The WHO End TB Strategy aims to end the global TB epidemic by 2030, in alignment with Goal 3 of the...an> United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN committed to ending the TB epidemic through adoption of WHO’s End TB Strategy and the UN SDGs in 2014 and 2015, respectivel
Almost half of the deaths worldwide caused by TB in 2019 occurred in the WHO South-East Asia Region, home to around a quarter of the global population. Maintaining robust progress in this Region is therefore essential if the global goal of ending the TB epidemic is to be realized. Despite substantial gains made in the Region, the threat to
health worldwide posed by the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to reverse these gains and eclipse the focus on the global TB emergency.
While continuing to tackle COVID-19-related challenges, countries will need to rapidly and urgently deploy supplementary measures to address the large numbers of missed cases, poor treatment outcomes and, potentially, a higher TB burden.
The Regional Strategic Plan towards Ending TB in the Region 2021–2025 clearly articulates priority interventions, analyses the challenges, bottlenecks and opportunities, and focuses on implementation considerations in the Region.
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This fourth annual report monitors global progress towards the 2023 target for global elimination of industrially produced trans-fatty acids (TFA),... highlighting achievements during the past year (October 2021 – September 2022). Countries are responding to the World Health Organization (WHO) call to action by putting into place best-practice TFA policies. Mandatory TFA policies are currently in effect for 3.4 billion people in 60 countries (43% of the world population); of these, 43 countries have best-practice policies in effect, covering 2.8 billion people (36% of the world population).
Over the past year, several additional countries took action to eliminate industrially produced TFA: best-practice policies came into effect in India in January 2022, Uruguay in May 2022 and Oman in July 2022. Best-practice policies were passed in Bangladesh in November 2021 (to come into effect in December 2022) and in Ukraine in September 2020 (to come into effect in October 2023), best-practice TFA policies are projected to pass soon in Mexico, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
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The toolkit is a collection of assessment tools and checklists that describe the key considerations to be taken into account when transitioning to Option B/B+. ...dbox">The toolkit provides a roadmap to support the planning and implementation of Option B/B+, and to help countries scale up more effective interventions and programs to achieve the goals of the Global Plan Towards the Elimination of New HIV Infections among Children by 2015 and Keeping their Mothers Alive.
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Cholera is a major health risk in many parts of the world, affecting millions of people every year. Since mid-2021, the world has been facing an ac...ute upsurge of the 7th cholera pandemic, which is characterized by the number, size and concurrence of multiple outbreaks, the spread to areas that had been free of cholera for decades and alarmingly high mortality rates. The mortality associated with these outbreaks is of particular concern as many countries have reported higher case fatality ratios (CFR) than in previous years
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Road safety is an issue that does not receive anywhere near the attention it deserves – and it really is one
of our great opportunities to save lives around the world
Molecular methods for antimicrobial resistance (AMR)diagnostics to enhance the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System
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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A review of proactive risk assessment and risk management practices to ensure the safety of drinking-water
Based on information gathered from 118 countries representing every region of the glob...e, this report provides a picture of WSP uptake worldwide. It presents information on WSP implementation and the integration of WSPs into the policy environment. It also explores WSP benefits, challenges and future priorities.
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Tackling antimicrobial resistance- a story of a community playing its part.
This first volume of comic strips is titled "tackling antimicrobial resistance: a story of a community playing its part". It basically contains messages tailored for individuals at ...">the grassroot.
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When setting national drinking-water quality regulations and standards, many countries consider the WHO Guidelines for drinking-water quality (GDWQ). To better understand the extent to which ...the GDWQ are used and reflected in these standards, this global review summarizes information from 104 countries and territories on values specified in national drinking-water quality standards for aesthetic, chemical, microbiological and radiological parameters.
The information provided will support regulatory agencies and other key stakeholders to access and compare data when setting or revising national drinking-water quality regulations and standards.
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UNAIDS/WHO Working Group on Global HIV/AIDS and STI Surveillance
COVID-19 has heavily emphasized how contact tracing is crucial for managing outbreaks, and as part of the strategy for adjusting, and eventually lifting, lockdowns and other stringent public health ...and social measures. As the pandemic develops further, it will be a core measure to manage further waves of infection. In early June 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened an online global consultation on contact tracing in the context of COVID-19, looking at the lessons of the pandemic to date; known and emerging best practices; and the measures necessary for urgent implementation, scale-up, maintenance and enhancement of contact tracing activities.
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This fourth annual report monitors global progress towards the 2023 target for global elimination of industrially produced trans-fatty acids (TFA),... highlighting achievements during the past year (October 2021 – September 2022). Countries are responding to the World Health Organization (WHO) call to action by putting into place best-practice TFA policies. Mandatory TFA policies are currently in effect for 3.4 billion people in 60 countries (43% of the world population); of these, 43 countries have best-practice policies in effect, covering 2.8 billion people (36% of the world population).
Over the past year, several additional countries took action to eliminate industrially produced TFA: best-practice policies came into effect in India in January 2022, Uruguay in May 2022 and Oman in July 2022. Best-practice policies were passed in Bangladesh in November 2021 (to come into effect in December 2022) and in Ukraine in September 2020 (to come into effect in October 2023), best-practice TFA policies are projected to pass soon in Mexico, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
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Ahead of World Malaria Day, the WHO Global Malaria Programme published a new operational strategy outlining its priorities and key activities up to 2030 to help change ...light medbox">the trajectory of malaria trends, with a view to achieving the global malaria targets. The strategy outlines 4 strategic objectives where WHO will focus its efforts, including developing norms and standards, introducing new tools and innovation, promoting strategic information for impact, and providing technical leadership of the global malaria response.
In recent years, progress towards critical targets of the WHO Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030 has stalled, particularly in countries that carry a high burden of the disease. In 2022 there were an estimated 608 000 malaria-related deaths and 249 million new malaria cases globally, with young children in Africa bearing the brunt of the disease.
Millions of people continue to miss out on the services they need to prevent, detect, and treat malaria. Additionally, progress in global malaria control has been hampered by resource constraints, humanitarian crises, climate change and biological threats such as drug and insecticide resistance.
“A shift in the global malaria response is urgently needed across the entire malaria ecosystem to prevent avoidable deaths and achieve the targets of the WHO global malaria strategy,” notes Dr Daniel Ngamije, Director of the Global Malaria Programme. “This shift should seek to address the root causes of the disease and be centred around accessibility, efficiency, sustainability, equity and integration.”
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WHO and UNICEF have established recommendations for breastfeeding practices. Although every mother decides how to feed her child, this decision is strongly influenced by economic, environmental, social and political factors. The ...te-to-highlight medbox">Global Breastfeeding Scorecard analyzes indicators on how countries protect, promote and support breastfeeding through funding or policies.
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Ethiopia GATS was implemented by Ethiopia Public Health Institute (EPHI) in collaboration with the Ethiopian Food, Medicine, Health...pan> Care Administration and Control Authority (FMHACA), CSA, FMOH and the World Health Organization (WHO)country office. Technical assistance for the implementation of the survey was provided by the WHO, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and RTI International. Program support was provided by the CDC Foundation.Financial support for Ethiopia GATS was provided by the CDC Foundation with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.GATS enhances countries’ capacity to design, implement and evaluate tobacco control programs. It also assistscountries to fulfill their obligations under the WHO FCTC to generate comparable data within and across countries. In addition,it allows countries to implement the WHO MPOWER policy package. WHO MPOWERisa technical packagedevelopedtoassist countries in implementing selected demand reduction measures contained in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control(FCTC)(5).The six MPOWER evidence-based measures contained in the FCTC;
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Cholera is an acute gastrointestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio Cholerae serogroup O1 or O139, and is often linked to unsafe drinking water, lack of proper sanitation and personal hygiene. It adversely affects mostly ...bute-to-highlight medbox">the poor and vulnerable populations in countries, which are already deprived of proper health facilities and conducive environmental conditions. The disease spreads through oro-fecal transmission by the ingestion of contaminated food or water or by person-to-person contact. It has a short incubation period of 2 hours to 5 days and the number of affected cases can rapidly increase across large regions. Cholera is a significant threat to global public health leading to an estimated 3-5 million cases per year worldwide, with an annual toll of 100,000 deaths. The disease was first reported in 1817 from the Ganges Delta of India and since then the ongoing 7th pandemic has emerged from Indonesia, reached Africa in 1970 and Somalia happens to be one of the early affected countries. Over the past few decades,
Somalia has witnessed the occurrence of repeated AWD/Cholera disease outbreaks that have caused high morbidity and mortality across the country.
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Validation of elimination of mother-to-child transmission, or vertical transmission, of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B virus (HBV), is an attestation that a country has successfully met standard criteria for elimination, or for being at 1 of the 3 le...vels of achievement on the ‘Path to Elimination’ while delivering quality services for women, girls and their children, through the life-course, respecting human rights and ensuring gender equality and community engagement.
This document, the third version, adds on EMTCT of hepatitis B virus (HBV), bringing together a package of interventions and metrics to support integrated management and monitoring of vertical transmission across a wide range of epidemiological and programmatic contexts.
This document, the third version, adds on EMTCT of hepatitis B virus (HBV), bringing together a package of interventions and metrics to support integrated management and monitoring of vertical transmission across a wide range of epidemiological and programmatic contexts.
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Available in English, French, Spanish and Russian from the website https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/344562
Mortality due to enteric infections is projected to increase because of global warming; however, the different temperature sensitivities of major enteric pathogens have not yet been considered in pr...ojections on a global scale. We aimed to project global temperature-attributable enteric infection mortality under various future scenarios of sociodemographic development and climate change.
The Lancet Planetary Health Volume 5, ISSUE 7, e436-e445, July 01, 2021
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