OBJECTIVE To provide insight into the differential effect of immigration on cesarean section (CS) rates, using the Robson classification. DESIGN A population-based study using birth certificates from the birth registry of 2009. SETTING All births in two of the three Belgian regions excluding Flanders. POPULATION 37 628 deliveries from Belgian and immigrant mothers from sub-Saharan Africa,...

BACKGROUND Vaginal fistula is a serious medical disorder characterised by an abnormal opening between the vagina and the bladder or rectum, which results in continuous leakage of urine or stool. The burden of this disorder in sub-Saharan Africa is uncertain. We estimated the lifetime and point prevalence of symptoms of vaginal fistula in this region using national household surveys based on sel...

the editorial “non-physician clinicians in sub-saharan africa and the evolving role of physicians” by eyal et al describes non-physician clinicians’ (npc) need for mentorship and support from physicians. we emphasise the same need of support for front line generalist primary healthcare providers who carry out complex tasks yet may have an inadequate skill mix.

UNLABELLED Of the three foot-and-mouth-disease virus SAT serotypes mainly confined to sub-Saharan Africa, SAT 2 is the strain most often recorded in domestic animals and has caused outbreaks in North Africa and the Middle East six times in the last 25 years, with three apparently separate events occurring in 2012. This study updates the picture of SAT 2 phylogenetics by using all available sequ...

Background The Lancet Commission and the Global Health Workforce Alliance reported that professional education has generally not kept up the pace of health care challenges. Sub Saharan Africa needs an effective and efficient nursing education system to build an adequate, competent and relevant nursing workforce necessary for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. The Plan of Action f...

Children may be affected by HIV/AIDS in numerous ways. When parents fall ill from HIVrelated infections, household income falls or is diverted to medical expenses, food insecurity increases and children may have to drop out of school to take on care responsibilities. When parents die, children are orphaned and, besides coping with grief at the loss of their mother or father, they face new care ...

The HIV/AIDS pandemic marks a severe development crisis in Africa, which remains by far the worst affected region in the world. Forty-two million people now live with HIV/AIDS of which 29.4 million (70.0%) are from sub-Saharan Africa. Approximately 5 million new infections occurred in 2002 and 3.5 million (70.0%) of these were also from sub-Saharan Africa. The estimated number of children orpha...

BACKGROUND Sub-Saharan Africa has the world's highest under-5 and neonatal mortality rates as well as the highest naturally occurring twin rates. Twin pregnancies carry high risk for children and mothers. Under-5 mortality has declined in sub-Saharan Africa over the last decades. It is unknown whether twins have shared in this reduction. METHODS We pooled data from 90 Demographic and Health S...

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) use and access in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to increase significantly and has proven to be the major catalyst for users to access and share information and knowledge resources globally. However, most users’ personal access to ICTs, such as the internet from home and work place, is hugely constrained due to lack of adequate infrastructure and aff...

BACKGROUND Gathering of wild edible plant resources by people in sub-Saharan Africa is discussed with reference to pteridophytes, which is an ancient plant group. Pteridophytes are crucial to food diversity and security in sub-Saharan Africa, although they are notably neglected as a result of inadequate research and agricultural development. Current research and agricultural development agenda ...