In one of his final essays, statesman and former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan said, ‘Snakebite is the most important tropical disease you’ve never heard of’. Mr. Annan firmly believed that victims of snakebite envenoming should be recognised and afforded greater efforts at impro...ved prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. During the last years of his life, he advocated strongly for the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the global community to give greater priority to this disease of poverty and its victims.
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Interpeace has been working with the government and non-governmental actors in Rwanda for over 20 years, focusing on societal healing and participatory governance. Currently, Interpeace is implementing a holistic peacebuilding programme titled ‘Reinforcing community capacity for social cohesion an...d reconciliation through societal trauma healing in Rwanda’. This programme has four pillars: mental health and support; social cohesion and reconciliation; collaborative livelihoods; and prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration.
Interpeace and its partners have collaborated with national and international experts to design structured psycho-social interventions, scientifically known as ‘protocols’, which aim to support healing and peace processes. These protocols include resilience-oriented therapy, adaptations of sociotherapy, multifamily therapy, the collaborative livelihoods (COLIVE) protocol, the prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration curriculum, and the socio-emotional skills curriculum.
These protocols guide interventions in healing spaces for Genocide survivors, Genocide perpetrators, former combatants, and their descendants. They facilitate mutual healing and reconciliation, strengthen the mental resilience of individuals and communities, promote family cohesion, and address the intergenerational transmission of Genocide legacies. They also underpin initiatives to develop collaborative livelihoods and skills development, and the psychological rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners, particularly those convicted of Genocide crimes.
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Cardiovascular diseases, principally ischemic heart disease (IHD), are the most important cause of death and disability in the majority of low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs). In these countries, IHD mortality rates are significantly greater in individuals of a low socioeconomic status (...SES).
Three important focus areas for decreasing IHD mortality among those of low SES in LLMICs are (1) acute coronary care; (2) cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention; and (3) primary prevention. Greater mortality in low SES patients with acute coronary syndrome is due to lack of awareness of symptoms in patients and primary care physicians, delay in reaching healthcare facilities, non-availability of thrombolysis and coronary revascularization, and the non-affordability of expensive medicines (statins, dual anti-platelets, renin-angiotensin system blockers). Facilities for rapid diagnosis and accessible and affordable long-term care at secondary and tertiary care hospitals for IHD care are needed. A strong focus on the social determinants of health (low education, poverty, working and living conditions), greater healthcare financing, and efficient primary care is required. The quality of primary prevention needs to be improved with initiatives to eliminate tobacco and trans-fats and to reduce the consumption of alcohol, refined carbohydrates, and salt along with the promotion of healthy foods and physical activity. Efficient primary care with a focus on management of blood pressure, lipids and diabetes is needed. Task sharing with community health workers, electronic decision support systems, and use of fixed-dose combinations of blood pressure-lowering drugs and statins can substantially reduce risk factors and potentially lead to large reductions in IHD. Finally, training of physicians, nurses, and health workers in IHD prevention should be strengthened.
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Objective: To identify gaps in national stroke guidelines that could be bridged to enhance the quality of stroke care services in low- and
middle-income countries.
Methods: We systematically searched medical databases and websites of medical societies and contacted international organizations.
Co...untry-specific guidelines on care and control of stroke in any language published from 2010 to 2020 were eligible for inclusion. We reviewed
each included guideline for coverage of four key components of stroke services (surveillance, prevention, acute care and rehabilitation).
We also assessed compliance with the eight Institute of Medicine standards for clinical practice guidelines, the ease of implementation of
guidelines and plans for dissemination to target audiences.
Findings: We reviewed 108 eligible guidelines from 47 countries, including four low-income, 24 middle-income and 19 high-income countries.
Globally, fewer of the guidelines covered primary stroke prevention compared with other components of care, with none recommending
surveillance. Guidelines on stroke in low- and middle-income countries fell short of the required standards for guideline development;
breadth of target audience; coverage of the four components of stroke services; and adaptation to socioeconomic context. Fewer low- and
middle-income country guidelines demonstrated transparency than those from high-income countries. Less than a quarter of guidelines
encompassed detailed implementation plans and socioeconomic considerations.
Conclusion: Guidelines on stroke in low- and middle-income countries need to be developed in conjunction with a wider category of
health-care providers and stakeholders, with a full spectrum of translatable, context-appropriate interventions.
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The Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health (NMH) is responsible for promoting, coordinating, and implementing technical cooperation activities related to the prevention, control, and surveillance of noncommunicable diseases, all forms of malnutrition, mental health, neurological an...d substance use disorders, including their risk factors. It also promotes policies and strategies related with disabilities and rehabilitation, road safety, as well as prevention of and response to violence in all its forms.
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The GOLD 2023 report provides a comprehensive update on the global strategy for diagnosing, managing, and preventing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It emphasizes that COPD is a leading cause of death worldwide, driven by risk factors such as tobacco smoking, air pollution, and genetic... predispositions. The report outlines key updates, including new diagnostic criteria, the introduction of terms like "Pre-COPD" and "PRISm" for early identification, and expanded sections on comorbidities, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, and rehabilitation. It stresses the importance of personalized treatment plans, early diagnosis, and addressing risk factors to mitigate the disease's impact. The report is aimed at guiding healthcare providers to improve COPD outcomes and adapt treatment approaches based on the latest evidence.
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The document by the American Thoracic Society provides an overview of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), explaining its causes, such as smoking and environmental factors, symptoms like breathlessness and chronic cough, and diagnostic methods including spirometry. It discusses treatment st...rategies, emphasizing smoking cessation, medication use, oxygen therapy, and pulmonary rehabilitation. The document also highlights that while COPD is a lifelong condition, effective management can improve symptoms and quality of life.
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The document outlines the 2019 update to the South African guideline for managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis, prevention through smoking cessation, use of bronchodilators as primary pharmacotherapy, and a comprehensive approach to pa...tient care including pulmonary rehabilitation and the management of comorbidities. The guideline also covers recommendations for handling acute exacerbations, surgical interventions, and long-term treatment options.
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The article provides a comprehensive overview of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), covering its causes, symptoms, diagnostic methods, classification of severity, treatment options, and management strategies, with a focus on risk factors, clinical features, and therapeutic approaches such... as smoking cessation, bronchodilators, rehabilitation, and potential surgical interventions.
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Six months after the earthquake, World Vision's efforts have made it possible to provide emergency assistance to selected beneficiaries among the most vulnerable through the distribution of food and hygiene kits and to address the psychosocial needs of children, adolescents, and young people deprive...d of classrooms. During this recovery phase of the response by World Vision teams have been focusing on rebuilding and rehabilitating school infrastructure in order to facilitate the return to school in safer conditions given the almost permanent seismic risks. Six months later, the security situation continues to deteriorate with an increase in kidnappings and nationwide strikes to protest against the rising insecurity.
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WHO Medical Devices Donations - SPANISH Version - Las tecnologías sanitarias son fundamentales en un sistema de salud operativo. Los dispositivos médicos, en concreto, son cruciales para la prevención, el diagnóstico, el tratamiento y la rehabilitación de enfermedades. Estos documentos están d...irigidos a ingenieros biomédicos, administradores sanitarios,
donantes, organizaciones no gubernamentales e instituciones científicas implicados en la tecnología sanitaria a nivel de distrito, nacional, regional o mundial.
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Esta tercera versión resumida de la Guía para el cuidado de pacientes adultos críticos con COVID-19 en las Américas se elaboró con el objetivo de facilitar la consulta de las recomendaciones para el manejo de pacientes adultos críticos con COVID-19 atendidos en las unidades de cuidados intensi...vos. Ofrece recomendaciones basadas en evidencia para la identificación de marcadores y factores de riesgo de mortalidad de los pacientes críticos, el control de la infección, la recogida de muestras, la asistencia a los pacientes (ventilatoria y hemodinámica), el tratamiento farmacológico, la rehabilitación temprana, el uso de imágenes diagnósticas, la prevención de complicaciones y los criterios de egreso. Las recomendaciones están dirigidas a todo el personal de salud que atiende a pacientes en los servicios de urgencias y de emergencias y las unidades de cuidados intensivos. Asimismo, tienen por objetivo brindar apoyo a los responsables de la toma de decisiones y miembros de entidades gubernamentales relacionados con el manejo de pacientes con COVID-19 en las unidades de cuidados intensivos de la Región de las Américas
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Improving access to assistive technology for everyone, everywhere.
The first WHO Priority Assistive Products List was launched in May 2016. The List includes hearing aids, wheelchairs, communication aids, spectacles, artificial limbs, pill organizers, memory aids and other essential items for many... older people and people with disabilities to be able to live a healthy, productive and dignified life.
Available in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish
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Le Cadre de compétences en réadaptation (CCR) est un modèle qui présente les
performances attendues ou souhaitées pour les effectifs de réadaptation dans les
différentes professions, spécialisations et les différents contextes afin d’offrir des soins
et une prestation de services de qu...alité. Il inclut un certain nombre de composantes
complémentaires et interconnectées, en particulier :
• les valeurs et les croyances essentielles ;
• les compétences et les comportements à travers lesquels elles s’expriment ;
• les activités et les tâches qu’elles comprennent ; et
• les connaissances et les habilités.
À l’exception des valeurs et des croyances essentielles, ces composantes sont organisées
en cinq domaines : pratique (P), professionnalisme (PM), apprentissage et développement
(AD), management et leadership (ML) et recherche (R), et couvrent la vaste portée du travail
de réadaptation
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Entraînement à la marche. Un excellent exercice pour les personnes amputées des membres inférieurs
A step towards implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) related to personal mobility.