This guide provides a comprehensive overview of essential information related to immunization, including technical information about vaccines, a review of immunization program management best practi...ces, guidance on the delivery of immunization services, monitoring and evaluation, disease surveillance, and the role of behavior change.
more
Testing and diagnosis of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) infection is the gateway for access to both prevention and treatment services, and is a crucial component of an effective response to the hepat...itis epidemic. Early identification of persons with chronic HBV or HCV infection enables them to receive the necessary care and treatment to prevent or delay progression of liver disease. Testing also provides an opportunity to link people to interventions to reduce transmission, through counselling on risk behaviours and provision of prevention commodities (such as sterile needles and syringes) and hepatitis B vaccination.
more
Birth defect has been an emerging major cause of child mortality in the region. Scarcity of the birth defects information hampers policy decisions and con...trol measures at national level. In order to create evidence for action for birth defects prevention in the region, WHO-SEARO in collaboration with CDC, USA has developed and launched a regional electronic database on birth defects. This surveillance database allows data collection on newborn health, birth defects and stillbirths cases and provides real time information at hospitals and national level.
Training of the hospital health staffs and data managers in the birth defects surveillance network; at regional, national and at hospital levels is recognized as essential for expansion of this database and to assure quality of data. A two days training module for hospital based birth defects surveillance was developed using a guide for operation and facilitator guide.
more
The publication conveys the most recent quantitative surveillance results focusing on noncommunicable disease (NCDs)-related risk behaviours among adults from the WHO STEPwise approach to NCD risk factor surveillance (STEPS) and tobacco use among ad...ults from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region. This publication contains selected indicators relating to tobacco use and other related risk behaviours of adults in Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region. The tobacco indicators are taken from GATS or STEPS and other indicators relating to risk behaviours (history– dietary behaviours, physical activity, alcohol use, cervical cancer screening; physical measurements – body mass index, blood pressure, waist circumference; biochemical measurements – fasting blood glucose level, blood glucose level 2 hours after glucose load, total blood cholesterol, urine sodium and urine creatinine) are taken from STEPS. The latest findings from surveys conducted in Member States are presented in the publication.
more
Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LNs) constitute a core vector control intervention against malaria. A number of new LN products are under development and will require assessment ...te-to-highlight medbox">of risks to humans. This document provides an updated generic model that can be used for the risk assessment of exposure to insecticides of individuals sleeping under LNs and during the washing of nets.
In an Annex, exposures and health risks are described for the conventional treatment or retreatment of nets (ITNs) with an insecticide considering that such practices may still be used in evaluation of ITNs and their use. The generic model does not include the risks associated with the manufacturing of LNs in a factory environment.
more
Эпиднадзор за состоянием окружающей среды посредством исследования сточных вод на наличие патогенных микроорганизмов давно применяется в общественном здравоох...анении, в частности, в связи с полиовирусом,
а с недавнего времени — также в связи с проблемой устойчивости к противомикробным препаратам (УПП) . В условиях
нынешней пандемии COVID-19 данная методика используется для определения в сточных водах вируса SARS-CoV-2,
выделяемого через верхние отделы желудочно-кишечного тракта и верхние дыхательные пути, а также с фекалиями.
disease control SARS-CoV-2
more
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi.
AMR occurs when bacteria,... viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others.
Antimicrobials - including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics - are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants. Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”.
more
Advances in the treatment of pediatric cancer have made it possible to expand initiatives beyond cure and cover aspects such as early detection, continuity of treatment and reduction in toxicity. Al...l this has paved the way for a more comprehensive vision of patient care, which means better chances of healing and a fuller life - objectives of the World Initiative against Childhood Cancer. Within this comprehensive care, psychosocial care includes the social, psychological, spiritual and functional dimensions of the disease process of patients. This series includes guidelines and standards based on evidence that guarantee the quality of said care. The standards are the result of discussion and review by different professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean. Module 1 focuses on psychosocial evaluation as a strategy to support the objectives of the World Initiative against Childhood Cancer, and as a tool for health professionals to gather the necessary information to offer these patients a comprehensive approach focused on well-being, adaptation to the disease process, and adherence to treatment.
more
Little is known about the patterns of development assistance (DA) for each component of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) in conflict-affected countries nor about... the DA allocation in relation to the burden of disease
more
This document has been prepared based on the evidence currently available about
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission (human-to-human transmission via respiratory droplets or direct contact from an infected individual).
It is recommende...d to use it in conjunction with the published World Health Organization
(WHO) Handbook for management of public health events on board ships.
The target audience of this documents is any authority involved in public health response to
a COVID-19 public health event on board ships, including International Health Regulations
(IHR) National Focal Point (NFP), port health authorities, local, provincial and national health
surveillance and response system, as well as port operators and ship operators
more
This policy brief examines the implications of COVID-19 and the government’s preventative measure for political stability,9 especially in the short to medium term. It argues that in the short term the di...sease and the preventative measures could make the country less vulnerable to organised political violence and more vulnerable to riots. In the medium and long term, however, vulnerability to both types of violence could increase, depending on the capacity of political forces to instigate and manage conflict and on their willingness to work together.
more
Practice paper in Brief 24
Containment strategies for Ebola rupture fundamental features of social, political and religious life. Control efforts that involve local people and appreciate their pers...pectives, social structures and institutions are therefore vital
more
The publication conveys the quantitative surveillance results focusing on tobacco use and noncommunicable disease (NCD) related behaviours among youth (13–15 years) in Member States of the WHO Sou...th-East Asia Region, namely, the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) and the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). This publication contains selected indicators relating to tobacco use and other related risk behaviours of youth (aged 13–15 years) in Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region. The tobacco indicators are mainly taken from GYTS and other indicators relating to risk behaviours (dietary behaviours, physical activity, alcohol use, drug use, mental health, violence and unintentional injury, sexual behaviours, protective factors and hygiene) are taken from GSHS. The latest findings from surveys conducted in Member States are presented in the publication.
more
Historically, the discovery of the sulfa drugs in the 1930s and the subsequent development of penicillin during World War II ushered in a new era in the treat...ment of infectious diseases. Infections that were common causes of death and disease in the pre-antibiotic era - rheumatic fever, syphilis, cellulitis and bacterial pneumonia - became treatable, and over the next 20 years most of the classes of antibiotics that find clinical use today were discovered and changed medicine in a profound way. The availability of antibiotics enabled revolutionary medical interventions such as cancer chemotherapy, organ transplants and essentially all major invasive surgeries from joint replacements to coronary bypass. Antibiotics, though, are unique among drugs in that their use precipitates their obsolescence. Paradoxically, these cures select for organisms that can evade them, fueling an arms race between microbes, clinicians and drug discoverers.
Wright BMC Biology 2010, 8:123 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/8/12
more
Following the release of the Wheelchair Service Training Package – Basic level (WSTP-B), WHO in partnership with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has developed the Wheelchair Service Training Package – Intermediate Lev...el (WSTP-I). WSTP-I is the second part of the WHO wheelchair service training package series and focusses more on addressing the needs of people who have severe difficulties in walking and moving around and also having poor postural control . While developing this training package, special attention was given on the provision of appropriate wheelchairs for children who have poor postural control and are unable to sit upright independently.
Purpose of the training
The need for wheelchair personnel is universal. WSTP-I is designed to support the training of personnel or volunteers to provide an appropriate manual wheelchair and cushion for children and adults who need additional postural support to sit upright. The main purpose of this training package is to:
increase the number of wheelchair users who receive a wheelchair which meets their needs;
increase the number of personnel trained in intermediate level wheelchair service delivery;
improve the competencies of wheelchair service delivery personnel;
increase the quality of wheelchair service delivery for people who need a comparatively higher level of intervention than basic level;
include this training package in regular paramedical/rehabilitation training programmes;
achieve greater integration of wheelchair service delivery within rehabilitation services.
more
A guide to preventing and addressing social stigma.
Social stigma in the context of health is the negative association between a person or group of people who share certain characteristics and a sp...ecific disease. In an outbreak, this may mean people are labelled, stereotyped, discriminated against, treated separately, and/or experience loss of status because of a perceived link with a disease.
Different Languages are available
more
Lessons from three African Countries.
Achieving Health for All, and in particular universal health coverage (UHC), will not happen without fully functioning basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in all health care facilities. Such services are needed to provide quality care, ensure ad...herence to infection prevention and control (IPC) norms and standards and guarantee that facilities are able to provide environments that respect the dignity and human rights of all care seekers, especially mothers, newborns and children. WHO undertook a series of national situational analyses in three countries (Ghana, Ethiopia and Rwanda) to understand current barriers to change, accountability structures and measures to strengthen WASH in health care facilities and more broadly, the quality of health service delivery.
more
28 May 2021
Contact tracing is a key component of a public health response to infectious disease outbreaks. The purpose of this guidance is to rei...nforce the place of community engagement and participation in the contact tracing process. The guidance and related products articulate best practice principles for community engagement and how they can be operationalized as part of any community-centred contact tracing strategy. The material provided can stand on its own or be used to complement other documents that support strategies, implementation plans or training and capacity building modules.
more
Primary care represents the first level of personal health care services in the community, which ensures accessible, continual,
whole-person care for health needs throughout an individual’s lifespan. Primary care professionals work with patients ...and
their families to address their immediate and long-term health needs and not just for a set of specific diseases with an
approach that addresses the broader determinants of health and the interrelated aspects that influence people’s physical,
mental, and social well-being.
Nurses have a key role to play in primary care in expanding, connecting and coordinating care. Through their training and
work, they are well placed and have been shown to provide safe and effective care in disease prevention, diagnosis,
treatment, management and rehabilitation. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance and inspiration for
policymakers, instructors, managers and clinicians
more
An approach to emergency situations. Relief workers face rapidly changing and complex environments, new disease patterns, enormous humanitarian needs and relatively limited resources. The authors of... this book use their experience in the area to produce an operational manual of the issues involved in refugee health programs. This book is aimed at professionals involved in public health assistance to refugees and displaced persons. It deals with a variety of specific refugee health issues at the decisional level, and discusses the priorities of intervention during the different phases of a refugee crisis, from emergency to repatriation.
more