Resources

India's new paper COVID-19 test could be a 'game-changer'

A team of Scientists in India has developed an inexpensive paper-based test for coronavirus that could give fast results similar to a pregnancy test. Scientists estimate that the kit (called5.25) Feluda) would return results in under an hour and cost 500 rupees (about £5.25).

Calibrating public health and social measures in the context of COVID-19: towards sustainable application

This document proposes a framework consisting of the following four components: Information for decision-making, strategic application of Public Health Safety Measures, addressing vulnerabilities associated with Public Health Safety Measures, and fostering enables for effective implementation.

Global Shapers Community New Delhi resources - Guidelines and Translations

• Abuja Hub created videos in Igbo, Pidgin English, Hausa, and Yoruba to promote preventive measures.
• New Delhi Hub translated WHO resources into Hindi and compiled them for local distribution.
• Patna Hub created a database of WHO resources translated into vernacular Indian languages.
• Faisalabad Hub translated WHO visual resources into Urdu and is sharing the information social media. Shapers also produced a series of COVID-19 awareness videos in Punjabi with WHO content.
• Gurugram Hub designed a deck of 25 visual cards to help parents quickly change children's hygiene behavior.

WEBINARS

“South Asia Forum for Hypertension Control and Cardio-Metabolic Risk Reduction”

Full Programme

The webinar was hosted jointly by Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore and the lead institutions in each partnering country in Bangladesh (icddr,b), Pakistan (Aga Khan University), and Sri Lanka (University of Kelaniya).

This webinar focused on innovation in affordable and scalable delivery of community based public health interventions to improve blood pressure control centered on a recently concluded pivotal COBRA-BPS (Control of Blood Pressure and Risk Attenuation– Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) study conducted in South Asia. This webinar stimulated discussions with key stakeholders in the region and global agencies for scale-up the successful hypertension control strategy in South Asia, and ways to address comorbidities and safe delivery of care during COVID-19 and/or other potential pandemics. 

How are we Responding to the COVID-19 Open Research Challenge? Experiences from South Asia

Questions around disease surveillance and characterisation as well as challenges related to prevention, diagnostics and management for COVID-19 arise in different regions. This open workshop (hosted by The Global Health Network, 23/04/2020) was organised in partnership with the Clinical Research Office, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Pakistan, bringing together experts in the field from across Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal to understand how South Asian countries are reacting to the outbreak and identifying the research gaps that need urgent attention in these settings.

Diagnostic tests in COVID-19

 Dr Anoop Kumar