The threat climate change poses to health, equity, and development has been rigorously documented. However, in an era marked by economic crisis, regional conflicts, natural disasters and growing disparities between rich and poor, the joint global actions required to address climate change have been
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vigorously debated – and critical decisions postponed.
This document, part of WHO’s Health in the Green Economy series, describes how many climate change measures can be “win-wins” for people and the planet.
These policies yield large, immediate public health benefits while reducing the upward trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions. Many of these policies can improve the health and equity of people in poor countries and assist developing countries in adapting to climate change that is already occurring, as evidenced by more extreme storms, flooding, drought and heatwaves.
WHO’s Department of Public Health and Environment launched the Health in the Green Economy initiative in 2010 to review potential health and equity “co-benefits” of proposed climate change measures – as well as relevant risks.
This review examines mitigation strategies discussed in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which constitutes the most broad-based global review of mitigation options by scientific experts.
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Viral hepatitis is defined as inflammation of the liver cells due to viral infection. The burden of liver disease in South Africa is mostly underestimated as viral hepatitis, in particular chronic infection, is a silent and neglected cause of morbidity and mortality. However, the burden of disease i
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s likely substantial given the prevalence of chronic viral hepatitis. This burden is further compounded by the lack of screening and access to care and treatment as well as inadequate disease surveillance, human and financial resources.
The National Guidelines for the Management of Viral Hepatitis were developed, with the purpose to:
inform healthcare workers in the public and private sectors about the disease, its epidemiology in South Africa and current methods of diagnosis and therapy
strengthen the healthcare response to viral hepatitis
empower communicable diseases workers and stakeholders to make informed decisions regarding appropriate and cost effective interventions
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WHY THIS GUIDE?
Because, in the face of crises and emergencies, it is vital to include a human rights perspective in responses. Vulnerable groups face major obstacles to accessing and benefiting from prevention, mitigation, and health care policies due to structural barriers of inequality. To offer
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guidelines to the countries of the Americas for crafting and implementing inclusive and accessible, human rights-based responses to a pandemic that is unprecedented in the region and in the world as a whole.
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Epidemics of infectious diseases are occurring more often, and spreading faster and further than ever, in many different regions of the world. The background factors of this threat are biological, environmental and lifestyle changes, among others. A potentially fatal combination of newly-discovered
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diseases, and the re-emergence of many long-established ones, demands urgent responses in all countries. Planning and preparation for epidemic prevention and control are essential. The purpose of this “Managing epidemics” manual is to provide expert guidance on those responses.
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Lancet 2022; 399: 1155–200 Published Online March 15, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/
S0140-6736(21)02488-0
Tuberculosis continues to represent a severe public health problem in the Region of the Americas, even more so in the case of indigenous peoples, whose TB incidence is much higher than that of the general population. To achieve tuberculosis control in these communities, it is necessary to respond t
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o communities’ diverse needs from an intercultural perspective that allows the application of a holistic approach—from a standpoint of equality and mutual respect—and considers the value of their cultural practices. In the Region of the Americas, although there has been progress toward recognizing the need for an intercultural approach to health services, obstacles rooted in discrimination, racism, and the exclusion of indigenous peoples and other ethnic groups persist. To respond to this situation, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) prepared this guidance which––based on an intercultural approach in accordance with the priority lines of the current PAHO Policy on Ethnicity and Health and its practical development in the Region’s indigenous populations––represent a support tool for implementing the End TB Strategy. This publication integrates PAHO’s accumulated experience and best practices developed by its Member States in recent years, including discussions and experiences shared in regional meetings on the issue, and emphasizes innovation and social inclusion. This requires an urgent shift away from traditional paradigms, taking specific actions that gradually reduce TB incidence and moving toward effective multisectoral actions that have proven effective in quickly containing the epidemic. This publication integrates PAHO’s accumulated experience and best practices developed by its Member States in recent years, including discussions and experiences shared in regional meetings on the issue, and emphasizes innovation and social inclusion. This requires an urgent shift away from traditional paradigms, taking specific actions that gradually reduce TB incidence and moving toward effective multisectoral actions that have proven effective in quickly containing the epidemic.
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Health Policy and Planning, Volume 35, Issue 1, February 2020, Pages 47–57, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czz122
Colombia has an underreporting of 30% of the total cases, according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimations. In 2016, successful tuberculosis (TB) treatment rate was 70%, and t
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he mortality rate ranged between 3.5% and 10%. In 2015, Colombia adopted and adapted the End TB strategy and set a target of 50% reduction in incidence and mortality by 2035 compared with 2015.
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Expanding access to quality health services through task sharing
Despite its rich culture, great economic potential, high level of education and last but not least its sheer size – it is the largest state whose borders lie entirely within Europe and is 1.7 times the size of the Federal Republic of Germany – Ukraine seems far away in perception and awareness.
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Publications on recent dramatic events, such as the Ukraine conflict or the Crimea crisis, have done little to change this. In fact, the armed conflict in the eastern Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk, which has been ongoing since February 2014, is still a burdening feature of many political and economic difficulties destabilizing the country. News coverage of health issues in Ukraine has recently been dominated by highly critical reports on the handling of the Covid 19 pandemic. This pandemic exacerbated existing weaknesses in the Ukrainian health care system, but at least it did not create any new ones.
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is described as a situation when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites
change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder or impossible to treat,
and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.1 AMR in recent years has
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become
a global priority in public health due to its widespread consequences and increasing occurrence from
time to time. AMR has a formidable impact where the existing antibiotics and other antimicrobial
medicines become ineffective, and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat.
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This report presents the findings from a ‘deep dive’ undertaken by UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office to consider the experiences in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and the Pacific. The target audience for this report
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includes OPDs and humanitarian actors at global, regional, and country levels.
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The escalation of the war in Ukraine began on 24 February 2022, causing thousands of civilian
casualties; destroying civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, and triggering the fastest-
growing displacement crisis in Europe since World War II. The demographic profile of Ukraine,
combined wit
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h the implementation of martial law and conscription policies, led to an awareness
of gender- and age-related factors within the regional humanitarian response that recognised
the pre-crisis situation of persons of all genders and diversities and how the war and subsequent
regional crisis were compounding the risks that they face.
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The Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) launched Ending Cholera: A Global
Roadmap to 2030 (Global Roadmap) (1), a strategy that aims to reduce global cholera
deaths by 90% and eliminate the disease in at least 20 countries by 2030. It is
organized according to three main axes:
• E
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nsuring early detection and response to contain outbreaks; (2)
• Adopting a multisectoral approach to prevent and control cholera in hotspots; and
• Establishing an effective coordination mechanism for technical support, resource
mobilization and partnership at local and global levels.
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Le Groupe spécial mondial de lutte contre le choléra (GTFCC) a lancé Mettre fin au choléra :
Une feuille de route mondiale pour 2030 (la Feuille de route mondiale) (1). Cette stratégie vise
à réduire de 90 % le nombre de décès dus au choléra dans le monde et à mettre fin à la
malad
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ie dans au moins 20 pays d’ici 2030. Elle est organisée selon trois axes principaux :
• assurer une détection et une réponse précoces pour contenir les épidémies(2) ;
• adopter une approche multisectorielle pour prévenir et contrôler le choléra dans les
points chauds ; et
• mettre en place un mécanisme de coordination efficace de l’appui technique, la
mobilisation des ressources et des partenariats aux niveaux local et mondial.
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2.4 billion reasons to end the global climate and inequality crisis. An estimated 774 million children across the world – or one third of the world’s child population - are living with the dual impacts of poverty and high climate .The country with the highest percentage of children impacted by t
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his double burden is South Sudan (87%), followed by the Central African Republic (85%) and Mozambique (80%).risk,
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Addressing comorbidities and risk factors for TB is a crucial component of Pillar one of the End TB Strategy, which focuses on integrated patient-centred care and prevention, including action on TB and comorbidities. The Framework for collaborative action on TB and comorbidities aims to support coun
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tries in the evidence-informed introduction and scale-up of holistic people-centred services for TB, comorbidities and health-related risk factors, with the goal of comprehensively addressing TB and other co-existing health conditions. It should be used in conjunction with relevant WHO guidelines. The Framework is intended for use by people working in ministries of health, other relevant line-ministries, policymakers, international technical and funding organizations, researchers, nongovernmental and civil society organizations, as well as primary care workers, specialist health practitioners, and community health workers who support the response to TB and comorbidities in both the public and private sectors.
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The guidance notes describe key actions that policy-makers at national and subnational levels can take in relation to: diagnostic testing for COVID-19, clinical management of COVID-19, meeting targets for vaccination against COVID-19, maintaining infection control measures for COVID-19 in health-car
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e settings, building confidence through risk communication and community involvement, and ensuring that all health-care workers are aware of the risks of COVID-19.
This guidance note focuses on the following areas: COVID-19 diagnostic testing, clinical management of COVID-19, achieving COVID-19 vaccination targets, maintaining COVID-19 infection control measures in health-care settings, building confidence through risk communication and community engagement, and managing COVID-19 infodemia. This guidance note focuses on risk communication and community engagement in the context of COVID-19.
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SAMS team rose to meet these challenges, delivering world class COVID treatment with four newly established COVID hospitals complete with 100 ICU beds and state of the art equipment like ventilators, monitors, and oxygen generators. By using innovative technologies, SAMS’ physicians were able to s
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hare the knowledge they gained treating
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