Prevalence and risk factors of under-five mortality due to severe acute malnutrition in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Despite a global drop of under-five mortality by 59% between 1990 and 2019, it remains high in Low- and Middle- income Countries (LMICs)with a preponderance in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), Southern and Central Asia. Besides preterm and intrapartum complications, undernutrition contributes 45% of the deaths in these developing regions. In Africa, under-five mortality due to severe acute malnutrition (SAM) has stagnated at 10-40%, higher than WHO targets and the SDGs projections.

Serum cardiac and inflammatory biomarker levels following chemotherapy among female patients with breast cancer attending at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: Chemotherapy is a well-established therapeutic approach for several malignancies, including breast cancer (BCa). However, the clinical efficacy of this drug is limited by cardiotoxicity. Assessing multiple cardiac biomarkers can help identify patients at risk of adverse outcomes from chemotherapy.

Digitalization of health care in low- and middle-income countries.

The rising incidence of noncommunicable diseases, combined with the costs of mitigating climate change, sovereign debt and regional conflicts, is undermining global health security and threatening progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals of the United Nations. The negative impact of these polycrises is disproportionately borne by low- and middle-income countries, which have the highest disease burden and lowest health-care spending. Health digitalization is emerging as a promising countermeasure, accelerated by artificial intelligence (AI) software and quantum computing hardware.

Shrinking the lymphatic filariasis map of Zimbabwe: Reassessing the population requiring treatment through confirmatory mapping.

Objectives: Zimbabwe is endemic for lymphatic filariasis (LF) with 39 districts identified for mass drug administration (MDA) in 2014. The objective of this study was to reassess the current population requiring MDA.

Methods: The LF confirmatory mapping method was used to evaluate the prevalence of circulating filarial antigens (CFA) among school-aged children (9-14 years) in previously endemic districts.

Introducing Sofosbuvir/Velpatasvir + Ribavirin as a Generic Retreatment Regimen for Hepatitis C: Evaluation of a Government Program in Rwanda.

Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir is recommended for hepatitis C virus (HCV) retreatment in those who fail initial treatment but is unavailable in resource-limited settings. We describe a government sofosbuvir/velpatasvir + ribavirin (SOF/VEL + RBV) × 24 weeks retreatment program in Rwanda (November 2021-October 2022). Of 231 participants, 174 were cured (75.

Correction to: Going beyond consensus genome sequences: An innovative SNP-based methodology reconstructs different Ugandan cassava brown streak virus haplotypes at a nationwide scale in Rwanda.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/ve/vead053.].

The influence of gender-based perceptions on females joining a bachelor of medicine, bachelor of surgery in Rwanda.

Through progressive policies, Rwanda has made significant strides in promoting girls' education and empowerment. However, female enrollment in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programs remains disproportionately low. This cross-sectional study investigates the influence of gender stereotypes and girls' self-perceptions on female engagement in MBBS programs in Rwanda.

Assessment of nurses' knowledge and practice of pressure injuries prevention for critically ill patients in Rwanda: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Pressure injuries are costly and can lead to mortality and psychosocial consequences if not managed effectively. Proper management of pressure injuries is crucial for quality nursing care. However, there is limited research on nurses' knowledge and practices in preventing and managing pressure injuries among critically ill patients in Rwanda.

Effects of intra-class peer mentorship intervention programme on the academic performances of academically underperforming medical students in Nigeria.

Background: A significant gap exists in understanding the effectiveness of intra-class (same-class) level peer mentorship programmes designed to enhance academic performance, well-being, and student involvement among underperforming medical students. This study assessed the effectiveness of intra-class (same-class) peer mentorship programme on the academic performances, subjective well-being and school engagement of academically underperforming medical students in Nigeria.

Methods: This was a quasi-experimental research consisting of the pretest-posttest control design at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.

Influence of religion and spirituality on head and neck cancer patients and their caregivers: a protocol for a scoping review.

Introduction: Head and neck cancers (HNC) are devastating, thus imposing a negative impact on the appearance of an individual as well as vital activities such as eating, swallowing, speaking, and breathing. Therefore, HNC patients undergo distress, while their caregivers become overburdened. Religion and spirituality can be helpful for patients and their caregivers from diverse cultural backgrounds to cope with cancer.

Management factors affecting milk yield, composition, and quality on smallholder dairy farms.

A cross-sectional study on 156 smallholder dairy farms in Rwanda was carried out to assess the association between farm management practices and milk yield and quality. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data on cow characteristics and farm management practices. Milk yield was recorded at household level, milk composition was monitored using a Lactoscan device (Milk Analyzer).

Antenatal care and breastfeeding practices in Sub-Saharan Africa: an analysis of demographic and health surveys.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends immediate breastfeeding (within the first hour after birth) and exclusive breastfeeding (for the first six months of life), particularly in low-resource settings such as sub-Saharan Africa. In 2016, WHO updated its antenatal care (ANC) guidelines, recommending at least eight (8+) ANC contacts during pregnancy to improve maternal and child health outcomes. This study investigates i) trends in breastfeeding practices across sub-Saharan Africa following the rollout of the revised WHO 2016 ANC policy and ii) the relationship between ANC uptake and exclusive or early breastfeeding.

From Mapping to Elimination: A Comprehensive Overview of Rwanda's Schistosomiasis Program.

Objectives: Schistosomiasis (SCH) remains a public health challenge in Rwanda despite ongoing interventions. This paper provides an overview of Rwanda's SCH journey, highlighting progress made through mass drug administration (MDA), diagnostic advancements, and strategic partnerships with key stakeholders.

Methods: Since 2014, the point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA) test has been introduced alongside Kato-Katz (KK), improving mapping accuracy and detecting low-intensity infections.

Integrated care for mental health in epilepsy: A systematic review and meta-synthesis by the International League Against Epilepsy Integrated Mental Health Care Pathways Task Force.

Mental health (MH) comorbidities are prevalent among people with epilepsy (PWE), but many experience challenges accessing care. To address this, suggestions have been made to integrate MH care into epilepsy care settings, yet the current approaches, benefits, and implementation determinants to MH care integration are unclear. This review aims to synthesize existing integrated MH care models for PWE to inform the development and planning of future initiatives.

Orofacial cleft research in Nigeria: a bibliometric analysis.

Orofacial cleft (OC) is a group of heterogeneous congenital abnormalities affecting the orofacial region. All over the world, several studies have been conducted on OC. This study aims to analyze OC research outputs in Nigeria.

The role of social-psychological factors in the adoption of push-pull technology by small-scale farmers in East Africa: Application of the theory of planned behavior.

Push-pull technology (PPT) continues to gain relevance among smallholder farmers across the East African region in managing the constraints affecting cereal crop yields including stemborers, fall armyworm, striga weed, and low soil fertility. While previous research has emphasized the significance of socioeconomic factors in explaining farmers' decisions to adopt PPT, the social-psychological factors that influence farmers' adoption intentions have not been extensively studied. Therefore, this study investigated the influence of social-psychological factors on the intention to adopt or increase the land area under PPT based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB).

Comprehensive management of actinomycetoma in a young male: A case report from Somalia.

Mycetoma is a neglected tropical disease that predominantly affects individuals in low socioeconomic strata, primarily in tropical and subtropical regions. This case report describes a 20-year-old male student from Bahdo City, Somalia, who presented with a persistent cervical mass following a history of trauma. The patient exhibited vital signs within normal limits, and imaging studies, including ultrasound and computed tomography, revealed well-defined cystic masses.

The association of travel distance and other patient characteristics with breast cancer stage at diagnosis and treatment completion at a rural Rwandan cancer facility.

Background: Butaro Cancer Center of Excellence (BCCOE) was founded to serve Rwanda's rural low-income population, providing subsidized cancer diagnosis and treatment with transport stipends for the lowest-income patients. We examined whether travel distance to BCCOE was associated with advanced-stage diagnoses and treatment completion.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using medical record data from BCCOE patients with pathologically-confirmed breast cancer from 2012-2016.

Identification of Potential Vectors and Detection of Rift Valley Fever Virus in Mosquitoes Collected Before and During the 2022 Outbreak in Rwanda.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an emerging mosquito-borne arbovirus of One Health importance that caused two large outbreaks in Rwanda in 2018 and 2022. Information on vector species with a role in RVFV eco-epidemiology in Rwanda is scarce. Here we sought to identify potential mosquito vectors of RVFV in Rwanda, their distribution and abundance, as well as their infection status.

Rift Valley Fever in Rwanda Is Urging for Enhancing Global Health Security Through Multisectoral One Health Strategy.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a devastating zoonotic mosquito-borne viral hemorrhagic fever disease that threats human and animal health and biodiversity in Africa, including in Rwanda. RVF is increasingly outbreaking in Africa, leading to devastating impacts on health, socioeconomic stability and growth, and food insecurity in the region, particularly among livestock-dependent communi-ties. This systematic review synthesizes existing evidence on RVF's epidemiology, transmission dynamics, and the prevention and control measures implemented in Rwanda.

Advancing Sustainable HIV Services Through Integration in Primary Healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Perspective on Practical Recommendations.

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear a disproportionate burden of the global HIV epidemic. Integrating HIV services into primary healthcare is a crucial strategy to accelerate progress towards ending the epidemic. However, several challenges hinder effective integration, including underfunding, human resource shortages, infrastructure limitations, weak health systems, and sociocultural factors.

Interpretable COVID-19 chest X-ray detection based on handcrafted feature analysis and sequential neural network.

Deep learning methods have significantly improved medical image analysis, particularly in detecting COVID-19 chest X-rays. Nonetheless, these methodologies frequently inhibit some drawbacks, such as limited interpretability, extensive computational resources, and the need for extensive datasets. To tackle these issues, we introduced two novel algorithms: the Dynamic Co-Occurrence Grey Level Matrix (DC-GLM) and the Contextual Adaptation Multiscale Gabor Network (CAMSGNeT).

Left atrial myopathy in rheumatic mitral stenosis; three-dimensional and speckle tracking echocardiography study.

Background: In developing countries, rheumatic mitral valve stenosis (MS) is still a problem and its progression leads to left atrial (LA) damage. Due to the complexity of the LA geometry, currently used techniques like antero-posterior dimension (LAD) and 2D echo derived LA volume (LAV) have several limitations that are corrected by 3D derived LA volumes in addition to functional evaluation.

Purpose: To assess the LA functions using 2D speckle tracking echocardiography and 3D transthoracic echocardiography in patients with clinically significant MS in comparison to normal healthy subjects.