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Requejo JH, Strong K, Aboud F, Agweyu A, Billah SM, Black M, Boschi-Pinto C, Horiuchi S, Jamaluddine Z, Lazzerini M, Maiga A, Munos M, Schellenberg J, Weigel R, Sacks E. Harmonizing Data Visualizations on Child Health and Well-Being to Strengthen Advocacy and Monitoring Efforts. GLOBAL HEALTH, SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2023; 11:e2300183. [PMID: 38071584 PMCID: PMC10749642 DOI: 10.9745/ghsp-d-23-00183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Data visualization tools on child health have improved data accessibility but caused confusion over indicator data sources and which tools to use for specific purposes. We propose principles for generating future tools that can effectively trigger action and accountability for children everywhere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Harris Requejo
- The World Bank Group, Global Financing Facility, Washington, DC, USA.
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | | | - Ambrose Agweyu
- Health Services Unit, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Sk Masum Billah
- Maternal and Child Health Division, icddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Maureen Black
- Department of Pediatrics and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | | | - Sayaka Horiuchi
- Center for Birth Cohort Studies, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan
| | - Zeina Jamaluddine
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Marzia Lazzerini
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy
| | - Abdoulaye Maiga
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Melinda Munos
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | | | - Emma Sacks
- Consultant, Child Health Accountability Tracking Technical Advisory Group
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Strong K, Requejo JH, Billah SM, Schellenberg J, Munos M, Lazzerini M, Agweyu A, Boschi-Pinto C, Horiuchi S, Maiga A, Weigel R, Jamaluddine Z, Black M, Aboud F, Sacks E. Advocacy for Better Integration and Use of Child Health Indicators for Global Monitoring. GLOBAL HEALTH, SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2023; 11:e2300181. [PMID: 38071546 PMCID: PMC10749647 DOI: 10.9745/ghsp-d-23-00181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
Making better use of harmonized indicators to monitor child health and well-being at the global level will avoid duplicative monitoring and evaluation exercises, improve evidence-based programming, and preserve resources that can be used to improve the quality of national data collection platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen Strong
- Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Aging, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | | | - Sk Masum Billah
- Maternal and Child Health Division, icddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | | | - Melinda Munos
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Marzia Lazzerini
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy
| | - Ambrose Agweyu
- Health Services Unit, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya
| | | | - Sayaka Horiuchi
- Center for Birth Cohort Studies, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan
| | - Abdoulaye Maiga
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Zeina Jamaluddine
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Maureen Black
- Department of Pediatrics and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | | | - Emma Sacks
- Consultant, Child Health Accountability Tracking Technical Advisory Group, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Jamaluddine Z, Safadi G, Irani A, Salti N, Chaaban J, Abdulrahim S, Thomas A, Ghattas H. Inequalities in Wellbeing in Lebanese Children and Different Refugee Subpopulations: A Multidimensional Child Deprivation Analysis. CHILD INDICATORS RESEARCH 2023; 16:1-19. [PMID: 37363705 PMCID: PMC10241607 DOI: 10.1007/s12187-023-10040-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Background and Objectives This study constitutes the first attempt to describe the overlapping deprivations faced by Lebanese children (Lebanese) and that of the three sub-populations of refugees living in Lebanon: Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon, Palestinian refugees from Syria and Syrian refugees. Methods Using data from the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Household Survey 2016 (n = 10,555 Lebanese; 7,106 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon; 2,768 Palestinian refugees from Syria and 5,891 Syrian refugee children aged 2 to 17 years old), we report on single and overlapping deprivations (at least two concurrent deprivations) using indicators related to survival (nutrition, health, water, sanitation and overcrowding), development (education) and protection (labor, exposure to violence and early marriage). Maternal education and geographical correlates of deprivation were explored using multivariable logistic regression models clustering for children in the same households. Main Results In terms of co-occurrence of deprivations, Syrian refugees had the highest prevalence in all age groups (68.5%, 2-4y and 65.7%, 6-17y), followed by Palestinian refugees from Syria (46.2%, 2-4y and 45.5%, 6-17y), Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon (28.9%, 2-4y and 23.7%, 6-17y), with Lebanese children having the lowest prevalence (13.2%, 2-4y and 15.3, 6-17y). About half of Palestinian refugees from Syria and Syrian refugees (6-17y) were deprived in protection and housing. Education deprivation is of primary concern for Syrian children. Higher maternal education was consistently associated with lower odds of co-occurrence of deprivations among children aged 6-17y. Conclusion This study highlights the importance of including refugee populations in reporting frameworks. This analysis additionally generates geographical and socio-economic profiles of the deprived children and identifies key deprivation areas of the affected sub-groups to inform effective policy design especially in light of the prevailing economic crisis. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12187-023-10040-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeina Jamaluddine
- Center for Research On Population and Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Gloria Safadi
- Center for Research On Population and Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Alexandra Irani
- Applied Economics and Development Research Group, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Nisreen Salti
- Applied Economics and Development Research Group, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
- Department of Economics, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Jad Chaaban
- Applied Economics and Development Research Group, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Sawsan Abdulrahim
- Department of Health Promotion and Community Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Alban Thomas
- Paris-Saclay Applied Economics, University of Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Palaiseau, France
- Observatory of Rural Development, INRAE, Toulouse, France
| | - Hala Ghattas
- Center for Research On Population and Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
- Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC USA
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Requejo J, Strong K, Agweyu A, Billah SM, Boschi-Pinto C, Horiuchi S, Jamaluddine Z, Lazzerini M, Maiga A, McKerrow N, Munos M, Park L, Schellenberg J, Weigel R. Measuring and monitoring child health and wellbeing: recommendations for tracking progress with a core set of indicators in the Sustainable Development Goals era. THE LANCET. CHILD & ADOLESCENT HEALTH 2022; 6:345-352. [PMID: 35429452 PMCID: PMC9764429 DOI: 10.1016/s2352-4642(22)00039-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Although great improvements in child survival were achieved in the past two decades, progress has been uneven within and across countries, and the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse previous advances. Demographic and epidemiological transitions around the world have resulted in shifts in the causes and distribution of child death and diseases, and many children are living with short-term and long-term chronic illnesses and disabilities. These changes, plus global threats such as pandemics, transnational and national security issues, and climate change, mean that regular monitoring of child health and wellbeing is essential if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This Health Policy describes the three-phased process undertaken by the Child Health Accountability Tracking technical advisory group (CHAT) to develop a core set of indicators on child health and wellbeing for global monitoring purposes, and presents CHAT's research recommendations to address data gaps. CHAT reached consensus on 20 core indicators specific to the health sector, which include 11 impact-level indicators and nine outcome-level indicators that cover the topics of: acute conditions and prevention; health promotion and child development; and chronic conditions, disabilities, injuries, and violence against children. An additional six indicators (three impact and three outcome) that capture information on child health issues such as malaria and HIV are recommended; however, these indicators are only relevant to high-burden regions. CHAT's four research priorities will require investments in health information systems and measurement activities. These investments will help to increase data on children aged 5-9 years; develop standard metadata and data collection processes to enable cross-country comparisons and progress assessments over time; reach a global consensus on essential interventions and associated indicators for monitoring emerging priority areas such as child development, chronic conditions, disabilities, and injuries; and implement strategies to increase the uptake of data on child health to improve evidence-based planning, programming, and advocacy efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Requejo
- Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring, United Nations Children's Fund, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Kathleen Strong
- Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Aging Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ambrose Agweyu
- Epidemiology and Demography Department, Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Sk Masum Billah
- Maternal and Child Health Division, International Centre of Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Cynthia Boschi-Pinto
- Departamento de Epidemiologia e Bioestatistica, Instituto de Saude Coletiva, University Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Sayaka Horiuchi
- Center for Birth Cohort Studies, University of Yamanashi, Chuo-shi, Japan
| | | | - Marzia Lazzerini
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Maternal and Child Health, Institute for Maternal and Child Health, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy
| | - Abdoulaye Maiga
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Neil McKerrow
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Melinda Munos
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Lois Park
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Ralf Weigel
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany
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Weiss W, Piya B, Andrus A, Ahsan KZ, Cohen R. Estimating the impact of donor programs on child mortality in low- and middle-income countries: a synthetic control analysis of child health programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development. Popul Health Metr 2022; 20:2. [PMID: 34986844 PMCID: PMC8734298 DOI: 10.1186/s12963-021-00278-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Significant levels of funding have been provided to low- and middle-income countries for development assistance for health, with most funds coming through direct bilateral investment led by the USA and the UK. Direct attribution of impact to large-scale programs funded by donors remains elusive due the difficulty of knowing what would have happened without those programs, and the lack of detailed contextual information to support causal interpretation of changes. Methods This study uses the synthetic control analysis method to estimate the impact of one donor’s funding (United States Agency for International Development, USAID) on under-five mortality across several low- and middle-income countries that received above average levels of USAID funding for maternal and child health programs between 2000 and 2016. Results In the study period (2000–16), countries with above average USAID funding had an under-five mortality rate lower than the synthetic control by an average of 29 deaths per 1000 live births (year-to-year range of − 2 to − 38). This finding was consistent with several sensitivity analyses.
Conclusions The synthetic control method is a valuable addition to the range of approaches for quantifying the impact of large-scale health programs in low- and middle-income countries. The findings suggest that adequately funded donor programs (in this case USAID) help countries to reduce child mortality to significantly lower rates than would have occurred without those investments. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12963-021-00278-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Weiss
- Department of International Health, John Hopkins University & Public Health Institute (USAID Contractor), 615 N. Wolfe Street, Rm E8132, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
| | - Bhumika Piya
- Global Programs, Water For People, 100 E. Tennessee Ave, Denver, CO, 80209, USA
| | - Althea Andrus
- Alutiiq (State Department Contractor), 2000 N. Adams St., Arlington, VA, 22201, USA
| | - Karar Zunaid Ahsan
- UNC Center for Health Equity Research, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 323 MacNider Hall 333 South Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7240, USA
| | - Robert Cohen
- Camris International (USAID Contractor), 3 Bethesda Metro Center, 16th Floor, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA
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Miller GD, Kanter M, Rycken L, Comerford KB, Gardner NM, Brown KA. Food Systems Transformation for Child Health and Well-Being: The Essential Role of Dairy. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:10535. [PMID: 34639835 PMCID: PMC8507772 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph181910535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Malnutrition, in all its forms, during the critical stages of child growth and development can have lifelong impacts on health and well-being. While most forms of malnutrition can be prevented with simple dietary interventions, both undernutrition and overnutrition remain persistent and burdensome challenges for large portions of the global population, especially for young children who are dependent on others for nourishment. In addition to dietary factors, children's health also faces the growing challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, pollution, and infectious disease. Food production and consumption practices both sit at the nexus of these issues, and both must be significantly transformed if we are to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Food sources (i.e., animal-source foods vs. plant-source foods), food production practices, the effects of food processing, the impacts of a more globalized food system, and food loss and waste have all been receiving growing attention in health and sustainability research and policy discussions. Much of this work points to recommendations to reduce resource-intensive animal-source foods, heavily processed foods, and foods associated with excessive waste and pollution, while simultaneously increasing plant-source options. However, some of these recommendations require a little more nuance when considered in the context of issues such as global child health. All types of foods can play significant roles in providing essential nutrition for children across the globe, and for improving the well-being and livelihoods of their families and communities. Dairy foods provide a prime example of this need for nuance, as both dairy production practices and consumption patterns vary greatly throughout the world, as do their impacts on child health and food system sustainability. The objective of this narrative review is to highlight the role of dairy in supporting child health in the context of food system sustainability. When considering child health within this context it is recommended to take a holistic approach that considers all four domains of sustainability (health, economics, society, and the environment) to better weigh trade-offs, optimize outcomes, and avoid unintended consequences. To ensure that children have access to nutritious and safe foods within sustainable food systems, special consideration of their needs must be included within the broader food systems transformation narrative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory D. Miller
- National Dairy Council, Rosemont, IL 60018-5616, USA; (G.D.M.); (K.A.B.)
- Global Dairy Platform, Rosemont, IL 60018-5616, USA;
| | - Mitch Kanter
- Global Dairy Platform, Rosemont, IL 60018-5616, USA;
| | | | | | | | - Katie A. Brown
- National Dairy Council, Rosemont, IL 60018-5616, USA; (G.D.M.); (K.A.B.)
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