The harmful use of alcohol causes approximately 3 million deaths every year and the overall burden of disease and injuries attributable to alcohol ...consumption remains unacceptably high. The pace of development and implementation of alcohol policies has been uneven in WHO regions, and resources and capacities for implementation of the WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol 10 years after its endorsement do not correspond to the magnitude of the problems. On this basis, the WHO Executive Board in its decision EB146 (14) called for accelerated action to reduce the harmful use of alcohol.
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This report is one of the first major products of the newly established Precision Public Health Metrics unit of the UCN cluster ...ute-to-highlight medbox">of the WHO Regional Office for Africa. The report presents national trends in communicable and non-communicable disease burden and control in the WHO African region. It tracks progress made with respect to disease burden reduction, elimination and eradication. It also highlights major emerging threats, opportunities and priorities in the fight against commu- nicable and non-communicable diseases in the region. It covers the period 2000-2022, but for some indicators, information is available only up to 2021.
The report shows the number of reported cases for malaria and vaccine preventable diseases (meningitis, measles, yellow fever, pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, and polio); disease incidence due to HIV, tuberculosis and four major noncommunicable diseases (cardiovas- cular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respira- tory diseases).
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Asthma is the most common noncommunicable disease in children, and among the most common in adults. According to the most recent estimates from the Global Asthma Network Phase I study, around one in 10 children and adults have symptoms ...attribute-to-highlight medbox">of asthma and one in 20 school-aged children have severe asthma symptoms, with marked variations in prevalence and in prevalence trends between countries and regions of the world. The Global Burden of Disease Study estimated that asthma caused the loss of 21.6 million healthy years of life (disability-adjusted life years) and 461 069 deaths in 2019. Approximately 90% of the asthma burden of disease is borne by people living low and middle income countries (LMICs). Some countries report very high (up to 90%) rates of uncontrolled asthma. While the prevalence of asthma is highest in countries with a high Socio-Demographic Index (SDI), death rates from asthma are highest in countries with low and lower middle incomes.
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The goal of the draft global action plan is to ensure, for as long as possible, continuity of successful treatment and prevention ...ibute-to-highlight medbox">of infectious diseases with effective and safe medicines that are quality-assured, used in a responsible way, and accessible to all who need them.
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Clinical Practice Guidelines and Clinical Pathway for Therapy and Management of Heart Disease and Blood Vessels in Indonesia
The objective of this guidance document is to support the public health professionals
in implementing effective surveillance of cholera in at-risk, endemic and epidemic
areas. This document has be...en developed by the Surveillance Working Group of the
Global Task Force for Cholera Control (GTFCC) at the World Health Organization based
on the existing documents, guidelines, tools and articles related to surveillance of
cholera disease, as well as technical discussions with experts held during GTFCC
meetings.
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Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic on 11 March 2020, and Malawi declared its first case on 2 April. As of 30 April, there were 36 confirmed positive cases ...attribute-to-highlight medbox">of COVID-19 and 3 deaths. A State of Disaster was declared by President Arthur Peter Mutharika on 20 March and a 21-day lockdown was implemented from 18 April to 9 May. The lockdown measures include: bans on public gatherings; closure of schools; and bans on international flights and cross-border passenger buses.
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On 30thJanuary 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the People’s Republic of ...China to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the international Health Regulations. The following day, the Italian Government declared a state of emergency, stopping all flights to and from Chinese airports. 1.2On 7th April the foreign, interior, transport and health ministers signed a decree under theInternational Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue stating that Italian ports could no longer be classified as places of safety for foreign naval units, including NGO-run migrantrescue ships, operating outside the Italian Search and Rescue (SAR) area. Despite the national lockdown and the closure of ports to international rescue vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, small ships departing from Libya and Tunisia have continued to sail towards the Italian coastline. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), during the period 1stJanuary –12thApril, 2020 there were an estimated 3,229 sea arrivals in Italy
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Workplaces outside of healthcare facilities can be also settings for transmission of COVID-19. Outbreaks of COVID-19 has been reported in various t...ypes of workplaces and job categories.
All workers should be protected from acquiring COVID-19 because of their work. The prevention of COVID-19 in work settings should be combined with measures for protecting physical and mental health, safety and wellbeing of workers from other occupational hazards in the operation, closures and reopening of workplaces.
This joint WHO/ILO policy brief provides a summary of the evidence for transmission of COVID-19 in general workplaces and an overview of WHO and ILO recommendations for prevention and mitigation of COVID-19 and for protecting health and safety at work in the context of the pandemic.
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The development of this draft Proposed programme budget 2022–2023 comes at a unique moment for WHO. The world is in the grip of the coronavirus disease<.../span> (COVID-19) pandemic and faces health, social and economic consequences on an unprecedented scale. Although it is not known when the COVID-19 pandemic will end, recent encouraging vaccine results, in addition to the examples of countries that have achieved good results through public health measures, hold out the prospect of better days ahead. The full impact of the pandemic cannot yet be determined. But whatever its implications, the Secretariat will rise to the challenge and is ready to adapt so that it is fully equipped to support Member States for any eventuality in the future – to make sure that the world will never again have to face this kind of crisis.
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A series of information sheets to help empower communities and strengthen health systems
This series of information sheets introduces health literacy, its
relevance to public policy, and the way...s it can be used to inform
the promotion of good health, the prevention and management
of communicable and noncommunicable diseases, and the
reduction of health inequities. It provides information and links
to further resources to assist organizations and governments
to incorporate health literacy responses into practice, service
delivery systems, and policy.
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The skin of a patient is the first and most visible structure of the body that any health-care worker encounters during the course of an examinatio...n. To the patient, it is also highly visible, and any disease that affects it is noticeable and will have an impact on personal and social well-being. The skin is therefore an important entry point for both diagnosis and management. Many diseases of humans are associated with changes to the skin, ranging from symptoms such as itching to changes in colour, feel and appearance.
This training guide explains how to identify the signs and symptoms of neglected tropical diseases of the skin through their visible characteristics. It also contains information on how to diagnose and manage common skin problems that front-line health workers may encounter.
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Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 in Angola
Ebola virus disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dengue fever in Côte d’Ivoire
Humanitarian crisis in north-east ...Nigeria.
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Leishmaniasis is a climate-sensitive disease. Changes in temperature, rainfall, and humidity can have strong impacts on
the sandfly vector, altering their distribution and influencing their survival and population sizes. Increased temperatures shor...ten vector development time, reduce Leishmania parasite incubation time, and increase vector biting rates, allowing transmission
in areas not previously endemic for the disease. Poor and
marginalized communities will be hit disproportionately harder by
the effects of climate change, and droughts, famines, and floods
can also lead to displacement and migration of immunologically
naive people to areas where leishmaniasis is endemic, posing a
threat of leishmaniasis outbreaks.
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Progress in prevention and treatment is faltering around the world, putting millions of people in grave danger. Eastern Europe and central Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa h...ave all seen increases in annual HIV infections over several years. In Asia and the Pacific, UNAIDS data now show new HIV infections are rising where they had been falling. Action to tackle the inequalities driving AIDS is urgently required to prevent millions of new HIV infections this decade and to end the AIDS pandemic
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A variety of international organizations are involved in mobilizing resources from both public and private
sources and using them to extend development assistance to low-and middle-income countries around the world. They provide country-focused fin...ancial and technical assistance to developing countries, and contribute to the generation of global public goods,
such as disease surveillance, norms and standards,
data and knowledge, and aid coordination
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This purpose of this guide is to inform robust evaluations of the WHO training package – a package aimed at personnel whose primary role in health-care facilities is environmental cleaning, hereaf...ter referred to as cleaners.
The WHO training package – Environmental cleaning and infection prevention and control in health-care facilities in low- and middle-income countries – was designed to improve the competencies of cleaners through a practical, educational approach for adult learners in low- and middle-income countries and comprises two volumes: trainer’s guide and modules and resources (1,2). An associated OpenWHO online course describes the essential preparations for trainers to deliver the WHO training package.
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Facing the COVID-19 (new coronavirus disease) pandemic, the countries of the world must take decisive action to stop the spread of the virus. In th...ese critical circumstances, it is es- sential that everyone is informed about other health risks and hazards so that they can stay safe and healthy.
The following factsheet provides important information that you should know about alcohol consumption and COVID-19. It addresses, among other things, the misinformation that is being spread through social media and other communication channels about alcohol and COVID-19.
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This guidance will assist the transportation sector, including transport authorities, companies, independent or informal drivers, and passengers, in addressing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for different outbreak phases as defined in the Afric...a CDC Stepwise Response.
This guidance complements the Africa CDC Guidance for Community Physical Distancing, which includes further details on how to engage communities, implement physical distancing, and support organisations, and the Africa CDC Guidance for Community Use of Face Masks.
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A module from the suite of health service capacity assessments in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Interim Guidance 20 October 2020.
This self-assessment tool is designed for acute health-care... facilities (i.e. tertiary and secondary) but can be modified for the use in long-term care facilities, to help identify, prioritize and address the gaps in infection prevention and control (IPC) capacity in managing their response to COVID-19. The tool should be used by IPC professionals and/or those responsible for disaster planning or outbreak management in the facility (such as the response to the COVID-19 outbreak) at the start of the improvement process. A sample workplan template is provided to address gaps identified and record required actions.
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