Addressing the need for an operational research framework for Africa.

Is Africa prepared for tackling the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic. Lessons from past outbreaks, ongoing pan-African public health efforts, and implications for the future

A Dynamic Operations Research Framework for Military Logistics and Resource Allocation Under Uncertainty: A War Simulation Case Study

Developing a smart operational research with hybrid practice theories

The declaration of any public health emergency in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is usually followed by the provision of technical and organizational support from international organizations, which build a parallel and short-time healthcare emergency response centered on preventing the extension of health emergencies across the countries and over the world. Previous Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks have highlighted the need to reinforce the healthcare sector in different countries.Based on the difficulty to implement the International Health Regulations (2005) to the local level of affected countries including the DRC, this paper proposes a multidisciplinary model based on the health zones through the strengthening of preparedness and response structures to public health emergencies vis-à-vis the existing weak health systems existing in DRC. A commitment to integrating the emergency response in the existing health system should work to reduce the tension that exists between local recruitment and its impact on the quality of daily healthcare in the region affected by EVD outbreak on one hand, and the involvement of international recruitment and its impact on the trust of the population on the emergency response on the other. This paper highlights the provision of a local healthcare workforce skilled to treat infectious diseases, the compulsory implementation of training programs focused on the emergency response in countries commonly affected by EVD outbreaks including the DRC. These innovations should reduce the burden of health problems prior to and in the aftermath of any public health emergency in DRC hence increasing the wellbeing of the community, especially the vulnerable people as well as the availability of trained healthcare providers able to early recognize and treat EVD.

Responding to COVID-19 pandemic: Why a strong health system is required.

Strengthening the BTWC: The role of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention in combating natural and deliberate disease outbreaks

Opportunities and challenges in sustainable supply chain: An operations research perspective

Much has already been written on this most recent EVD outbreak—evaluating and dissecting the contributions and failings of the various role-players involved, and considering what can be done differently in future. This article will contribute to this important and ongoing debate and will specifically focus on the international, operational, and national legal frameworks in terms of which large-scale health crises like that of Ebola play out. It will be argued that the very culture and architecture of this transnational legal and operational framework for public health emergencies is isolated from the national realities in which it operates and merely offers a hierarchical authority of what legally ought to be done, with little regard to what is actually necessary and possible on the ground. In considering the most recent Ebola outbreak, and juxtaposing it with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (“SARS”) outbreak of 2003, it will be shown that a more nuanced transnational legal understanding of public health emergencies is indeed needed—a holistic approach that goes beyond biomedical/scientific and legalistic confines in dealing with disease outbreak and control. It is again important to emphasise here, for the sake of clarity, that this article is exclusively focused on the transnational legal and operational framework in which public health emergencies play out. International humanitarian responses, general public health considerations, as well as other national systemic considerations—like those relating to health systems—although important, will not be considered here. A brief interlude on the methodology of this article also deserves a place here. As already indicated above, much literature exists on the Ebola outbreak, and with the attention now shifting to the Zika virus, it is important to further distinguish the contribution of this article. This article utilises a primarily transdisciplinary lens in narrating the rise and fall of two notable epidemics of the modern world. A variety of sources, from different disciplines and bases, are used in presenting an easily accessible text that recounts key themes of both epidemics—highlighting similarities and differences, and raising important questions for the future. As with most narrative research methodologies, reliance is also placed on newspaper articles in constructing an account of how the two epidemics played out, each in its own particular time and space. The disease narrative ultimately presented in this article, therefore simultaneously serve as a chronicle of the two epidemics, while also reflecting why a more nuanced transnational legal understanding of public health emergencies is indeed needed. To facilitate this discussion and analysis, the content of this article is divided into four parts. First, in Part II, the lifecycle of two epidemics will be considered, Ebola, and the 2003 SARS outbreak. Considering these two outbreaks and the international legal responses thereto provides a valuable lens through which the multiple layers of disease outbreaks and control from the past to the present can be observed. In Part III, this paper provides an overview of the international legal and operational framework for public health emergencies, confined to references and examples from the two outbreaks selected for and discussed in Part II. Part IV considers the national legal responses of those countries most affected by the recent Ebola outbreak and the 2003 SARS outbreak. Part V discusses the question of whether to quarantine or not. Part VI discusses lessons to be learned, and why knowledge production beyond disciplinary confines is necessary. And finally, Part VII of this article concludes with a critical analysis of two observed failings of the current international legal and operational framework for public health emergencies. In considering the shortcomings of the current framework it will be argued that a more holistic approach to disease control is required that looks beyond disciplinary confines.

There is a lack of both quantitative and qualitative evidence from studies carried out during or after disease epidemics and pandemics that can inform the selection of interventions that are beneficial to the resilience and mental health of frontline workers. Alternative sources of evidence (e.g. from other healthcare crises, and general evidence about interventions that support mental well-being) could therefore be used to inform decision making. When selecting interventions aimed at supporting frontline workers' mental health, organisational, social, personal, and psychological factors may all be important. Research to determine the effectiveness of interventions is a high priority. The COVID-19 pandemic provides unique opportunities for robust evaluation of interventions. Future studies must be developed with appropriately rigorous planning, including development, peer review and transparent reporting of research protocols, following guidance and standards for best practice, and with appropriate length of follow-up. Factors that may act as barriers and facilitators to implementation of interventions should be considered during the planning of future research and when selecting interventions to deliver within local settings.

At present, major public health emergencies frequently occur worldwide, and it is of great significance to analyze the research status and latest developments in this field to improve the ability of public health emergency management in various countries. This paper took 5,143 related studies from 2007 to 2020 from the Web of Science as research object and used CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and other software to perform co-word analysis, social network analysis, and cluster analysis. The results and conclusions were as follows: (1) the related research identified three periods: the exploration, growth, and outbreak period; (2) chronologically: the relevant research evolved from medical and health care for major diseases to emergency management and risk assessment of public health emergencies and then researched the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pneumonia epidemic; (3) clustering analysis of high-frequency keywords, identifying three research hotspots: “disaster prevention and emergency medical services,” “outbreak and management of infectious diseases in Africa,” and “emergency management under the COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic.” Finally, this study combined the data and literature analysis to point out possible future research directions: from the research of the COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic to the research of general major public health emergencies, thinking and remodeling of the national public health emergency management system, and exploring the establishment of an efficient international emergency management cooperation mechanism.

Mosquitoborne disease outbreaks occur every year in the United States from one or more of the arboviral diseases dengue, West Nile, LaCrosse, Eastern equine encephalitis, and Zika (1). Public opinion communicated through traditional and social media and the Internet, competing public health and resource priorities, and local conditions can impede the ability of vector control organizations to prevent and respond to outbreaks of mosquitoborne disease. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and CDC performed a coordinated review of the concerns and challenges associated with continuation of mosquito surveillance and control during public health emergencies and disasters. This report highlights the first joint recommendation from EPA and CDC. Mosquito surveillance and control should be maintained by state and local mosquito control organizations to the extent that local conditions and resources will allow during public health emergencies and natural disasters. Integrated pest management (IPM) is the best approach for mosquito control (2). IPM uses a combination of methods, including both physical and chemical means of control (3). For chemical means of control, CDC and EPA recommend the use of larvicides and adulticides following the EPA label. It is imperative that public health recommendations be followed to ensure the safety of the pesticide applicator and the public.

A Arquitetura de Paz e Segurança Africana (APSA) foi instituída pela União Africana (UA) em 2002 para manter as regras, normas, objetivos e princípios da UA sobre paz, segurança e estabilidade na África. A APSA também foi estabelecida para assegurar que o comportamento dos Estados membros da UA se moldasse a esses princípios e normas. A APSA deveria ser a estrutura operacional para a implementação efetiva de decisões tomadas sobre prevenção de conflitos, operações de paz, operações de apoio à paz, construção da paz e reconstrução pós-conflito. Seu mandato refletia a mudança para a segurança humana, que é amplamente aceita no nível continental. A APSA lidou com questões relacionadas ao desenvolvimento humano; promoção de práticas democráticas, boa governança e respeito aos direitos humanos, ação humanitária e gestão de desastres naturais. No quadro da teoria Neoinstitucionalista da integração, e com o uso de dados secundários, a hipótese deste trabalho é de que a APSA, como resultado de não aplicar de forma uniforme as suas regras para todos os Estados membros, vem tendo dificuldades na atuação em promoção da paz e segurança na África. O artigo, portanto, avalia o desempenho da APSA desde o seu início e apresenta uma visão geral dos principais componentes da APSA, seu arcabouço legal, bem como seus sucessos, perspectivas e desafios. O principal objetivo do artigo é verificar se a APSA fez alguma diferença na área de paz, segurança e estabilidade na África desde a sua criação. O trabalho constatou que, apesar dos grandes avanços feitos pela APSA em cumprir seu mandato para promover a paz, segurança e estabilidade na África, sua incapacidade de aplicar as regras, princípios, valores e normas da UA de maneira uniforme, para assim moldar o comportamento dos Estados membros, vem resultando em prejuízos para sua atuação. Para que a APSA lide eficazmente com os conflitos na África, recomenda-se que a UA desenvolva e mantenha um grande interesse nos recursos técnicos, humanos e financeiros da APSA para permitir que funcione da melhor forma possível. A União Africana é encorajada a permitir que as regras funcionem e que sejam aplicadas uniformemente aos estados membros. A UA deve também continuar a construir e reforçar as suas parcerias com organizações internacionais preocupadas com a paz e a estabilidade em África.

DEAR EDITOR, Over the years, multiple number of health emergencies (such as disease-outbreaks – H1N1 or Ebola disease, chemical accidents, radiation leaks, natural disasters, conflicts, wars, etc.), have been reported worldwide, which have claimed the lives of thousands of people.[1,2] However, in most of the instances the mental sufferings can be avoided, or lives of susceptible people can be saved, provided the local population had access to fast, effective and transparent communication.[1,2,3] In fact, realizing the scope of risk communication in preventing disease, disability, and even mortality, it has been considered as one of the eight integral functions, which the World Health Organization (WHO) member states must develop to effectively respond to both public health emergencies and humanitarian crises.[4] In general, risk communication refers to the real-time exchange of information, advice and opinions between experts and masses exposed to the threat, which can compromise their survival, health, economic or social well-being.[4] The primary objective of effective risk communication is to enable people at risk to take well-informed decisions not only to protect themselves, but even their loved ones from the emergency by taking appropriate and timely protective and preventive actions.[4] However, the success of risk communication is eventually dependant on thorough understanding of people's (in terms of their knowledge, practices, perceptions, concerns, beliefs, etc.); experts attributes (such as their credibility, caring and empathic nature, level of trust between experts and affected persons, etc.); and ability of the communicator to promptly detect the prevalent rumors/myths/misconceptions and address them before it starts interfering with the preventive and control measures.[4,5] Risk communication has been acknowledged as one of the lifesaving intervention, especially in public health emergencies.[1,2,3] This is so because people do have a right to know how to protect themselves and their relatives’ health by understanding and adopting protective behaviors by taking well-informed decisions.[2,3,4] Furthermore, the communication at times of emergencies has even benefited other stakeholders like local program managers (in assessing health impact of the emergencies and providing them evidence to develop an effective health response), donors and concerned public across the globe.[4] In addition, at times of emergencies, effective risk communication can empower nations/local communities to preserve their socioeconomic and political stability, and even prevent the loss of trust of people on public health authorities by enabling health officials to address people's concerns and needs so that relevant and acceptable advice can be communicated to the masses.[4,5] A wide range of communication techniques (viz., mass media, social networking, etc.) have been adopted to facilitate risk communication.[2,5] However, a wide range of challenges such as globalization; extensive international trade and travel; a complex animal-human interface; rise in threat of bioterrorism; enormous popularity of the social networking sites (because of which the reliance on health experts/authorities has seriously decreased, and at the same time it even encourages spread of rumors and incorrect information); and changes in the field of journalism (like 24-h journalism where most of the news consists of opinions rather than facts) and approach of journalists, have been identified which have seriously questioned the effectiveness of risk communication.[4,5] In the modern world, the need of the hour is to strengthen the existing risk communication capacity so that the existing challenges and the health emergencies can be tackled better.[4] The primary strategy is to implement the WHO guidelines released to cover different aspects of risk communication.[4,5] This includes components such as establishing a comprehensive policy and plans for risk communication; ensuring training of the health professionals/local officials so that they can acquire appropriate skills and be competent; conducting training sessions for journalists on how to report on health emergencies; devising a mechanism to discourage people to advertise incomplete or wrong information on social networking websites; and running simulation exercises to assess the extent of preparedness of nations.[4,6] In addition, the approach to constitute an Emergency Communications Network (ECN) system with an aim to identify, train, assess and deploy risk communication experts also deserves immense significance, so that the members (who have the ability to work in coordination with national and local authorities) of the network can be deployed at times of emergencies.[7] In fact, since the constitution of ECN, the members have been deployed in disease outbreak settings, humanitarian emergencies and in natural disasters.[7] To conclude, risk communication is an integral element of any public health emergency response and thus all efforts should be taken by the nations to strengthen the same, so that lives of numerous people can be saved at times of emergencies.

The 2015 New York City Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak: A Case Study on a History-Making Outbreak.

Impact and management of TB childhood outbreaks in EU/EEA