In the last decade, Timor-Leste has made remarkable progress in strengthening its health system and improving the health status of its population. This has resulted in an increased life expectancy, and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals such as a reduction in infant and under-five morta...lity, an improvement in maternal and child health outcomes, and an increase in immunization coverage. Further, the country has successfully eliminated infectious diseases such as polio, measles, and maternal and neonatal tetanus. There is full political commitment to reducing the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) by 80% and the number of deaths due to TB by 90% by 2030. The country has made great progress in the context of the pandemic, having established numerous quarantine facilities/isolation centres; trained health-care workers; streamlined the procurement and supply of medicines, consumables, personal protective equipment and other equipment; and strengthened the capacity in critical care across secondary and tertiary health care, to better respond to future pandemics and other disaster situations.
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The desired impact of the OH JPA is a world better able to prevent, predict, detect and
respond to health threats and improve the health of humans, animals, plants and the
environment while contributing to sustainable development. The OH JPA aims to work
towards this vision in the following way:
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• Provide a framework for action and propose a set of activities the four organizations
can offer together to advance and sustainably scale up One Health.
• Provide upstream policy and legislative advice and technical assistance, to help
set national targets and priorities across the sectors for the development and
implementation of One Health legislation, initiatives and programmes.
• Take stock of existing cross-sectoral global and regional initiatives around One
Health, identify and advise on synergies and overlaps, and support coordination.
• Mobilize and make better use of resources across sectors, disciplines and
stakeholders.
• The OH JPA is guided by a theory of change and makes use of One Health principles
to strengthen collaboration, communication, capacity building and coordination
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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic exacerbated pre-existing inequalities in the treatment and care of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This report examines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to NCD medicines, and the policies and strategies implemented by countries and health sys...tems to anticipate and mitigate stresses across NCD medicine supply chains. The full range of upstream and downstream impacts are investigated, including: manufacturing; procurement, importation and last mile delivery; patient-level effects through affordability and availability; and the effects on NCD medicine availability by category of disease. The report culminates in recommended actions and interventions for key stakeholders in the NCD pharmaceutical supply chain, including governments, regulatory authorities, manufacturers and the private sector; as well as directions for future research for improving access and supply chain access resilience.
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Since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis on 24 February 2022, WHO has supported Government-led efforts and initiatives alongside key partners on the ground. Building on efforts to date, and working alongside Bulgaria’s health authorities to bring added value to existing mechanisms, the WHO Countr...y Office Bulgaria, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the WHO Health and Migration Programme, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Bulgaria and key partners, undertook a joint review mission to support Bulgaria, with a focus on addressing the health system needs of refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and vulnerable host populations in Bulgaria.
The assessment team developed this report on the key findings and a package of potential interventions based on the opportunities identified and the need for technical support and assistance. The report summarizes concrete areas of work for which collaborations can be further strengthened. The joint review team identified key recommendations for consideration across 8 priority areas. The report and the outcomes of the review mission serve as a basis for future technical collaboration in the area of refugee health, to address the health needs of refugees and third-country nationals fleeing from Ukraine.
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Chagas disease is currently endemic and also predicted to be at increased transmission risk under future climate change scenarios. Similarly, an expansion of areas in the United States at increased risk for Chagas disease transmission is also expected over the next several decades under climate chan...ge scenarios. Of particular interest is the predicted northern shift of triatomine species to central regions of the United States with historically unsuitable climates for T. cruzi vectors. The weight of evidence regarding the influences climate change may pose on T. cruzi vector species distributions demonstrates the sensitivity of Chagas disease transmission to future climate variability. In order to advance forecasts for the impact climate change may have on Chagas disease transmission in the Americas, it is imperative to
further develop, utilize, and perhaps combine predictive species distribution modeling approaches that integrate accurate, long term data on climate variables, vector species distributions, Chagas disease incidence, as well as other socio-ecological variables.
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The Operational guide: use of referral laboratories for the analysis of foodborne hazards in the Pacific aims to strengthen the food analysis capacity of Pacific Island countries and areas by identifying national and reference laboratories capable of testing for priority foodborne hazards. The Pacif...ic Island countries and areas are often vulnerable to food safety incidents and emergencies due to their geographical distribution and dependence on food imports. The guide outlines key considerations for selecting referral laboratories and submitting samples to them, enabling continuous improvement of food safety systems and providing safe food for all. The target audiences are health and food safety authorities.
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This volume contains monographs prepared at the ninety-first meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), which met virtually online from 1 to 12 February 2021.
The detailed monographs in this volume summarize data on specific contaminants in food. Individual monographs ...present the assessment of exposure to cadmium from all food sources, the technical, analytical, dietary exposure and toxicological data on ergot alkaloids, an assessment of five substances that may occur as previous cargoes, and a revision of the specifications for steviol glycosides. This volume and others in the WHO Food Additives series contain information that is useful to those who produce and use food additives and veterinary drugs and those involved with controlling contaminants in food, government and food regulatory officers, industrial testing laboratories, toxicological laboratories and universities.
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Malgré les progrès récents vers la mise au point d’un traitement hautement efficace et abordable contre le virus de l’hépatite C, beaucoup de personnes infectées par ce virus ne connaissent pas leur statut. L’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) estime qu’en 2019, 58 millions ...de personnes à travers le monde étaient atteintes d’une infection chronique par le virus de l’hépatite C, et qu’à peine 21 % d’entre elles avaient été diagnostiquées. Le défaut de sensibilisation, l’accès limité aux services de dépistage et de traitement, la stigmatisation, la discrimination et d’autres obstacles structurels contribuent au faible taux d’utilisation des services de dépistage du virus de l’hépatite C.
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В дорожной карте по борьбе с забытыми тропическими болезнями на 2021–2030 гг. («дорожная карта») определены глобальные цели и основные этапы в отношении борьбы с 20 бол...знями и группами болезней, их элиминации или полной ликвидации. В ней также определены сквозные целевые показатели, согласованные с Тринадцатой общей программой работы ВОЗ и Целями в области устойчивого развития, а также стратегии по достижению этих целевых
показателей в течение ближайших десяти лет.
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This fourth WHO report on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) reviews the progress made towards achieving the Roadmap targets for 2020, noting the remaining challenges, then looks beyond 2020 to evaluate the changing global health and development landscape, considering the implications of integrating... these diseases into the broader 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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2nd edition. This toolkit provides step-by-step guidance to NTD programme managers and partners on how to engage and work collaboratively with the WASH community to improve delivery of water, sanitation and hygiene services to underserved population affected by many neglected tropical diseases. The ...toolkit draws on tools and practices used in the delivery of coordinated and integrated programmes for control, elimination and eradication of NTDs. This second edition include revisions and new tools based on experiences of using the toolkit in more than 20 countries.
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This annual report gives an overview of WHO lesotho Country office's undertakings and achievements in the context of an extraordinary health emergency. As we walk another mile this year, may we embrace all lessonst leanred in the previous year, learn from what did not work so well and take on new op...portunities in championing health in the country.
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This publication describes the first WHO public-benefit Target Product Profiles (TPPs) for snakebite antivenoms. It focuses on antivenoms for treatment of snakebite envenoming in sub-Saharan Africa. Four TPPs are described in the document:
Broad spectrum Pan-African polyvalent antivenoms: products ...that are intended for widespread utility throughout sub-Saharan Africa for treatment of envenoming irrespective of the species of snake causing a bite. Monovalent antivenoms for specific use cases: for products for a single species (or genus) of snake (e.g., boomslangs or carpet viper antivenoms).
Syndromic Pan-African polyvalent antivenoms for neurotoxic envenoming: products that are intended for treatment of envenoming by species whose venoms are neurotoxic. Syndromic Pan-African polyvalent antivenoms for non-neurotoxic envenoming: products for snakebite envenoming where the effects are largely haemorrhagic, necrotic or procoagulant.
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This report presents findings from research conducted by Economist Impact to assess the health, demographic, social and economic impacts associated with different scenarios for financing the HIV epidemic across 13 selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The sponsorship of UNAIDS towards this repor...t is gratefully acknowledged. However, the findings and ideas expressed herein represent those of Economist Impact. They do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of UNAIDS, nor do they engage the responsibility of UNAIDS.
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COVID-19 has altered health sector capacity in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Cost data to inform evidence-based priority setting are urgently needed. Consequently, in this paper, we calculate the full economic health sector costs of COVID-19 clinical management in 79 LMICs under di...fferent epidemiological scenarios.
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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
CEPI is seeking to raise $3.5 billion to implement CEPI’s next 5-year plan. To mitigate the immediate threat of COVID-19 variants, it is activating key elements of this plan now—and seeking to mobilise a portion of this $3.5 billion in 2021. We have already launched R&D programmes to initiate de...velopment of next-generation vaccines against COVID-19 variants and we are planning studies to answer critical scientific questions related to the durability of immunity, effectiveness of mixed-vaccine regimens, and vaccine effectiveness in vulnerable populations such as pregnant women. We are also bringing forward our plans to develop vaccines that could protect against multiple COVID-19 variants and other coronavirus specie
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I examine the effectiveness of donors in targeting the highest burden of malaria in the Democratic Republic of Congo when health information structure is fragmented. I exploit local variations in the burden of malaria induced by mining activities as well as financial and epidemiological data from he...alth facilities to estimate how local aid is matching local health needs. Using a regression discontinuity design, I find significant but quantitatively small variations in aid to health facilities located within mining areas. Comparing local aid with the additional cost of treatment and prevention associated with the increased risk of malaria transmission, I find suggestive evidence that local populations with the highest burden of the disease receive a proportionately lower share of aid compared to neighbouring areas with reduced exposure to malaria infection. The evidence of disparities in the allocation of aid for malaria supports the view that donors may have inaccurate information about local population needs.
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Development finance institutions owned by European governments and the World Bank Group are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on expensive for-profit hospitals in the Global South that block patients from getting care, or bankrupt them, with some even imprisoning patients who cannot afford th...eir bills. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of these same hospitals denied entry to patients suffering from the virus or sold intensive care beds at eyewatering prices to the highest bidder. These development institutions have woefully inadequate safeguards, invest via a complex web of tax-avoiding financial intermediaries, and offer little to zero evidence on the impacts their investments are having. Oxfam is calling on rich-country governments and the World Bank Group to immediately halt their spending on for-profit private healthcare, and for an urgent independent investigation to be conducted into all active and historic investments.
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Over the 20 years that followed, this unique partnership has invested more than US$53 billion, saving 44 million lives and reducing the combined death rate from the three diseases by more than half in the countries in which the Global Fund invests.