A step towards reinvigorating the COVID-19 response: an intra-action review of the WHO Regional Office for Africa Incident Management Support Team
The WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) COVID-19 Incident Management Support Team (IMST) was first established on 21 January 2020 to coordinate the response to the pandemic in line with the Emergency Response Framework and has undergone three modifications based on intra-action reviews (IAR). An I...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2023-06-01
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| Series: | BMJ Global Health |
| Online Access: | https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/6/e012258.full |
| _version_ | 1797756073051947008 |
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| author | Thierno Balde Roland Kimbi Wango Joseph Okeibunor Abdou Salam Gueye Boniface Oyugi Ebenezer Obi Daniel Hillary Njenge Pierre Ongolo Zogo Helena O’Malley Etien Luc Koua Adama Thiam Dick Chamla Fiona Braka |
| author_facet | Thierno Balde Roland Kimbi Wango Joseph Okeibunor Abdou Salam Gueye Boniface Oyugi Ebenezer Obi Daniel Hillary Njenge Pierre Ongolo Zogo Helena O’Malley Etien Luc Koua Adama Thiam Dick Chamla Fiona Braka |
| author_sort | Thierno Balde |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) COVID-19 Incident Management Support Team (IMST) was first established on 21 January 2020 to coordinate the response to the pandemic in line with the Emergency Response Framework and has undergone three modifications based on intra-action reviews (IAR). An IAR of the WHO AFRO COVID-19 IMST was conducted to document best practices, challenges, lessons learnt and areas for improvement from the start of 2021 to the end of the third wave in November 2021. In addition, it was designed to contribute to improving the response to COVID-19 in the Region. An IAR design as proposed by WHO, encompassing qualitative approaches to collecting critical data and information, was used. It employed mixed methods of data collection: document reviews, online surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. A thematic analysis of the data focused on four thematic areas, namely operations of IMST, data and information management, human resource management and institutional framework/governance. Areas of good practice identified, included the provision of guidelines, protocols and technical expertise, resource mobilisation, logistics management, provision of regular updates, timely situation reporting, timely deployment and good coordination. Some challenges identified included a communication gap; inadequate emergency personnel; lack of scientific updates; and inadequate coordination with partners. The identified strong points/components are the pivot for informed decisions and actions for reinvigorating the future response coordination mechanism. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:56:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3480ec98571e4a89b8e44da1815cd0c5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2059-7908 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:56:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Global Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-3480ec98571e4a89b8e44da1815cd0c52023-08-02T14:55:06ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082023-06-018610.1136/bmjgh-2023-012258A step towards reinvigorating the COVID-19 response: an intra-action review of the WHO Regional Office for Africa Incident Management Support TeamThierno Balde0Roland Kimbi Wango1Joseph Okeibunor2Abdou Salam Gueye3Boniface Oyugi4Ebenezer Obi Daniel5Hillary Njenge6Pierre Ongolo Zogo7Helena O’Malley8Etien Luc Koua9Adama Thiam10Dick Chamla11Fiona Braka12Emergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of CongoDakar Hub - Emergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Dakar, SenegalEmergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of CongoEmergency Preparedness and Response, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, CongoCentre for Health Services Studies, University of Kent, Canterbury, UKEmergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of CongoNairobi Hub - Emergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Nairobi, KenyaCentre for Development of Best Practices in Health, Yaoundé Central Hospital & University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, CameroonEmergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of CongoEmergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of CongoEmergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of CongoEmergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of CongoEmergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of CongoThe WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) COVID-19 Incident Management Support Team (IMST) was first established on 21 January 2020 to coordinate the response to the pandemic in line with the Emergency Response Framework and has undergone three modifications based on intra-action reviews (IAR). An IAR of the WHO AFRO COVID-19 IMST was conducted to document best practices, challenges, lessons learnt and areas for improvement from the start of 2021 to the end of the third wave in November 2021. In addition, it was designed to contribute to improving the response to COVID-19 in the Region. An IAR design as proposed by WHO, encompassing qualitative approaches to collecting critical data and information, was used. It employed mixed methods of data collection: document reviews, online surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. A thematic analysis of the data focused on four thematic areas, namely operations of IMST, data and information management, human resource management and institutional framework/governance. Areas of good practice identified, included the provision of guidelines, protocols and technical expertise, resource mobilisation, logistics management, provision of regular updates, timely situation reporting, timely deployment and good coordination. Some challenges identified included a communication gap; inadequate emergency personnel; lack of scientific updates; and inadequate coordination with partners. The identified strong points/components are the pivot for informed decisions and actions for reinvigorating the future response coordination mechanism.https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/6/e012258.full |
| spellingShingle | Thierno Balde Roland Kimbi Wango Joseph Okeibunor Abdou Salam Gueye Boniface Oyugi Ebenezer Obi Daniel Hillary Njenge Pierre Ongolo Zogo Helena O’Malley Etien Luc Koua Adama Thiam Dick Chamla Fiona Braka A step towards reinvigorating the COVID-19 response: an intra-action review of the WHO Regional Office for Africa Incident Management Support Team BMJ Global Health |
| title | A step towards reinvigorating the COVID-19 response: an intra-action review of the WHO Regional Office for Africa Incident Management Support Team |
| title_full | A step towards reinvigorating the COVID-19 response: an intra-action review of the WHO Regional Office for Africa Incident Management Support Team |
| title_fullStr | A step towards reinvigorating the COVID-19 response: an intra-action review of the WHO Regional Office for Africa Incident Management Support Team |
| title_full_unstemmed | A step towards reinvigorating the COVID-19 response: an intra-action review of the WHO Regional Office for Africa Incident Management Support Team |
| title_short | A step towards reinvigorating the COVID-19 response: an intra-action review of the WHO Regional Office for Africa Incident Management Support Team |
| title_sort | step towards reinvigorating the covid 19 response an intra action review of the who regional office for africa incident management support team |
| url | https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/6/e012258.full |
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