Évaluation des capacités de détection des menaces infectieuses aux points d'entrée au Bénin.

BACKGROUND: The International Health Regulation requires countries to establish measures at border entry points to prevent the spread of infectious threats across borders. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the capacity for the detection of infectious threats to global health security at entry points in Benin in 2021. METHODS: This cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted at 17 borders. Collection techniques included individual interview, observation, and document exploitation. Each entry point capacity was rated good if the entry point met at least 80 % of input criteria and 80 % of process criteria and 80 % of output criteria. The overall detection capacity was rated good if at least 80% of entry points had good capacity. Otherwise, the capacity was deemed insufficient. RESULTS: The capacity for the detection of infectious threats at entry points in Benin was insufficient. There was no entry point (0.0%) that reach 80% of inputs criteria. 11.8% of them reached 80% of process criteria and 5.9% reached 80% of output criteria. There was no entry point with good detection capacity. The travelers’ screening was not systematic. Only 19.4% of human travelers, 12.8% of food loads and 0.1% of animals were screened the day before the survey. Two alerts among human travelers, four among animals and one food safety alerts were detected. Health teams were present in all designated entry points, but they were only focused on Covid-19. CONCLUSION: Strengthening the detection system and extending it to other threats is necessary to improve the detection capacity at entry points.

Évaluation des capacités du système de laboratoires biologiques pour la détection des menaces infectieuses au Bénin.

Background : International Health Regulations require countries to establish laboratory systems for rapid and safe confirmation of public health emergencies.Objective : This study assessed the capacity of the National Laboratory System for the detection of infectious threats to global health security in Benin.Method : The study was descriptive, cross-sectional, and evaluative. The targets were laboratories performing the confirmation of infectious threats. The sampling method was non-probabilistic with the reasoned choice of 74 laboratories. Four collection tools were used. The World Health Organization’s laboratory assessment tool for health facilities was used to assess the national public health laboratory. The assessment was based on the capacities of peripheric laboratories and of the national reference laboratory. The capacity was rated good if at least 80% of peripheric laboratories met at least 80% of the criteria and if the national public health laboratory had an average indicator of at least 80%. Otherwise, the capacity was rated insufficient.Results : The national laboratory system capacity was insufficient. Only 54% of peripheric laboratories had good capacity. The national reference laboratory had an average indicator of 71%. In this reference laboratory, specimen collection and transport, laboratory testing performance, consumables and reagents, and public health functions had the best scores, above 80%. Biorisk management, organization and management, and documents had the lowest scores. In peripheric laboratories, the testing performance was the only domain with good capacity.Conclusion : To ensure effective Global Health Security in Benin, a National Laboratory System capacity improvement strategic plan need to be developed and implemented.

Digitalized mass distribution campaign of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) in the particular context of Covid-19 pandemic in Benin: challenges and lessons learned.

BACKGROUND: In 2020, Benin has implemented a digitalized mass distribution campaign of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) in the particular context of COVID-19 pandemic. This paper describes the implementation process as well as the challenges and lessons learned from this campaign. METHODS: A descriptive design was used for reporting the planning and implementation process of ITNs campaign. Moreover, the changes and adaptations related to COVID-19 pandemic are described. RESULTS: A total of 3,175,773 households were registered corresponding to a total of 14,423,998 persons (13.55% more from projection). Moreover, 94.16% (13,581,637 people) of enumerated population were protected. A total of 7,652,166 ITNs were distributed countrywide. CONCLUSIONS: High political commitment, engagement and support add to the financial and technical supports from partners were the essential factors that make 2020 ITNs mass campaign success in Benin despite the particular context of COVID-19 pandemic. It is essential to maintain the prevention activities for malaria and this could substantially reduce the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the populations at malaria risk.

[Capacity of response of the health system to the expectations of populations in zones exposed to results-based financing in Benin in 2015]. / Capacité de réponse du système de santé aux attentes des populations dans les zones exposées au financement basé sur les résultats au Bénin en 2015.

Introduction: The increased use of results-based financing (RBF) services was the basis for this study designed to evaluate the contribution of RBF to the capacity of response of the health system to the population's expectations. Methods: This study, conducted in six Benin health zones randomly selected in two strata exposed to RBF (FBR_PRPSS and FBR_PASS) and one zone not exposed to RBF (Non_FBR), examined the seven dimensions of reactivity. A score, followed by weighting of their attributes, was used to calculate the index of reactivity (IR). Results: Sixty-seven health care units and 653 people were observed and interviewed. The FBR_PRPSS and FBR_PASS strata, managed by the new provisions of RBF, displayed good performances for the "rapidity of management" (70% and 80%) and "quality of the health care environment" dimensions, with a more marked improvement for the PRPSS model, which provides greater resources. Poor access to social welfare networks in the three strata led to renouncing of health care. The capacity of response to expectations was moderate and similar in the Non_FBR (IR = 0.53), FBR_PASS (IR = 0.62) and FBR_PRPSS (IR = 0.61) strata (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The FBR_PRPSS and FBR_PASS models have a non-significant effect on the capacity of response. Their success probably depends on the health system context, the combination of targeted interventions, such as universal health insurance, but also the importance and the use of the new resources that they provide.

[Quality of the contribution of community volunteers in Benin community-based IMCI]. / Qualité de l'apport des relais dans la PCIME-Communautaire au Bénin.

INTRODUCTION: With the growing shortage of qualified healthcare professionals and the challenge of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, community participation has become an essential reality. In the Avrankou Adjarra Akpro-Missérété (3A) health zone of the Ouémé department, community volunteers are supported by UNICEF and the NGO Africare. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of the contribution of community volunteers to implementation of community-based integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI). METHODS: This cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study was conducted in health zone 3A among 38 community volunteers and 331 mothers or carers of children under the age of five years, recruited exhaustively and randomly, respectively. Tools used for data collection were questionnaires, interview guides and survey sheets. RESULTS: 81.6% of community volunteers demonstrated appropriate behaviour in relation to the various professionals of community-based IMCI, with good motivation in 71.1% of cases and acceptable motivation in 28.9% of cases. Motivation was significantly correlated with the quality of the contribution of community volunteers to implementation of community IMCI (P = 0.0012). DISCUSSION: Motivation contributes to the quality of community volunteer input to COMMUNITY IMCI. This situation must be maintained by the combined efforts of all stakeholders involved in this strategy.

Prevalence of fatigue while driving among two-wheeled vehicle drivers and associated factors: Exploratory approach from secondary analysis based on hospital data, Benin.

Fatigue while driving is one of the risk factors of road crashes. It's still poorly considered in interventions because of insufficient literature. In addition, the literature on this issue doesn't focus on two-wheelers, the most frequent users in the Benin context. The study examined the prevalence of fatigue while driving among two-wheeled vehicle drivers and the related factors. It's a secondary baseline data analysis from a cohort of road crash victims recruited from five hospitals in Benin. Data were collected from July 2019 to January 2020. Patients who identified themselves as drivers during the accident were included. Data on individual characteristics, including fatigue status in the moments preceding the collision, and other risk factors and environmental settings, were extracted. We used multivariate logistic regression. Among the respondents, 12.20% (95% CI=10.20-14.53) reported fatigue in the moments preceding the collision. The odds of fatigue while driving were significantly higher in male drivers (aOR=3.60; 95% CI=1.08-11.98), during professional trips (aOR=2.09; 95% CI=1.30-3.37), in non-helmet wearers (aOR=1.85; 95% CI=1.09-3.13), in users of stimulants (aOR=3.13; 95% CI=1.50-6.54), in those with a history of chronic diseases (aOR=1.95; 95% CI=1.16-3.27), at dusk (aOR=4.22; 95% CI=2.22-8.02), at night (aOR=6.90; 95% CI=3.95-12.05), and on Inter-State National Roads (aOR=2.01; 95% CI=1.18-3.43). Fatigue is a risk factor for road crashes in Benin, associated with other risk factors that highlight particularly vulnerable profiles and groups. Integrating prevention policies based on these cumulative risk factors will result in efficiency improvements.

[Quality of the information system and of the effectiveness of public health interventions in the areas in Benin experiencing performance-based financing approach in 2014]. / Qualité du système d'information et de suivi des interventions en santé dans les zones exposées au financement basé sur les résultats en 2014 au Bénin.

INTRODUCTION: Performance-based financing (PBF) approach is a public health intervention, whose effects on the pillars of this system are often not measured, especially with regard to the information system and to the effectiveness of public health interventions. METHODS: Our cross-sectional study was conducted in Benin in 67 health units randomly drawn from two PBF_HSS (Health Systems Strengthening) health zones and two PBF_NHSSP (Health Sector Support Program) areas, all experiencing PBF, and from two areas where the PBF had not been implemented. It allowed to evaluate the quality of the information and the effectiveness of public health interventions. The quality index and the performance scores of the system components were used to compare the strata covered by the PBF and the noncovered strata. RESULTS: The quality of the information system and of the effectiveness of public health interventions was average in the three strata, with a higher quality index in the PBF_HSS (77%) and PBF_NHSSP (74%) strata than in the Non_PBF (67%) strata. Health system quality distribution was more favorable in the strata covered by PBF. The components achieving a good performance were "demographic information", "results and essential analyzes" and "statistic support archiving". However, the essential components of the PBF and of the information system were "supervision" and "reporting" that continued to have an average QI two years after the beginning of the intervention. CONCLUSION: The average quality of the information system and of the effectiveness of public health interventions could be improved by respecting the instructions of the PBF, especially when the quality of this system becomes a priority for the PBF.

Afebrile Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia decreases absorption of fortification iron but does not affect systemic iron utilization: a double stable-isotope study in young Beninese women.

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) affects many young women in sub-Saharan Africa. Its etiology is multifactorial, but the major cause is low dietary iron bioavailability exacerbated by parasitic infections such as malaria. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia in Beninese women would impair absorption of dietary iron or utilization of circulating iron. DESIGN: Iron absorption and utilization from an iron-fortified sorghum-based meal were estimated by using oral and intravenous isotope labels in 23 afebrile women with a positive malaria smear (asexual P. falciparum parasitemia; > 500 parasites/µL blood). The women were studied while infected, treated, and then restudied 10 d after treatment. Iron status, hepcidin, and inflammation indexes were measured before and after treatment. RESULTS: Treatment reduced low-grade inflammation, as reflected by decreases in serum ferritin, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and interleukin-10 (P < 0.05); this was accompanied by a reduction in median serum hepcidin of ≈ 50%, from 2.7 to 1.4 nmol/L (P < 0.005). Treatment decreased serum erythropoietin and growth differentiation factor 15 (P < 0.05). Clearance of parasitemia increased geometric mean dietary iron absorption (from 10.2% to 17.6%; P = 0.008) but did not affect systemic iron utilization (85.0% compared with 83.1%; NS). CONCLUSIONS: Dietary iron absorption is reduced by ≈ 40% in asymptomatic P. falciparum parasitemia, likely because of low-grade inflammation and its modulation of circulating hepcidin. Because asymptomatic parasitemia has a protracted course and is very common in malarial areas, this effect may contribute to IDA and blunt the efficacy of iron supplementation and fortification programs. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01108939.