This technical brief describes the re-affirmed WHO recommendation on ultrasound examination in the context of routine antenatal care and outlines policy and programme implications for translating this recommendation into action at the country level.
Declarations of interests were collected from all external contributors and assessed for any conflicts of interest. Summaries of the reported interests can be found on the SAGE meeting website and SAGE Covid-19 Working Group webpage. This guidance should be considered along with the broader COVID-...19 policy advice to WHO member states and in particular the advice on how to reach the COVID-19 vaccination targets.
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UNICEF Syria’s series of think pieces. Every day counts. An outlook on child protection for the most vulnerable children in Syria.To navigate the complex and continuously changing context and attain sustainable results for children, UNICEF – along with other UN agencies - seeks to make a shift i...n its programming towards early recovery while maintaining the delivery of humanitarian assistance based on needs on the ground. This will help strengthen the linkages between the needs-based emergency response and essential service restoration, socioeconomic resilience, and social cohesion.
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Technical information note. Digital Adherence Technologies (DATs) such as the smart medication container
kit can help to support people affected by TB with their treatment in a modern
and ef-fective way. These technologies are able to deliver reminders and may
help em-power TB affected individual...s and their families to take their daily
medication at a time and place that suits them best. They also generate a
digital record of medication intake.
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The pharmaceutical sector of any nation is responsible for providing society with quality medicines and other pharmaceutical services. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Pharmaceuticals may constitute as much as 40% of the national health budget in developing countries, yet portions o...f the population may lack access to the most essential medicines; while the limited funds available for health are spent on unnecessary, ineffective and even dangerous medications.
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Testing Guidance and Interpretation of Results for Healthcare providers
Testing Guidance and Interpretation of Results for Healthcare Providers Dengue and Zika Virus
Starting on 24 February 2022, a large-scale armed conflict in Ukraine triggered an unprecedented humanitarian crisis across the country, characterised, among other elements, by the displacement of a significant proportion of the Ukrainian population.
As early as April 2022, the International Organi...zation for Migration (IOM) began observing significant return movements. Conditions of return vary widely, as returnees arrive back to areas not directly affected by the war, but which have experienced a significant influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as to conflict-affected and recently de-occupied areas which have sustained severe damage.
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The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization held a meeting on 3-6 October 2022. This report summarizes the discussions, conclusions and recommendations.
It covers the following items:
Global Reports
Immunization Agenda 2030 and Regional reports
Monkeypox
RSV
COVID-19 vacci...nes
Polio vaccination
Ebola (Sudan ebolavirus outbreak update)
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The WHO estimates that 19 million children aged 15 years or younger are visually impaired. Of these, 1.4 million are irreversibly blind and need visual rehabilitation interventions for full psychological and personal development. The remainder have visual problems that could be prevented or treated.... Identifying children with visual problems early in life so that they can benefit from medical and optical interventions remains a key challenge for most child eye health programmes. Reports from various low-and middle-income countries indicate that the age of children undergoing operation for cataract is frequently too high to achieve maximum benefit.
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Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiological agent of Chagas disease (CD), considered one of the most important parasitic infections in Latin America. Between 25 and 90 million humans are at infection risk via at least one of multiple infection mechanisms. Under natural conditions, the principal transmissio...n modes are transplacental or via one of more than 140 hematophagous triatomine bugs (Reduviidae: Triatominae). Triatomines acquire the parasite from mammal reservoirs due to their obligate blood-feeding (albeit triatomines can also feed on non-reservoir vertebrates such as birds and reptiles). The disease burden for CD in the Latin America and Caribbean region, based on disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), is at least five times greater than that of malaria, and is approximately one-fifth that of HIV/AIDS. In recent decades, CD has extended to other continents outside natural reservoir or vector distributions due to human migration, with a minimum estimated 10 million individuals infected worldwide.
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Leptospirosis, a spirochaetal zoonosis, occurs in diverse epidemiological settings and affects vulnerable populations, such as rural subsistence farmers and urban slum dwellers. Although leptospirosis is a life-threatening disease and recognized as an important cause of pulmonary haemorrhage syndrom...e, the lack of global estimates for morbidity and mortality has contributed to its neglected disease status
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Snakebite envenoming is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that is responsible for enormous suffering, disability and premature death on every continent. As over 5.8 billion people are at risk of encountering a venomous snake, it is not surprising but no less tragic that almost 7400 people every
da...y are bitten by snakes, and 220–380 men, women and children die as a result, adding up to about 2.7 million cases of envenoming and 8100–138 000 deaths a year.
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This background document (EUR/RC72/BG/7) was considered and adopted by the WHO Regional Committee for Europe at its 72nd session (Tel Aviv, Israel, 12–14 September 2022), together with the working document (EUR/RC72/7) and information document (EUR/RC72/INF./4). The Regiona...l Committee adopted resolution EUR/RC72/R3, in which it endorsed the framework.
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The publication of the of the Antimicrobial Treatment Guidelines represents the
culmination of the efforts of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program of ICMR to publish treatment guidelines for common syndromes in India. These guidelines are targeted for the health care settings. It aims to rationali...ze the usage of antibiotics on our Essential Medicines Formulary (EMF) and to establish consistency in the treatment of various infectious conditions.
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Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global epidemic with significant morbidity. Diabetic
retinopathy (DR) is the specific microvascular complication of DM and affects 1 in 3 persons with DM. DR remains a leading cause of vision loss in working adult populations. Patients with severe levels of DR are report...ed to have poorer quality of life and reduced levels of physical, emotional, and social well-being, and they utilize more health care resources.
Epidemiological studies and clinical trials have shown that optimal control of blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids can reduce the risk of developing retinopathy and slow its progression. Timely treatment with laser photocoagulation, and increasingly, the appropriate use of intraocular administration of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors can prevent visual loss in vision- threatening retinopathy, particularly diabetic macular edema (DME). Since visual loss may not be present in the earlier stages of retinopathy, regular screening of persons with diabetes is essential to enable early intervention.
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Training in monitoring and epidemiological assessment of mass drug administration for eliminating lymphatic filariasis: learners’ guide. World Health Organization.
From February 22-23, 2023, the Wellcome Trust and the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) brought together researchers, decision makers, and public health implementers to participate in a virtual workshop focused on cholera and climate. Day 1 involved a technical workshop to identify key re...search themes as well as the challenges, gaps, and opportunities in using climate information for cholera decision making. Day 2 was an open forum focused on information-sharing and updates from countries and partners, including a call for stronger research and data on the connection between climate and cholera.
The overarching discussion outlined the complex relationship between climate and cholera. Materials from the event – including a recording of the Day 2 open forum, key findings/messages, and a final event report – can be accessed below
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The 2020 Financing for Sustainable Development Report, the fifth report of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development, provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of sustainable finance. Prepared by more than 60 agencies of the United Nations system and partner international organ...izations, the report brings together a wide range of expertise and perspectives. It puts forward a set of policy recommendations to mobilize financing flows, and align them with economic, social and environmental priorities. These recommendations should assist Member States and all other stakeholders as they work toward fully implementing the Addis Agenda and achieve the SDGs.
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