Evidence updates

08 · Maternal and child health

Healthy Teeth, Happy Kids: South Africa’s School-Based Oral Health Program

Highlights The school oral health policy in South Africa was not consistently implemented, leading to poor delivery of oral health programs in schools. There was a lack of technical support, capacity building, and collaboration among different sectors involved in oral health initiatives. While a high number of schools...

May 29, 2026 Read

08 · Maternal and child health

Safe medication practices for under-five children: a call to action in southwestern Nigeria

Highlights Prevalence of self-medication practices for under-five children in Southwestern Nigeria was found to be 73% among caregivers. Caregivers relied on a mix of herbal, orthodox, and faith-based medications for common childhood illnesses, attributing the causes to natural phenomena. Factors such as age,...

Aug 22, 2024 Read

09 · Noncommunicable diseases

Promoting Elderly Wellbeing: Integrating Social Interaction and Physical Activity for Lifelong Health

Highlights Reduced social interaction is a key risk factor for diseases and mortality among older adults. Combining social interaction with physical activity significantly improves overall health and quality of life for older adults. Programs like Structured Social Interaction and Physical Activity (SSIPA) are...

Aug 22, 2024 Read

04 · Environmental health

Sustainable Urbanization: Integrating Family Planning for Development in Nigerian Cities

Highlights High unmet need for family planning among urban women in Nigeria, at 20%, is contributing to rapid population growth and unsustainable urbanization. Multi-sectoral approaches to urban governance are essential for effectively addressing the complex challenges of urban development in Nigeria. Integrating...

Aug 22, 2024 Read

06 · Health system and policy

Breaking the Barrier: Accessing Quality Healthcare for Uganda’s Aging Population

Highlights Facilitators of access to healthcare include the availability of public health facilities, social support, financial resources, and having a healthcare provider who is a relative. Challenges to accessing healthcare for older authors include a lack of essential medicines for non-communicable diseases, ageism...

Jul 12, 2023 Read

07 · Infectious disease

Frugal Housing Improvement as a Malaria Control Strategy

Highlights Traditional control techniques, such as insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual sprays (IRS) , are reaching their limits due to resistance and changes in mosquito behaviour. Those working to reduce malaria in endemic areas should consider locals’ priorities, knowledge, and experiences. Housing...

Apr 26, 2023 Read

06 · Health system and policy

Quality Doctoral Research can Bolster Africa’s Health System

Highlights Doctoral authors and alumni of the CARTA program have recommended the following based on their research: To achieve universal and effective health coverage, African states must prioritize health system strengthening (HSS). Increased investment in routine health information systems (RHIS) at all levels,...

Apr 13, 2023 Read

07 · Infectious disease

Starting Tuberculosis Treatment in South Africa: Leaving No One Behind

Highlights Quick and dependable TB diagnostic methods enable early treatment initiation. Failure to start TB treatment results in poor patient outcomes and the spread of the disease among community members. A reminder message sent to patients who have tested positive for tuberculosis has the potential to help overcome...

Mar 24, 2023 Read

06 · Health system and policy

Risks of Partner Abuse in Ever-Married Authors in Uganda

Highlights Childhood exposure to violence predicts future risk of violence. Aside from those who witness violence, one in every three children is a direct survivor of violence. Alcohol consumption is a strong predictor for intimate partner violence (IPV) among women and men in Uganda. A combination of factors that...

Mar 13, 2023 Read

07 · Infectious disease

The Power of Male Involvement in Protecting Malawi’s Children from HIV: A Practical Approach

Highlights Men desire to be involved in the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV (EMTCT) using strategies that are acceptable to them An invitation to men to participate in related services will be the first step toward ensuring that they play a role in EMTCT. Male involvement (MI) increases...

Feb 23, 2023 Read

06 · Health system and policy

The Collaboration for the Establishment of an African Population Cohorts Consortium (CE-APCC)

Recent events including the Covid-19 syndemic 1 and climate change-related extreme weather crises have highlighted the role of scientific collaboration to understand and intervene in a global health emergency. Importantly, it has also brought into focus the complex interactions between the characteristics of a...

Feb 23, 2023 Read

06 · Health system and policy

Better data governance is starting point to improve Africa’s health

Africa’s health systems produce a huge amount of data that can be collected, combined, or used in different ways to solve the continent’s complex and interconnected health problems. A system like this could be used to rapidly produce knowledge that is based on evidence and helps us understand and deal with health...

Jan 15, 2023 Read

03 · Disability

Dispelling the Mysteries of “the Poor Old Witch”

The State of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementia Research in Sub-Saharan Africa Dementias and State of Research Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia globally and is the fifth leading cause of death and disability. About half of all authors suffering from the disease are living in sub-Saharan...

Jan 7, 2023 Read

01 · Cancers

How to Reduce Cervical Cancer Deaths in Africa: Essential Preventive Measures

Every year, thousands of women die in Africa because of cervical cancer. More women in the region develop cervical cancer as a result of unequal access to prevention and screening services. Cervical cancer is caused by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) and can be detected through screening tests such as Pap...

Jan 4, 2023 Read

05 · Food security and nutrition

End to Hunger and Malnutrition is a Long Game with a Plan in Concert

Hunger and malnutrition are huge problems affecting many countries in Africa. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that hunger is a physical feeling of discomfort caused by not getting enough energy-rich foods. Malnutrition, on the other hand, is a broad term that includes both undernutrition and overnutrition....

Dec 29, 2022 Read

06 · Health system and policy

Partner Violence: How Society Can Play a Role in Ending the Problem

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread problem in Africa, and it has terrible effects on the authors who experience it. IPV is defined as any behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological, sexual, or economic harm to those involved. It includes physical violence, sexual...

Dec 27, 2022 Read

06 · Health system and policy

To meet the SDG on health, we must address poverty.

Poverty makes it hard to reach health-related sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially because it affects access to safe water and sanitation facilities, mental health, quality of life, and healthcare. Poverty also affects other social determinants of health such as education attainment, autonomy, and economic...

Dec 23, 2022 Read

02 · COVID-19

Doctoral authors’ contribution to Covid-19 response: using artificial intelligence to make the most of this resource

What Is Known, What Is Needed, and What Exists Annual doctoral enrolment and throughput rates are increasing, and this trend has been consistent over the last decade. Doctoral dissertations are expected to make significant contributions in their fields, whether through innovative methodology, originality of design, or...

Nov 26, 2022 Read

06 · Health system and policy

We map the impact of poverty on a woman’s life course using the new CARTA Evidence platform. Research can help reverse the trend.

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to over half of the world’s extremely poor authors. Forecasts show that by the year 2030, nearly nine out of every ten authors living in extreme poverty in the world will call sub-Saharan Africa home . Children and women are especially at risk due to the high rates of poverty-related mortality...

Nov 26, 2022 Read

09 · Noncommunicable diseases

Suicide and suicidal behaviours in sub-Saharan Africa: A rapid synthesis using CARTA Evidence Platform

Globally, suicidal behaviours represent a leading cause of injury and death, with 79% of suicide-related mortality reported in low- and middle-income countries, (LMICs). The growing body of evidence suggests that suicide is among the top 12 causes of deaths among persons aged 10-24 years within sub-Saharan Africa...

Nov 26, 2022 Read

06 · Health system and policy

Africa’s Research Ecosystem Needs a Culture of Mentoring

Sub-Saharan Africa faces a range of development challenges, including high population growth , poverty , food insecurity , and poor health . There is a clear need for qualified and skilled researchers to tackle these issues. But there is also a scarcity. For instance, Sub-Saharan Africa contributes less than 1% to...

Mar 3, 2022 Read