The ever-increasing cases and mortality due to malaria remains one of the most important public health threats, especially in sub-Saharan Africa—where this burden is considerably high. In 2020, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for about 95% of all cases and 96% of all malaria deaths with about 80% of these deaths reported in children under the age of 5. This review, adopting a public health focus, aimed to understand the challenges of malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa despite ongoing public health interventions. Our review highlights two important findings. First, the increasing resistance of malaria parasites to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and its partner drugs coupled with increased vector resistance to pyrethroids and insecticides is reversing the progress of public health interventions in keeping malaria under control. Second, the wanning for the efficacy of the WHO-approved vaccine i.e. RTS,S from 60 to 70% following 18 months of observation, and its short-term availability remains an impediment to achieving the WHO target of producing malaria vaccines with more than 75% efficacy by 2030. Our findings underline the need to reassess research priorities with a focus on vaccine production in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, African governments and policymakers must be committed to invest both the political and financial capital in vaccine production and distribution.

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 10 million individuals worldwide. It is characterized by motor and sensory deficits. Research studies have increasingly demonstrated a correlation between Parkinson's disease and alternations in the composition of the gut microbiota in affected patients. Also, the significant role of prebiotics and probiotics in gastrointestinal and neurological conditions is imperative to understand their relation to Parkinson's disease.Method: To explore the scientific interaction of the gut‐microbiota‐brain axis and its association with Parkinson's disease, a comprehensive narrative review of the relevant literature was conducted. Articles were retrieved systematically from reputable sources, including PubMed, Science Direct, World Health Organization (WHO), and Advanced Google Scholar. Key search terms included are “Parkinson's Disease”, “Gut Microbiome”, “Braak's Theory”, “Neurological Disorders”, and “Gut‐brain axis”. Articles included in our review are published in English and they provide detailed information on the relationship between Parkinson's disease and gut microbiotaResults: This review highlights the impact of gut microbiota composition and associated factors on the progression of Parkinson's disease. Evidence‐based studies highlighting the existing evidence of the relationship between Parkinson's disease and alteration in gut microbiota are discussed. Consequently, the potential mechanisms by which the gut microbiota may affect the composition of the gut microbiota were revealed, with a particular emphasis on the role of the gut‐brain axis in this interplay.Conclusion: Understanding the complex interplay between gut microbiota and Parkinson's disease is a potential implication for the development of novel therapeutics against Parkinson's disease. Following the existing relationship demonstrated by different evidence‐based studies on Parkinson's disease and gut microbiota, our review concludes by providing recommendations and suggestions for future research studies with a particular emphasis on the impact of the microbiota‐brain axis on Parkinson's disease.

The rise of globalization and industrialization has driven the demand for rare earth metals (REMs). These metals are widely used in various sectors of the global economy with various applications in medicine, renewable energy, electronics, agriculture, and the military. REMs are likely to remain an important part of our global future, and, as production increases, areas contaminated by REMs are expected to expand over the coming decades. Thus, triggering significant adverse environmental, animal, and human health impacts. Despite increased attention on REMs outside China in recent years, there are limited studies exploring REM production, deposits, and associated health impacts in the African context. Proper mine management, adequate safety protocols, sustainable processing methods, and waste handling systems have been identified and proposed globally; however, the nature and scale of implementing these management protocols on the African continent have been less clear. Therefore, planetary health-centered solutions are urgently needed to be undertaken by researchers, policy makers, and non-governmental actors in Africa and across the globe. This is with the overarching aim of ensuring eco-friendly alternatives and public health consciousness on REM exploitations and hazards for future generations to come.

The RTS,S malaria vaccine was recently recommended for use among children at risk in malaria endemic regions. Although significant efforts have been made to minimise malaria cases, the results of these innovations have not been totally satisfactory due to specific limitations. However, this revolutionary vaccine has a great tendency to put an end to malaria. Being the first vaccine against malaria, this commentary examines its journey from the idealisation and conception to the recommendation by the World Health Organization. The commentary also examines some of the challenges that might affect the execution of the vaccination programme in sub-Saharan Africa and other malaria endemic regions and suggest recommendations to overcome the possible them.

Community pharmacists are among the most easily accessible healthcare practitioners and are usually the first point of contact with the public or community. This is often due to their accessibility, credibility, and widespread within the public sector making them essential members of the healthcare team with significant contributions to the delivery of public health care. Community pharmacists, in addition to their known educational and awareness-raising roles, may play an essential role in risk assessment and screening of patients, detection of symptoms of probable malignancy, and cancer treatments. The pharmacy profession has been evolving from dispensing roles into more patient-oriented outcomes and pharmacists are now participating in more clinical interventions. This places community pharmacists in the best position to provide the necessary knowledge and healthcare to benefit populations at risk of cancer. Active involvement of community pharmacists in the care and management of cancer will significantly contribute to screening and risk assessment, early detection, treatment and eradication of breast, cervical, lung, ovarian and other forms of cancer. As a result, the community pharmacy setting must the developed to maximize its full potential in cancer care.

Background: In recent times, telemedicine has received wide acceptance in global healthcare as a result of its tremendous potential in solving major healthcare concerns. However, despite the proven benefits of telemedicine and the growing applications in developed countries, Nigeria has failed to fully use this tool in the provision of healthcare in the country. Objectives: To examine the potentials of telemedicine as an alternative option for delivering quality healthcare services in Nigeria, the challenges hindering the utilization, and ways to overcome these challenges. Methods: Review of evidences was carried out on papers sourced from Google Scholar and PubMed databases. The key terms used for the search include "telemedicine", "information technology", "treatment", "Nigeria", "COVID-19", "virtual", and "health care". Papers were critically assessed for intellectual content, and those that did not meet the inclusion criteria or were extraneous to the study's focus were eliminated. A review of related evidence was conducted after data was extracted from selected papers. Results: Telemedicine has the potential to improve healthcare delivery, access, and efficiency. However, the underutilization of telemedicine in Nigeria has been identified to be as a result of some considerable factors which include the absence of a policy on virtual care, insufficient funding, high cost of maintaining virtual health care services, and technological and infrastructural constraints. Conclusions: As a result of the aforementioned, the imbalanced implementation of telemedicine systems in the provision of healthcare in Nigeria necessitates immediate stakeholder attention to establish supporting legislation and assure the availability of suitable infrastructure and services. Other research-based proposals include including virtual care training in school curricula and funding telemedicine research and development in the country.