Bolajoko O. Olusanya

Centre for Healthy Start Initiative · Program Planning, Research and Execution

The remarkable progress in reducing child mortality in low-income countries is now accompanied with a rapidly expanding population of child survivors and increased life expectancy. However, many have special health care needs in the early foundational years for optimal health and educational and vocational status. Investment in early childhood deve...

Background: Sequelae of severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia constitute a substantial disease burden in areas where effective conventional phototherapy is unavailable. We previously found that the use of filtered sunlight for the purpose of phototherapy is a safe and efficacious method for reducing total bilirubin. However, its relative safety and e...

Background: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) mandate systematic monitoring of the health and wellbeing of all children to achieve optimal early childhood development. However, global epidemiological data on children with developmental disabilities are scarce. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 provides a c...

The likelihood of a newborn child dying before their fifth birthday (under-5 mortality rate) is universally acknowledged as a reflection of the social, economic, health, and environmental conditions in which children (and the rest of society) live, but little is known about the likelihood of a newborn child having a lifelong disability before their...

The Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development jointly promoted by WHO, UNICEF, and the World Bank, was not conceived, designed, and developed for children with developmental disabilities. The framework is therefore unlikely to serve the special needs of children under 5 years with or at risk of developmental disabilities as envisione...

Introduction: Understanding the specific geospatial variations in childhood stunting is essential for aligning appropriate health services to where new and/or additional nutritional interventions are required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and national targets. Objectives: We described local variations in the prevalence of c...

The English version of this invited editorial is available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.15452

Aim The provisions of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for disability-inclusive education have stimulated a growing interest in ascertaining the prevalence of children with developmental disabilities globally. We aimed to systematically summarize the prevalence estimates of developmental disabilities in children and adolesce...

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly acknowledge inclusive and equitable quality education as the primary goal of any global initiatives for early childhood development for children under 5 years with developmental delays and disabilities. Primary education provides the foundation for lifelong learning, vocational att...

Prior to the launch of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, childhood disability was rarely considered an important subject in global health. The SDGs till 2030 now require that children under 5 years who are at risk of not benefitting from inclusive quality education are identified, monitored, and promptly supported. A...

Background Human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is still among the leading causes of disease burden and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and the world is not on track to meet targets set for ending the epidemic by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Sustaina...

Spanish, Portuguese & French translation of this Invited Editorial is available in the online issue.

Despite substantial declines since 2000, lower respiratory infections (LRIs), diarrhoeal diseases, and malaria remain among the leading causes of nonfatal and fatal disease burden for children under 5 years of age (under 5), primarily in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The spatial burden of each of these diseases has been estimated subnationally across S...

Background Reducing the burden of death due to infection is an urgent global public health priority. Previous studies have estimated the number of deaths associated with drug-resistant infections and sepsis and found that infections remain a leading cause of death globally. Understanding the global burden of common bacterial pathogens (both suscept...

Background More than 3 billion people do not have access to clean energy and primarily use solid fuels to cook. Use of solid fuels generates household air pollution, which was associated with more than 2 million deaths in 2019. Although local patterns in cooking vary systematically, subnational trends in use of solid fuels have yet to be comprehens...

Objective The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require population-based data on children with disabilities to inform global policies and intervention programs. We set out to compare the prevalence estimates of disabilities among children and adolescents younger than 20 years as reported by the world's leading organizations for g...

Purpose This commentary examines the provisions for early childhood development (ECD) in the global action plan for rehabilitation published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) within the context of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for inclusive education. Methods The meeting reports of the WHO Rehabilitation 2030 for 2017...

Objective: Children with developmental disabilities are associated with a high risk of poor school enrollment and educational attainment without timely and appropriate support. Epidemiological data on cerebral palsy and associated comorbidities required for policy intervention in global health are lacking. This paper set out to report the best avai...

Saving the lives of children is a moral imperative for any society. However, the epidemiological transitions in low- and middle-income countries, accompanied by rapid population growth and increasing life expectancy, have raised ethical concerns about child health policies that are solely focused on child survival without adequate consideration for...

Background: There is no published decision model for informing hearing health care resource allocation across the lifespan in low- and middle-income countries. We sought to validate the Decision model of the Burden of Hearing loss Across the Lifespan International (DeciBHAL-I) in Chile, India, and Nigeria. Methods: DeciBHAL-I simulates bilateral...

Addressing inequity for children with disabilities is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include a range of commitments for the provision of disability-inclusive education and health services. Fulfilment of these pl...

The Sustainable Development Goals provide a unique opportunity to bridge the gap in ECD practices between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries. Irrespective of the current practices in low- and middle-income countries, which are often largely influenced by the priorities of developmental partners, there is need to build consen...

Objectives To use data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 (GBD 2019) to estimate mortality and disability trends for the population aged ≥70 and evaluate patterns in causes of death, disability, and risk factors. Design Systematic analysis. Setting Participants were aged ≥70 from 204 countries and terri...

This commentary is on the original article by Abuga et al. on pages 347–356 of this issue.

BACKGROUND: Documentation of patterns and long-term trends in mortality in young people, which reflect huge changes in demographic and social determinants of adolescent health, enables identification of global investment priorities for this age group. We aimed to analyse data on the number of deaths, years of life lost, and mortality rates by sex a...

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate res...

Background Documentation of patterns and long-term trends in mortality in young people, which reflect huge changes in demographic and social determinants of adolescent health, enables identification of global investment priorities for this age group. We aimed to analyse data on the number of deaths, years of life lost, and mortality rates by sex an...

Background Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 has targeted elimination of preventable child mortality, reduction of neonatal death to less than 12 per 1000 livebirths, and reduction of death of children younger than 5 years to less than 25 per 1000 livebirths, for each country by 2030. To understand current rates, recent trends, and potential traject...

Adequate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) improve child survival and growth. Globally, about 18 million babies are born to mothers aged 18 years or less and have a higher likelihood of adverse birth outcomes in India due to insufficient knowledge of child growth. This paper examined factors associated with IYCF practices among adolescent India...

This Viewpoint describes steps to reduce structural racism and other forms of discrimination in global health, particularly within the United Nations network.

Introduction Rh sensitization occurs when Rh(D)-negative women develop anti-Rh(D) antibodies following exposure through pregnancy or transfusion. Rh disease may cause jaundice, anemia, neurological impairment, and death. It is rare in countries where Rh Immune Globulin (RhIg) is used. Canadian Rh sensitization and disease rates are unknown. Method...

Black people living in Africa must be involved in setting the priorities for global health research, policies and programs that affect their daily lives, in order to move away from a funding culture that fosters colonialism, racism and white supremacy.

Background High-resolution estimates of HIV burden across space and time provide an important tool for tracking and monitoring the progress of prevention and control efforts and assist with improving the precision and efficiency of targeting efforts. We aimed to assess HIV incidence and HIV mortality for all second-level administrative units across...

This is a supplementary material for the article entitled "Measuring universal health coverage based on an index of effective coverage of health services in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019"

Background Hearing loss affects access to spoken language, which can affect cognition and development, and can negatively affect social wellbeing. We present updated estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study on the prevalence of hearing loss in 2019, as well as the condition's associated disability. Methods We did systematic reviews...

Background Hearing loss affects access to spoken language, which can affect cognition and development, and can negatively affect social wellbeing. We present updated estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study on the prevalence of hearing loss in 2019, as well as the condition's associated disability. Methods We did systematic reviews...

Objective: Assess the global status of newborn/infant hearing screening (NIHS) and its effectiveness in early detection and intervention of permanent childhood hearing loss (PCHL). Design: Individuals potentially involved with NIHS in 196 countries/territories (in the following text referred to as countries) received a questionnaire about coverage,...

Background Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) involves all people receiving the health services they need, of high quality, without experiencing financial hardship. Making progress towards UHC is a policy priority for both countries and global institutions, as highlighted by the agenda of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO's...

Background Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of...

Summary Background Rigorous analysis of levels and trends in exposure to leading risk factors and quantification of their effect on human health are important to identify where public health is making progress and in which cases current efforts are inadequate. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a sta...

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a rules-based synthesis of the available evidence on levels and trends in health outcomes, a diverse set of risk factors, and health system responses. GBD 2019 covered 204 countries and territories, as well as first administrative level disaggregations for 22 countr...

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publ...

Background Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of...

Background Rigorous analysis of levels and trends in exposure to leading risk factors and quantification of their effect on human health are important to identify where public health is making progress and in which cases current efforts are inadequate. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a standardise...

Background Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-res...

Background Lymphatic filariasis is a neglected tropical disease that can cause permanent disability through disruption of the lymphatic system. This disease is caused by parasitic filarial worms that are transmitted by mosquitos. Mass drug administration (MDA) of antihelmintics is recommended by WHO to eliminate lymphatic filariasis as a public hea...

Guest editorial which relates early childhood emphases in the SDGs with the the Church's critical response toward transformative change.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.