Bulletin of the World Health Organisation (B WORLD HEALTH ORGAN)

Publications in this journal

• Article: The effectiveness of policies for reducing dietary trans fat: a systematic review of the evidence.

  Shauna M Downs, Anne Marie Thow, Stephen R Leeder
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: To systematically review evidence for the effectiveness of policies, including self-regulation, aimed at reducing industrially produced trans fatty acids (TFAs) in food. The Medline, Embase and Cinahl databases were searched to identify peer-reviewed articles examining the effect of TFA policies. In addition, the first 20 pages of Google searches were examined for articles from the grey literature. A study was included if: (i) it was empirical and conducted in a "real-world" setting (i.e. modelling studies were excluded); (ii) it examined a TFA policy involving, for example, labelling, voluntary limits or bans; and (iii) it examined a policy's effect on TFA levels in food, people's diets, blood or breast milk. Twenty-six articles met the inclusion criteria: 5 involved voluntary self-regulation; 8, labelling alone; 4, labelling and voluntary limits; 5, local bans and 4, national bans. Overall, the TFA content of food decreased with all types of policy intervention. In general, saturated fat levels increased or decreased, depending on the product type, and total fat content remained stable. National and local bans were most effective at eliminating TFAs from the food supply, whereas mandatory TFA labelling and voluntary TFA limits had a varying degree of success, which largely depended on food category. Policies aimed at restricting the TFA content of food were associated with significant reductions in TFA levels, without increasing total fat content. Such policies are feasible, achievable and likely to have an effect on public health.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 04/2013; 91(4):262-269H.
• Article: Deployment of community health workers across rural sub-Saharan Africa: financial considerations and operational assumptions.

  Gordon C McCord, Anne Liu, Prabhjot Singh
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: To provide cost guidance for developing a locally adaptable and nationally scalable community health worker (CHW) system within primary-health-care systems in sub-Saharan Africa. The yearly costs of training, equipping and deploying CHWs throughout rural sub-Saharan Africa were calculated using data from the literature and from the Millennium Villages Project. Model assumptions were such as to allow national governments to adapt the CHW subsystem to national needs and to deploy an average of 1 CHW per 650 rural inhabitants by 2015. The CHW subsystem described was costed by employing geographic information system (GIS) data on population, urban extents, national and subnational disease prevalence, and unit costs (from the field for wages and commodities). The model is easily replicable and configurable. Countries can adapt it to local prices, wages, population density and disease burdens in different geographic areas. The average annual cost of deploying CHWs to service the entire sub-Saharan African rural population by 2015 would be approximately 2.6 billion (i.e. 2600 million) United States dollars (US$). This sum, to be covered both by national governments and by donor partners, translates into US$ 6.86 per year per inhabitant covered by the CHW subsystem and into US$ 2.72 per year per inhabitant. Alternatively, it would take an annual average of US$ 3750 to train, equip and support each CHW. Comprehensive CHW subsystems can be deployed across sub-Saharan Africa at cost that is modest compared with the projected costs of the primary-health-care system. Given their documented successes, they offer a strong complement to facility-based care in rural African settings.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 04/2013; 91(4):244-253B.
• Article: Maternal health care utilization in Viet Nam: increasing ethnic inequity.

  Mats Målqvist, Ornella Lincetto, Nguyen Huy Du, Craig Burgess, Dinh Thi Phuong Hoa
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: To investigate changes that took place between 2006 and 2010 in the inequity gap for antenatal care attendance and delivery at health facilities among women in Viet Nam. Demographic, socioeconomic and obstetric data for women aged 15-49 years were extracted from Viet Nam's Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey for 2006 (MICS3) and 2010-2011 (MICS4). Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine if antenatal care attendance and place of delivery were significantly associated with maternal education, maternal ethnicity (Kinh/Hoa versus other), household wealth and place of residence (urban versus rural). These independent variables correspond to the analytical framework of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Large discrepancies between urban and rural populations were found in both MICS3 and MICS4. Although antenatal care attendance and health facility delivery rates improved substantially between surveys (from 86.3 to 92.1% and from 76.2 to 89.7%, respectively), inequities increased, especially along ethnic lines. The risk of not giving birth in a health facility increased significantly among ethnic minority women living in rural areas. In 2006 this risk was nearly five times higher than among women of Kinh/Hoa (majority) ethnicity (odds ratio, OR: 4.67; 95% confidence interval, CI: 2.94-7.43); in 2010-2011 it had become nearly 20 times higher (OR: 18.8; 95% CI: 8.96-39.2). Inequity in maternal health care utilization has increased progressively in Viet Nam, primarily along ethnic lines, and vulnerable groups in the country are at risk of being left behind. Health-care decision-makers should target these groups through affirmative action and culturally sensitive interventions.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 04/2013; 91(4):254-261.
• Article: Removal of user fees no guarantee of universal health coverage: observations from Burkina Faso.

  Samia Laokri, Olivier Weil, K Maxime Drabo, S Mathurin Dembelé, Benoît Kafando, Bruno Dujardin
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: In theory, the removal of user fees puts health services within reach of everyone, including the very poor. When Burkina Faso adopted the DOTS strategy for the control of tuberculosis, the intention was to provide free tuberculosis care. In 2007-2008, interviews were used to collect information from 242 smear-positive patients with pulmonary tuberculosis who were enrolled in the national tuberculosis control programme in six rural districts. The median direct costs associated with tuberculosis were estimated at 101 United States dollars (US$) per patient. These costs represented 23% of the mean annual income of a patient's household. During the course of their care, three quarters of the interviewed patients apparently faced "catastrophic" health expenditure. Inadequacies in the health system and policies appeared to be responsible for nearly half of the direct costs (US$ 45 per patient). Although the households of patients developed coping strategies, these had far-reaching, adverse effects on the quality of lives of the households' members and the socioeconomic stability of the households. Each tuberculosis patient lost a median of 45 days of work as a result of the illness. For a population living on or below the poverty line, every failure in health-care delivery increases the risk of "catastrophic" health expenditure, exacerbates socioeconomic inequalities, and reduces the probability of adequate treatment and cure. In Burkina Faso, a policy of "free" care for tuberculosis patients has not met with complete success. These observations should help define post-2015 global strategies for tuberculosis care, prevention and control.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 04/2013; 91(4):277-282.
• Article: Alcohol and alcohol-related harm in China: policy changes needed.

  Yi-Lang Tang, Xiao-Jun Xiang, Xu-Yi Wang, Joseph F Cubells, Thomas F Babor, Wei Hao
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: In China, alcohol consumption is increasing faster than anywhere else in the world. A steady increase in alcohol production has also been observed in the country, together with a rise in alcohol-related harm. Despite these trends, China's policies on the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages are weak compared with those of other countries in Asia. Weakest of all are its policies on taxation, drink driving laws, alcohol sale to minors and marketing licenses. The authors of this descriptive paper draw attention to the urgent need for public health professionals and government officials in China to prioritize population surveillance, research and interventions designed to reduce alcohol use disorders. They describe China's current alcohol policies and recent trends in alcohol-related harm and highlight the need for health officials to conduct a thorough policy review from a public health perspective, using as a model the World Health Organization's global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 04/2013; 91(4):270-276.
• Article: Preventing cryptosporidiosis: the need for safe drinking water.

  Rachel Peletz, Thomas Mahin, Mark Elliott, Margaret Montgomery, Thomas Clasen
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 04/2013; 91(4):238.
• Article: Untapped potential of health impact assessment.

  Mirko S Winkler, Gary R Krieger, Mark J Divall, Guéladio Cissé, Mark Wielga, Burton H Singer, Marcel Tanner, Jürg Utzinger
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: The World Health Organization has promoted health impact assessment (HIA) for over 20 years. At the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), HIA was discussed as a critical method for linking health to "green economy" and "institutional framework" strategies for sustainable development. In countries having a high human development index (HDI), HIA has been added to the overall assessment suite that typically includes potential environmental and social impacts, but it is rarely required as part of the environmental and social impact assessment for large development projects. When they are performed, project-driven HIAs are governed by a combination of project proponent and multilateral lender performance standards rather than host country requirements. Not surprisingly, in low-HDI countries HIA is missing from the programme and policy arena in the absence of an external project driver. Major drivers of global change (e.g. population growth and urbanization, growing pressure on natural resources and climate change) inordinately affect low- and medium-HDI countries; however, in such countries HIA is conspicuously absent. If the cloak of HIA invisibility is to be removed, it must be shown that HIA is useful and beneficial and, hence, an essential component of the 21st century's sustainable development agenda. We analyse where and how HIA can become fully integrated into the impact assessment suite and argue that the impact of HIA must not remain obscure.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 04/2013; 91(4):298-305.
• Article: Ethical considerations for vaccination programmes in acute humanitarian emergencies.

  Keymanthri Moodley, Kate Hardie, Michael J Selgelid, Ronald J Waldman, Peter Strebel, Helen Rees, David N Durrheim
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Humanitarian emergencies result in a breakdown of critical health-care services and often make vulnerable communities dependent on external agencies for care. In resource-constrained settings, this may occur against a backdrop of extreme poverty, malnutrition, insecurity, low literacy and poor infrastructure. Under these circumstances, providing food, water and shelter and limiting communicable disease outbreaks become primary concerns. Where effective and safe vaccines are available to mitigate the risk of disease outbreaks, their potential deployment is a key consideration in meeting emergency health needs. Ethical considerations are crucial when deciding on vaccine deployment. Allocation of vaccines in short supply, target groups, delivery strategies, surveillance and research during acute humanitarian emergencies all involve ethical considerations that often arise from the tension between individual and common good. The authors lay out the ethical issues that policy-makers need to bear in mind when considering the deployment of mass vaccination during humanitarian emergencies, including beneficence (duty of care and the rule of rescue), non-maleficence, autonomy and consent, and distributive and procedural justice.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 04/2013; 91(4):290-297.
• Article: Scale-up of a comprehensive harm reduction programme for people injecting opioids: lessons from north-eastern India.

  Melody Lalmuanpuii, Langkham Biangtung, Ritu Kumar Mishra, Matthew J Reeve, Sentimoa Tzudier, Angom L Singh, Rebecca Sinate, Sema K Sgaier
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Harm reduction packages for people who inject illicit drugs, including those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), are cost-effective but have not been scaled up globally. In the north-eastern Indian states of Manipur and Nagaland, the epidemic of HIV infection is driven by the injection of illicit drugs, especially opioids. These states needed to scale up harm reduction programmes but faced difficulty doing so. In 2004, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded Project ORCHID to scale up a harm reduction programme in Manipur and Nagaland. In 2003, an estimated 10 000 and 16 000 people were injecting drugs in Manipur and Nagaland, respectively. The prevalence of HIV infection among people injecting drugs was 24.5% in Manipur and 8.4% in Nagaland. By 2012, the harm reduction programme had been scaled up to an average of 9011 monthly contacts outside clinics (80% of target); an average of 1709 monthly clinic visits (15% of target, well above the 5% monthly goal) and an average monthly distribution of needles and syringes of 16 each per programme participant. Opioid agonist maintenance treatment coverage was 13.7% and retention 6 months after enrolment was 63%. Antiretroviral treatment coverage for HIV-positive participants was 81%. A harm reduction model consisting of community-owned, locally relevant innovations and business approaches can result in good harm reduction programme scale-up and influence harm reduction policy. Project ORCHID has influenced national harm reduction policy in India and contributed to the development of harm reduction guidelines.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 04/2013; 91(4):306-312.
• Article: The human qualities needed to complete the global eradication of polio.

  Dermot Maher
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Although the 99% decrease seen in global polio incidence between 1988 and 2000 represented remarkable progress towards polio eradication, tackling the last 1% of polio has proved tantalizingly difficult. Pockets of endemic transmission currently persist both on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan and in northern Nigeria. These pockets have permitted the reinfection of countries that were previously polio-free. Global strategic plans for polio eradication set out the activities, resources and financing needed to overcome the managerial, technical and security challenges faced by those tasked with the interruption of poliovirus transmission. However, polio eradication also depends on the less tangible but equally important human qualities of energy, realism, articulacy, determination, imagination, collaboration, adaptability, tactical awareness, innovation, openness and nimbleness (the initial letters of which give the acronym "ERADICATION"). By paying attention to these human qualities, the stakeholders involved may be more likely to achieve global polio eradication.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 04/2013; 91(4):283-289.
• Article: Identifying high-risk areas for sporadic measles outbreaks: lessons from South Africa.

  Benn Sartorius, C Cohen, T Chirwa, G Ntshoe, A Puren, K Hofman
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: To develop a model for identifying areas at high risk for sporadic measles outbreaks based on an analysis of factors associated with a national outbreak in South Africa between 2009 and 2011. Data on cases occurring before and during the national outbreak were obtained from the South African measles surveillance programme, and data on measles immunization and population size, from the District Health Information System. A Bayesian hierarchical Poisson model was used to investigate the association between the risk of measles in infants in a district and first-dose vaccination coverage, population density, background prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and expected failure of seroconversion. Model projections were used to identify emerging high-risk areas in 2012. A clear spatial pattern of high-risk areas was noted, with many interconnected (i.e. neighbouring) areas. An increased risk of measles outbreak was significantly associated with both the preceding build-up of a susceptible population and population density. The risk was also elevated when more than 20% of infants in a populous area had missed a first vaccine dose. The model was able to identify areas at high risk of experiencing a measles outbreak in 2012 and where additional preventive measures could be undertaken. The South African measles outbreak was associated with the build-up of a susceptible population (owing to poor vaccine coverage), high prevalence of HIV infection and high population density. The predictive model developed could be applied to other settings susceptible to sporadic outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 03/2013; 91(3):174-83.
• Article: Evaluation, in three provinces, of the introduction and impact of China's National Essential Medicines Scheme.

  Yang Li, Cui Ying, Guo Sufang, Philippa Brant, Li Bin, David Hipgrave
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: To evaluate implementation of the National Essential Medicines Scheme (NEMS) in rural China. Two rural counties/districts in each of three provinces where NEMS had been implemented were surveyed. Information was collected from NEMS staff at the province, county/district, township and village levels; patients with chronic disease were also interviewed. Service provision, finances, prescriptions, inpatient records and the expenditures of patients with certain diagnoses were investigated in township hospitals and village clinics. The results were compared with the corresponding data recorded before NEMS was introduced. Following the introduction of NEMS, drug procurement in each study location was systematized. Total drug costs declined. This, and improved prescribing, reduced the costs of outpatient and inpatient care and led, apparently, to increased uptake of health services. However, the prices of some drugs had increased and the availability of others had declined. The compensation of health-care providers for NEMS-related reductions in their incomes had been largely ineffective. As a result of the introduction of NEMS, health facilities relied more on public financing. Many health-care providers complained about higher workloads and lower incomes. Although it was well conceived, the introduction of NEMS into China's decentralized, fee-for-service system of health care has not been straightforward. It has highlighted the problems associated with attempts to modernize health care and health financing for patients' benefit. Sustainable mechanisms to compensate health-care providers for lost income are needed to ensure that NEMS is a success.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 03/2013; 91(3):184-94.
• Article: Untreated maternal syphilis and adverse outcomes of pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

  Gabriela B Gomez, Mary L Kamb, Lori M Newman, Jennifer Mark, Nathalie Broutet, Sarah J Hawkes
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of reported estimates of adverse pregnancy outcomes among untreated women with syphilis and women without syphilis. PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Libraries were searched for literature assessing adverse pregnancy outcomes among untreated women with seroreactivity for infection and non-seroreactive women. Adverse pregnancy outcomes were fetal loss or stillbirth, neonatal death, prematurity or low birth weight, clinical evidence of syphilis and infant death. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to calculate pooled estimates of adverse pregnancy outcomes and, where appropriate, heterogeneity was explored in group-specific analyses. Of the 3258 citations identified, only six, all case-control studies, were included in the analysis. Pooled estimates showed that among untreated pregnant women with syphilis, fetal loss and stillbirth were 21% more frequent, neonatal deaths were 9.3% more frequent and prematurity or low birth weight were 5.8% more frequent than among women without syphilis. Of the infants of mothers with untreated syphilis, 15% had clinical evidence of congenital syphilis. The single study that estimated infant death showed a 10% higher frequency among infants of mothers with syphilis. Substantial heterogeneity was found across studies in the estimates of all adverse outcomes for both women with syphilis (66.5% [95% confidence interval, CI: 58.0-74.1]; = 91.8%; < 0.001) and women without syphilis (14.3% [95% CI: 11.8-17.2]; = 95.9%; < 0.001). Untreated maternal syphilis is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. These findings can inform policy decisions on resource allocation for the detection of syphilis and its timely treatment in pregnant women.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 03/2013; 91(3):217-26.
• Article: Private sector contributions and their effect on physician emigration in the developing world.

  Lawrence C Loh, Cesar Ugarte-Gil, Kwame Darko
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: The contribution made by the private sector to health care in a low- or middle-income country may affect levels of physician emigration from that country. The increasing importance of the private sector in health care in the developing world has resulted in newfound academic interest in that sector's influences on many aspects of national health systems. The growth in physician emigration from the developing world has led to several attempts to identify both the factors that cause physicians to emigrate and the effects of physician emigration on primary care and population health in the countries that the physicians leave. When the relevant data on the emerging economies of Ghana, India and Peru were investigated, it appeared that the proportion of physicians participating in private health-care delivery, the percentage of health-care costs financed publicly and the amount of private health-care financing per capita were each inversely related to the level of physician expatriation. It therefore appears that private health-care delivery and financing may decrease physician emigration. There is clearly a need for similar research in other low- and middle-income countries, and for studies to see if, at the country level, temporal trends in the contribution made to health care by the private sector can be related to the corresponding trends in physician emigration. The ways in which private health care may be associated with access problems for the poor and therefore reduced equity also merit further investigation. The results should be of interest to policy-makers who aim to improve health systems worldwide.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 03/2013; 91(3):227-33.
• Article: Increased paediatric hospitalizations for empyema in Australia after introduction of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

  Roxanne E Strachan, Thomas L Snelling, Adam Jaffé
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: To examine rates of paediatric hospitalization for empyema and pneumonia in Australia before and after the introduction of the seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). Rates of paediatric hospitalization for empyema and pneumonia (bacterial, viral and all types) were calculated following the codes of the International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10) as a principal diagnosis. The expected number of hospitalizations after the PCV7 was introduced was estimated on the basis of the observed number of hospitalizations before the introduction of the PCV7. Incidence rate differences (IRDs) and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated. Hospitalization incidence in each study period was expressed as the number of hospitalizations per million (10) person-years. The population of children aged 0-19 years in Australia from 1998 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2010, as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, was used to calculate the number of person-years in each period. In the 5 years following the introduction of the PCV7, hospitalizations for pneumonia were fewer than expected (15 304 fewer; 95% confidence interval, CI: 14 646-15 960; IRD: -552 per 10 person-years; 95% CI: -576 to -529 per 10 person-years; IRR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.77-0.78). Hospitalizations for empyema, on the other hand, were more than expected (83 more; 95% CI: 37-128; IRD: 3 per 10 person-years; 95% CI: 1-5 per 10 person-years; IRR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.14-1.59). Reductions in hospitalizations were observed for all ICD-10 pneumonia codes across all age groups. The increase in empyema hospitalizations was only significant among children aged 1 to 4 years. The introduction of the PCV7 in Australia was associated with a substantial decrease in hospitalizations for childhood pneumonia and a small increase in hospitalizations for empyema.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 03/2013; 91(3):167-73.
• Article: Landmines and explosive remnants of war: a health threat not to be ignored.

  Antony Duttine, Elke Hottentot
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 03/2013; 91(3):160-160A.
• Article: Timing of antiretroviral therapy in Cambodian hospital after diagnosis of tuberculosis: impact of revised WHO guidelines.

  Kimcheng Choun, Reaksmey Pe, Sopheak Thai, Natalie Lorent, Lutgarde Lynen, Johan van Griensven
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: To determine if implementation of 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation reduced delay from tuberculosis diagnosis to initiation of ART in a Cambodian urban hospital. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a nongovernmental hospital in Phnom Penh that followed new WHO guidelines in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis. All ART-naïve, HIV-positive patients initiated on antituberculosis treatment over the 18 months before and after guideline implementation were included. A competing risk regression model was used. After implementation of the 2010 WHO guidelines, 190 HIV-positive patients with tuberculosis were identified: 53% males; median age, 38 years; median baseline CD4+ T-lymphocyte (CD4+ cell) count, 43 cells/µL. Before implementation, 262 patients were identified; 56% males; median age, 36 years; median baseline CD4+ cell count, 59 cells/µL. With baseline CD4+ cell counts ≤ 50 cells/µL, median delay to ART declined from 5.8 weeks (interquartile range, IQR: 3.7-9.0) before to 3.0 weeks (IQR: 2.1-4.4) after implementation ( < 0.001); with baseline CD4+ cell counts > 50 cells/µL, delay dropped from 7.0 (IQR: 5.3-11.3) to 3.6 (IQR: 2.9-5.3) weeks ( < 0.001). The probability of ART initiation within 4 and 8 weeks after tuberculosis diagnosis rose from 23% and 65%, respectively, before implementation, to 62% and 90% after implementation. A non-significant increase in 6-month retention and antiretroviral substitution was seen after implementation. Implementation of 2010 WHO recommendations in a routine clinical setting shortens delay to ART. Larger studies with longer follow-up are needed to assess impact on patient outcomes.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 03/2013; 91(3):195-206.
• Article: The sound of silence: missing the opportunity to save lives at birth.

  Jeffrey D Klausner
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 03/2013; 91(3):158-158A.