Comprehensive and comparable estimates of health spending in each country are a key input for health
policy and planning, and are necessary to support the achievement of national and international health goals. Previous
studies have tracked past a...nd projected future health spending until 2040 and shown that, with economic development,
countries tend to spend more on health per capita, with a decreasing share of spending from development assistance
and out-of-pocket sources. We aimed to characterise the past, p
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Background: Mental health has recently gained increasing attention on global health and development agendas, including calls for an increase in international funding. Few studies have previously characterized official development assistance for ment...al health (DAMH) in a nuanced and differentiated manner in order to support future funding efforts. Methods: Data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Creditor Reporting System were obtained through keyword searches. Projects were manually reviewed and categorized into projects dedicated entirely to mental health and projects that mention mental health (as one of many aims). Analysis of donor, recipient, and sector characteristics within and between categories was undertaken cumulatively and yearly.
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With sustained economic growth in many parts of the developing world, an increasing number of countries are transitioning away from the most subsidized development finance as they exceed income and other qualification requirements. Cross-country evidence suggests that Development Assistance Committe...e (DAC) donors view the crossing over of the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) eligibility threshold to signal that a country needs less aid, with subsequent reductions in both IDA and other donors’ concessional funding. Within the health sector, it is particularly important to understand the implications of these status changes for children under five years of age since improving early childhood health is critical to fostering health and social and economic development. Therefore, we examine the implications of the IDA transition by measuring the extent t which World Bank commitments—including both IDA and IBRD—are directed to infant and child health needs in Nigeria. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) models were used in a difference-indifferences (DID) strategy to compare World Bank IBRD/IDA lending before and after the crossover to regions with varying initial levels of under-five and infant need.
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Background: Foreign aid has been shown to be favourably biased towards small countries. This study investigated whether country size bias also occurs in national malaria policy and development assistance from international agencies. Methods: Data fr...om publicly available sources were collected with countries as observational units. The exploratory data analysis was based on the conceptual framework with socio-economic, environmental and institutional parameters. The strength of relationships was estimated by the Pearson and polychoric correlation coefficients. The correlation matrix was explored by factor analysis.
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: Development assistance for health (DAH) is one of the most important means for Japan to promote
diplomacy with developing countries and contribute to the international community. This study, for the first time,
estimated the gross disbursement o...f Japan’s DAH from 2012 to 2016 and clarified its flows, including source, aid
type, channel, target region, and target health focus area
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Official development assistance (ODA) is one of the most important means for donor countries to foster diplomatic relations with low- and middle-income countries and contribute to the welfare of the international community.Objective: This study esti...mated the sectoral allocation of
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This paper is motivated by the global spread of the coronavirus referred to as COVID-19 and its efect on Sub-Saharan African (SSA) economies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has alluded to the COVID-19 not only afecting the global health but a...lso trade and tourism, commodity prices, and fnancial conditions that calls for an additional policy response to support demand and ensure an adequate supply of credit
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South Sudan continues to struggle with a severe health crisis affecting 8.9 million people, primarily in flood- and conflict-affected regions with population movements (displacement and returns), and disease outbreaks. The nation's health system, heavily reliant on ...t medbox">international aid, faces staffing and resource shortages. Vulnerable groups, including women, children, the elderly, and those with disabilities, have limited healthcare access and face heightened risks of mortality and illness.
The life expectancy at birth (55 years) is among the lowest globally, as mortality rates remain among the highest with neonatal, infant, under-five mortality rates estimated at 39.63, 63.76 and 98.69 deaths per 1000 live births respectively, and a maternal mortality ratio of 1,223 deaths per 100,000 live births. Although some disease specific mortality rates such as TB and AIDS-related mortality have declined, mortality due to malaria and non-communicable diseases have increased over the past five years.
The main causes of morbidity remain communicable diseases; malaria, is the top cause of morbidity (64%) and mortality (45%) among outpatients, followed by pneumonia and diarrhea.20 Several Counties report malaria cases above the threshold perennially especially during the rainy seasons, affecting mainly children under five years. The last malaria indicator survey (2017) estimated malaria prevalence of 32%, 34% and 18% among children under-five, protection of civilian’s sites, and internally displaced persons, respectively.
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The annual Development Co-operation Report brings new evidence, analysis and ideas on
sustainable development to members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the international community more broadly. The objectives are to promote ...best practices and innovation in development co-operation and to inform and shape policy reform and behaviour change to realise better lives and the Sustainable Development Goals for all
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An unprecedented amount of money is being pledged and used to fund health research and services throughout the
world. Although estimates are diffi cult to obtain, the 2004 estimate for international health funding was about
US$14 billion, and is r...apidly increasing, largely because of the emergence and growth of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the US Government’s AIDS initiative
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Benchmarking is a strategic process often used by businesses and institutes to standardize performance in relation to the best practices of their sector. The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners have developed a tool with a list of benchmarks and corresponding suggested actions that can be a...pplied to implement the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR) and strengthen health emergency prevention, preparedness, response and resilience capacities.
The first edition of the benchmarks was published in 2019 to support countries in developing, implementing and documenting progress of national IHR or health security plans (e.g. national action plan for health security (NAPHS), national action plan for emerging infectious diseases, public health emergencies and health security and other country level plans for health emergencies). The tool has been updated to incorporate lessons from COVID-19 and other health emergencies, to align with the updated IHR monitoring & evaluation framework (IHR MEF) tools and the health systems for health security framework, and to support strengthening health emergency prevention, preparedness, response and resilience (HEPR) capacities and the Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) initiative.
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Even before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, it was apparent that the world’s
directing and coordinating authority on international health work needed sustainable financing in order for Member States to address the evolving global hea...lth threats, ranging from those rooted in climate change and social and financial conditions to emerging infectious diseases
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Information on the causes of cancer at specific sites is important to cancer control planners, cancer researchers, cancer patients, and the general public. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monograph series, which has classified... human carcinogens for more than 40 years, recently completed a review to provide up-to-date information on the cancer sites associated with more than 100 carcinogenic agents. Based on IARC’s review, we listed the cancer sites associated with each agent and then rearranged this information to list the known and suspected causes of cancer at each site. We also summarized the rationale for classifications that were based on mechanistic data. This information, based on the forthcoming IARC Monographs Volume 100, offers insights into the current state-of-the-science of carcinogen identification. Use of mechanistic data to identify carcinogens is increasing, and epidemiological research is identifying additional carcinogens and cancer sites or confirming carcinogenic potential under conditions of lower exposure. Nevertheless, some common human cancers still have few (or no) identified causal agents.
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With the growing prevalence of type 2 diabetes, particularly in emerging countries, its management in the context of available resources should be considered. International guidelines, while comprehensive and scientifically valid, may not be appropr...iate for regions such as Asia, Latin America or Africa, where epidemiology, patient phenotypes, cultural conditions and socioeconomic status are different from America and Europe. Although glycaemic control and reduction of micro- and macrovascular outcomes remain essential aspects of treatment, access and cost are major limiting factors; therefore, a pragmatic approach is required in restricted-resource settings. Newer agents, such as sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists in particular, are relatively expensive, with limited availability despite potentially being valuable for patients with insulin resistance and cardiovascular complications. This review makes a case for the role of more accessible second-line treatments with long-established efficacy and affordability, such as sulfonylureas, in the management of type 2 diabetes, particularly in developing or restricted-resource countries.
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In recent decades, India has witnessed a rapidly exploding epidemic of diabetes.
Indeed, India today has the second largest number of people with diabetes in the
world. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that there are 72.9 mill...ion people with diabetes in India in 2017, which is projected to rise to 134.3 million by the year 2045. The prevalence of diabetes in urban India, especially in large metropolitan cities has increased from 2% in the 1970s to over 20% at present and the rural areas are also fast catching up.
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The aim of the present paper is to review capacity building in public health nutrition (PHN), the need for which has been stressed for many years by a range of academics, national and international organisations. Although great strides have been mad...e worldwide in the science of nutrition, there remain many problems of undernutrition and increasingly of obesity and related chronic diseases. The main emphasis in capacity building has been on the nutrition and health workforce, but the causes of these health problems are multifactorial and require collaboration across sectors in their solution. This means that PHN capacity building has to go beyond basic nutrition and beyond the immediate health workforce to policy makers in other sectors. The present paper provides examples of capacity building activities by various organisations, including universities, industry and international agencies. Examples of web-based courses are given including an introduction to the e-Nutrition Academy. The scope is international but with a special focus on Africa. In conclusion, there remains a great need for capacity building in PHN but the advent of the internet has revolutionised the possibilities.
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The document "Diabetes and Ramadan: Practical Guidelines 2021," published by Elsevier, provides updated guidance for managing diabetes during Ramadan fasting. Developed by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the Diabetes and Ramadan (DAR...) International Alliance, the guidelines address key aspects for individuals with diabetes who choose to fast, including risk assessment, blood glucose monitoring, insulin and medication adjustments, and the management of special populations (such as pregnant women, the elderly, and those with chronic conditions). Emphasis is placed on individualized patient education before Ramadan to ensure safe fasting practices and minimize risks like hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia.
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With a goal of establishing enduring leadership and commitment for the health of refugees and migrants, WHO, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Morocco co-organized the T...hird Global Consultation on the Health of Refugees and Migrants in Rabat, Morocco, on 13–15 June 2023, and led to the adoption of the Rabat Declaration.
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For thousands of years, humans have been using wildlife for commercial and subsistence purposes. Wildlife trade takes place at local, national and international levels, with different forms of wildlife, such as live animals, partly processed product...s and finished products. Wildlife is a vital source of safe and nutritious food, clothing, medicine, and other products, in addition to having religious and cultural value. Wildlife trade also contributes to livelihoods, income generation and overall economic development.
However, wildlife trade can have detrimental effects on species conservation, depleting natural resources, impoverishing biodiversity and degrading ecosystems (Morton et al., 2021). Wildlife trade, whether legal or illegal, regulated or unregulated, can pose threats to animal health and welfare. It also presents opportunities for zoonotic pathogens to spill over between wildlife and domestic animals, and for diseases to emerge with serious consequences for public or animal health and profound economic impacts (IPBES, 2020; Swift et al., 2007; Smith et al., 2009; Gortazar et al., 2014; Stephen, 2021; Stephen et al., 2022; FAO, 2020). The risk of pathogen spillover and disease emergence is amplified with increased interaction between humans, wildlife and domestic animals. The risk of pathogen spillover has also been exacerbated by climate change, intensified agriculture and livestock production, deforestation, and other land-use changes. Wildlife trade is also a risk to ecosystem biodiversity via the introduction of invasive species (Wikramanayake et al., 2021). Therefore, increased effort must be put into understanding the potential consequences of the wildlife trade, mapping and analysing the adjacent risks, and implementing strategies to manage those risks. Reducing wildlife-trade risks not only helps to limit disease but also minimises the negative effects of invasive species. Between 1960 and 2021, invasive alien species caused estimated cumulative damage of around 116 billion euros across 39 countries in the European Union alone, despite strict import regulations (Haubrock et al., 2021). The effect of invasive species is extremely apparent.
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The Virtual cGMP Training Marathon for Vaccine Manufacturing: Principles into Practice took place from 12 Sep to 10 Oct 2023 to continue to provide manufacturers & regulators with a comprehensive array of topics to build understanding of current WHO & inte...rnational GMP standards, technological advancements, industry practices and regulatory expectations specific to the vaccine manufacturing context. Some of the topics include computer system validation, data integrity, challenges in lyophilization and others. Real world examples and case studies will be used to show how to interpret current and recently new good manufacturing practices requirements from a practical point of view and to implement appropriate approaches.
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