Coordination and Management of COVID-19 in Africa through Health Operations and Technical Expertise Pillar: A Case Study from WHO AFRO One Year into Response
<b>Background:</b> following the importation of the first Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case into Africa on 14 February 2020 in Egypt, the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional office for Africa (AFRO) activated a three-level incident management support team (IMST), with technic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/7/8/183 |
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| author | Nsenga Ngoy Ishata Nannie Conteh Boniface Oyugi Patrick Abok Aminata Kobie Peter Phori Cephas Hamba Nonso Ephraim Ejiofor Kaizer Fitzwanga John Appiah Ama Edwin Temidayo Fawole Rashidatu Kamara Landry Kabego Cihambanya Tasiana Mzozo Caroline Ryan Fiona Braka Zabulon Yoti Francis Kasolo Joseph C. Okeibunor Abdou Salam Gueye |
| author_facet | Nsenga Ngoy Ishata Nannie Conteh Boniface Oyugi Patrick Abok Aminata Kobie Peter Phori Cephas Hamba Nonso Ephraim Ejiofor Kaizer Fitzwanga John Appiah Ama Edwin Temidayo Fawole Rashidatu Kamara Landry Kabego Cihambanya Tasiana Mzozo Caroline Ryan Fiona Braka Zabulon Yoti Francis Kasolo Joseph C. Okeibunor Abdou Salam Gueye |
| author_sort | Nsenga Ngoy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background:</b> following the importation of the first Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case into Africa on 14 February 2020 in Egypt, the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional office for Africa (AFRO) activated a three-level incident management support team (IMST), with technical pillars, to coordinate planning, implementing, supervision, and monitoring of the situation and progress of implementation as well as response to the pandemic in the region. At WHO AFRO, one of the pillars was the health operations and technical expertise (HOTE) pillar with five sub-pillars: case management, infection prevention and control, risk communication and community engagement, laboratory, and emergency medical team (EMT). This paper documents the learnings (both positive and negative for consideration of change) from the activities of the HOTE pillar and recommends future actions for improving its coordination for future emergencies, especially for multi-country outbreaks or pandemic emergency responses. <b>Method:</b> we conducted a document review of the HOTE pillar coordination meetings’ minutes, reports, policy and strategy documents of the activities, and outcomes and feedback on updates on the HOTE pillar given at regular intervals to the Regional IMST. In addition, key informant interviews were conducted with 14 members of the HOTE sub pillar. <b>Key Learnings:</b> the pandemic response revealed that shared decision making, collaborative coordination, and planning have been significant in the COVID-19 response in Africa. The HOTE pillar’s response structure contributed to attaining the IMST objectives in the African region and translated to timely support for the WHO AFRO and the member states. However, while the coordination mechanism appeared robust, some challenges included duplication of coordination efforts, communication, documentation, and information management. <b>Recommendations:</b> we recommend streamlining the flow of information to better understand the challenges that countries face. There is a need to define the role and responsibilities of sub-pillar team members and provide new team members with information briefs to guide them on where and how to access internal information and work under the pillar. A unified documentation system is important and could help to strengthen intra-pillar collaboration and communication. Various indicators should be developed to constantly monitor the HOTE team’s deliverables, performance and its members. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:44:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ac0373dc57324436b2d82defdc740ca9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2414-6366 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:44:43Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac0373dc57324436b2d82defdc740ca92023-12-03T14:35:54ZengMDPI AGTropical Medicine and Infectious Disease2414-63662022-08-017818310.3390/tropicalmed7080183Coordination and Management of COVID-19 in Africa through Health Operations and Technical Expertise Pillar: A Case Study from WHO AFRO One Year into ResponseNsenga Ngoy0Ishata Nannie Conteh1Boniface Oyugi2Patrick Abok3Aminata Kobie4Peter Phori5Cephas Hamba6Nonso Ephraim Ejiofor7Kaizer Fitzwanga8John Appiah9Ama Edwin10Temidayo Fawole11Rashidatu Kamara12Landry Kabego Cihambanya13Tasiana Mzozo14Caroline Ryan15Fiona Braka16Zabulon Yoti17Francis Kasolo18Joseph C. Okeibunor19Abdou Salam Gueye20World Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Nairobi Hub, United Nations Office in Nairobi UN Avenue Gigiri, Nairobi 00100, KenyaWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Nairobi Hub, United Nations Office in Nairobi UN Avenue Gigiri, Nairobi 00100, KenyaWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, CongoWorld Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa, Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, Cité du Djoué, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, Congo<b>Background:</b> following the importation of the first Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case into Africa on 14 February 2020 in Egypt, the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional office for Africa (AFRO) activated a three-level incident management support team (IMST), with technical pillars, to coordinate planning, implementing, supervision, and monitoring of the situation and progress of implementation as well as response to the pandemic in the region. At WHO AFRO, one of the pillars was the health operations and technical expertise (HOTE) pillar with five sub-pillars: case management, infection prevention and control, risk communication and community engagement, laboratory, and emergency medical team (EMT). This paper documents the learnings (both positive and negative for consideration of change) from the activities of the HOTE pillar and recommends future actions for improving its coordination for future emergencies, especially for multi-country outbreaks or pandemic emergency responses. <b>Method:</b> we conducted a document review of the HOTE pillar coordination meetings’ minutes, reports, policy and strategy documents of the activities, and outcomes and feedback on updates on the HOTE pillar given at regular intervals to the Regional IMST. In addition, key informant interviews were conducted with 14 members of the HOTE sub pillar. <b>Key Learnings:</b> the pandemic response revealed that shared decision making, collaborative coordination, and planning have been significant in the COVID-19 response in Africa. The HOTE pillar’s response structure contributed to attaining the IMST objectives in the African region and translated to timely support for the WHO AFRO and the member states. However, while the coordination mechanism appeared robust, some challenges included duplication of coordination efforts, communication, documentation, and information management. <b>Recommendations:</b> we recommend streamlining the flow of information to better understand the challenges that countries face. There is a need to define the role and responsibilities of sub-pillar team members and provide new team members with information briefs to guide them on where and how to access internal information and work under the pillar. A unified documentation system is important and could help to strengthen intra-pillar collaboration and communication. Various indicators should be developed to constantly monitor the HOTE team’s deliverables, performance and its members.https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/7/8/183coronaviruscoordinationhealth operations and technical expertiseAFRO |
| spellingShingle | Nsenga Ngoy Ishata Nannie Conteh Boniface Oyugi Patrick Abok Aminata Kobie Peter Phori Cephas Hamba Nonso Ephraim Ejiofor Kaizer Fitzwanga John Appiah Ama Edwin Temidayo Fawole Rashidatu Kamara Landry Kabego Cihambanya Tasiana Mzozo Caroline Ryan Fiona Braka Zabulon Yoti Francis Kasolo Joseph C. Okeibunor Abdou Salam Gueye Coordination and Management of COVID-19 in Africa through Health Operations and Technical Expertise Pillar: A Case Study from WHO AFRO One Year into Response Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease coronavirus coordination health operations and technical expertise AFRO |
| title | Coordination and Management of COVID-19 in Africa through Health Operations and Technical Expertise Pillar: A Case Study from WHO AFRO One Year into Response |
| title_full | Coordination and Management of COVID-19 in Africa through Health Operations and Technical Expertise Pillar: A Case Study from WHO AFRO One Year into Response |
| title_fullStr | Coordination and Management of COVID-19 in Africa through Health Operations and Technical Expertise Pillar: A Case Study from WHO AFRO One Year into Response |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coordination and Management of COVID-19 in Africa through Health Operations and Technical Expertise Pillar: A Case Study from WHO AFRO One Year into Response |
| title_short | Coordination and Management of COVID-19 in Africa through Health Operations and Technical Expertise Pillar: A Case Study from WHO AFRO One Year into Response |
| title_sort | coordination and management of covid 19 in africa through health operations and technical expertise pillar a case study from who afro one year into response |
| topic | coronavirus coordination health operations and technical expertise AFRO |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/7/8/183 |
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