Sustainable Health in Low and Middle Income Countries

This book highlights lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and explains how these can be used to build sustainable health systems, especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). It  investigates the impact of outbreak response and management on health sustainability in LMIC from the perspective of SDG3: “Ensuring healthy lives and wellbeing for all at all ages”. Despite strides being made in some areas for SDG target 3.3 to fight communicable diseases, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused interruptions that will considerably affect vaccination coverage as well as the progress that was made, for example: in reducing malaria cases. Vulnerable populations who were already struggling to access their healthcare needs before the pandemic may face even greater challenges at present and in the years to come, post-pandemic. This book considers the progress on attaining the SDG3 targets, specifically: to improve early warning systems for management of national and global health risks, and the effect of pandemics - including but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic - and emerging disease outbreaks. It explores the weaknesses and strengths in LMIC and how to strengthen capacities in these countries. The author also investigates and proposes approaches that can, or should, be implemented to ensure sustainable health systems in developing countries, including early warning systems, risk reduction, and the management of global and national health risks. This book is of great interest to public health professionals, infectious diseases experts, and epidemiologists, as well as students and researchers of public health systems and healthcare infrastructure in developing countries.

Dr. Fingani Annie Mphande-Nyasulu is an infectious disease and public health researcher, with over 15 years’ experience in public health and in infectious disease research in developing countries. She has worked on infectious diseases including TB, malaria, and dengue fever in different parts of the world. With experience in infection biology, molecular biology and microbiology, she has worked as an infectious disease and public health consultant and has been involved in systematic reviews focusing on vulnerable populations, including projects on paediatric malaria, vector management, as well as the analysis and annotation of plasmodium genomes. She has authored a number of publications in peer reviewed journals, and has authored two books: Infectious Diseases and Rural Livelihood in Developing Countries (Springer 2016), addressing the vicious cycle of poverty, health and livelihood in resource poor countries, and Skin Disorders in Vulnerable Populations: Causes and Impacts (Springer 2020), addressing the impact of skin diseases on vulnerable populations. Her current research interests include infectious diseases in vulnerable populations, outbreak preparedness and the impacts of infectious diseases in limited resource communities around the world. Currently, she is assistant professor of Microbiology at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Latkrabang, Thailand.