Covid-19 and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa: a narrative review.

Coronavirus disease 2019 popularly known as COVID-19 is the current pandemic ravaging the world. It has disrupted so many aspects of humans' life including the healthcare systems of all countries. While governments have instituted preventive measures such as social distancing, self-isolation and lockdown in a bid to control the spread of the virus, the absence of vaccine can lead to poor management of key risk factors (including unhealthy diets and physical inactivity) associated with NCDs and limited access to preventive health services can further contribute to development and progression of NCDs. This study provides a review of available evidences from PubMed, google scholar, online databases, and papers from other sources on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on NCDs in Africa and emphasizes lessons from past pandemics that can be adopted to reduce the burden of the disease.

Antimicrobial resistance and one health in the post COVID-19 era: What should health students learn?

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical worldwide health issue that jeopardizes our ability to fight illnesses. However, despite being a natural phenomenon, AMR is exacerbated in the world by inappropriate administration of an antimicrobial medication such as under-use or overuse by the general population, farmers, and various health professionals. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has put the world in a shocking state. The pandemic exacerbated the problem of antimicrobial resistance, which was largely caused by irrational off-label use of antivirals, anthelmintics, antimalarials, and, most notably, macrolide antibiotics. As a result, monitoring the AMR progression during the pandemic has been critical. The One Health Approach is progressively becoming the most widely utilized and recommended approach in the ongoing fight against AMR. The aim of this article is to address the lack of teachings in AMR and the One Health Approach in health student training curricula, as well as to provide recommendations that can be implemented as we progress beyond the COVID-19 era.