The COVID-19 pandemic arrived in an evolving epidemiological context where some countries are experiencing a progressive decrease in HIV positivity in their testing programme as they are moving closer to t...he first 95 target. Distinguishing changes in HIV testing services due to the COVID-19 pandemic from those resulting from evolving HIV testing strategies is crucial for adapting services and helping countries define their strategic mix of testing options moving forward. There is a need to focus, prioritize and plan for strategic efforts to prevent going further off the track toward achieving global targets and goals.
To support these efforts, WHO in partnership with ministries of health conducted an in-depth analysis of HIV testing services and antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation prior to and during reported COVID-19 disruptions. Additional publicly available Global Fund and PEPFAR data was also reviewed and analysed. This analysis, and coordination with ministries of health, identified key service delivery adaptations utilized during COVID-19-related disruptions and formed the basis of this strategic guide.
This document focuses on current country needs, as well as plans for prioritization and potential surge support needs in the event of future disruptions. Although the data and implications are specific to sub-Saharan Africa, key principles and lessons can be applied elsewhere.
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On 30thJanuary 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in ...ighlight medbox">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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This report summarizes the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global work on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) during 2022. It describes how ...pan class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">the Organization continued to deliver its essential WASH programming as elaborated in its 2018–2025 strategy.
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Antimicrobial resistance is a global crisis that threatens a century of progress in health and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Th...ere is no time to wait. Unless the world acts urgently, antimicrobial resistance will have disastrous impact within a generation.
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During the past five decades, the incidence of dengue has increased 30-fold. Some 50–100 million new infections are estimated to occur annually in more than 100 endemic countries, with a document...ed further spread to previously unaffected areas; every year hundreds of thousands of severe cases arise, including 20 000 deaths; 264 disability-adjusted life years per million population per year are lost , at an estimated cost for ambulatory and hospitalized cases of US$ 514–1394, often affecting very poor populations. The true numbers are probably far worse, since severe underreporting and misclassification of dengue cases have been documented.
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Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – chief among them, cardiovascular diseases (heart disease and stroke), cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases – along with mental health, cause nearly three quarters of deaths in ...-to-highlight medbox">the world. Their drivers are social, environmental, commercial and genetic, and their presence is global. Every year 17 million people under the age of 70 die of NCDs, and 86% of them live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
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Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – chief among them, cardiovascular diseases (heart disease and stroke), cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases – along with mental health, cause nearly three quarters of deaths in ...-to-highlight medbox">the world. Their drivers are social, environmental, commercial and genetic, and their presence is global. Every year 17 million people under the age of 70 die of NCDs, and 86% of them live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
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With this World Health Day, WHO is drawing attention to a group of diseases that are spread by insects and other vectors, the heavy health and econ...omic burdens they impose, and what needs to be done to reduce these burdens. Many of these diseases have been historically confined to distinct geographical areas, but this situation has become more fluid due to a host of ills, including climate change, intensive farming, dams, irrigation, deforestation, population movements, rapid unplanned urbanization, and phenomenal increases in international travel and trade. The control of vector-borne diseases can make a major contribution to poverty reduction, as it precisely targets the poor
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This special issue on Newborn Health in Global Health Action is being launched to share the expe...rience of how to scale up a cost-effective package of newborn care that involves families, community health workers and health facilities. The results of this community randomized trial, the Uganda Newborn Study (UNEST), show that home visits in pregnancy and soon after delivery resulted in improved breastfeeding practices, skin-to-skin care immediately after birth, delaying a baby’s first bath, and hygienic care of the baby’s umbilical cord among the poorest households with lowest access to care.
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Report of the Joint World Health Organization–Brien Holden Vision Institute Global Scientific Meeting on Myopia | University of New South Wales,... Sydney, Australia 16–18 March 2015
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Information note of the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance.
Available in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic
Developmental disabilities are common. Yet, children with developmental disabilities have been neglected in health systems planning and policy provisions for health and continue to experience stigma...tization, institutionalization, barriers to access health care and inequalities in health and education outcomes.
Using findings from research and practice and guided by the tenets of international human rights conventions, this WHO-UNICEF Global Report on children with developmental disabilities provides principles and approaches to intentionally include the needs and aspirations of children and young people with developmental disabilities in policy, programming and public health monitoring. It makes the case for greater accountability and proposes 10 priority actions to accelerate changes towards inclusive environments and responsive multisectoral care systems for children with developmental disabilities.
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The road map 2030 was developed by WHO through an extensive global consultation, with indicators set for measuring progress against targets and milestones. This compendium of indicators provides a c...omprehensive and standardized listing of recommended indicators, including the 70 core indicators presented in the M&E framework. These indicators will also support reporting on strategies described in other road map companion documents to guide action against neglected tropical diseases include the sustainability framework, the global strategy on water, sanitation and hygiene, the One Health approach and the strategic framework for integrated control and elimination of skin-related neglected tropical diseases.
The purpose of this compendium is to guide monitoring and evaluation of programmes and thereby to improve their quality and effectiveness in alignment with the road map goals. It provides a standardized listing of the most widely used indicators relevant to countries, with uniformity in defining indicators to allow comparisons over time and among different programmes. Detailed metadata are provided for each of these indicators to facilitate validity, internal consistency, standardized measurement, estimation methods and comparability of data across countries.
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Vector-borne diseases are responsible for 17% of the global burden of communicable diseases and more than 500 000 deaths annually. The ambitious ...pan class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">global targets for the control of vector-borne diseases come in the context of the (re-)emergence of diseases, increasing resistances to insecticides and uncertainty related to the financing of global vector control efforts. The United Nations 2030 Agenda with its related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III)
in Quito in 2016 and WHO’s Global vector control response 2017–2030 (WHO, 2017a) emphasize the value of elevating multisectoral actions and strategies that extend beyond the health sector to the core of integrated vector control.
This policy brief underlines the important role housing conditions have in the transmission of vector-borne diseases and showcases interventions and policies the housing sector can contribute to effective, integrated and intersectoral vector-borne diseases management.
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This global status report on prevention and control of NCDs (2014), is framed around the nine voluntary global targets. ...ighlight medbox">The report provides data on the current situation, identifying bottlenecks as well as opportunities and priority actions for attaining the targets. The 2010 baseline estimates on NCD mortality and risk factors are provided so that countries can report on progress, starting in 2015. In addition, the report also provides the latest available estimates on NCD mortality (2012) and risk factors, 2010-2012.All ministries of health need to set national NCD targets and lead the development and implementation of policies and interventions to attain them. There is no single pathway to attain NCD targets that fits all countries, as they are at different points in their progress in the prevention and control of NCDs and at different levels of socioeconomic development. However all countries can benefit from the comprehensive response to attaining the voluntary global targets presented in this report.
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Global Campaign Against Epilepsy
This ten year global plan for measles and rubella outlines the strategy that needs to be fully implemented to achieve the measles and rubella goals... endorsed by the World Health Assembly. The plan sets out the: vision, goals and targets for the 2011-2020 period, recommended strategies, guiding principles, priorities, costing of reaching the targets, and the challenges as well as ways to overcome them.
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This document provides an overview of the 7 main messages contained in the World malaria report 2021
These country profiles present progress on implementation of policy recommendations of the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) 2018-2030 in each country. They also present an estimate o...f the cost to health systems of not taking action to improve physical activity levels and reinforce the urgency to position physical activity as a shared, whole-of-government priority, and to strengthen coordination and partnerships to promote physical activity.
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he global architecture for providing development assistance for health (DAH)
has become increasing complex in the last decade, with many new fundi...ng agencies entering the health sector.
This study presents a detailed picture of European Union (EU) and EU member state originating DAH
between 2006 and 2009; with a sp
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