[afro-nets] Electronic news from Mozambique

[Madeleine Anne Decker <omsdoc@oms-mz.org>]

Electronic news from Mozambique
-------------------------------

Dear Colleagues,

The WHO Documentation Center in Mozambique compiles electronic
news daily, selected from more than 100 pressrooms and sites.

The information comes in 4 languages (EN, FR, SP, PT) and covers
public health topics like the new WHO publications, news, non
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Best regards,

Madeleine Anne Decker
Documentation Officer
WHO Mozambique
mailto:omsdoc@oms-mz.org

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WHO DOCUMENTS

- Health facility survey: tool to evaluate the quality of care
delivered to sick children attending outpatient facilities
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2003/9241545860.pdf

- InfoPolio. Mars 2004
http://www.polioeradication.org/content/polionews/polionews21fr.pdf
English:
http://www.polioeradication.org/content/polionews/polionews21.pdf

- Fourth annual meeting of the Stop TB Working Group on DOTS-
Plus for MDR-TB. Paris, France, 27-28 October 2003
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2004/WHO_HTM_TB_2004.341.pdf

- Measuring access to reproductive health services: summary re-
port of a WHO/UNFPA technical consultation 2-3 December 2003
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2004/WHO_RHR_04.07.pdf

- Policy recommendations for smoking cessation and treatment of
tobacco dependence: tools for public health
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2003/9241562404.p

- Guidelines for essential trauma care
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2004/9241546409.pdf

- The selection and use of essential medicines: report of the
WHO Expert Committee, 2003: (including the 13th model list of
essential medicines)
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_920.pdf

NEWS

MOZAMBIQUE & SOUTHERN AFRICA
Malaria. Plague of my people
By Pascoal Mocumbi, former prime minister of Mozambique

In my country, Mozambique, the entire population is at risk of
malaria. One in every four children dies before the age of five
and, as in much of Africa, malaria is the biggest cause. The
poorest populations are most at risk and the disease often
strikes children, women who lose their acquired immunity to ma-
laria during pregnancy, and people who lack any immunity to the
disease, such as displaced persons and migrants.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430925a_fs.html

Brasil reafirma compromisso com Moçambique no combate à SIDA

O governo brasileiro reafirmou o compromisso de ajudar a con-
struir, em Moçambique, uma fábrica de medicamentos contra a
SIDA. A nota ressalta alguns passos que devem ser cumpridos para
a realização do projecto, como o estudo de viabilidade económica
e custo/benefício e a avaliação de sustentabilidade da inicia-
tiva. A realização do projecto passa ainda pela identificação de
fontes de financiamento da fábrica industrial e da sua manuten-
ção a curto, médio e longo prazos. O Brasil mantém o seu compro-
misso de apoiar e cooperar com o governo de Moçambique no forta-
lecimento da capacidade instalada, na formação de pessoal
técnico, intercâmbio de experiências e de colaborar na busca de
alternativas para a inclusão de novos profissionais na rede
pública.
http://www.noticiaslusofonas.com/view.php?load=arcview&article=7196&catogory=Moçambique

Aprovada candidatura de angolano para direcção da OMS

O angolano Lui­s Gomes Sambo foi, por unanimidade, designado
candidato da Comunidade de Desenvolvimento da África Austral ao
cargo de director regional para o continente da Organização Mun-
dial da Saúde (OMS).
http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia.asp?ID=274556

Perfil de Luís Gomes Sambo - Candidato da SADC a director Re-
gional da OMS

Eis o perfil do angolano Luís Gomes Sambo, o candidato da SADC
ao cargo de director da Organização Mundial da Saúde para
África, por unanimidade, pelos chefes de Estado e de Governos na
cimeira da Comunidade de Desenvolvimento da África Austral, que
decorre nas Ilhas Maurícias.
http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia.asp?ID=274558

GENERAL NEWS

Burns in the developing world and burn disasters

Developing countries have a high incidence of burn injuries,
creating a formidable public health problem. High population
density, illiteracy, and poverty are the main demographic fac-
tors associated with a high risk of burn injury. The high inci-
dence makes burns an endemic health hazard. Social, economic,
and cultural factors interact to complicate the management, re-
porting, and prevention of burns.
* http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7463/447?etoc

Education in Africa: The Brain Drain

A look at the issue of Africans studying away from their home-
land and their reasons for not returning. We'll discuss where
brain drain occurs most often and what countries are doing to
attract Africans to return home. We'll also talk about the eco-
nomic and social impact of loosing Africans to other countries.
http://www.emeagwali.com/interviews/brain-drain/temp-2.html

Doing the sums on Africa

Even a relatively small increase in aid financing to Africa
could save billions in future aid. The paper argues that this
increase will be fundamental to achieving the millennium devel-
opment goals, and stemming the potential for the continent to
foster terrorism. In order to reach these targets, and use in-
creased flows more effectively, a strong multilateral approach
is required. Sachs argues that America is currently the biggest
missing element for greater multilateral assistance.
http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/JDSEconomistMay202004.pdf

** 
http://economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=S%27%2984%24QA%27%2B%210%20%24%0A

WHO Disease Outbreak News. Avian influenza - situation in Viet
Nam, 18 August 2004

A small team of WHO staff will be traveling to Viet Nam over the
weekend. The team will be working closely with the Ministry of
Health to assess the present risk to public health and to work
out plans to strengthen surveillance capacity for the detection
of human cases.
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_08_18/en/

Nuevas medidas en la lucha contra la gripe aviar

La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) ha alcanzado un prin-
cipio de acuerdo por parte de las autoridades de Hanoi (Vietnam)
para enviar un equipo de expertos encargados de luchar contra la
epidemia de la gripe aviar. Por su parte, las autoridades sani-
tarias estadounidenses han encargado la elaboración de 40.000
dosis de una vacuna experimental contra una cepa del virus de-
tectada en un alto porcentaje de las aves.
http://elmundosalud.elmundo.es/elmundosalud/2004/08/17/medicina/1092765112.html

Historia de la gripe aviaria

La gripe de las aves es una enfermedad infecciosa originada por
el virus de la gripe tipo A. Esta enfermedad, que fue por
primera vez identificada en Italia hace 100 años, afecta a los
animales de todo el mundo.
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundosalud/2004/01/20/medicina/1074609545.html

Le retour du retour du retour de la grippe du poulet

Si c'est la deuxième vague de la grippe du poulet 2004, elle
n'est qu'un présage de ce qui nous attend dans les mois et les
années à venir. La crainte que cela ne se transforme en épidémie
chez les humains ne s'était pas matérialisée l'hiver dernier. Et
voilà que la crainte resurgit: il suffirait, en théorie, qu'une
variante de cette grippe aviaire, ou H5N1, ne subisse une muta-
tion chez un humain -probablement après y avoir rencontré une
variante de notre banale grippe- pour qu'elle se transforme en
une nouvelle variété, capable de sauter d'un homme à un autre,
et surtout, imperméable aux traitements connus.
http://www.sciencepresse.qc.ca/archives/2004/cap1608043.html

Document. Training Manual for Health and Social Workers in Sub-
Saharan Africa: Implementation of the Essential Nutrition Ac-
tions

The manual is divided into five modules: (1) Importance of Nu-
trition in Socioeconomic Development and National Health, (2)
Key Nutrition Interventions, (3) Strategy for Integrating Nutri-
tion into Health Care Activities, (4) The Importance of Appro-
priate Nutrition Counseling in Achieving Effective Behavioral
Change, and (5) Nutrition as Part of Health Management Informa-
tion Systems.
http://www.basics.org/publications/abs/abs_ena_trainingmanualAfrica.html

Document - Operationalizing Key Family Practices for Child
Health and Nutrition at Scale: The Role of Behavior Change

This report presents the Steps Towards Expanding Partnership at
Scale (STEPS) framework, which has been instrumental in opera-
tionalizing key practices for maternal and child health at scale
by focusing implementation on a core set of high-impact, easy-
to-change behaviors. The steps are (1) Developing a shared vi-
sion among partners, (2) Developing a behavior-centered strat-
egy, (3) Designing an integrated package of communication and
behavior change (CBC) materials, (4) Scaling up implementation
of the CBC package from early implementation sites, and (5)
Monitoring and reprogramming interventions based on results.
http://www.basics.org/new/tools/operationalizing/main.html

Document - Operacionalización de las prácticas familiares clave
de salud y nutrición infantil a gran escala: El papel del cambio
de conducta

En este documento se presenta el marco conceptual Steps Towards
Expanding Partnership at Scale (STEPS), que ha servido para op-
eracionalizar las prácticas en salud maternal e infantil a gran
escala focalizando su implementación en un grupo central de con-
ductas de alto impacto fáciles de modificar. Los pasos son: (1)
Desarrollo de una visión compartida entre los socios, (2) Desar-
rollo de una estrategia centrada en conductas, (3) Diseño inte-
grado de un paquete de comunicación y cambio de conductas (CCC),
(4) Expansión de la implementación del paquete de CCC desde los
sitios de implementación temprana, y (5) Monitoreo y reprograma-
ción de intervenciones en función de resultados.
http://www.basics.org/new/tools/operationalizing/SPmain.html

Document - L'opérationnalisation à l'échelle des pratiques fa-
miliales clés en matière de santé et de nutrition de l'enfant:
Le rôle du changement des comportements

Ce rapport présente le cadre de travail intitulé les Étapes pour
l'Expansion du Partenariat à l'Échelle (STEPS en Anglais) qui a
été l'instrument ayant permis d'opérationaliser des pratiques
clés pour la santé maternelle et infantile sur une grande
échelle en focalisant la mise en ouvre sur un noyau de comporte-
ments à grandimpact et facile-à-changer. Ces étapes sont 1)
Développer une vision commune au sein des partenaires, 2)
Développer une stratégie centrée sur le changement de comporte-
ment, 3) Concevoir un paquet intégré de matériel pour la commu-
nication et le changement de comportement (CCC), 4) Aller à l'é-
chelle dans la mise en ouvre du paquet de CCC à partir de l'ex-
périence des premiers des sites de démarrage, et 5) Assurer le
suivi et la reprogramation des interventions sur la base des
résultats.
http://www.basics.org/new/tools/operationalizing/FRmain.html

Site - Gender-based Violence Prevention Network
The website is filled with the experiences, innovations and
knowledge of over 100 member organizations throughout the Horn,
East and Southern Africa. This website is the virtual community
or meeting place for Network members and other colleagues and
friends interested in violence prevention on the Continent. It
is a place for exchange, learning and dialogue. It is also a
place where often hard to find regional and international re-
sources about GBV prevention can be accessed.
http://www.preventgbvafrica.org

MALARIA

New Malaria Vector a Cause for Worry

It seems the war on malaria is all about bad news lately. Barely
a year after the widely-used drug of choice for malaria was de-
clared virtually useless, a new form of mosquito, Oveng Form,
carrying was discovered in a village in southern Cameroon.
* 
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=30&newsid=13859

Scientists Offer New Explanation for Intercontinental Spread of
Drug-Resistant Malaria

Africa's increasing incidence of drug-resistant malaria resulted
from mutant parasites transported from Asia and people's global
mobility makes the further spread of mutant parasites likely.
Contrary to the common presumption that new genetic mutations in
the malaria parasite occur repeatedly in malaria-affected re-
gions, these genetic mutations are rare; when they have oc-
curred, the drug- resistant parasites have been exported from
one region or continent to another, resulting in a rapid spread
of resistance to low-cost drug treatments and a rise in ma-
laria's death toll.
http://www.healthtvchannel.org/main/news.php?lang=en&story=dath029.P2.08192004132156.14448.xml

Screen travellers for malaria

People travelling to Africa from South East Asia and South Amer-
ica should be screened and treated for drug-resistant malaria.
Genetic studies show hard-to-treat forms of malaria have spread
from these countries to Africa. The resultant outbreaks are not
responding to affordable antimalarials and require more expen-
sive alternatives. You would need testing posts in all African
airports...and you have to make it voluntary. Then if they were
positive you would need treatments available in the airports
that would completely cure any infection and they are quite ex-
pensive.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3571102.stm

Article of Science. Intercontinental Spread of Pyrimethamine-
Resistant Malaria
** http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/305/5687/1124

India's Ranbaxy develops new malaria drug; claims it could be
breakthrough

The drug, a synthetic peroxide developed with Geneva-based aid
group Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), is now undergoing
clinical trials. The new drug will work as well as artemisinin,
a currently available anti-malaria drug, and will be much
cheaper.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1843&ncid=1843&e=3&u=/cpress/20040818/ca_pr_on_he/india_malaria_drug

Press release of Ranbaxy

Ranbaxy and MMV achieve potential breakthrough in malaria drug
enters human trials phase

The drug, OZ277/RBx11160,OZ, a synthetic peroxide, is believed
to have similar mode-of-action as the most effective antimalar-
ial drug currently available - artemisinin, a herbal remedy
based on the Artemisia annua plant. However, because of the
costly and lengthy extraction process from the plant, artemisi-
nins are at least ten times more expensive than the cheap stan-
dard antimalarials. Although artemisinin-based combination
therapies (ACTs) are currently the best cure for drug resistant
malaria, access to ACTs in disease endemic countries has been
limited due to their cost. An effective synthetic drug would be
superior to the current ACTs as it will not be dependent on the
artemisia plant and will likely be much cheaper to manufacture.
http://www.ranbaxy.com/newsroom/pressrelease_det.asp?sno=169

Paludisme: percée scientifique porteuse d'espoir

Une équipe internationale a mis au point une molécule obtenue
entièrement par synthèse et qui pourrait devenir une arme impor-
tante contre le paludisme, cette maladie qui tue un enfant afri-
cain toutes les 30 secondes. Les premiers tests cliniques
montrent que la nouvelle molécule OZ 277, inspirée d'un compo-
sant d'une plante chinoise, est bien tolérée par l'organisme.
http://radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Santeeducation/nouvelles/200408/18/001-paludisme-molecule.shtml

Related article In Nature.
Identification of an antimalarial synthetic trioxolane drug de-
velopment candidate
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/nature02779_fs.html

Antimalarial drug discovery: efficacy models for compound
screening

Increased efforts in antimalarial drug discovery are urgently
needed. The goal must be to develop safe and affordable new
drugs to counter the spread of malaria parasites that are resis-
tant to existing agents. Drug efficacy, pharmacology and toxic-
ity are important parameters in the selection of compounds for
development, yet little attempt has been made to review and
standardize antimalarial drug-efficacy screens. Here, we suggest
different in vitro and in vivo screens for antimalarial drug
discovery and recommend a streamlined process for evaluating new
compounds on the path from drug discovery to development.
http://www.mmv.org/FilesUpld/187.pdf

Medicinal chemistry: A worthy adversary for malaria

A remarkable set of antimalarial drug candidates has been devel-
oped, using the age-old Chinese herbal medicine artemisinin as a
template.
** 
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/dynapage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/index.html

Nature supplement on malaria research and control

The Nature Outlook Malaria zeroes in on the major issues in the
war on malaria, with a particular focus on Africa. It analyses
the current state of affairs, the major scientific and other ob-
stacles in treatment and control, and the promising areas where
substantial progress might be made. Until February 2005 the sup-
plement will be freely available online.
http://www.nature.com/nature/outlook/malaria/

Content
Malaria
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430923a_fs.html

Plague of my people
It is high time we addressed the widening inequities that char-
acterize our planet today. We need to focus our energies towards
achieving basic healthcare for all. Pascoal Mocumbi, former
prime minister of Mozambique.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430925a_fs.html

Between hope and a hard place
Campaigns against malaria are multiplying, but so are malaria
deaths.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430926a_fs.html

Power to the people
In Africa, where malaria hits hardest, scientists are crying out
for countries to take matters into their own hands.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430928a_fs.html

An attack on all fronts
To win the fight against malaria we will need to scale up exist-
ing programmes and develop new weapons.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430930a_fs.html

Where did it all go wrong?
International agencies have failed to meet their own malaria
performance targets and should be held to account.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430932a_fs.html

The invisible victims
We need to know how bad the malaria situation is before we can
make it better.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430934a_fs.html

Struggling to make an impact
Allan Schapira, RBM coordinator at the World Health Organization
(WHO), disputes that the programme is off-course, arguing that
it will take years for the impact of current initiatives to be-
come apparent.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430935a_fs.html

Taking aim at mosquitoes
The malaria vector is back in scientists' sights, with insecti-
cides and transgenic insects offering fresh hope.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430936a_fs.html

The long and winding road
Documentary makers can get as close to the war zones of disease
as doctors and researchers - perhaps even closer.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430937a_fs.html

Strength in unity
The world must increase collaboration to meet the pressing need
for a malaria vaccine.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430938a_fs.html

Save the children
Creating a malaria vaccine will be tough. But Africa needs one
now more than ever.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430940a_fs.html

Winning the drugs war
We have the science to make new antimalarials, but we need bet-
ter mechanisms and resources to develop drugs and deliver them.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430942a_fs.html

Know thine enemy
The malaria and mosquito genomes will allow us to find new drug
and vaccine targets.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430944a_fs.html


AIDS
Development of an AIDS vaccine: perspective from the South Afri-
can AIDS Vaccine Initiative

Developing countries will always have a relative lack of human
and infrastructural capacity. Harnessing all experienced people
will be important, and investing in younger scientists, clini-
cians, ethicists, etc should be an integral part of such an ini-
tiative, and the mentoring of younger members should be encour-
aged. Developing countries will not have the capacity or fi-
nances to operate successfully alone. Such groups should develop
a robust autonomy while ensuring that they are seamlessly inte-
grated into the global efforts. An HIV vaccine is our best hope
to eradicate HIV, and this end point should always be central in
biomedical decisions.
* http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7463/454?etoc


Drug-resistant HIV acquired during infection may persist for up
to seven years

HIV-positive patients infected with a drug-resistant strain of
the virus may not show a reversion to the wild-type strain for
up to seven years after infection. This suggests that the future
treatment options available to people infected with drug-
resistant HIV may be limited.
http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/6F767BD1-594B-4D4C-8935-6841CCC2698C.asp



COURS

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Gaz du sang artériels (GDS)

Les Gaz du sang artériels (GDS) sont des paramètres plasmatiques
(dans le sang) qui permettent d'apprécier la fonction respira-
toire et l'équilibre acido-basique chez les patients. Sont sont
des mesures particulièrement utiles lorsque le patient est in-
conscient et qu'il faut trouver pourquoi... dans les cas d'in-
toxication par exemple.
http://www.ednes.com/gds/gaz.htm


News compiled by
Madeleine Anne Decker
Documentation Officer
WHO Mozambique
mailto:omsdoc@oms-mz.org

DISCLAIMER. WHO is not responsible for the content of the news.

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