A critical aspect of the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in many African countries is whether there are districts or regions that are either entirely un-administered by the authorities or are under-administered, for a variety of reasons. Regions that fall entirely outside the ambit of governments’ abilities to respond to the virus largely embrace those that fall under the control of separatist groups or rebels. Regions that are under-serviced fall into three, sometimes interlinked, categories:
1. those which are difficult to reach because of their remoteness or arid/rugged terrain;
2. poor rural areas which under-resourced governments battle to serve, even under normal conditions; and
3. those from which state services including healthcare are deliberately withheld or restricted because their populations are viewed as hostile to the central state.
The lack of access to healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by millions of Africans as a result of living in ungoverned, under-serviced, rebel-controlled, or poorly-supported alternatively-administered regions raises a unique set of problems for governments, donor agencies, and healthcare professionals combating the novel Coronavirus. Accountability International believes that the sheer scale and persistence of this problem has caused many decision-makers at country and international levels to turn a blind eye to it – with the unfortunate result being the avoidance of the duty of care in this troublesome third of the continent. However, under numerous human rights, humanitarian, and healthcare conventions to which Africa’s governments are signatory – and to which alternate administrations and some though far from all rebel groups claim adherence – the people living in these zones deserve equitable access to universal healthcare including adequate COVID-19 testing, treatment, and care.
Date and Time:
Thursday 1st April 2021
11AM (East African Time)
10AM (Central African Time)
9AM (West African Time)
To register please email rsvp@accountability.international
The UKCDR and ESSENCE launched a new resource hub to support equity in research partnerships - https://www.ukcdr.org.uk/news-article/equitable-partnerships-resource-hub-launch/.
This hub brings together guidance, tools and principles on equitable partnerships from across the world, including the TRUST consortium and COHRED.
The aim is to support all those involved in the research process (research funders, researchers, research managers) to develop or embed policies and practices which support equity in international research partnerships – with a focus on research partnerships between those in the Global North and Global South.
To view the tools please visit: https://www.ukcdr.org.uk/guidance/equitable-partnerships-hub/
The overarching theme of this digital conference will be the changing landscape of the Global Health in the 21st century. By this conference, we want to present and celebrate results and achievements in global health research in the last decades, while looking into the next decade. What will be the main challenges in the years to come? How can the future research agenda build upon what has been done and achieved, still focusing on the unfinished agenda and the unmet needs of the LMICs, while seeing the opportunities of new technologies and a greater understanding of the necessity of working across sectors, boundaries and research disciplines in the future?
Please visit our website for more information and registration - https://www.globvac2021.com/
The Globvac 2021 Conference will be hosted virtually, free of charge and will be open to everyone.
World TB Day puts the spotlight on tuberculosis (TB), a poverty-related infectious disease of epidemic proportions. Currently, it causes more deaths than any other infectious disease, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. Every year, an estimated 10 million people fall ill; in 2019, 1.4 million people died from TB. All members of the United Nations committed to ending TB as an epidemic by 2030. However, the 2020 WHO progress report concluded that the world is not on schedule to achieve the 2022 targets. The COVID-19 pandemic even threatens to reverse recent progress towards global TB targets. Chronic global underfunding of TB research means that cheap, accessible point-of-care tests, better vaccines and simple, short treatment regimens are lacking. Ending TB depends on the development and rapid uptake of new tools and innovation.
“Our steady commitment to fight TB has led to a growing R&D portfolio of grants on novel diagnostics, more patient-friendly treatments, and experimental vaccines for pre-and post-exposure use – especially targeting vulnerable populations. Moreover, we have invested in international coordination of TB vaccine R&D, and preparation of ground for a new global TB vaccine roadmap. EDCTP is convinced a concerted global R&D effort will end TB.”
Dr Michael Makanga, EDCTP Executive Director
Visit https://www.edctp.org/news/world-tb-day-promise-ending-tb-epidemic/ to learn more about EDCTPs efforts to end TB.