Recently, a renewed interest in large-scale community health worker (CHW) programs has been seen globally. This renewal provides an opportune moment to take stock of issues and challenges such programs face and what can be done to make them as effective as possible. With this in mind, this manual is... intended to be used a practical guide for policymakers and program
managers wishing to develop or strengthen a CHW program, drawing lessons from other countries that have implemented CHW programs at-scale. Throughout, we discuss major policy and programmatic issues that decision-makers and planners need to consider when designing, implementing, scaling up or strengthening a national-level CHW program. We offer an overview
of specific challenges CHW programs face, country lessons, tools, and other resources that may be helpful, while incorporating relevant programmatic examples as much as possible.
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The Sphere Handbook "Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response" is now available in Haitian Creole.
This translation has been coordinated by Oxfam Canada and funded by the following members of the Policy Action Group on Emergency Response (PAGER Canada): World Vision Canada,... Plan Canada, Oxfam Quebec, Development and Peace, CARE Canada, Canadian Red Cross, Save the Children Canada, Christian Children's Fund of Canada, Mennonite Central Committee of Canada and Adventist Development and Relief Agency of Canada.
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Today more people are exposed to hazards. While humanitarian action to mitigate the impact of disasters will always be vitally important, the community is facing critical challenge- how to better anticipate, manage and reduce - disaster risks by integrating the potential threat into its ..."attribute-to-highlight medbox">planning and policies at the community level. This manual aims to improve the capacity of the Panchayati Raj Institutions - the local self government and communities that face hazards due to environmental reasons. To help such capacity development efforts, we need learning materials focusing on key areas - water supply, environmental sanitation for better disaster management and preparedness.
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The World Health Organization and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are part of a group of agencies working together to accelerate progress towards the health-related SDGs through the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and We...ll-being for All. Understanding patterns of inequalities in these diseases is essential for taking strategic, evidence-informed action to realize our shared vision of ending the epidemics of HIV, TB and malaria.
This report presents the first comprehensive analysis of the magnitude and patterns of socioeconomic, demographic and geographic inequalities in disease burden and access to services for prevention and treatment.
The results confirm there have been improvements in service coverage and decreased disease burden at the national level over the past decade. But they also reveal an uncomfortable reality: unfair inequalities between population subgroups within countries are widespread and have remained largely unchanged over the past decade. For some disease indicators, inequalities are even worsening.
Moreover, the report points to the persistent lack of available data to fully understand inequality patterns in HIV, TB and malaria. Collecting data to improve the monitoring of inequalities in these diseases is vital to develop targeted responses for impact.
There are, encouragingly, isolated successes in reducing inequities. Change is possible when deliberate action is taken to reach disadvantaged populations.
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The Strategic Tool for Assessing Risks (STAR) offers a comprehensive, easy-to-use toolkit and approach to enable national and subnational governments to rapidly conduct a strategic and evidence-based assessment of public health risks for planning an...d prioritization of health emergency preparedness and disaster risk management activities. This guidance describes the principles and methodology of STAR to enhance its adaptation and use at the national or subnational levels.
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Le nombre de cas de COVID-19 augmente à nouveau, l’Afrique du Sud comptant pour près de la moitié de tous les cas confirmés de la Région africaine de l’OMS. La menace de nouveaux variants plane, et la faible couverture vaccinale soulève de...s questions concernant les mesures qui devront être prises pour lutter contre la COVID-19. Dans la plupart des pays d’Afrique subsaharienne, la prévention reste la stratégie clé. Dans ce document, cinq centres nationaux de la plateforme de l’Observatoire africain de la santé sur les systèmes et politiques de santé (AHOP), basés en Éthiopie, au Kenya, au Nigéria, au Rwanda et au Sénégal analysent les leçons à tirer de leurs mesures d’endiguement respectives lors despremières phases de la pandémie.
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Lancet Public health 2022 January 6, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/ S2468-2667(21)00249-8
Growth in the number of individuals living with dementia underscores the need for public health planning efforts and policy to address the needs of this group.... Country-level estimates can be used to inform national planning efforts and decisions. Multifaceted approaches, including scaling up interventions to address modifiable risk factors and investing in research on biological mechanisms, will be key in addressing the expected increases in the number of individuals affected by dementia.
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The COVID-19 CARE pathway is a living tool to support health care workers visualize the current clinical and therapeutic recommendations to be considered in the care planning for patients with COVID-19.
The COVID-19 CARE pathway is aligned with t...he eighth version of the WHO Therapeutics and COVID-19: living guideline published on the 14 January 2022 and the third version of the WHO COVID-19 Clinical management: living guidance published on the 23 November 2021.
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These guidelines form part of efforts to institutionalize the prevention and containment of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in healthcare facilities in South Africa, as outlined in the Antimicrobial Resistance Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan...an>. The focus of these guidelines is on two interrelated aspects of prevention of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) and their spread; and the application of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) practices at hospital level. They aim to serve as a practical, step-by-step or ‘how-to’ guide, addressing the infection prevention and AMS components of a robust response in a hospital. They draw on
evidence from various international guidance documents and standards for interventions that have been shown to be successful in infection
prevention and AMS programmes. These interventions have been customised to the South African hospital setting based on local
experiences in the public and private health sectors. This was done through a series of workshops and requests for comment involving
country-level experts.
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a multifaceted, international public health problem, which poses a direct threat to the safety of the population of South Africa. A national response is required to complement the development of a global plan, as ar...ticulated in the WHO’s draft resolution EB134/37 “Combating antimicrobial resistance including antibiotic resistance”, adopted by theWorld Health Assembly in May 2014. The overuse of antimicrobials is driving resistance. A return to appropriate, targeted antimicrobial use in humans, animals and the environment is critical if we are to conserve the antimicrobial armamentarium. Various interventions have been put in place to address antimicrobial resistance in South Africa. However, these are insufficient to effectively tackle the threat faced by the country. The strengths of the current system are outweighed by its weaknesses.
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The course is aimed at those designing, implementing and evaluating strategies to address AMR. For example, the course would be relevant for members of National Action Plan committees, policy and practice professionals who are required to address an...d support AMR initiatives, mid-career scientists and postgraduate students, and clinicians who would benefit from an understanding of the public health importance of AMR and actions to tackle the problem. The course will have a specific focus on AMR in low- and middle-income countries. Applicants should have a good command of English, as all teaching will be in English.
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The 2021 WHO health and climate change global survey report provides a valuable snapshot of the overall progress governments have made in addressing the health risks of climate change. The findings on key health and climate change indicators aim to empower policy makers to: make informed decisions o...n the implementation of policies and plans; identify evidence gaps; and better understand the barriers to achieving adaptation and resilience priorities in the health sector while maximizing the health benefits of sector-wide climate mitigation efforts.
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The practical guidance in the operational handbook aims to inform the development or revision of national policies and related implementation guidance on the management of TB in children and adolescents under programmatic circumstances and at different levels of the health system. The operational ha...ndbook can also help countries adequately plan for the uptake of interventions to better address the specific needs of children and adolescents with or at risk of TB. It can contribute to national efforts to build capacity among national and subnational programme managers and among health workers at all levels of the health care system.
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Executive summary On 27th and 28th April 2021, the division of Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with Public Health England, organized a virtual consultative meeting as part of the consultations with Member States and partners for the development of the Africa CDC five years strategic ...plan for the prevention and control of Non-communicable Diseases … Report: Expert and stakeholder virtual consultation meeting to develop the Africa CDC Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health Strategy
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This course is based on the Manual on Safety in Administering Medicines for Neglected Tropical Diseases which provides practical tools, training modules and jobs aids to further improve the planning, preparation, and monitoring of safe administratio...n of NTD medicines.
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a major global threat across human, animal, plant food and environmental sectors, threatening the effective treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fung...i, resulting in prolonged illness and increased mortality, often felt hardest by the most vulnerable populations. AMR also endangers the sustainability of agri-food systems and food safety.
Since 2010 there is a strong commitment from FAO, OIE and PAHO to fight AMR, working together to mitigate the risks in the interconnection among the human health, animal health and the environment. In this context, the organizations now joined forces in the implementation of the project ‘Working Together to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance’ to ensure a coherent “One Health” approach recognizing the multidimensionality and necessity of an intersectoral response that is needed to address the problem of AMR.
The overall strategic objective of the three-year project (2020-22) supported and financed by the European Union (EU) is to contribute to tackle AMR through the implementation of National AMR Action Plans by working with seven Latin American partner countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
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In 2013 the World Health Organization (WHO) published the report Protecting health from climate change:vulnerability and adaptation assessment. The aim was to provide basic and flexible guidance on conducting national or subnational assessments of current and future vulnerability (the susceptibilit...y of a population or region to harm) to the health risks of climate change, and of policies and programmes that could increase resilience, taking into account the multiple determinants of climate-sensitive health outcomes.
That guidance has been a very useful tool, applied to more than 50 countries and settings, and has helped countries to prepare their health contributions to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change national adaptation plans.
Since the launch of the guidance, WHO, technical partners such as Health Canada, and countries have learned much in terms of its applicability in different countries, at national and local levels.
At the same time, knowledge on climate change and health has increased.
WHO, the Pan American Health Organization and Health Canada have produced this updated version, which aims to better support countries in their assessments by proposing a simpler tool that incorporates
all lessons learned.
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La finalidad de estas orientaciones es aumentar la capacidad de los establecimientos de salud para proteger y mejorar la salud de las comunidades destinatarias ante un clima inestable y cambiante;
y habilitarlos para que sean ambientalmente sostenibles, optimizando el uso de los recursos y reducien...do al mínimo el vertido de desechos en el medio ambiente. Los establecimientos de salud resilientes al clima y ambientalmente sostenibles favorecen una atención de alta calidad
así como la accesibilidad de los servicios, y al ayudar a reducir los costos también garantizan una mejor asequibilidad. Por consiguiente, son un componente importante de la cobertura sanitaria universal (CSU).
El presente documento tiene por objeto:
Orientar a los profesionales que trabajan en el ámbito de la atención de salud a fin de que comprendan los riesgos sanitarios adicionales que entraña el cambio climático y se preparen eficazmente para afrontarlos.
Fortalecer la capacidad para llevar a cabo una vigilancia eficaz de las enfermedades relacionadas con el clima; y vigilar, prever y gestionar los riesgos para la salud asociados al cambio climático y adaptarse a ellos.
Guiar al personal de los establecimientos de salud para que trabaje con los sectores determinantes de la salud (en particular los de agua y saneamiento, energía, transporte, alimentación, planificación urbana y medio ambiente) a fin de que se prepare para afrontar los riesgos sanitarios adicionales que entraña el cambio climático mediante un enfoque de resiliencia, y promueva prácticas ambientalmente sostenibles en la prestación de los servicios.
Proporcionar al personal de los centros salud instrumentos que le ayuden a evaluar la resiliencia de los establecimientos ante las amenazas del cambio climático y su sostenibilidad ambiental a partir del uso adecuado de los recursos (en particular el agua y la energía y las adquisiciones sostenibles) y el vertido de desechos peligrosos (biológicos, químicos y radiológicos) en el medio circundante.
Promover medidas encaminadas al fortalecimiento constante y creciente de los establecimientos de salud y a garantizar que sigan siendo eficientes y responsivos para mejorar la salud y
contribuyan a reducir las inequidades y la vulnerabilidad en los entornos en que están implantados.
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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(12), 2626; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122626
Climate change is increasing risks to human health and to the health systems that seek to protect the safety and well-being of populations. Health authorities require information about current associatio...ns between health outcomes and weather or climate, vulnerable populations, projections of future risks and adaptation opportunities in order to reduce exposures, empower individuals to take needed protective actions and build climate-resilient health systems. An increasing number of health authorities from local to national levels seek this information by conducting climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments. While assessments can provide valuable information to plan for climate change impacts, the results of many studies are not helping to build the global evidence-base of knowledge in this area. They are also often not integrated into adaptation decision making, sometimes because the health sector is not involved in climate change policy making processes at the national level. Significant barriers related to data accessibility, a limited number of climate and health models, uncertainty in climate projections, and a lack of funding and expertise, particularly in developing countries, challenge health authority efforts to conduct rigorous assessments and apply the findings. This paper examines the evolution of climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments, including guidance developed for such projects, the number of assessments that have been conducted globally and implementation of the findings to support health adaptation action. Greater capacity building that facilitates assessments from local to national scales will support collaborative efforts to protect health from current climate hazards and future climate change. Health sector officials will benefit from additional resources and partnership opportunities to ensure that evidence about climate change impacts on health is effectively translated into needed actions to build health resilience.
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nt. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11(12), 13097-13116; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph111213097
Climate change will increase the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events and create risks that will impact health care facilities. Health care facilities will need to assess climate chang...e risks and adopt adaptive management strategies to be resilient, but guidance tools are lacking. In this study, a toolkit was developed for health care facility officials to assess the resiliency of their facility to climate change impacts. A mixed methods approach was used to develop climate change resiliency indicators to inform the development of the toolkit. The toolkit consists of a checklist for officials who work in areas of emergency management, facilities management and health care services and supply chain management, a facilitator’s guide for administering the checklist, and a resource guidebook to inform adaptation. Six health care facilities representing three provinces in Canada piloted the checklist. Senior level officials with expertise in the aforementioned areas were invited to review the checklist, provide feedback during qualitative interviews and review the final toolkit at a stakeholder workshop. The toolkit helps health care facility officials identify gaps in climate change preparedness, direct allocation of adaptation resources and inform strategic planning to increase resiliency to climate change.
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