The majority of developing countries will fail to achieve their targets for Universal Health Coverage (UHC)1 and the health- and poverty-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) unless they take urgent steps to strengthen their health financing. Just over a decade out from the SDG deadline of 20...30, 3.6 billion people do not receive the most essential health services they need, and 100 million are pushed into poverty from paying out-of-pocket for health services. The evidence is strong that progress towards UHC, core to SDG 3, will spur inclusive and sustainable economic growth, yet this will not happen unless countries achieve high-performance health financing, defined here as funding levels that are adequate and sustainable; pooling that is sufficient to spread the financial risks of ill-health; and spending that is efficient and equitable to assure desired levels of health service coverage, quality, and financial protection for all people— with resilience and sustainability.
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This report highlights the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Zimbabwe towards contributing to the triple billion targets in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs
The ninth WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic tracks the progress made by countries in tobacco control since 2008 and, marks 15 years since the introduction of the MPOWER technical package which is designed to help countries implement the demand-reduction measures of the WHO Framework Conventi...on on Tobacco Control. The report shows that many countries continue to make progress in the fight against tobacco, but efforts must be accelerated to protect people from the harms of tobacco and second-hand smoke.
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The Leprosy Programme and Transmission Assessment (LPTA) is an activity that is carried out by internal teams towards the end of Phase 1 (see Leprosy Elimination Framework in the Annex) when a subnational jurisdiction (typically second-tier) reaches the milestone for interruption of transmission, i....e., zero autochthonous child cases for a consecutive period of five years. It also needs to be done at the end of Phase 2, when the second milestone of elimination of leprosy disease has been reached. An LPTA will be carried out to document that all relevant programme criteria have been met and examine trends of epidemiological indicators in such jurisdiction to confirm that the milestone has been achieved. The LPTA includes assessment of health facilities that provide leprosy services. LPTA comprises of review of epidemiological data, health facility assessment and data validation and verification of the programme criteria through observation during a field visit. The evidence collected in this way in subnational health administrative units is compiled in a Leprosy Elimination Dossier to be submitted to WHO when the country reaches the milestone for elimination of disease in the country as whole. Countries that have not detected any new leprosy cases in the past three years or more can use the LPTA at national level prior to or as part of the verification process. Countries likely to be among the first to apply for verification may have had no new cases detected for more than 10 years.
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This document provides technical guidance on concepts, definitions, indicators, criteria, milestones and tools to assist leprosy programmes in their journey towards the goals of interruption of transmission and elimination of leprosy disease and through the post-elimination period. Importantly, it p...rovides criteria with benchmarks, where possible, for all key aspects of leprosy programmes and services. Not only those related to elimination efforts, but also those related to diagnosis and management of leprosy, leprosy-related disabilities, mental wellbeing, stigma and discrimination and inclusion and participation of persons affected by leprosy. The document emphasises that the elimination of leprosy is a long-term, continuous journey on the one hand, while, on the other, clear milestones can be recognised on the way and programme implementation can be assessed against benchmarks, guiding appropriate action to keep the programme on track.
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The knowledge guide is the second publication in the Self-care competency framework to support health and care workers.
This describes how health and care workers can apply each of the 10 competency standards in their work, detailing the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes that underpin the... required behaviours.
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Children continue to be exposed to powerful food marketing, which predominantly promotes foods high in saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, free sugars and/or sodium and uses a wide variety of marketing strategies that are likely to appeal to children. Food marketing has a harmful impact on chi...ldren’s food choice and their dietary intake, affects their purchase requests to adults for marketed foods and influences the development of their norms about food consumption. Food marketing is also increasingly recognized as a children’s rights concern, given its negative impact on several of the rights enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.This WHO guideline provides Member States with recommendations and implementation considerations on policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing, based on evidence specific to children and to the context of food marketing. Guidelines on other policies to improve the food environment are currently under development.
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The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Biosafety and Biosecurity Initiative was launched by the Africa CDC in April 2019 with the aim of strengthening the African Union (AU) Member States’ biosafety and biosecurity systems and enabling them to comply with national and i...nternational requirements for biosafety and biosecurity including the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 and the multi-country Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). The World Health Organization (WHO) Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and the Global Health Security Index report confirmed the known capacity gaps in biosafety and biosecurity among Africa Union Member (AU).
The regional consultations by Africa CDC conducted between 2019-2021 highlighted the deficiency or limited availability of standardized and regionally recognized training programs in the continent, limiting biosafety and biosecurity capacity building efforts in the region. In response, Africa CDC working with AU Member States developed a home grown, implementable and accessible professional training and certification program that is both recognized and endorsed by AU Member States. The Regional Training and Certification Program for Biosafety and Biosecurity Professionals, for African Biosafety and Biosecurity Professionals (RTCP-BBP) has four (4) areas of specialization, namely
Selection, Installation, Maintenance and Certification of Biological Safety Cabinets
Biorisk Management
Design and Maintenance of Facilities Handling High Risk Pathogens (Biocontainment Engineering)
Biological Waste management
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The Country Cooperation Strategy is the World Health Organization’s corporate framework developed in response to a country’s needs and priorities. The 2022–2025 CCS is the fourth for WHO in Sierra Leone. It is a medium-term strategic document that defines a broad framework for WHO’s work, at... all levels, with the Government of Sierra Leone and all health partners for the next four years. This document is guided by the country’s major policy and strategy documents including the 2020 National Health and Sanitation Policy (NHSP); the 2021–2025 National Health Sector Strategic Plan (NHSSP); and the 2019–2023 National Medium-term Development Plan (NMTDP). The current CCS also reflects the broad priorities of WHO as outlined in its Thirteenth General Programme of Work (2019–2023, extended to 2025) with a focus on improving access to universal health coverage, protecting people from health emergencies, and improving people’s health and well-being. The CCS priorities are also in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) in Sierra Leone and will contribute to attaining the country's SDG targets
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This regional summary draws on the WHO Global oral health status report (2), published in 2022, which provides a comprehensive overview of the global oral disease burden, the global health importance of oral health and the impact of oral diseases over the life course.
The summary focuses on the ...oral health status in the Western Pacific Region and is split into four sections: (a) oral diseases are global and regional health problems; (b) the burden of the main oral diseases; (c) key challenges and opportunities towards oral health for all in the Western Pacific Region; and (d) road map towards UHC for oral health 2030. This regional summary is based on the 27 Member States in the Region.
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This report covers research conducted on HIV stigma and discrimination using the Stigma Index in the Papua New Guinea provinces of Western Highlands and Chimbu*. When Igat Hope began the project the aim was to conduct interviews in all regions of PNG. However, due to funding constraints and organis...ational capacities, the Stigma Index has only been applied in one region, that is, the Highlands Region. In future, the hope is to gather comparable data from other regions in PNG. Despite the fact that the overall project aims have not yet been achieved, the data contained in this report provides useful information that can be considered as work continues in PNG on HIV-related stigma and discrimination and human rights.
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