Equity in Health

This study assessed the outcomes of children diagnosed with hearing impairment 3 years earlier in terms of referral uptake, treatment received and satisfaction with this treatment and social participation. A population-based longitudinal analysis of children with a hearing impairment was conducted in two rural districts of Malawi. Key informants within the community identified the cohort in 2013. Informants clinically screened children at baseline and by questionnaires at baseline and follow-up in 2016. 752 children were diagnosed in 2013 as having a hearing impairment and 307 traced for follow-up in 2016. Referral uptake was low, more likely among older children and less likely for those with an illiterate caregiver. Few of the children who attended hospital received any treatment and 63.6% of caregivers reported satisfaction with treatment. Difficulty making friends and communicating needs was reported for 10.0% and 35.6% of the children, respectively. Lack of school enrolment was observed for 29.5% of children, and was more likely for older children, girls and those with an illiterate caregiver. The authors propose that more widespread and holistic services are required to improve the outcomes of children with a hearing impairment in Malawi.

A group of senior officials from China, Africa and from international organisations involved in health assistance in Africa met in Beijing on 4-5 December 2009 to review China’s health assistance to Africa and to discuss opportunities for international cooperation in achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals in Africa. The International Roundtable on China-Africa Health Collaboration was part of an ongoing effort by Government of China to develop a new strategy for health assistance to Africa as part of its overall South-South collaboration. A key message, emphasised by representatives of international organisations, African officials, and Chinese officials alike, is the importance of strong country ownership, on the one hand, and benefits of working through partnership, on the other. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Ethiopian Minister of Health and Chair of the Global Fund to Fight AID Tuberculosis and Malaria, described his country’s experience in working under the framework of the International Health Partnership, with its reliance on supporting Ethiopia’s national health development plan. He noted that ‘it is through ownership that you can generate commitment, and with commitment begin to see results’. He also noted an African proverb, which was quoted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao in his speech at the recent Forum on China Africa Cooperation, and which says ‘If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together’.

The daily number of new cholera cases continues to drop, and it appears the epidemic is tailing off, the KwaZulu-Natal health department said in a statement on Tuesday. But, it says, the epidemic can only be considered over if there are no new cases reported for 10 days in a row. The total of new cases in the last 24 hours is 231, a low number compared to January 30, which saw 1 010 new cholera infections in the beleaguered province, the highest figure recorded in one day since the outbreak of the disease in mid-August last year.

Heavy rains have exacerbated a cholera outbreak in Zambia, where at least six people have died and more than a thousand cases have been recorded. Zambia's ministry of health confirmed that 1,144 cases of cholera have been reported since the outbreak began in August.