While the full effects of COVID-19 remain unknown, the pandemic continues to profoundly impact regional
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migration and mobility dynamics, with deep health, social and economic consequences for the most vulnerable, including migrants, displaced populations and their host communities, and returnees.
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Since the release of the first volume in May 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to rage a
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round the world. By mid-March, 2021, countries around the globe had reported over 123 million cases—a nearly five-fold increase since this report’s previous volume—and over 2.7 million deaths attributed to the disease. And while new case loads are currently on the rise again, the global health community has already administered almost 400 million doses of vaccines, at last offering some signs of hope and progress.
Economic impacts threaten to undo decades of recent progress in poverty reduction, child nutrition and gender equality, and exacerbate efforts to support refugees, migrants, and other vulnerable communities. National and local governments—together with international and private-sector partners—must deploy vaccines as efficiently, safely and equitably as possible while still monitoring for new outbreaks and continuing policies to protect those who do not yet have immunity.
More than ever, the world needs reliable and trustworthy data and statistics to inform these important decisions. The United Nations and all member organizations of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) collect and make available a wealth of information for assessing the multifaceted impacts of the pandemic. This report updates some of the global and regional trends presented in Volume I and offers a snapshot of how COVID-19 continues to affect the world today across multiple domains.
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Version 1.1
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
at the national and acute health care facility level
Updated guidance. The guidance provides useful information to staff working in prisons, as well as to health and prison authorities, explaining how to prevent and address a potential outbreak
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of COVID-19. In addition, it aims to protect the health and well-being of all those who live and work in, and visit, these settings and the general population at large. People deprived of their liberty, and living or working in enclosed environments in close proximity, are likely to be more vulnerable to the COVID-19 disease than the general population. Moreover, correctional facilities may amplify and enhance COVID-19 transmission beyond their walls.
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The document, "Sustainable Management of Radiotherapy Facilities and Equipment," by WHO and IAEA, provides guidelines for managing radiotherapy equipment and facilities to ensure effective and safe
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cancer treatment. It covers essential aspects like preventive and corrective maintenance, funding, infrastructure, and staffing requirements for sustainable operation. The document aims to support radiotherapy departments, especially in low-resource settings, by outlining strategies for equipment procurement, maintenance, and replacement, emphasizing safety, quality assurance, and optimal patient care.
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This publication is based on the list of clinical interventions selected from clinical guidelines on prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, palliative care, monitoring and end
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of life care. This publication addresses medical devices for six types of cancer: breast, cervical, colorectal, leukemia, lung and prostate. The first section defines the global increase in cancer cases, the global goals to manage NCDs and the WHO activities related to these goals. The second section presents the methodology used for the selection of medical devices that support clinical interventions required to screen, diagnose, treat and monitor cancer stages, as well as the provision of palliative care, based on evidence-based information. The third section lists the priority medical devices required to manage cancer in seven different units of health care services: 1. Vaccination, clinical assessment and endoscopy, 2. Medical imaging and nuclear medicine, 3. Surgery, 4. Laboratory and pathology, 5. Radiotherapy, 6. Systemic therapy and 7. Palliative and end of life care
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The Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) 2011-2020, endorsed by Member States during the May 2012 World He
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alth Assembly, has set ambitious targets to improve access to immunization and tackle vaccine-preventable diseases. This responsibility has been translated into firm commitments in February 2016, through the signature of the Addis Declaration on Immunization (ADI) by African Ministers and subsequently endorsed by the Heads of States from across Africa at the 28th African Union Summit held in January 2017. This commitment from the highest level of government comes as a catalyst to immunization efforts on the continent to deliver on the promise of universal immunization
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The Executive Board at its 150th session noted an earlier version of this report.1 The present report provides an update on
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the implementation of the Strategic Action Plan on Polio Transition (2018–2023)2 at the start of 2022, within the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
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The military offensive by the Russian Federation in Ukraine which began February 2022 has triggered one of
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the world’s fastest-growing displacement and humanitarian crisis, with geopolitical and economic ripples felt across the globe. The ongoing war has caused large-scale disruptions to the delivery of health services and a near-collapse of the health system. But the crisis also saw an extraordinary mobilization and crisis response to a health emergency by WHO and its more than 100 partners.
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The objectives of the meeting were to agree on coordinated and aligned support to the 3 countrie
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s’ national health recovery plans (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone); to identify cross-cutting areas and opportunities for integration; to identify ways to improve implementation modalities; and to identify actions including technical assistance needed to support the countries in the process of building resilient health systems.
The outcomes of the meeting consisted in proposed country action plans to move forward with the implementation of the recovery plans. The action plans includes:priorities and areas of work; activities needed to improve implementation modalities; technical assistance needs.
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This bulletin focuses on the situation in Ukraine and several key refugee-receiving countries (Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, and Slovakia), with
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the understanding that other countries in the European Region are also receiving Ukrainian refugees and WHO is providing technical support to them.
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This publication was developed in response to the need for a reference list of priority medical devices required for management of noncommunicable
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diseases (NCDs), focusing on cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, especially for low- and middle-income countries to support universal health coverage actions.
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The document contains preliminary report on all aspects of WHO’s response in the Ebola outbreak. WHO Member States will discuss
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the report at the sixty-eighth World Health Assembly.
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23 December 2020 This document summarizes WHO recommendations for the rational use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in health care settings a
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nd temporary strategies during acute supply shortages. This document also contains 2 Annex sections describing updated PPE use recommendations for health workers based on the transmission scenario, setting, and activity in the context of COVID-19 (Annex 1), and updated considerations for the decontamination or reprocessing of PPE (Annex 2). This guidance is intended for public health authorities, organizations, and focal persons involved in decisions regarding PPE distribution, management, and use by health workers.
Available in Arabic, French, English, Spanish and Russian
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This document compiles the recommendations made by the World Health
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Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to help professionals in charge of vector control programs in Latin America and the Caribbean at the national, subnational, and local level update their knowledge in order to make evidence-based decisions on the most appropriate control measures for each specific situation. IVM can be used for surveillance and control or for elimination of VBDs and can help reduce the development of insecticide resistance through the rational use of these products. This document provides instructions for fulfillment of the 2008 PAHO mandate set forth in CD 48/13 (Integrated Vector Management).
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In fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings, delivery of quality health services faces significant challenges, including disruption of a
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routine health service organization and delivery systems, increased health needs, complex and unpredictable resourcing issues, and vulnerability to multiple public health crises. Despite the difficulty of addressing quality in such settings, the necessity for action is acute, given the significant health needs of the populations in these environments and the increasing numbers of people for whom such settings are home.
This manual has been developed to provide a starting point for multi-actor efforts and actions to address quality of care in the most challenging settings. This includes practical approaches to action planning and implementation of a contextualised set of quality interventions.
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Every year, around 830 000 children die from unintentional or "accidental" injuries. The vast majority of these injuries occur in low-income and middle-income countries. However, dozens
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of prevention strategies and programmes exist. If they were integrated into other child survival programmes and implemented on a larger scale, many of these deaths and much of the injury-related disability could be prevented.
The report documents the magnitude, risks and prevention measures for child injuries globally –particularly for drowning, burns, road traffic injuries, falls and poisoning.
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The country profiles incorporate facts indicating the national status of medical devices in areas such as: medical device policies, regulations, incorporation, lists, inventories, nomenclature,
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health technology assessment, management, and biomedical engineering resources. This publication is intended for use as a reference by decision-makers in Ministries of Health, nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions involved in health technology at the district, national, regional, or global levels.
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Emergency medical teams (EMT) are first response health care providers – doctors, nurses, paramedics, and others – during outbreaks and emergencies or disasters, working with governments, charities such as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), a
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rmies, and international organizations such as the International Red Cross/Red Crescent movement. They comply with the classification and minimum standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners and bring to an emergency their training and self-sufficiency so as not to burden the national health system. EMT initiatives strengthen national surge capacities and facilitate the deployment of internationally classified teams of health- care professionals to countries and territories during emergencies, particularly during disease outbreaks and natural disasters, providing immediate assistance when national health systems are overwhelmed . Considering that they aim to support the provision of quality clinical care services to populations affected by public health emergencies, the expectation is that financial resources and equipment will be available to enable the performance of the requested task.
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