The immediate objective of the country visit to Cameroon was to ensure that the country is as operationally ready as possible to effectively and safely detect, investigate and report potential Ebola virus disease cases and to mount an effective res...ponse that will prevent a larger outbreak. After technical working group meetings, field visits, a “table-top” exercise and a hospital-based simulation exercises were undertaken.
Key strengths and weaknesses were identified, and the following areas for improvement were proposed to the Ministry of Health: coordination, surveillance, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, rapid response teams, case management, social mobilization, laboratory, points of entry, budget, logistics.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) convened a meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on Buruli ulcer at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on 25 to 27 March 2019
This document builds on the Background document prepared for the September 4-5, 2014 Consultation. It includes proposed elements to consider during the development of a framework to assist decision-making at global and national level.
The aim ...pan class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">of the document is to assist Member States and relevant partners in their discussions to identify the best approaches to ensure the accelerated evaluation and use of available or near-term therapies and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of EVD. The document calls for a coordinated effort by the international community to remove unnecessary obstacles towards this goal.
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The GHS Index is intended to be a key resource in the face of increasing risks of high-consequence and globally catastrophic biological events and in light ...">of major gaps in international financing for preparedness. These risks are magnified by a rapidly changing and interconnected world; increasing political instability; urbanization; climate change; and rapid technology advances that make it easier, cheaper, and faster to create and engineer pathogens.
Key findings from the study of 195 countries:
• Out of a possible 100 points, the average GHS Index score across 195 countries was 40.2.
• The majority of high- and middle-income countries do not score above 50.
• Action is urgently needed to improve countries’ readiness for high-consequence infectious disease outbreaks.
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In 2017, $37.4 billion of development assistance was provided to low- and middleincome countries to maintain or improve health. This amount is down slightly compared to 2016, and since 2010, development assistance for health (DAH) has grown at an an...nualized rate of 1.0%. While global development assistance for health has seemingly leveled off, global health spending continues to climb, outpacing economic growth in many countries. Total health spending for 2015, the most recent year for which data are available, was estimated to be $9.7 trillion (95% uncertainty interval: 9.7–9.8)*, up 4.7% (3.9–5.6) from the prior year, and accounted for 10% of the world’s total economy. With some sources of health spending growing and other types remaining steady, and with major variations in spending from country to country, it is more important than ever to understand where resources for health come from, where they go, and how they align with health needs. This information is critical for planning and is a necessary catalyst for change as we aim to close the gap on the unfinished agenda of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and move forward toward universal health coverage (UHC) in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) era.
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Promoting health and preventing disease is a critical component of the effort required to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). to date, efforts to achieve UHC have focused mostly on strengthening health systems and their capacities to provide cu...rative care. However, experience from the COVID-19 pandemic has reaffirmed the need for resilient health systems, emphasizing primary health care, including preventive and promotive health and well-being.
Emerging from the eye of the storm as the global health lead agency during the pandemic, WHO is equipped with the required insights and actions for a holistic approach to “building back fairer and better” after COVID-19.
The Healthier Populations (UHP) Cluster in the African Region is designed to support Pillar 3 of WHO’s 13th Global Programme of Work (GPW13) which aims to make 1 billion people healthier by reducing health inequities, preventing diseases and injuries, addressing health determinants, and promoting partnerships for collaborative actions amongst all stakeholders.
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On August 13, 2024, the Africa CDC declared the mpox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS). The following day, the WHO declared it a Public Health Emergency of Internati...onal Concern (PHEIC). A coordinated, continent-wide response is essential, co-led by the African Union (AU) through the Africa CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO), in close collaboration with global partners working under a unified plan, budget, and monitoring framework.
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The key updates include: content update in various sections based on new evidence; design changes for enhanced usability; a streamlined and simplified clinical assessment that includes an algorithm for follow-up; inclusion of two new modules
- Ess...ential Care and Practice that includes general guidelines and Iminterventions and implementation module to support the proposed interventions by necessary infrastructure and resources; and, revised modules for Psychoses, Child and Adolescent Mental and Behavioural Disorders and Disorders due to Substance Use
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UNAIDS 2018 / Guidance
Guidance for policy-makers, and people living with, at risk of or affected by HIV
The Education 2030 Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action specifies that the mandate of the Global Education Monitoring Report is to be ‘the mechanism for monitoring and reporting on SDG 4 and on education in the other SDGs’ with the respo...nsibility to ‘report on the implementation of national and international strategies to help hold all relevant partners to account for their commitments as part of the overall SDG follow-up and review.’ It is prepared by an independent team hosted by UNESCO.
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The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 118 events in the region. This week’s main articles cover the following events:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Togo
Measles in Chad
Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Équateur Province, Democratic Republic ...attribute-to-highlight medbox">of the Congo.
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The report summarizes key global health expenditure patterns and trends, and illustrates the potential of the new database to inform thinking about financing reforms to progress towards UHC, and also raises issues for further research. It analyses t...he following areas:
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Poor quality health services are holding back progress on improving health in countries at all income levels.
Today, inaccurate diagnosis, medication errors, inappropriate or unnecessary treatment, inadequate or unsafe clinical facilities or practices, or providers who lack adequate training an...d expertise prevail in all countries.
The situation is worst in low and middle-income countries where 10 percent of hospitalized patients can expect to acquire an infection during their stay, as compared to seven percent in high income countries. This is despite hospital acquired infections being easily avoided through better hygiene, improved infection control practices and appropriate use of antimicrobials.. At the same time, one in ten patients is harmed during medical treatment in high income countries.
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Annual report on global preparednessfor health emergencies
The next pandemic is not a question of if, but when—and the world is woefully unprepared, according to the first annual report from the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board. The WHO and t...he World Bank convened the independent group after the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Global News reports. Within 36 hours, a contagion like the 1918 flu could sweep the globe and take 50 to 80 million lives while wreaking havoc on the global economy, the report warns. And that’s just one possibility.
What would it take to get prepared? An investment of $1-$2 per person per year could create “acceptable” level of preparedness.
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The WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2022 provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic, and of progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment ...ght medbox">of the disease, at global, regional and country levels. This is done in the context of global TB commitments, strategies and targets.
The 2022 edition of the report is as usual, based primarily on data gathered by WHO from national ministries of health in annual rounds of data collection. In 2022, 202 countries and territories with more than 99% of the world’s population and TB cases reported data
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Society first acknowledges a child’s existence and identity
through birth registration. The right to be recognized as
a person before the law is a critical step in ensuring
lifelong protection and is a prerequisite for exercising all
other rights. A birth certificate is proof ...ibute-to-highlight medbox">of that legal identity, and is
the basis upon which children can establish a nationality,
avoid the risk of statelessness and seek protection from
violence and exploitation. For example, proof of age is
needed to help prevent child labour, child marriage and
underage recruitment into the armed forces. A birth
certificate may also be required to access social service
systems, including health, education and justice.
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An approach to emergency situations. Relief workers face rapidly changing and complex environments, new disease patterns, enormous humanitarian needs and relatively limited resources. The authors of this book use their experience in the area to prod...uce an operational manual of the issues involved in refugee health programs. This book is aimed at professionals involved in public health assistance to refugees and displaced persons. It deals with a variety of specific refugee health issues at the decisional level, and discusses the priorities of intervention during the different phases of a refugee crisis, from emergency to repatriation.
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2018 monitoring report: current status and strategic priorities
The report sets out the status of women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, and on health systems and social and environmental determinants. Regional dashboards on 16 key ...indicators highlight where progress is being made or lagging. There is progress overall, but not at the level required to achieve the 2030 goals. There are some areas where progress has stalled or is reversing, namely neonatal mortality, gender inequalities and health in humanitarian settings.
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Multiple pandemics, numerous outbreaks, thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars of national income wiped out—all since the turn ...ss="attribute-to-highlight medbox">of this century, in barely 17 years—and yet the world’s investments in pandemic preparedness and response remain woefully inadequate. We know by now that the world will see another pandemic in the not-too-distant future; that random mutations occur often enough in microbes that help them survive and adapt; that new pathogens will inevitably find a way to break through our defenses; and that there is the increased potential for intentional or accidental release of a synthesized agent. Every expert commentary and every analysis in recent years tells us that the costs of inaction are immense. And yet, as
the havoc caused by the last outbreak turns into a fading memory, we become complacent and relegate the case for investing in preparedness on a back burner, only to bring it to the forefront when the next outbreak occurs. The result is that the world remains scarily vulnerable.
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The document is intended to facilitate the detection, evaluation and management of incident EVD cases in Germany. It primarily addresses public health service staff and health care workers in hospitals, outpatient clinics and emergency services in G...ermany. It is a work in progress, intended to evolve over time. Updated 14 August 2015
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