This consultative version of the guideline is the product of literature reviews, discussions and contributions from diverse stakeholders, as well a
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s UNISDR-nominated experts appointed specifically for the development of the Words into Action guideline for Build back better in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Disaster impacted countries and communities are oftentimes much better equipped to Build Back Better during the extended period of recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction when they have taken actions to strengthen recovery capacity and decision-making effectiveness prior to the onset of disaster.
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Taking a multisectoral, One Health approach is necessary to address complex health threats at the human-animal-environment interface, such as rabies, zoonotic influenza, anthrax,
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and Rift Valley fever. Such zoonotic diseases continue to have major impacts on health, livelihoods, and economies, and cannot be effectively addressed by one sector alone.
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"Patient decontamination principles are set forth here from a strategic perspective, rather than a tactical
one. The principles are meant to guide, but not specify, operational practices. The guidance is evidencebased
to the extent possible and th
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e supporting evidence is documented and briefly discussed."
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Rwanda’s fourth health sector strategic plan (HSSP4) is meant to provide the health sector with a Strategic Plan that will highlight its commitments and
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priorities for the coming 6 years. It will be fully integrated in the overall economic development plan of the Government. HSSP4 will fulfill the country’s commitment expressed in the national constitution, National Strategy for Transformation (NST) and the aspirations of the Health Sector Policy 2015. The strategies herein adhere to the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) principles towards realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). HSSP4 therefore lays a foundation for Vision 2050 (“The Rwanda We Want”), which will transform Rwanda into a high-income country by 2050. HSSP4 anticipates the epidemiological transition of the country, the increase in population and life expectancy and the expected increase of the health needs of the elderly, notably in Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). HSSP4 also anticipates a decrease in external financial inflows, hence it is imperative to build secure / resilient health systems.
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Guidance has been updated on a number of chemicals: asbestos, bentazone, chromium, iodine, manganese, microcystins, nickel, silver, tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene. Guidance has also been adde
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d for chemicals not previously assessed in the Guidelines: anatoxin-a and analogues, cylindrospermopsins and saxitoxins. The new guidance on organotins has replaced the prior guidance focused on dialkyltins. With these updates, the guideline values for tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene have been revised while new guideline values for cylindrospermopsins, manganese, microcystins, and saxitoxins have been established .
Updated information on cyanobacteria has been included, introducing an alert level framework for early-warning and to guide short-term management responses. Guidance has also been updated in the sections on adequacy of water supply, climate change, emergencies, food production and processing, and radiological aspects, particularly on managing radionuclides when exceeding WHO screening values and guidance levels.
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Drinking-water quality regulations and standards developed or revised in accordance with this guidance will reflect the best practices identified in the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality to most effectively protect
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public health. Moreover, the regulations and standards will consider local needs, priorities and capacities to ensure that they are realistic and appropriate. Topics covered include:
- Guiding principles
- Getting started
- Selecting parameters and parameter limits
- Setting out compliance monitoring requirements
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Using Epidemiology to Support Primary Health Care. Updated version of the WHO handbook published in the early 1990's entitled: Manual of Epidemiolo
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gy for District Health Management or those with an interest in applied epidemiology in primary health care and district health systems
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The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has produced a three-volume series entitled Managing Hazardous Material Incidents. The series is designed to help emergency response and
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health care professionals plan for and respond to hazardous material emergencies.
- Volume I Emergency Medical Services: A Planning Guide for the Management of Contaminated Patients
- Volume II Hospital Emergency Departments: A Planning Guide for the Management of Contaminated Patients
- Volume III Medical Management Guidelines for Acute Chemical Exposures
Volumes I and II are planning guides to assist first responders and hospital emergency department personnel in planning for incidents that involve hazardous materials.
Volume III is a guide for health care professionals who treat persons who have been exposed to hazardous materials.
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The frequency of infectious disease epidemics is increasing, and the role of the health sector i
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n the management of epidemics is crucial in terms of response. In the context of infectious disease epidemics, the use of climate-informed early warning systems (EWS) has the potential to increase the effectiveness of disease control by intervening before or at the beginning of the epidemic curve, instead of during the downward slope.
Currently, the initiation of interventions is heavily reliant on routine disease surveillance systems – data that often arrive too late for preventative response. However, forecasting of disease outbreaks using surveillance and weather information shows promising potential – there also remains further scope to examine seasonal climate forecasts. By combining these elements in new EWS based on computational models, it will be possible to improve both the timeliness and impact of disease control. The World Health Organization (WHO) is strengthening existing surveillance systems for infectious diseases to enable the development of more robust and timely EWS, which has resulted in the rapid development and innovation of EWS for disease outbreaks.
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A global call to action to protect the mental health of health and care workers
These guidelines present evidence-based recommendations and best practice statements on use of medically important antimicrobials in food-producing animals, based on the WHO list
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of critically important antimicrobials for human medicine (WHO CIA List). These guidelines aim primarily to help preserve the effectiveness of medically important antimicrobials, particularly those antimicrobials judged to be critically important to human medicine and also help preserve the effectiveness of antimicrobials for veterinary medicine, in direct support of the WHO global action plan on antimicrobial resistance
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Interim rapid response guidance, 10 June 2022.
It includes considerations for certain populations such as patients with mild disease with considerations for community care, patients with moderate to severe disease, sexually active persons, pregnant or breastfeeding women, children
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and young persons. The guidance also addresses considerations for clinical management such as the use of therapeutics, nutritional support, mental health services, and post-infection follow-up.
The document provides guidance for clinicians, health facility managers, health workers and infection prevention and control practitioners including but not limited to those working in primary care clinics, sexual health clinics, emergency departments, infectious diseases clinics, genitourinary clinics, dermatology clinics, maternity services, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology and acute care facilities that provide care for patients with suspected or confirmed monkeypox
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In light of the decline in new Ebola cases, strategies are now needed to scale down the activities and bed capacities in Ebola care facilities. These facilities include Ebola treatment units, commun
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ity care centres, Ebola treatment centres and isolation centres. The Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone; WHO; CDC; ICAN and UNICEF have jointly developed this rapid guidance and checklist to assist national governments and partners as they begin this process. This rapid guidance pertains to protecting the safety and repurposing of infrastructures and resources previously used for the Ebola outbreak to care for Ebola patients.
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Medical devices are used for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness and diseases and
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for rehabilitation. WHO developed guidance on medical device donation in 2011, which has been now reviewed, with new evidence, new references on considerations for medical device solicitation and provision, risks associated with inappropriate donations, the responsibilities of donors and recipient, and the steps they should follow before, during and after a donation. It includes three sections: description of major problems that may be faced during the donation process, listing of best practices for donors and recipients and addressing situations requiring special attention. It also has three annexes for further reading: the criteria for the acceptability of a donation, literature review on donations of medical devices between 2010 and 2023 and a flyer. This document is intended to improve the quality of medical devices donations, including medical equipment, single-use medical devices and in-vitro diagnostics, to provide maximum benefit to all stakeholders. The considerations can be used to develop institutional or national policies and regulations for medical devices donations. This document is intended for use by any organization, expert or practitioner involved in the donation, procurement, management of medical devices, including health workers, biomedical engineers, health managers, policymakers, donors, nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions.
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Responses to epidemics, emergencies and disasters raise many ethical issues for the people involved, including public health specialists
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and policy makers. This training manual provides material on ethical issues in research, surveillance and patient care in these difficult contexts.
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Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, was devastated by an earthquake in 2010. The disaster uncovered the realities of a non-existent mental h
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ealth care system with only ten psychiatrists nationwide. Attempts were made to assess the increased prevalence of mental illness, likely due to the trauma to which many were exposed. Several interventions were carried out with aims to integrate mental health into primary health care services. The interplay between socio-cultural beliefs and health (both mental and physical) in Haiti has been widely commented upon by both foreign aid and local caregivers. Observations frequently highlight barriers to the willingness of patients to seek care and to their acceptance of biomedicine over traditional Vodou beliefs. The perception of Haitian beliefs as barriers to the availability and acceptance of mental health care has intensified the difficulty in providing effective recommendations and interventions both before and after the earthquake. Argued in this review is the importance of considering the interactions between socio-cultural beliefs and mental health when developing models for the prevention, screening, classification and management of mental illness in Haiti. These interactions, especially relevant in mental health care and post-disaster contexts, need to be acknowledged in any healthcare setting. The successes and failures of Haiti’s situation provide an example for global consideration.
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Humanitarian emergencies and crises (Humanitarian emergencies and crises) are large-scale events that may result in the breakdown of
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health care systems and society, forced displacement, death, and physical, psychological, social and spiritual suffering on a massive scale. Current responses to Humanitarian emergencies and crises rightfully focus on saving lives, but for both ethical and medical reasons, the prevention and relief of pain, as well as other physical and psychological symptoms, social and spiritual distress, also are imperative. Therefore, palliative care, should be integrated into responses to Humanitarian emergencies and crises. The principles of humanitarianism and impartiality require that all patients receive care and should never be abandoned for any reason, even if they are dying. Thus, there is significant overlap in the principles and mission of palliative care and humanitarianism: relief of suffering; respect for the dignity of all people; support for basic needs; and accompaniment during the most difficult of times
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Through technical consultations with countries and partners, WHO has led the development of Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats Module
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1: Planning for respiratory pathogen pandemics. Version 1.0. The Module, currently available as an advanced draft, builds on previous pandemic lessons and guidance, and has the following new elements:
It presents an integrated and efficient respiratory pathogen pandemic planning approach covering both novel pathogens and those known to have pandemic potential;
It enables coherence in addressing pathogen-agnostic and pathogen-specific elements for better preparedness;
It gives an organizing framework including operational stages and triggers for escalation and de-escalation between pandemic preparedness and response periods;
It contextualizes 12 IHR (2005) core capacities within the five components of health emergency preparedness, response and resilience (HEPR), from the respiratory threats perspective; and
It describes the critical sectors for respiratory pathogen pandemic preparedness to trigger multisectoral collaboration.
WHO will finalize and publish this Module after a global technical meeting that will be held on 24-26 April 2023.
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Ebola disease and Marburg disease outbreaks continue to occur in Africa, with increased frequency. In addition to resulting in high mortality and morbidity, the outbreaks generate fear
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and mistrust about the response activities within the communities affected.
Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a key pillar in the outbreak response; adherence to IPC practices can prevent and control transmission of infections to health and care workers, patients and their family members.
During the 2014-2016 West African Ebola disease outbreak, there was an urgent need for rapid IPC guidance to help support ministries of health, health-care providers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In response, WHO produced several documents related to the outbreak based on expert opinion, including IPC-specific documents and documents on clinical management that also referenced key IPC principles and practices. Since that time, many practices in the field have become institutionalized.
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A companion to the Child Friendly Schools Manual
WASH in Schools aims to improve the health and learning performance of school-aged chi
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ldren – and, by extension, that of their families – by reducing the incidence of water and sanitation-related diseases. Every child friendly school requires appropriate WASH initiatives that keep the school environment clean and free of smells and inhibit the transmission of harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites.
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