COVID-19 response: mitigating negative impacts on other areas of health

‘Vertical’ responses focused primarily on preventing and containing COVID-19 have been implemented in countries around the world with negative consequences for other health services, people’s access to and use of them, and associated health outcomes, especially in low-income and middle-income countr...

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Main Authors: Simone E Carter, Tabitha A Hrynick, Santiago Ripoll Lorenzo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2021-04-01
Series:BMJ Global Health
Online Access:https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/4/e004110.full
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author Simone E Carter
Tabitha A Hrynick
Santiago Ripoll Lorenzo
author_facet Simone E Carter
Tabitha A Hrynick
Santiago Ripoll Lorenzo
author_sort Simone E Carter
collection DOAJ
description ‘Vertical’ responses focused primarily on preventing and containing COVID-19 have been implemented in countries around the world with negative consequences for other health services, people’s access to and use of them, and associated health outcomes, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). ‘Lockdowns’ and restrictive measures, especially, have complicated service provision and access, and disrupted key supply chains. Such interventions, alongside more traditional public health measures, interact with baseline health, health system, and social and economic vulnerabilities in LMICs to compound negative impacts. This analysis, based on a rapid evidence assessment by the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform in mid-2020, highlights the drivers and evidence of these impacts, emphasises the additional vulnerabilities experienced by marginalised social groups, and provides insight for governments, agencies, organisations and communities to implement more proportionate, appropriate, comprehensive and socially just responses that address COVID-19 in the context of and alongside other disease burdens. In the short term, there is an urgent need to monitor and mitigate impacts of pandemic responses on health service provision, access and use, including through embedding COVID-19 response within integrated health systems approaches. These efforts should also feed into longer-term strategies to strengthen health systems, expand universal healthcare coverage and attend to the social determinants of health—commitments, both existing and new—which governments, donors and international agencies must make and be held accountable to. Crucially, affected communities must be empowered to play a central role in identifying health priorities, allocating resources, and designing and delivering services.
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spelling doaj-art-2317faf7952e4061aee2df53aac4dbd72025-08-20T02:30:46ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082021-04-016410.1136/bmjgh-2020-004110COVID-19 response: mitigating negative impacts on other areas of healthSimone E Carter0Tabitha A Hrynick1Santiago Ripoll Lorenzo2Public Health Emergencies, UNICEF, New York, New York, USA1 Health and Nutrition Cluster, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK1 Health and Nutrition Cluster, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK‘Vertical’ responses focused primarily on preventing and containing COVID-19 have been implemented in countries around the world with negative consequences for other health services, people’s access to and use of them, and associated health outcomes, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). ‘Lockdowns’ and restrictive measures, especially, have complicated service provision and access, and disrupted key supply chains. Such interventions, alongside more traditional public health measures, interact with baseline health, health system, and social and economic vulnerabilities in LMICs to compound negative impacts. This analysis, based on a rapid evidence assessment by the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform in mid-2020, highlights the drivers and evidence of these impacts, emphasises the additional vulnerabilities experienced by marginalised social groups, and provides insight for governments, agencies, organisations and communities to implement more proportionate, appropriate, comprehensive and socially just responses that address COVID-19 in the context of and alongside other disease burdens. In the short term, there is an urgent need to monitor and mitigate impacts of pandemic responses on health service provision, access and use, including through embedding COVID-19 response within integrated health systems approaches. These efforts should also feed into longer-term strategies to strengthen health systems, expand universal healthcare coverage and attend to the social determinants of health—commitments, both existing and new—which governments, donors and international agencies must make and be held accountable to. Crucially, affected communities must be empowered to play a central role in identifying health priorities, allocating resources, and designing and delivering services.https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/4/e004110.full
spellingShingle Simone E Carter
Tabitha A Hrynick
Santiago Ripoll Lorenzo
COVID-19 response: mitigating negative impacts on other areas of health
BMJ Global Health
title COVID-19 response: mitigating negative impacts on other areas of health
title_full COVID-19 response: mitigating negative impacts on other areas of health
title_fullStr COVID-19 response: mitigating negative impacts on other areas of health
title_full_unstemmed COVID-19 response: mitigating negative impacts on other areas of health
title_short COVID-19 response: mitigating negative impacts on other areas of health
title_sort covid 19 response mitigating negative impacts on other areas of health
url https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/4/e004110.full
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AT tabithaahrynick covid19responsemitigatingnegativeimpactsonotherareasofhealth
AT santiagoripolllorenzo covid19responsemitigatingnegativeimpactsonotherareasofhealth