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
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Exposure to household air pollution (HAP) is one of the greatest environmental risks to human health worldwide. Policies to accelerate the adoption of clean cooking, heating and lighting are essenti...al for reducing HAP and the enormous burden of disease it causes and for lowering climate-warming emissions and achieving other urgent societal priorities.
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Pneumonia kills more children than any other illness – more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Over 2 million children die from pneumonia each year, accounting for almost 1 in 5 under five deaths worldwide. Yet, little attention is paid to this dis...ease. This joint UNICEF/WHO report examines the epidemiological evidence on the burden and distribution of pneumonia and assesses current levels of treatment and prevention. It is a call to action to reduce pneumonia mortality, a key step towards the achievement of the millennium development goal on child mortality.
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Ethiopia has seen high economic growth over the last decade, but remains a poor country with a high burden of disease. It has made considerab...le health gains in recent years, mainly by having health policies that focus on extending primary healthcare, using health extension workers. It has made good use of existing resources,but has a low health expenditure (of around US$21 per capita, and totalling 4per centof GDP). It has a federal system with devolved healthcare financing, whereby block grants are allocated to sectors at regional and woreda(district) level. The challenge now,with the epidemiological transition (and a sense that the ‘low-hanging fruits’have already been gathered in relation to public health), is how Ethiopia, still poor, continuesto invest in health improvements?Human resources for health (HRH) are a critical pillar within any health system –the health staff combine inputs to provide the services, thus affecting how all other resources are used, and they make frontline (and back-office) decisions thatare importantdeterminants of servicequality,effectiveness and equity. HRH is usually the most resource-intensive element within the health system –commonly absorbing 50–70per centof public expenditure onhealth, although the proportions are very varied by individual countries and across regions. As they are commonly part of the public administration, reforms to HRH are also part of a complex political economy in most countries.Assessing value for money (VfM) in relation to HRH is correspondingly complex;across the value chain, manyfactors influence the conversion of inputs into outputs and outcomes (see Figure 1).A more detailed description of the HRH value chain can be found in Annex1.
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WHO has developed a new health kit to support treatment for chronic disease patients in emergency settings. The prevalence of NCDs is increasing worldwide, including in emergency/crisis-prone areas.... Yet current humanitarian response has not accounted for this emerging burden. The NCD kit attends to cover this gap by providing essential medicines and medical devices for the management of hypertension and cardiac conditions, diabetes and endocrine conditions, chronic respiratory diseases, and mental health and neurological conditions and neurological conditions for outpatient care in primary health care settings.
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What is already known about this topic?
Roughly 80% of the global disease burden caused by diabetes comes from low-and-middle income countries, an...d 60% of diabetics are located in Asia; 6 of the top 10 countries with the highest prevalence of diabetes are in Asia.
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The report provides an overview of alcohol consumption, related health harm, and policy responses in 30 European countries (EU Member States, Norway, and Switzerland). It highlights the high levels of...n> alcohol consumption in the WHO European Region, which contribute to a significant disease burden compared to other regions. The report covers trends in alcohol consumption and harm between 2010 and 2016, noting some progress in reducing alcohol-attributable mortality but stagnation in consumption reduction and heavy episodic drinking.
The assessment of alcohol policies shows variability in implementation across countries, particularly in areas like pricing and reducing the negative consequences of drinking. It emphasizes the need for stronger evidence-based policies, such as better regulation, taxation, and accessibility restrictions, to further reduce alcohol-related harm and achieve health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
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There is growing international consensus that food systems transformation is important to address the challenges of malnutrition in all its forms, the burden ...ox">of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), environmental sustainability, increasing inequality and ensuring the welfare of workers and animals. In light of the urgency of these challenges, there are questions about the role of red and processed meat in healthy and sustainable food systems. Globally, production and consumption of all types of meat has increased substantially in the last 50 years, and – although red meat consumption is now plateauing in high-income countries (HICs) – is predicted to increase by a further 50% by 2050. Meat consumption remains highly unequal both between and within countries, and animal-source food intakes, including red meat, are lowest among those at most risk of undernutrition
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The article examines the nutritional and lifestyle-related risk factors contributing to the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular ...medbox">diseases, diabetes, and cancer in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). It highlights the transition in the disease burden from communicable diseases to NCDs over the past 30 years. Key risk factors include obesity, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, and high fasting plasma glucose. The article underscores the importance of promoting healthy dietary habits, physical activity, and policy interventions to curb NCDs in the region. It also discusses the economic and public health implications of these diseases and proposes strategies to mitigate their prevalence.
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Clinical Microbiology and Infection Volume 21, Issue 5, May 2015, Pages 433-443;
The neglected zoonotic diseases (NZDs) have been all but eradicated in wealthier countries, but remain major causes of...an> ill-health and mortality across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This neglect is, in part, a consequence of under-reporting, resulting in an underestimation of their global burden that downgrades their relevance to policy-makers and funding agencies. Increasing awareness about the causes of NZDs and how they can be prevented could reduce the incidence of many endemic zoonoses.
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In this quality improvement study, data from the Creditor Reporting System were used to estimate flows of total DAAH and per-adolescent DAAH and to assess its distribution by donors, regions, and countries and the leading causes ...te-to-highlight medbox">of burden of disease (ie,
disability-adjusted life-years) in 132 developing countries between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2015. Through use of a key word search and various funding allocation methods, 2 sets of estimates were produced: adolescent-targeted DAAH that included disbursements to projects with a primary adolescent health target and adolescent-inclusive DAAH that included disbursements to
projects with either a primary or partial adolescent health target, as well as projects that could benefit adolescent health but did not include age-related key words.
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Rabies has an enormous impact on both agriculture and conservation biology, but its greatest burden is undeniably on public health. As such, routine methods for rapid risk assessment after human exposures to rabies as well as applications for labora...tory-based surveillance, production of biologicals and management of this infectious disease are critical. Given its mandate to improve human health and control disease among its Member States, WHO has led the production of this fifth edition of Laboratory techniques in rabies.
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Rabies has an enormous impact on both agriculture and conservation biology, but its greatest burden is undeniably on public health. As such, routine methods for rapid risk assessment after human exposures to rabies as well as applications for labora...tory-based surveillance, production of biologicals and management of this infectious disease are critical. Given its mandate to improve human health and control disease among its Member States, WHO has led the production of this fifth edition of Laboratory techniques in rabies.
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While smoking prevalence has decreased over the past 30 years, the total number of smokers worldwide has continued to increase due to population growth, contributing significantly to disease ...lass="attribute-to-highlight medbox">burden.
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The meningitis road map has been designated as a flagship global strategy of the WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work, 2019–2023 and is an essential component in achieving universal health... coverage.
The road map will reinforce and combine with wider initiatives, such as those aimed at strengthening primary health care and health systems, increasing immunization coverage, improving global health security, fighting antimicrobial resistance and advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities. It will complement other global control strategies, such as those addressing sepsis, pneumonia, tuberculosis and HIV. Implementation will be a challenge for all countries across the world, but especially in resource-poor settings where the burden of meningitis is greatest. The targets for the visionary and strategic goals will be adapted to regional and local contexts.
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Infectious diseases cause over one billion human infections per year, with millions of deaths each year globally. Extensive health and financial burden...pan> is seen from both established and emerging infectious diseases. Infectious diseases also affect plants and animals, which may pose threats to agriculture and water supplies with additional impacts on human health. This Question and Answers, prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat under their joint work programme on biodiversity and health, and launched of the occasion of the International Day for Biodiversity 2020, summarizes some of the interlinkages between biodiversity and infectious diseases.
WHO is continuously monitoring and responding to the COVID 19 outbreak. This Q&A will be updated as more is known about COVID-19, how it is affecting people worldwide, and the effectiveness of interventions against the disease.
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Known avoidable environmental risks to health cause at least 12.6 million deaths every year, and account for about one quarter of the global burden of...an> disease (2016 data) (1). Air pollution alone causes about 7 million
deaths a year, placing it among the top global risks to health (2). Global environmental challenges are on the rise, including climate change, rapid urbanization and increased resistance to drugs.
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This country cooperation strategy (CCS) outlines how the World Health Organization (WHO) will work with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic over the next five years (2024–2028), supporting the implementation of the five-year health sector devel...opment plans and the Health Sector Reform Strategy 2021–2030 to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic experienced substantial economic growth in the 30 years prior to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, contributing to reduced poverty and significant progress toward the SDGs. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought this development to a halt. It was anticipated that the COVID-19 recovery and the tremendous population growth in recent years would provide opportunities for a shift toward more sustainable and inclusive development in the years ahead. In 2023, however, the contrary was the case. Rural residents, including many ethnic minorities, continued to face marginalization because of limited access to education, health care and economic opportunities.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks, the country has made significant improvements in health. Nonetheless, progress has been uneven and not everyone has benefited from these achievements. In the mountainous region, many people lack access to quality health care because of the unequal distribution of well-trained health-care workers. Preventable deaths due to poor-quality health care for children and newborns, infants and mothers remain a concern, as do communicable diseases such as sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis. The increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases and the health impact of worsening climate change further heighten the need for strengthened and resilient health systems, which are at risk due to an underfunded health sector and weak economy.
This CCS aims to address remaining and future challenges as well as health needs while creating an impact that is sustainable. It identifies three strategic priorities and nine deliverables (Table 1) to support the attainment of the national vision of Health for all by all, as articulated in the 9th Health Sector Development Plan 2021–2025. It contributes to the country’s goals to achieve universal health coverage, graduate from least developed country status by 2026 and attain SDGs by 2030.
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Considerable energy has been expended over the last two decades in developing methods for identifying the presence of asthma among participants in population studies. The objective of this endeavour... has commonly been to enable epidemiological research on risk factors for asthma, with the ultimate aim of preventing the disease. However, there are other reasons for measuring the prevalence of asthma in populations, including the desire to assess the burden of disease attributable to asthma, to track changes over time, and to compare the prevalence among population groups defined by geographical, demographic or social factors. Two major international collaborative studies arising from this work have made major contributions to our knowledge about asthma
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Sub-Saharan Africa faces a major public-health challenge from non-communicable diseases. Although infectious diseases continue to afflict Africa, the proportion ...edbox">of the overall disease burden in sub-Saharan Africa attributable to cancer is rising, and the region is predicted to have a greater than 85% increase in cancer burden by 2030. This Series of seven papers focuses on cancer control in Africa, outlining the current situation, detailing barriers to care, and presenting ideas to advance cancer care and control in the region.
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