It is too early to know the full impact of COVID-19 on Africa. To date the experience has been varied. There are causes for concern, but also reasons for hope. Early estimates were pessimistic regarding the pandemic’s impact on the continent. But
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the relatively low numbers of COVID-19 cases reported thus far have raised hopes that African countries may be spared the worst of the pandemic. While the virus is present in all African countries, most countries have recorded fewer than 1,000 cases. The African Union acted swiftly, endorsing a joint continental strategy in February, and complementing efforts by Member States and Regional Economic Communities by providing a public health platform.
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Climate change is damaging human health now and is projected to have a greater impact in the future. Low- and middle-income countries are seeing th
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e worst effects as they are most vulnerable to climate shifts and least able to adapt given weak health systems and poor infrastructure. Low-carbon approach can provide effective, cheaper care while at the same time being climate smart. Low-carbon healthcare can advance institutional strategies toward low-carbon development and health-strengthening imperatives and inspire other development institutions and investors working in this space. Low-carbon healthcare provides an approach for designing, building, operating, and investing in health systems and facilities that generate minimal amounts of greenhouse gases. It puts health systems on a climate-smart development path, aligning health development and delivery with global climate goals. This approach saves money by reducing energy and resource costs. It can improve the quality of care in a diversity of settings. By prompting ministries of health to tackle climate change mitigation and foster low-carbon healthcare, the development community can help governments strengthen local capacity and support better community health.
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On August 13, 2024, the Africa CDC declared the mpox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS). The following day, the WHO declared it a Public
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Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). A coordinated, continent-wide response is essential, co-led by the African Union (AU) through the Africa CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO), in close collaboration with global partners working under a unified plan, budget, and monitoring framework.
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Financing Global Health 2014 is the sixth edition of this annually produced report on global health financing. As in previous years, this report ca
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ptures trends in development assistance for health (DAH) and government health expenditure (GHE). Health financing is one of IHME’s core research areas, and the aim of the series is to provide much-needed information to global health stakeholders. Updated GHE and DAH estimates allow decision-makers to pinpoint funding gaps and investment opportunities vital to improving population health. This year, IHME made a number of improvements to the data collection and methods implemented to produce Financing Global Health estimates. Both government health expenditure and development assistance for health estimates were updated and enhanced in 2013.
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Significant progress has been made in the eradication of three priority diseases in the African Region, as a result of extensive collaboration between the Regional Office, WHO country offices
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and countries. For example, in August 2020, the region was certified free of wild poliovirus. In the area of neglected tropical diseases, Guinea worm disease is on the verge of eradication, and 12 member states are within reach of being certified as having eradicated yaws by the end of this year.
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Cholera is a major health risk in many parts of the world, affecting millions of people every year. Since mid-2021, the world has been facing an ac
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ute upsurge of the 7th cholera pandemic, which is characterized by the number, size and concurrence of multiple outbreaks, the spread to areas that had been free of cholera for decades and alarmingly high mortality rates. The mortality associated with these outbreaks is of particular concern as many countries have reported higher case fatality ratios (CFR) than in previous years
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Humanitarian emergencies and crises (Humanitarian emergencies and crises) are large-scale events that may result in the breakdown of
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health care systems and society, forced displacement, death, and physical, psychological, social and spiritual suffering on a massive scale. Current responses to Humanitarian emergencies and crises rightfully focus on saving lives, but for both ethical and medical reasons, the prevention and relief of pain, as well as other physical and psychological symptoms, social and spiritual distress, also are imperative. Therefore, palliative care, should be integrated into responses to Humanitarian emergencies and crises. The principles of humanitarianism and impartiality require that all patients receive care and should never be abandoned for any reason, even if they are dying. Thus, there is significant overlap in the principles and mission of palliative care and humanitarianism: relief of suffering; respect for the dignity of all people; support for basic needs; and accompaniment during the most difficult of times
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Small drinking-water supplies commonly experience operational, managerial, technical and resourcing challenges that impact their ability to deliver safe and reliable services. The needs
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and opportunities associated with these supplies therefore warrant explicit consideration in policies and regulations.
These Guidelines, specifically tailored to small water supplies, build on over 60 years of guidance by the World Health Organization (WHO) on drinking-water quality and safety. They focus on establishing drinking-water quality regulations and standards that are health based and context appropriate; on proactively managing risks through water safety planning and sanitary inspections; and on carrying out independent surveillance. The guidance is intended primarily for decision-makers at national and subnational levels with responsibility for developing regulatory frameworks and support programmes related to these activities. Other stakeholders involved in water service provision will also benefit from the guidance in this document.
Designed to be practical and accessible, these Guidelines offer clear guidance that is rooted in the principle of progressive improvement. State-of-the-art recommendations and implementation guidance are provided, drawn from a comprehensive evidence review and established good practices. Additionally, case examples are provided from countries and areas around the world to demonstrate how the guidance in this publication has been implemented in practice in a wide variety of contexts.
Together with WHO’s 2024 Sanitary inspection packages – a supporting tool for the Guidelines for drinking-water quality: small water supplies, these Guidelines update and supersede WHO’s 1997 Guidelines for drinking-water quality. Volume 3: surveillance and control of community supplies. Key changes to this updated publication include a greater focus on preventive risk management and a broader range of small water supplies covered, including those managed by households, communities and professional entities.
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This document builds on the Background document prepared for the September 4-5, 2014 Consultation. It includes proposed elements to consider during the development of a framework to assist decision-making at global
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and national level.
The aim of the document is to assist Member States and relevant partners in their discussions to identify the best approaches to ensure the accelerated evaluation and use of available or near-term therapies and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of EVD. The document calls for a coordinated effort by the international community to remove unnecessary obstacles towards this goal.
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WHO published the first COVID-19 Strategic Response and Preparedness Plan (SPRP) on 3 February, 2020. This report highlights the main points of progress that were made up to 30 June 2020 under the t
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hree objectives outlined in the SPRP: scaling up international coordination and support; scaling up country preparedness and response by pillar; and accelerating research and innovation. The report also discusses some of the key challenges faced so far, and provides an update on the resource requirements for the next phase of WHO’s response as part of an unprecedented whole-of-UN approach to the pandemic.
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Climate change, increasing population densities, and intensified globalisation in trade, travel and migration are among the most important factors shaping the 21st century. Each impacts upon populat
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ion health and the risk of infectious disease, particularly those originating at the human-animal-environmental interface. The recognition that many risk drivers of infectious disease fall outside of the typical domain of the health sector creates the challenge of identifying and pursuing priorities for cross-sectoral action aimed at strengthening global health security. In response, the One Health concept has emerged, as have related initiatives addressing Planetary Health and Biodiversity and Human Health. From a public health perspective and operationally speaking, the One Health approach offers great potential, emphasising as it does cooperation and coordination between multiple sectors. Yet despite having been a focal point for discussion for over a decade, numerous challenges facing the implementation of One Health preparedness strategies remain. While some are technical, related to the requirement for innovative early warning systems or new vaccines, for example, others are institutional and cultural in nature, given the transdisciplinary nature of the topic. There have thus been calls to address One Health from multiple perspectives, from ecology to the social sciences. In order to further explore this issue and to identify priority areas for action for strengthening One Health preparedness in Europe, ECDC convened an expert consultation on 11–12 December 2017.
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Ebola disease and Marburg disease outbreaks continue to occur in Africa, with increased frequency. In addition to resulting in high mortality and morbidity, the outbreaks generate fear
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and mistrust about the response activities within the communities affected.
Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a key pillar in the outbreak response; adherence to IPC practices can prevent and control transmission of infections to health and care workers, patients and their family members.
During the 2014-2016 West African Ebola disease outbreak, there was an urgent need for rapid IPC guidance to help support ministries of health, health-care providers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In response, WHO produced several documents related to the outbreak based on expert opinion, including IPC-specific documents and documents on clinical management that also referenced key IPC principles and practices. Since that time, many practices in the field have become institutionalized.
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Poor quality health services are holding back progress on improving health in countries at all income levels.
Today, inaccurate diagnosis, medication errors, inappropriate or unnecessary treatm
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ent, inadequate or unsafe clinical facilities or practices, or providers who lack adequate training and expertise prevail in all countries.
The situation is worst in low and middle-income countries where 10 percent of hospitalized patients can expect to acquire an infection during their stay, as compared to seven percent in high income countries. This is despite hospital acquired infections being easily avoided through better hygiene, improved infection control practices and appropriate use of antimicrobials.. At the same time, one in ten patients is harmed during medical treatment in high income countries.
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To complement the Global Strategy progress reporting, this report provides a detailed look at country leadership and action toward the Every Newborn National Milestones by 2020. Countries have taken the initiative to show the way forward
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and have demonstrated significant progress. As part of monitoring this progress, countries have adopted the Every Newborn Tracking Tool. This report presents a compilation of the data collated by the Every Newborn Tracking Tool in 2016, when 51 countries adopted the tool; it also spotlights examples of specific country activity for each National Milestone. Finally, Global Milestones for 2020 were part of the Every Newborn Action Plan to guide global and regional work in support of country efforts and this report highlights relevant progress towards those Global Milestones.
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The purpose of this pocketbook is to provide clear guidance on current best management practices for VHF across health-care facilities
A key purpose of the Recovery Toolkit is to support countries in the reactivation of health services which may have suffered as a result
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of the emergency. These services include ongoing programmes such as immunization and vaccinations, maternal and child health services, and noncommunicable diseases.
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Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) programs targeted at children aged 6–59 months are implemented in many countries. By improving immune function, vitamin A (VA) reduces mortality associated with measles, diarrhea, and other illnesses. There is curre
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ntly a debate regarding the relevance of VAS, but amidst the debate, researchers acknowledge that the majority of nationally-representative data on VA status is outdated. To address this data gap and contribute to the debate, we examined data from 82 countries implementing VAS programs, identified other VA programs, and assessed the recentness of national VA deficiency (VAD) data.
Article published in: Nutrients, 2017, 9, 190
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9030190
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Report of Meeting: 4 November 2014, Roma