the aid library

National Policy and Strategic Plan of Action on Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Nigeria

Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria (2013) CC

As part of our commitment to the fight against NCDs, Nigeria was signatory to the political declaration at the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on NCDs in September 2011. Thus, the purpose of this document is to develop and ensure the implementation of policies and p ... more

The Practical Approach to Care Kit (PACK) guide: developing a clinical decision support tool to simplify, standardise and strengthen primary health care delivery

Cornick, Picken, Wattrus et al. BMJ Global Health Journal (2018) CC

For the primary health worker in a low/middle-income country (LMIC) setting, delivering quality primary care is challenging. This is often complicated by clinical guidance that is out of date, inconsistent and informed by evidence from high-income countries that ignores LMIC resource constraints and ... more

Heat Exposure and Cardiovascular Health: A Summary for Health Departments

Halaharvi, H.; Schramm, P,J.; Vaidyanathan, A.; et al. (2020) C_CDC

Extreme heat events (EHEs) are a leading cause of weather-related injury and death in the United States, and under a changing climate, these meteorological episodes are predicted to increase in both frequency and intensity. Prolonged heat exposure from EHEs places an increased strain on the heart an ... more

History, epidemiology and diagnostics of dengue in the American and Brazilian contexts: a review

Souza Salles, T.; T. da Encarnação Sá-Guimarães, E. Seam Lima de Alvarenga et al. (2018) CC

Parasites & Vectors volume 11, Article number: 264 (2018) Dengue creates a staggering epidemiological and economic burden for endemic countries. Without a specific therapy and with a commercial vaccine that presents some problems relative to its full effectiveness, initiatives to improve vector ... more

WHF Roadmap for Digital Health in Cardiology

Tromp, J.; Jindal, D.; Redfern, J. et al. Global Heart (2022) CC

ABSTRACT More than 500 million people worldwide live with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Health systems today face fundamental challenges in delivering optimal care due to ageing populations, healthcare workforce constraints, financing, availability and affordability of CVD medicine, and service del ... more

Guidelines for the prevention, management and care of diabetes mellitus

World Health Organization WHO (2006) C_WHO

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common noncommunicable diseases worldwide. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region there has been a rapid increase in the incidence of diabetes mellitus and it is now the fourth leading cause of death. The increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus, the emergence of ... more

Health at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2020

OECD; The World Bank (2020) C1

Thefirst report on Latin America and the Carribean presents key indicators on health and health systems in 33 Latin America and the Caribbean countries. . Analysis is based on the latest comparable data across almost 100 indicators including equity, health status, determinants of health, health car ... more

OCHA Policy Brief on Gendered Drivers, Risks and Impacts of Food Insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2023) CC

It is widely understood that the food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing and most neglected crises. It lacks sufficient global focus, resources and urgency. As in so many crises, women and girls are disproportionately affected and shoulder t ... he consequences of protracted neglect, with unconscionable impacts on their safety, life chances and agency. Gaining a holistic view of the gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is difficult. This is due to a lack of data and prioritization, and the large geographical and socioeconomic terrain covered by both regions. However, what we do know about this crisis is more than enough to urgently address the needs of women and girls. An OCHA discussion paper on this topic (which will be published imminently, and from which this policy brief is drawn) found that there is: A strong risk of profound regression in gender equality gains made to date in the countries of concern, including on education, sexual and reproductive health, and the economic independence of women and girls (with knock-on effects on broader humanitarian and development outcomes). An increasing challenge to reverse what must be recognized as a protracted and growing gender-based violence (GBV) emergency in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. The food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is protracted, multidimensional and highly gendered, with spiralling impacts on gender equality and food security outcomes. It is driven by interwoven and overlapping factors, including climate change, political instability, conflict, socioeconomic conditions, migration and displacement and, more recently, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Interlinked with these factors are gendered structural drivers of food insecurity, including deeply entrenched gender inequalities and harmful social norms. Gendered risks and impacts of food insecurity include alarming limitations on access to education, sexual and reproductive health rights, women’s agency and participation, and dramatic increases in different existing forms of GBV and the emergence of new ones. Recognition of such gendered dimensions of food insecurity and of the need for a multisectoral approach in the response is key to addressing the crisis, along-side sustained commitment and adequate allocation of resources. This policy brief draws out key findings from the OCHA discussion paper on this topic, which includes a desk review of studies, assessments and reports, and interviews with local women’s organizations on the front lines of the food insecurity crisis in communities across both regions. Below are the most pressing gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity (not in order of priority), as well as key gaps in the current humanitarian response to food insecurity, and recommendations to take forward. more

Liberia Media Kit: Priority Diseases and Conditions

Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Liberia; World Health Organization (WHO) (2017) C_WHO

Considering climate and conflict conditions together to improve interventions that prevent child acute malnutrition

Brown, M.E.; Grace, K.; Billing T.; et al. (2021) C1

Lancet Planet Health 2021; 5: e654–58

Synthetic cannabinoids in Europe

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (2017) C2

Perspectives on Drugs

Health situation update in Ukraine

World Health Organization WHO (2022) C_WHO

Report by the Director-General 22 May 2022

EASO Special Report: Asylum Trends and COVID-19, Issue 2 (11 June 2020)

European Asylum Support Office (2020) CC

Only 8,730 asylum applications were registered in the EU+ in April, the lowest since at least 2008, and a massive 87% decrease from pre-COVID-19 levels in January and February. The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has released a special report which shows that the COVID-19 related travel restr ... more

The health of the people: what works – the African Regional Health Report 2014

World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa (2014) C_WHO

Quality of care in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings: taking action

World Health Organization WHO (2020) CC

In fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings, delivery of quality health services faces significant challenges, including disruption of a routine health service organization and delivery systems, increased health needs, complex and unpredictable resourcing issues, and vulnerability to multi ... more

Malawi Service Provision Assessment (SPA) 2013-14. Key Findings

Ministry of Health (MoH), Malawi and ICF International (2014) C1

Screening for cardiovascular disease risk and subsequent management in low and middle income countries: challenges and opportunities

Bovet, P.; Chiolero, A.; Paccaud, F. et al. Public Health Reviews (2015) CC

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD), mainly heart attack and stroke, is the leading cause of premature mortality in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Identifying and managing individuals at high risk of CVD is an important strategy to prevent and control CVD, in addition to multisector ... al population-based interventions to reduce CVD risk factors in the entire population. Methods: We describe key public health considerations in identifying and managing individuals at high risk of CVD in LMICs. Results: A main objective of any strategy to identify individuals at high CVD risk is to maximize the number of CVD events averted while minimizing the numbers of individuals needing treatment. Scores estimating the total risk of CVD (e.g. ten-year risk of fatal and non-fatal CVD) are available for LMICs, and are based on the main CVD risk factors (history of CVD, age, sex, tobacco use, blood pressure, blood cholesterol and diabetes status). Opportunistic screening of CVD risk factors enables identification of persons with high CVD risk, but this strategy can be widely applied in low resource settings only if cost effective interventions are used (e.g. the WHO Package of Essential NCD interventions for primary health care in low resource settings package) and if treatment (generally for years) can be sustained, including continued availability ofaffordable medications and funding mechanisms that allow people to purchase medications without impoverishing them (e.g. universal access to health care). Thisalso emphasises the need to re-orient health systems in LMICs towards chronic diseases management. Conclusion: The large burden of CVD in LMICs and the fact that persons with high CVD can be identified and managed along cost-effective interventions mean that health systems need to be structured in a way that encourages patient registration, opportunistic screening of CVD risk factors, efficient procedures for the management of chronic conditions (e.g. task sharing) and provision of affordable treatment for those with high CVD risk. The focus needs to be in primary care because that is where most of the population can access health care and because CVD programmes can be run effectively at this level. more