Available in English, French and Spanish
Countries reported disruptions in all health-care settings. In more than half of countries surveyed, many people are still unable to access care at the primary care and community care levels. Significant disruptions have also been reported in emergency care, particularly concerning given the impact... on people with urgent health needs. Thirty-six per cent of countries reported disruptions to ambulance services; 32% to 24-hour emergency room services; and 23% to emergency surgeries.
Elective surgeries have also been disrupted in 59% of countries, which can have accumulating consequences on health and well-being as the pandemic continues. Disruptions to rehabilitative care and palliative care were also reported in around half of the countries surveyed.
Major barriers to health service recovery include pre-existing health systems issues which have been exacerbated by the pandemic as well as decreased demand for care.
more
WHO’s Essential Medicines List and List of Essential Diagnostics are core guidance documents that help countries prioritize critical health products that should be widely available and affordable throughout health systems. The updated Essential Medicines List adds 23 medicines for children.
WHO today published the new edition of its Model Lists of Essential Medicines and Essential Medicines for Children, which include new treatments for various cancers, insulin analogues and new oral medicines for diabetes, new medicines to assist people who want to stop smoking, and new antimicrobials... to treat serious bacterial and fungal infections.
The listings aim to address global health priorities, identifying the medicines that provide the greatest benefits, and which should be available and affordable for all. However, high prices for both new, patented medicines and older medicines, like insulin, continue to keep some essential medicines out of reach for many patients.
more
Community health workers (CHWs) play a vital role in health service delivery, especially in countries with less resilient health systems. During any outbreak CHWs are relied on to help control the spread. However, they are often the last in line to receive necessary health products and protective eq...uipment, which affects their ability to safely serve their communities.
more
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR TEST SELECTION ESSENTIAL IN VITRO DIAGNOSTIC TESTS FOR SARS-COV-2
Кризис, связанный с COVID-19, вновь сделал очевидной настоятельную необходимость в наличии прочных,адекватно финансируемых и устойчивых систем здравоохранения, спос...бных быстро и на справедливойоснове реагировать на чрезвычайные ситуации, обеспечивая при этом всеобщую финансовую защиту.В Кыргызстане были приняты важные решения по увеличению государственного финансирования ответныхмер системы здравоохранения в связи с COVID-19, включая усиление донорской поддержки. Достаточноегосударственное финансирование мер в ответ на вспышку COVID-19 требуется для поддержки расширениямасштабов и предоставления услуг населению в целом и отдельным гражданам. Данный краткий обзорпреследует своей целью предоставление основы для дискуссий между должностными лицами, отвечающими за национальную политику, международными донорскими организациями и другими партнерами по развитию, касающихся повышения эффективности финансирования здравоохранения с целью улучшения ответных мер в связи с COVID-19 в Кыргызстане
more
Policy Brief November 2021 Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled the ongoing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) global crisis due to the increase in the use of antibiotics to treat COVID-19 patients, disruptions to infection prevention and control practices in o...verwhelmed health systems, and diversion of human and financial resources away from monitoring and responding to AMR threats. Moreover, AMR is likely to have caused more COVID-19 deaths, as secondary bacterial infections can worsen the outcome of severe and critical COVID-19 illness. Therefore, it is more urgent than ever to prioritize efforts towards AMR containment and support countries to improve the detection, characterization and rapid response to emerging AMR.
more