Buruli ulcer (BU) is a bacterial skin infection that is caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans and mainly affects people who reside in the rural areas of Africa and in suburban and beach resort communities in Australia.
A major problem facing the world is how to build peace following the ravages of increasingly protracted armed conflict. Armed conflicts leave behind shattered, divided societies that are at risk of repeating cycles of violence, and therefore need concerted peacebuilding efforts. Conflicts also take ...a heavy toll on people’s mental health and psychosocial well-being. One in five people who live in a war zone will likely develop a mental disorder, and many others suffer from painful everyday stresses associated with multiple losses, family separation, gender-based violence (GBV), disability, climate change and ongoing insecurity, among other issues.
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The incidence and mortality of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in low and middle income countries (LMICs) have been increasing, while access to CVDs medicines is suboptimal. We assessed selection of essential medicines for the prevention and treatment of CVDs on national essential medicines lists (NE...MLs) of LMICs and potential determinants for selection.
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To survive and thrive, children and adolescents need good health, adequate nutrition, security, safety and a supportive clean environment, opportunities for early learning and education, responsive relationships and connectedness, and opportunities for personal autonomy and self-realization. To prom...ote their health and wellbeing, children and adolescents need support from parents, families, communities, surrounding institutions, and an enabling environment. Scheduled well care visits provide a critical opportunity for support of individual children, adolescents, parents, caregivers and families promote health and wellbeing. This guidance on scheduled child and adolescent well-care visits is the first in a series of publications to support the operationalization of the comprehensive agenda for child and adolescent health and wellbeing. It provides guidance on what is required to strengthen health systems and services to ensure healthy growth and development of all children and adolescents, and to support their parents and caregivers.
The guidance focuses on scheduled routine contacts with providers to support children and adolescents in their growth and developmental trajectory, as well as their primary caregivers and families. It outlines the rationale and objectives of well care visits and proposes a minimum 17 scheduled visits; describes the expected tasks during a contact; provides age-specific content to be address during each contact; and proposes actions to build on and maximize existing opportunities and resources.
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The evolving epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus has challenged health-care professionals. It stands among the leading causes of mortality in the present world. It warrants new and versatile approaches to improve mortality and the associated huge quality-adjusted life years lost to it once diagnose...d. A possible venue to lower the incidence is to assess the safety and efficacy of various diabetes prevention strategies. Diet and exercise have a well-developed role in the prevention of weight gain and, ultimately, diabetes mellitus type II in high-risk individuals. However, high-risk individuals can also benefit from adjunct pharmacotherapy. In light of this information, we decided to conduct a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. This article summarizes the evidence in the literature on the pharmacological prevention of diabetes in high-risk individuals.
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This Community Conversation Kit (CCK) is designed to help people who have a leadership role speak with people in their community about how to protect themselves and those they care about from becoming ill with an infectious disease. This kit will help lead conversations that get people talking with ...each other and thinking differently about their health so they can take action. Using some simple tips and suggestions, the information in this kit will allow communities to exchange practical information that will help them know how to confidently protect their health.
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Comprehensive Primary Health Care has an important role in the primary and secondary prevention of several disease conditions, including non-communicable diseases which today contribute to over 60% of the mortality in India. The provision of Comprehensive primary health care reduces morbidity, disab...ility and mortality at much lower costs and significantly reduces the need for secondary and tertiary care. Estimates suggest that almost 52% of all conditions can be managed at the
primary care level.
In order to ensure comprehensive primary health care, close to where people live, Sub- Centres should be strengthened as Health and Wellness Centres (H&WC), staffed by appropriately trained primary health care team. The Medical officer of the Primary Health Centre would oversee the functioning of the SC/HWC that falls in that area.
Services include those that (i) can be delivered at the level of the household and outreach sites in the community by suitably trained frontline workers, (ii) those that are delivered by a team headed by a mid-level health provider, at the level of the Sub-Centre/Health and Wellness Centre and (iii) the referral support and continuity of care within the district health system in rural and urban areas. The package of services is in Box. States would need to either phase in these services or add on additional services based on state specific and local context.
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Unmet mental health needs in the Region of the Americas are a leading source of morbidity and mortality, which result in tremendous health, social, and economic consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the mental health crisis in the Region, necessitating urgent action at the highest leve...ls of government and across sectors to build back better mental health now and for the future. This landmark report is the result of the PAHO High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19. It provides an analysis of the mental health situation in the Region, followed by a series of recommendations and corresponding actions to support countries in the Americas to prioritize and advance mental health using human rights- and equity-based approaches.
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This MHPSS in Emergencies training aims to prepare MHPSS responders, disaster managers, and emergency team leaders for work in the field by building understanding of basic concepts of MHPSS in emergencies as well as planning and implementing PSS activities. It is for MHPSS focal points from the Red ...Cross and Red Crescent Societies Movement and humanitarian organizations responsible for initiating or supporting the overall mental health and psychosocial activities and interventions during emergencies. The training modules in this guide have been developed to be flexible and adapted to different contexts and training needs. The guide and accompanying materials include the information and materials you will need to design and facilitate MHPSS in Emergencies training.
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This curriculum was designed to train newly recruited health care workers (HCW) in the basic knowledge and skills needed to improve different HIV services within the health facility including identification, linkage, retention and support. In addition to HIV basics, the training has supplementary un...its focused on PMTCT, psychosocial support, opportunistic infections, tuberculosis and HIV, nutrition and family planning in order to give a more well-rounded and comprehensive training of related topics.
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The document "Pocketbook for Management of Diabetes in Childhood and Adolescence in Under-Resourced Countries" (2nd Edition) provides practical guidelines for managing diabetes in children and adolescents, particularly in resource-limited settings. It covers key topics like diagnosing and treating d...iabetes, managing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), insulin therapy, blood glucose monitoring, nutritional management, and dealing with complications. The pocketbook aims to support healthcare professionals in delivering effective diabetes care and improving outcomes for young patients in under-resourced areas.
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The document emphasizes integrating environmental considerations into nutrition programs. It introduces a screening tool piloted across ten projects to identify environmental risks and opportunities, fostering sustainable practices in food systems. The tool promotes collaboration, co-learning, and a...ctionable steps to align nutrition goals with environmental sustainability, ensuring long-term benefits for health and ecosystems.
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Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) is one of the greatest child survival challenges in the world today and
reportedly affects more than 16.2 million children each year1. High impact, proven treatment interventions exist
yet sadly approximately only 3.2 million children with SAM have access to treatme...nt each year2. Thus, there
is a need to scale up interventions to improve coverage and access across high burden countries. While efforts
are currently underway to expand services in many countries, obstacles remain.
One critical barrier to expanding SAM treatment services is the acceptance, accessibility and utilisation of
ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). In some countries and contexts, RUTF is still not fully accepted by
community members; while other countries face problems with procurement, storage and supply chain
management which impact on availability and use3. Reports from Ghana and Zambia highlighted that stock-
outs and logistical challenges are often noted as key contributors to high default rates in outpatient treatment
centres4.
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The document, "Progress on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases," reports on global efforts to reduce the impact of NCDs, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases, following the commitments made at high-level United Nations meetings. It highlights ...the inadequate progress in meeting the targets set under the Sustainable Development Goal 3.4 to reduce premature NCD mortality by one-third by 2030. Key challenges include insufficient funding, limited implementation of effective interventions, and political and economic barriers, especially in low-income countries. The report calls for strengthened international cooperation, policy reform, and innovative approaches to meet global health targets.
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Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including mental disorders, currently pose one of the biggest threats to health and development globally, particularly in low and middle income countries2. It is predicted that unless proven interventions are rapidly implemented in countries, in the short to medium ...term, health care costs will increase exponentially and severe negative consequences will ensue not only to individuals and families but to whole societies and economies. NCDs are already a major burden in South Africa, but without added rigorous and timely action the health and development consequences may well become catastrophic. Immediate and additional, high quality, evidence based and focussed interventions are needed to promote health, prevent disease and provide more effective and equitable care and treatment for people living with NCDs at all levels of the health system. The problem is further compounded by the rising global prevalence of multi-morbidity (defined as the coexistence of two or more chronic diseases in one individual).
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Care for persons with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a major health priority for most countries worldwide, particularly for low-middle income countries where the problem seems to be worsening. Globally,... research demonstrates that the vast majority of people with NCDs receive suboptimal care. Many people living with chronic conditions remain undiagnosed and unaware of their condition, while many others remain untreated or with inadequate control. Meanwhile the premature mortality caused by NCDs remains high in many countries. In response to the global epidemic of NCDs, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in 2012, which establishes 9 voluntary global targets and indicators to be considered by Member States when formu- lating national plans to combat NCDs.
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This report explores the extent to which evidence, policy, normative guidance and commitments on HIV and gender-based violence, and their interlinkages, is being translated into action on the ground in fragile settings. These issues are explored through the lens of training of peace support operatio...ns deploying African troops across Africa and beyond.
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About one fourth of the world’s population is estimated to have been infected with the tuberculosis (TB) bacilli, and about 5–10% of those infected develop TB disease in their lifetime. The risk for TB disease after infection depends on several factors, the most important being the person’s im...munological status. TB preventive treatment (TPT) given to people at highest risk of progressing from TB infection to disease remains a critical element to achieve the global targets of the End TB Strategy, as reiterated by the second UN High Level Meeting on TB in 2023. Delivering TPT effectively and safely necessitates a programmatic approach to implement a comprehensive package of interventions along a cascade of care: identifying individuals at highest risk, screening for TB and ruling out TB disease, testing for TB infection, and choosing the preventive treatment option that is best suited to an individual, managing adverse events, supporting medication adherence and monitoring programmatic performance
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The 2023 meeting of the WHO Clinical Consortium on Healthy Ageing (CCHA) was the group’s ninth gathering and took place in Geneva 5–7 December 2023. The meeting was structured around seven panels, with a series of technical presentations, plenary discussions and group work, and a final session o...utlining the work programme for 2024.
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Asthma is the commonest chronic childhood disease and encompasses a spectrum of airway diseases with similar symptoms. Inaccurate diagnosis remains common, especially in younger children, with failure to characterize the different “asthmas.” Children worldwide repeatedly suffer symptoms which se...verely affect their everyday lives. Children die from asthma, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). In many countries, asthma prevalence is rising. Access to effective care and changing environments are hugely variable and may explain the higher morbidity in inner-city children, in LMICs, and in deprived populations in high-income countries. Despite the disease being eminently controllable, morbidity and mortality persist.
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