The pamphlet "What is Addiction" explains addiction as a chronic, relapsing brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It highlights the dangers of different drug categories, including sedatives, st...imulants, and hallucinogens, and their potential health and behavioral impacts. The document emphasizes the importance of combined medication and behavioral therapy in the treatment process, including detoxification, ongoing therapy, and relapse prevention. Additionally, it provides contact information for addiction treatment resources.
more
The webpage by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) discusses strategies for preventing drug misuse and addiction. It highlights the importance of early intervention, education, and support systems to reduce risk factors and strengthen protec...tive factors. The content emphasizes the role of families, schools, and communities in promoting healthy behaviors and minimizing the likelihood of substance abuse, offering evidence-based prevention programs and practical tips.
more
The document is a summary report by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, focusing on a capacity-building w...span>orkshop held in Abu Dhabi in 2019. The workshop addressed the management and care of substance use disorders, aiming to improve technical and managerial capacities in areas such as policy development, treatment services, prevention, monitoring, and international collaboration. Participants included representatives from 12 countries, WHO collaborating centers, and other UN agencies.
more
The World Health Organization's fact sheet on physical activity emphasizes its critical role in maintaining health and well-being. It outlines the benefits of regular physical activity, such as redu...cing the risk of noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers. The document provides specific recommendations for different age groups, detailing the amount and intensity of physical activity needed to achieve health benefits. It also addresses the global prevalence of physical inactivity, highlighting the need for policies and interventions to promote active lifestyles.
more
Today there is a new nutrition reality. It is a reality where undernutrition (such as micronutrient deficiencies, stunting and wasting) , overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable disease...s (NCDs) like diabetes and cancer now coexist in the same countries, communities, households and even individuals. This is what is called the double burden of malnutrition which impacts not only our health but also that of future generations, the health of our planet and our economies.
This video is designed to help viewers better understand this double burden of malnutrition and its drivers. It aims to raise awareness and contribute to the global dialogue and much needed new narrative and action to achieve better health through nutrition.
more
The document systematically examines dietary and lifestyle factors influencing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Western Pacific region. It highlights regional nutrition transitions, including dietary improvements like increased fruit and vege...table consumption and reduced salt intake, alongside challenges like rising ultra-processed food consumption. The findings stress the need for stronger national policies, tailored interventions, and international collaboration to reduce NCD risks and improve public health outcomes.
more
The materials emphasize the importance of a healthy breakfast to support energy levels, maintain a healthy weight, improve concentration, and meet daily nutritional needs. They are part of a broader initiative to educate children, parents, and educa...tors on balanced nutrition and healthy eating habits for better overall health.
more
The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed this report to monitor progress and identify areas for action in the implementation of sodium reduction policies and other measures ...ribute-to-highlight medbox">within Member States and across WHO regions and World Bank income groups. For the first time, a Sodium Country Score from 1 (the lowest level) to 4 (the highest level) is allocated to each Member State based on the level of implementation of sodium reduction policies and other measures. The Sodium Country Score is used to estimate the impact of policy progress on population dietary sodium intake and cardiovascular disease.
more
Diabetes mellitus (hereafter referred to as diabetes) is a chronic, progressive disease characterized by elevated blood glucose levels. Diabetes can lead to complications such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and premature death, and can damage eyes, kidneys and nerves. Globally, more than 400 millio...n adults live with diabetes – a disease that caused 1.6 million deaths in 2015 (1, 2). People with diabetes who have higher blood glucose levels are more likely to develop complications than those with lower blood glucose levels. Blood glucose management has an important role in preventing the
development and progression of complications in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
more
Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common noncommunicable diseases worldwide. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region there has been a rapid increase in the incidence of diabetes mellitus and it is now the fourth leading cause of death. The increasing... prevalence of diabetes mellitus, the emergence of diabetes complications as a cause of early morbidity and mortality, and the enormous and mounting burden on health care systems make diabetes a priority health concern. These guidelines provide up-to-date, reliable and balanced information for the prevention and care of diabetes mellitus in the Region. The information is evidence-based and clearly stated to facilitate the use of the guidelines in daily practice. They are intended to benefit physicians at primary, secondary and tertiary level, general practitioners, internists and family medicine specialists, clinical dieticians and nurses as well as policy-makers at ministries of health. They provide the information necessary for decision-making by health care providers and patients themselves about disease management in the most commonly encountered situations.
more
Past the crucial midpoint to the SDGs, the 2024 SDG3 GAP progress report, ‘Aligning for country impact’, focuses on alignment as the overarching principle linking efforts to deliver greater impact in countries on the health-related SDGs. It contributes to the basis for further discussions among ...the 13 signatory agencies, on how to further improve the alignment and collaboration across multilateral agencies, as will the forthcoming Independent Evaluation findings due in late 2024.
more
The World health statistics report is the annual compilation of health and health-related indicators, which has been published by the World Health ...Organization since 2005. The 2024 edition reviews more than 50 health-related indicators from the Sustainable Development Goals and WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work. It also highlights the findings from the Global health estimates 2021, notably the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on life expectancy and healthy life expectancy.
more
The risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) competency framework is a resource that details the essential behaviours and activities necessary for effective communication and engagement with communities before, during and after public heal...th emergencies. The purpose of this framework is to establish and promote a common understanding of behavioural competencies and how they should be applied for high-performing and community-centred health emergency programmes. It is intended to support the development of standardized training programmes, professional development and talent acquisition and to enhance the capabilities of public health professionals involved in RCCE. Its goal is to inform the establishment of a skilled, well-trained RCCE workforce that consistently understands and executes the necessary behaviours and activities required to conduct RCCE activities with competence and professionalism.
more
English and french/ anglais et francais
The World Health Organization (WHO) organized the first global meeting on skin-related neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs) at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on 27–31 March 2023. This ...5-day hybrid meeting brought together more than 800 global experts, stakeholders and partners from 86 countries to consider a wide range of topics and enable participants to share best practices in implementing integrated skin NTD activities at country level. The theme of the meeting was “integration for greater impact”.
more
With development, people around the world have become wealthier and live longer. At the same time, development can lead to growing inequalities ...an class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">within and between nations. This paper analyses inequalities related to disability and how they vary across countries by development level. Using internationally comparable data on disability inequalities in 40 countries, we assess disability inequalities through the use of regression analyses with a variety of development measures. Results support the hypothesis only partially: disability inequalities related to education, employment, and multidimensional poverty are found to be significantly larger in countries at higher levels of development. However, this is not the case for rates of access to water, sanitation, clean fuel, electricity, housing, and assets. These results, overall, hold when using different development and
outcome indicators, and when focusing on specific subgroups of the population. The potential implications of these findings are discussed. Further research is needed to understand, for education and employment, the factors and processes that contribute to larger disability inequalities in countries at higher levels of development and what strategies might be pursued to reduce them.
more
The workshop aimed to support countries in the prioritization and acceleration of NCD prevention and management with a specific focus on accelerating the prevention and control of hypertension and d...iabetes, identifying the most impactful NCD interventions within their context, closing the gaps in cancer care services through regional collaboration and integrating NCD services in when responding to emergencies.
more
Health-care waste management is a critical aspect of health-care systems, crucial for public health and environmental sustainability. This report provides valuable insights into the existing health-care w<.../span>aste management frameworks across 16 countries in the Western Pacific Region. It provides an overview of essential components of the legal framework and best practices, including adoption of environmental friendly technologies in policies and highlights both strengths and areas in need of improvement. The report provides recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of future health-care waste management policies in the Region.
more
The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013-2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO) outlines a comprehensive strategy to address the global rise in non...communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes.
more
The burden of mental health conditions in the Region is high and actions are being taken by WHO to address this issue. These include the PARO Declaration (1) by the health ministers of Member States at the Seventy-fifth Session of the ...ttribute-to-highlight medbox">WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia on universal access to people-centred mental health care and services.
more