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IN LIBERIA, a post-conflict country of five million people, the Coronavirus pandemic has intensified women's social reproductive labor to institutionalize peace, security, and gender equality. The challenges facing Liberian women [...]

Tetanus toxoid vaccination is critical for improving maternal and child health. Yet, the prevalence and correlates of maternal tetanus toxoid vaccination coverage remain largely underexplored in Benin where infant and child mortality rates are high. Using the 2017–18 Benin Demographic and Health Survey, we apply logistic regression analysis to address this void in the literature. We find that overall maternal vaccination coverage is 69%. A range of demographic, health care, and socioeconomic factors are associated with maternal tetanus toxoid vaccination coverage. Women aged 20–34 (OR = 0.84, p < 0.05) and 35–49 (OR = 0.63, p < 0.01) are less likely to receive tetanus toxoid vaccination in comparison to those aged 15–19. Health care factors are also significantly associated with maternal tetanus toxoid vaccination, indicating that women who deliver at home (OR = 0.20, p < 0.001) and visit antenatal care fewer than eight times (OR = 0.62, p < 0.001) are less likely to receive tetanus toxoid vaccination than their counterparts who deliver in a health facility and visit antenatal care eight times or more. We also find that women with secondary (OR = 0.54, p < 0.05), primary (OR = 0.47, p < 0.01), and no education (OR = 0.47, p < 0.01) are less likely to receive tetanus toxoid vaccination compared to their counterparts with higher education. Based on these findings, we discuss several implications for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Descriptive norms – conceptualized as the tendency for individuals to initiate given behaviours because significant others are engaged – have been considered helpful in increasing the uptake of physical activity. Yet, the literature pays little attention to the attainment of descriptive norms among the populations with inadequate levels of physical activity such as racial/ethnic minorities and immigrants. Using a representative survey from New York City, this study aimed to address this void. We found at the bivariate level that immigrants and racial/ethnic minorities (i.e., Black, Hispanic, and Asian) had lower levels of descriptive norms than their native-born and White counterparts. Importantly, such disparities were completely attenuated once socioeconomic status was controlled for, except for Asian Americans. Based on these findings, we provided some policy implications. First, intervention programs may need to prioritize the integration of minority populations. Second, there is the urgent need to create avenues for the social mixing of immigrants and racial/ethnic minorities, which may provide them opportunities to interact and network with those who actively engage in physical activity. Finally, it is important to reduce socioeconomic disparities between foreign-born and native-born populations as well as racial/ethnic minorities and their white counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy response to endemic HIV prevalence rates in Malawi has prioritised reducing HIV misconceptions through dissemination of factual information about HIV transmission. Yet, over three decades after the implementation of these strategies, we know little about how effective they have been in dispelling misconceptions that may be associated with new HIV infections. Using the 2004, 2010 and 2015/16 Malawi Demographic and Health Surveys and applying multivariate logistic regression, this study examined how endorsement of HIV misconceptions among males and females have changed over time. For women, we found at the bivariate level that the odds of endorsing misconception about HIV transmission were higher in 2004 (OR = 1.38, p < 0.001) but lower in 2015–16 (OR = 0.92, p < 0.001) compared to 2010. We also observed that the difference between 2015–16 and 2010 in misconception endorsement was largely supressed by socioeconomic characteristics (OR = 1.06, p < 0.01). It is also found at the bivariate level that, compared to men in 2010, men in 2004 (OR = 1.23, p < 0.05) were more likely to endorse misconception about HIV transmission although those in 2015–16 (OR = 0.92, p < 0.05) were less likely to do so. Once we accounted for behavioural variables, the significant impact for 2015–16 (OR = 0.98, p > 0.05), compared to 2010, was fully attenuated. Based on our findings, we recommend increasing efforts at reaching women and men with HIV information. It is also crucial to improve women's socioeconomic status to ensure a substantial reduction in their endorsement of HIV misconceptions in Malawi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liberia, in the face of two consecutive health emergencies - the Ebola epidemic in 2014 and COVID in 2019 - offers a unique, comparative perspective on health crisis management within a fractured healthcare system. In dialogue with a feminist-informed political economy of health in the African context, this paper has two central objectives. First, it examines the strategies employed by community-based women's organisations - many of whom remain invested in peacebuilding after a 14-year civil war (1989-2003)) - to contain the Ebola and COVID-19 disease outbreaks. Second, it explores the implementation strategies under two political administrations, Sirleaf (Ebola) and Weah (COVID-19), at two distinct political moments. Results from five focus group discussions (n = 27) and seven in-depth interviews (n = 7) suggest that, while there was a relative collective effort from the Liberian government, grassroots women's organisations and community members to contain the Ebola epidemic response, the COVID-19 response witnessed an individualistic approach. Overall, participants suggested that lessons learned from the Ebola epidemic did not seem to be transferred to managing the COVID-19 pandemic in Liberia. The study suggests that while local-government-international partnerships are instrumental in ending health emergencies, grassroots community organisations require economic and social resources and sustained political will to effectively build and maintain various health infrastructures in post-conflict countries. This is relevant not just for managing disease outbreaks and health emergencies but also for entrenching public health services to support population health. Here, lessons from Ebola and COVID-19 rooted in everyday experiences of women's reproductive labour can provide an educational foundation for responding to future disease outbreaks in Liberia and other post-conflict contexts., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)