learned from previous pandemics like Ebola to develop a to (digital) contact-tracing.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7396131 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105105 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
A new STI in the city: MPOX in Barcelona. First outbreak (5/2022-5/2023) and subsequent resurgence.
PLoS One
January 2025
Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona (ASPB), Barcelona, Spain.
Background: In May 2022, after the suspension of the mobility restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first outbreak of MPOX virus, transmitted from human to human, was detected outside of Africa, affecting mostly sexually active men who have sex with men. Our aim is to report the first outbreak of MPOX in Barcelona city in the period from 5/2022 to 5/2023 and the subsequent surge of cases in 8/2023.
Methods: We performed a descriptive study of all notified cases in city residents, obtained through epidemiological surveys.
Evaluation of the Development, Implementation, Maintenance, and Impact of 3 Digital Surveillance Tools Deployed in Malawi During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Modified Delphi Expert Consensus Study.
JMIR Res Protoc
December 2024
Business Information Systems, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of strengthening national monitoring systems to safeguard a globally connected society, especially those in low- and middle-income countries. Africa's rapid adoption of digital technological interventions created a new frontier of digital advancement during crises or pandemics. The use of digital tools for disease surveillance can assist with rapid outbreak identification and response, handling duties such as diagnosis, testing, contact tracing, and risk communication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRift Valley Fever outbreaks in the East African Community: insights from ProMed data (2010-2024).
Front Public Health
December 2024
Stansile Research Organization, Kigali, Rwanda.
Background: Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease that poses a serious threat to both humans and livestock across various regions, particularly in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and parts of the Indian Ocean Islands. This study seeks to analyze the spatial and temporal distribution and trends of RVF outbreaks within the East African Community (EAC) countries, offering insights into the patterns and progression of these outbreaks in the region.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMed), a digital, event-based disease surveillance system, to identify reports of outbreak events in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and South Sudan from 2010 to 2024.
Climate change and contagion: the emerging threat of zoonotic diseases in Africa.
Infect Ecol Epidemiol
December 2024
Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education (IGDORE), Karachi, Pakistan.
This article investigates the escalating occurrence of zoonotic diseases in Africa, attributing their spread to climate change and human activities. Africa's unique combination of biodiversity, reliance on animal husbandry, and swift urbanization heightens its susceptibility. Climate change disrupts ecosystems and animal habitats, intensifying human-wildlife interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProtective Behaviors Following Digital COVID-19 Exposure Notifications, Washington State, September 1, 2021, to March 1, 2022.
J Public Health Manag Pract
December 2024
Author Affiliations: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (Ms Briggs); Departments of Global Health and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (Dr Guthrie); Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (Dr Elder); Department of Health Systems and Population Health (Ms Revere), Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (Ms Molino); Office of Innovation and Technology, Washington State Department of Health, Tumwater, Washington (Mss West and Higgins);Office of Innovation and Technology, Washington State Department of Health, Tumwater and Department of Health Systems and Population Health, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (Dr Karras); and Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (Dr Baseman).
Context: Digital exposure notification (EN) systems were widely used to supplement public health case investigations and contact tracing during the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. In Washington State, the state Department of Health (DOH) implemented one such system, WA Notify, which generated ENs based on smartphone Bluetooth proximity detection. However, the privacy preserving measures of this technology prevented collection of information on how users responded after seeing an EN on their device.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!