South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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Current evidence indicates that children are relatively spared from direct COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality, but that the indirect effects of the pandemic pose significant risks to their health and wellbeing. ⋯ Multiple indicators demonstrated disruption in service access, service delivery and child wellbeing. Further studies are needed to establish the intermediate- and long-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on child health, as well as strategies to mitigate these.
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Current evidence indicates that children are relatively spared from direct COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality, but that the indirect effects of the pandemic pose significant risks to their health and wellbeing. ⋯ Multiple indicators demonstrated disruption in service access, service delivery and child wellbeing. Further studies are needed to establish the intermediate- and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on child health, as well as strategies to mitigate these.
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Many impoverished communities in South Africa (SA) simultaneously face multiple preventable socioenvironmental hazards associated with elevated burdens of ill health. One such hazard is failure to institute effective buffer zones between human settlements and point sources of pollution such as airports and industrial zones. ⋯ The study highlights a scenario of a triple environmental hazard to health in the study communities: (i) poverty; (ii) poor-quality housing; and (iii) lack of an effective buffer zone between the study communities and local point sources of pollution. Respiratory ill-health conditions were significantly associated with poverty, household composition and living conditions.