Review of International, Regional and National Policies and Legal Frameworks that Promote Migrants and Mobile Populations' Access to Health and Malaria Services in the Greater Mekong Subregion (Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam)
Migrants and mobile popul...ations face many obstacles in accessing equitable essential health care services due to factors such as living and working conditions, education level, gender, irregular migration status, language and cultural barriers, anti-migrant sentiments, and lack of migrant-inclusive health policies among others. Despite significant progress having been made in the context of malaria control in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), human movements can impact malaria transmission patterns and potentially introduce drug-resistant parasites. This legal framework review therefore serves as a guidance document on approaches to address malaria and malaria elimination for migrant and mobile populations (MMPs) in five countries of the GMS.
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Based on WHO South-East Asia Regional Strategy on Autism Spectrum Disorder
The collaborative framework for implementation of the “WHO South-East Asia Regional Strategy on Autism Spectrum Disorders” articulates to Member States: the nature of autism spectrum disorder and the issues faced by ...PwASD and their caregivers; the foundation on which the Regional Strategy and the collaborative framework is based; desired outcomes against each objective of the ASD Regional Strategy; recommended actions to fulfill each objective; requisite parameters that should govern the recommended actions; and suggested guidelines for monitoring, evaluating and reporting a Member State’s progress towards fulfilling the objectives. It encourages Member States to share best practices and information for promoting cooperation and partnerships for development of effective and sustainable programmes.
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Report of a regional workshop, New Delhi, India, 29–30 September 2014
To reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease and its subsequent problems, the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia organized a regional workshop on sodium intake and iodized salt for Member States in the South-East Asi...a Region. The general objective of the workshop was to strengthen an integrated approach for sodium reduction and salt iodization programmes in the Member States of the Region. The specific objectives included reviewing the current sodium reduction and salt iodization strategies in the Member States of South-East Asia, provide training to the participants in standardized approaches for dietary estimation of salt/sodium and urinary iodine estimation.
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Policy Research Working Paper 6100 | Impact Evaluation Series No. 60 | This study examines the effect of performance incentives for health care providers to provide more and higher quality care in Rwanda on child health outcomes. The authors find that the incentives had a large and significant effec...t on the weight-for-age of children 0–11 months and on the height-for-age of children 24–49 months. They attribute this improvement to increases in the use and quality of prenatal and postnatal care. Consistent with theory, They find larger effects of incentives on services where monetary rewards and the marginal return to effort are higher. The also find that incentives reduced the gap between provider knowledge and practice of appropriate clinical procedures by 20 percent, implying a large gain in efficiency. Finally, they find evidence of a strong complementarity between performance incentives and provider skill .
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Health Systems for Outcomes Publication | Using qualitative data from Rwanda, this study focuses on four institutional factors that affect health worker performance and career choice: incentives, monitoring arrangements, professional norms and health workers’ intrinsic motivation. It also provides... illustrations of three institutional innovations that work, at least in the context of Rwanda: performance pay, the establishment of community health workers and increased attention to the training of health workers.
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The report reflects on the trends, achievements and challenges in global health over the past decade during which Dr Margaret Chan has been Director-General of WHO. It discusses the role of WHO in dealing with such issues as the rise of noncommunicable diseases, leaps in life expectancy, and emergin...g threats like climate change and antimicrobial resistance.
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The ICF Practical Manual provides information on how to use ICF. Anyone interested in learning more about use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF, WHO 2001) may benefit from reading this Practical Manual. The ICF is presently used in many different contexts... and for many different purposes around the world. It can be used as a tool for statistical, research, clinical, social policy, or educational purposes and applied, not only in the health sector, but also in sectors such as insurance, social security, labour, education, economics, policy or legislation development, and the environment. People interested in functioning and disability and seeking ways to apply the ICF should find the contents of this Practical Manual helpful. The Practical Manual provides a range of information on how to apply ICF in various situations. It is built on the acquired expertise, knowledge and judgement of users in their respective areas of work, and is designed to be used alongside the ICF itself, which remains the primary reference.
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The overall aim of the study was to understand the acceptability and usefulness of PHC clinical placements for nursing and midwifery students.
The objectives of these guidelines are to provide recommendations outlining a public health approach to managing people presenting with advanced HIV disease, and to provide guidance on the timing of initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all people living with HIV.
WHO recommends that a... package of screening, prophylaxis, rapid ART initiation and intensified adherence interventions be offered to everyone living with HIV presenting with advanced disease.
WHO strongly recommends that rapid ART initiation should be offered to people living with HIV following confirmed diagnosis and clinical assessment. Rapid initiation of ART is defined as within seven days of HIV diagnosis. WHO further strongly recommends ART initiation on the same day as HIV diagnosis based on the person’s willingness and readiness to start ART immediately, unless there are clinical reasons to delay treatment.
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We systematically reviewed Medline as well as the references of published review articles for relevant studies of adherence to multidrug treatment of both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB through February 3, 2018. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as well as prospective and retro...spective cohort studies (CSs) with an internal or external control group that evaluated any adherence intervention and conducted a meta-analysis of their impact on TB treatment outcomes. Our search identified 7,729 articles, of which 129 met the inclusion criteria for quantitative analysis. Seven adherence categories were identified, including DOT offered by different providers and at various locations, reminders and tracers, incentives and enablers, patient education, digital technologies (short message services [SMSs] via mobile phones and video-observed therapy [VOT]), staff education, and combinations of these interventions.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002595
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An action research conducted in Bang Shau village Northern Shan State, Myanmar
Every year, around 830 000 children die from unintentional or "accidental" injuries. The vast majority of these injuries occur in low-income and middle-income countries. However, dozens of prevention strategies and programmes exist. If they were integrated into other child survival programmes and im...plemented on a larger scale, many of these deaths and much of the injury-related disability could be prevented.
The report documents the magnitude, risks and prevention measures for child injuries globally –particularly for drowning, burns, road traffic injuries, falls and poisoning.
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Ensuring reproductive rights for all
In many of Myanmar’s contested regions, healthcare services are provided through two parallel governance systems – by the government’s Ministry of Health, and by providers linked to ethnic armed organizations. Building upon efforts to build trust between these two actors following ceasefires s...igned in 2011 and 2012, the new National League for Democracy-led government offers an unprecedented opportunity to increase cooperation between these systems and to ensure health services reach Myanmar’s most vulnerable populations.
The report provides an overview of existing health service arrangements in these areas, from both the Ministry of Health and from ethnic and community-based health organizations. It then unpacks the concept of “convergence”, highlighting key opportunities and policy recommendations for both government and non-government actors.
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This baseline survey and report examine the Durable Peace Programme (DPP) in Myanmar, which delivers a broad range of activities. The report provides an insight into the current situation facing both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and conflict-affected non-IDP communities in Kachin state, Myanm...ar. It is based on a comprehensive and systematic research process involving just over 2,200 interviews conducted in 12 townships across Kachin. The research provides data and analysis on the socioeconomic situation, attitudes towards peace and conflict, gender dynamics, return and resettlement, among others. The Durable Peace Programme Consortium has decided to share the results of this baseline, as it provides insights into the Kachin context for interested stakeholders, and also to encourage cooperation and information sharing. The report adopts a highly visual approach to communicate the large amount of data collected.
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The five hepatitis viruses have different epidemiological profiles, and their impact, duration, and transmission route also vary. The most common transmission routes contributing to the spread of hepatitis are exposure to infected blood via blood transfusion or unsafe injection practices, consumptio...n of contaminated food and drinking water, and transmission from mother to child during pregnancy and delivery. Also, unsafe injection practices, including the use of unsterile needles and syringes, serve as a major pathway for the spread of hepatitis B and C, and reducing transmission of both diseases requires addressing these practices.
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The study collected data on the impact of HIV-related diseases on income, revenues, economic dependency, consumption, education, health, food security, stigma, discrimination, quality of life, and migration. The study also assessed people living with chronic diseases in order to compare the impact o...f living with HIV/AIDS with the impact of living with a chronic disease.
Stigma, discrimination, and socio-economic exclusion continue to affect the rights and socio-economic opportunities of people living with HIV in Myanmar. Households with a family member who has HIV, have lower incomes, fewer assets and lower home-ownership, compared to households that are not affected by HIV. They also have more household debt, and their families pay a higher rate of interest compared to families not affected by HIV.
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A National Service Programme for All Children with Special Needs and their Families
In Myanmar, we estimate that at least 40% of children require ECI services for short to longer periods of time. At present, 35.1% of Myanmar children are moderately to severely stunted; all of these children are l...ikely to have one or more developmental delays. In addition, at least 5% to 12% of the nation’s children will be identified to have disabilities, chronic diseases or atypical behaviours.
Over time, approximately 70% of the children who will be served will improve in their development, attain expected levels of development for their age, and will consolidate their gains within one to two years. Other children, approximately 30%, will have lifelong disabilities or other conditions, and ECI services usually greatly improve their development and help them to achieve their full potential.
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