The Strategic Framework for Emergency Preparedness is a unifying framework which identifies the principles and elements of effective country health... emergency preparedness. It adopts the major lessons of previous initiatives and lays out the planning and implementation process by which countries can determine their priorities and develop or strengthen their operational capacities. The framework capitalizes on the strengths of current initiatives and pushes for more integrated action at a time when there is both increased political will and increased funding available to support preparedness efforts.
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The arrival of COVID-19 in Afghanistan has brought heartache to millions of people who are now battling a deadly pandemic while simultaneously fighting for their survival amid poverty, disaster ...n class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">and war. Over my three years as Humanitarian Coordinator, I have marvelled at the resilience of the people of this country to cope with the hardships of life in the world’s deadliest conflict – but even this remarkable strength is now being tested by the health, social and economic consequences of COVID-19. The virus is spreading across the country with frightening speed. Every province is now impacted, and people are understandably frightened.
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The 2020 recommendations for the programmatic management of TB preventive treatment are the first to be released under the rubric of WHO consolidated TB guidelines (Module 1 – Prevention). The WHO... consolidated TB guidelines will gradually group all TB recommendations and will be complemented by matching modules of a consolidated operational handbook. [1] The handbook will provide practical advice on how to put in place the recommendations at the scale needed to achieve national and global impact. The first handbook module in the series will be on the programmatic management of TB preventive treatment and will accompany the 2020 guidelines.
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This bulletin focuses on the situation in Ukraine and several key refugee-receiving countries (Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, ...t medbox">and Slovakia), with the understanding that other countries in the European Region are also receiving Ukrainian refugees and WHO is providing technical support to them.
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The WHO/IWA document A practical guide to auditing water safety plans provides guidance on developing and implementing a WSP auditing scheme, covering such topics as the aim and role ...ass="attribute-to-highlight medbox">of auditing, auditor training and certification, audit criteria, audit timing and frequency and audit reporting. The guidance document includes examples, tips, tools and case studies from more than a dozen low-, middle-, and high-income countries, and it serves as a practical resource for policy makers, government bodies responsible for drinking-water regulation or surveillance and water suppliers implementing WSPs.
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Antimicrobials are precious agents for combating infectious diseases and had saved millions of lives throughout the world. However, the current trend of<.../span> increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a global health problem with increased morbidity and mortality in infectious diseases. Sri Lanka is not an exemption and face many health related issues with multidrug resistant (MDR) organisms. Currently there is a global effort in combating antimicrobial resistance. WHO extends its fullest support and plays a major role in motivating the countries to combat antimicrobial resistance with national action plans in place. Sri Lanka has initiated combating AMR with multisectoral collaboration, under one health concept. The development of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2017-2022 provides the roadmap to combat AMR.
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Updated 20 Nov. 2020
Countries can use this checklist of hospital governance, structures, plans and protocols to rapidly determine the current capacities ...>of hospitals to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify gaps and major areas that require investment and action for the development of hospital readiness improvement plans. The tool can be used periodically to monitor hospital emergency operational readiness capacity development
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The report notes that the number of people in need of one or more assistive products is likely to rise to 3.5 billion by 2050, due to populations a...geing and the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases rising across the world. The report also highlights the vast gap in access between low- and high-income countries. An analysis of 35 countries reveals that access varies from 3% in poorer nations to 90% in wealthy countries.
Affordability is a major barrier to access, the report notes. Around two thirds of people with assistive products reported out-of-pocket payments for them. Others reported relying on family and friends to financially support their needs.
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In the early morning of 6 February 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Türkiye near the northern
border of Syria. The earthquake was followed 11 minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 after...shock. Many aftershocks
continue to be felt across the region. Whilst the impact is still being assessed, initial reports evidence significant
damage in the areas of southern Türkiye and northern Syria.
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The ninth WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic tracks the progress made by countries in tobacco control since 2008 and, marks 15 years since the introduction of the MPOWER technical package whi...ch is designed to help countries implement the demand-reduction measures of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The report shows that many countries continue to make progress in the fight against tobacco, but efforts must be accelerated to protect people from the harms of tobacco and second-hand smoke.
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Previous advocacy efforts have achieved tangible goals in terms garnering political commitments
to increase financing for TB—as seen at the 2018 UN High-Level Meeting on TB. The challenge
now is to ensure that these commitments are actually met within a global biomedical research
ecosystem that... is designed and incentivized to prioritize the health needs of wealthy populations
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This WHO laboratory manual provides the most up to date methods and procedures for the laboratory identification of yellow fever virus infection in humans. It provides guidance on the establishment ...and maintenance of an effective laboratory providing routine surveillance testing for yellow fever, which operates within the WHO coordinated Global Yellow Fever Laboratory Network (GYFLaN) capable of providing confirmation of yellow fever infection reliably and timely. This second edition supersedes the first edition of the 2004 WHO manual for the monitoring of yellow fever virus infection.
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This publication is a companion document to the NDVP National Deployment and Vaccination Plans guidance, which provides a framework for countries to develop their national strategies. As countries face challenges with erratic vaccine supplies, use ...of multiple vaccine products with different characteristics, and the size of populations and their diversity, this document provides operational guidance and information to support planners and immunization programme managers at the national and sub-national levels on microplanning for COVID-19 vaccination implementation.
This Guide is available in English, French, Arabic, chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian
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This field guide is a practical tool for improving and maintaining drinking-water safety. It is designed to be used by YOU as a rural community member who shares responsibility for operation and man...agement of the drinking-water supply in your community. It can also be used by YOU as a staff member of the local health or water supply office, local government authority, nongovernmental organization (NGO) or other community-based organization that supports drinking-water safety in rural communities. Ensuring the safety of the community water supply is a daily job, and community members and other stakeholders have to work jointly to achieve this goal.
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This guidance has been developed in line with the WHO corporate risk management framework, the WHO business continuity and contingency plans, as well as the Inter-Agency Emergency Response Preparedness Framework. It is based on a common organiza-tio...nal approach and procedures for managing including emergency response across all hazards and at each level of the Organization. It relates WHO’s responsibilities (1) under the International Health Regulations (2005) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and other international treaties; (2) as the United Nations’ lead agency for health and the health cluster; and (3) as a member of the United Nations or Humanitarian Country Teams
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Rabies is entirely preventable, and vaccines, medicines, tools and technologies have long been available to prevent people from dying of dog-mediat...ed rabies. Nevertheless, rabies still kills about 60 000 people a year, of whom over 40% are children under 15, mainly in rural areas of economically disadvantaged countries in Africa and Asia. Of all human cases, up to 99% are acquired from the bite of an infected dog.
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Rabies is entirely preventable, and vaccines, medicines, tools and technologies have long
been available to prevent people from dying of dog-media...ted rabies. Nevertheless, rabies still
kills about 60 000 people a year, of whom over 40% are children under 15, mainly in rural areas
of economically disadvantaged countries in Africa and Asia. Of all human cases, up to 99% are
acquired from the bite of an infected dog.
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This document seeks to help health communication professionals working on the topic of immunization more effectively communicate about Events Supposedly Attributed to Vaccination ...ute-to-highlight medbox">and Immunization (ESAVI) by building trust in National Immunization Programs, understanding risk perceptions related to vaccination, and responding to false information related to vaccination. It includes practical dos and don’ts regarding risk communication and community engagement processes and principles, messaging, risk perceptions, handling false information, collaborating with partners, and pharmacovigilance, as well as real-world examples.
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This Training module on malaria elimination has been developed by WHO to support health professionals in planning, managing, monitoring and evaluating malaria elimination programmes.
Supporting exe...rcises: These files are necessary for participants to complete a number of exercises listed in the manual. Please go to the website: http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/atoz/9789241549424/en/
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Birth defect has been an emerging major cause of child mortality in the region. Scarcity of the birth defects information hampers policy decisions and...an> control measures at national level. In order to create evidence for action for birth defects prevention in the region, WHO-SEARO in collaboration with CDC, USA has developed and launched a regional electronic database on birth defects. This surveillance database allows data collection on newborn health, birth defects and stillbirths cases and provides real time information at hospitals and national level.
Training of the hospital health staffs and data managers in the birth defects surveillance network; at regional, national and at hospital levels is recognized as essential for expansion of this database and to assure quality of data. A two days training module for hospital based birth defects surveillance was developed using a guide for operation and facilitator guide.
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