Civil society and perilous medicine in Africa: a systematic review
Background Conflict has not been a public health priority for governmental organisations, and evidence on civil society organisation (CSO) contributions to the issue is limited. The present study synthesised the available evidence on the role of CSOs in conflict and health in Africa.Methods We emplo...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | BMJ Global Health |
| Online Access: | https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/6/e018541.full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849727504043999232 |
|---|---|
| author | Hailay Gesesew Fran Baum Hafte Kahsay Kebede Connie Musolino Paul Ward |
| author_facet | Hailay Gesesew Fran Baum Hafte Kahsay Kebede Connie Musolino Paul Ward |
| author_sort | Hailay Gesesew |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Conflict has not been a public health priority for governmental organisations, and evidence on civil society organisation (CSO) contributions to the issue is limited. The present study synthesised the available evidence on the role of CSOs in conflict and health in Africa.Methods We employed a systematic review using a systematic search of MEDLINE, PubMed, CINHAL, Web of Science and Scopus for English written articles between 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2023. The four concepts for the search included CSO or non-governmental organisation (NGO), conflict, health and Africa.Results 14 documents are included in the review. We found that CSOs were engaged in (a) advocacy—CSOs have been advocating to local and national governments, international bodies, and for fund raising; (b) social and medical provision—CSOs have been filling services gaps through delivering medical, health and psychological care and outreach services; (c) material support—CSOs have been providing shelter, food, clothing, and building public infrastructure such as health facilities, roads and water; (d) health diplomacy—CSOs act as Global health diplomats as health is also a key factor in foreign affairs, security and trade policy and (e) accountability—CSOs have been examining the broader role of NGOs or governance.Conclusions The present systematic review highlights potential areas for future research, emphasising the importance of prioritising key areas for further investigation and suggesting the need for special attention to rarely addressed activities such as health diplomacy given that civil society engagement around healthcare is an important driver of Health For All. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0c239964dc9d46c3a709c046fea44f5a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2059-7908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Global Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-0c239964dc9d46c3a709c046fea44f5a2025-08-20T03:09:49ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082025-06-0110610.1136/bmjgh-2024-018541Civil society and perilous medicine in Africa: a systematic reviewHailay Gesesew0Fran Baum1Hafte Kahsay Kebede2Connie Musolino3Paul Ward4Research Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing (PHEHF), Torrens University Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, AustraliaStretton Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, AustraliaResearch Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing (PHEHF), Torrens University Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, AustraliaStretton Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, AustraliaResearch Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing (PHEHF), Torrens University Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, AustraliaBackground Conflict has not been a public health priority for governmental organisations, and evidence on civil society organisation (CSO) contributions to the issue is limited. The present study synthesised the available evidence on the role of CSOs in conflict and health in Africa.Methods We employed a systematic review using a systematic search of MEDLINE, PubMed, CINHAL, Web of Science and Scopus for English written articles between 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2023. The four concepts for the search included CSO or non-governmental organisation (NGO), conflict, health and Africa.Results 14 documents are included in the review. We found that CSOs were engaged in (a) advocacy—CSOs have been advocating to local and national governments, international bodies, and for fund raising; (b) social and medical provision—CSOs have been filling services gaps through delivering medical, health and psychological care and outreach services; (c) material support—CSOs have been providing shelter, food, clothing, and building public infrastructure such as health facilities, roads and water; (d) health diplomacy—CSOs act as Global health diplomats as health is also a key factor in foreign affairs, security and trade policy and (e) accountability—CSOs have been examining the broader role of NGOs or governance.Conclusions The present systematic review highlights potential areas for future research, emphasising the importance of prioritising key areas for further investigation and suggesting the need for special attention to rarely addressed activities such as health diplomacy given that civil society engagement around healthcare is an important driver of Health For All.https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/6/e018541.full |
| spellingShingle | Hailay Gesesew Fran Baum Hafte Kahsay Kebede Connie Musolino Paul Ward Civil society and perilous medicine in Africa: a systematic review BMJ Global Health |
| title | Civil society and perilous medicine in Africa: a systematic review |
| title_full | Civil society and perilous medicine in Africa: a systematic review |
| title_fullStr | Civil society and perilous medicine in Africa: a systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Civil society and perilous medicine in Africa: a systematic review |
| title_short | Civil society and perilous medicine in Africa: a systematic review |
| title_sort | civil society and perilous medicine in africa a systematic review |
| url | https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/6/e018541.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hailaygesesew civilsocietyandperilousmedicineinafricaasystematicreview AT franbaum civilsocietyandperilousmedicineinafricaasystematicreview AT haftekahsaykebede civilsocietyandperilousmedicineinafricaasystematicreview AT conniemusolino civilsocietyandperilousmedicineinafricaasystematicreview AT paulward civilsocietyandperilousmedicineinafricaasystematicreview |