The COVID-19 pandemic has put significant pressure on health systems all around the world. The drastic measures established to contain its spread are creating serious impediments to economic activity (including agrifood systems) and, consequently, t...o livelihoods and food security and nutrition.
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This annual report highlights the work of the WHO from January to June 2021 ( December 2021). The activities featured herein are by no means exhausted but implemented with technical and financial support through WHO in Nigeria; facilitated by its pr...esence at all levels of governance (national, state, local government, and wards).
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Patient safety standards are critical for the establishment and assessment of patient safety programmes within hospitals. This third edition of the Patient safety assessment manual provides an updat...ed set of standards and assessment criteria that reflect current best practice and WHO guidance. The manual will support the implementation of patient safety assessments and improvement programmes within hospitals as part of the Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Framework to ensure that patient safety is prioritized and facilities and staff implement best practices. The manual is a key tool for use by professional associations regulatory accrediting or oversight bodies and ministries of health to improve patient safety.
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The harmful use of alcohol causes approximately 3 million deaths every year and the overall burden of disease and injuries attributable to alcohol consumption remains unacceptably high. The pace ...an class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">of development and implementation of alcohol policies has been uneven in WHO regions, and resources and capacities for implementation of the WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol 10 years after its endorsement do not correspond to the magnitude of the problems. On this basis, the WHO Executive Board in its decision EB146 (14) called for accelerated action to reduce the harmful use of alcohol.
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National action plans on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) often overlook the critical intersection of gender, despite evidence that exposure and susceptibility to infection, health-seeking behaviours,... as well as antimicrobial prescribing and use patterns are all influenced by gender.
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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 ...hlight medbox">Health Emergency of International 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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Lymphatic filariasis is a vector-borne neglected tropical disease that causes damage of the lymphatic system and can lead to lymphoedema (elephantiasis) and hydrocele in infected individuals. The global baseline estimate ...ghlight medbox">of persons affected by lymphatic filariasis is 25 million men with hydrocele and over 15 million people with lymphoedema. At least 36 million persons remain with these chronic disease manifestations. The disease is endemic in 72 countries. In 2016, an estimated total population of 856 million were living in areas with ongoing transmission of the causative filarial parasites and requiring mass drug administration (MDA). Lymphatic filariasis disfigures and disables, and often leads to stigmatization and poverty. Hundreds of millions of dollars are lost annually due to reduced productivity of affected patients. WHO has ranked the disease as one of the world’s leading causes of permanent and long-term disability.
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This manual summarizes key issues related to the safety of NTD medicines and their administration, with a focus on essential medicines used in mass drug administration (MDA), also called preventive chemotherapy. It can be used as a standalone refere...nce manual, but is intended to be used in conjunction with the accompanying training modules, which provide practical instruction, and the aide-mémoires. Versions of the aide-mémoires and training modules are available respectively for both (i) programme managers and district-level health officials and (ii) community drug distributors and community health workers
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This guideline provides evidence-based recommendations on parenting interventions for parents and caregivers of children aged 0–17 years that are designed to reduce child maltreatment and harsh parenting, enhance the parent–child relationship, a...nd prevent poor mental health among parents and emotional and behavioural problems among children.
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Cholera is a major health risk in many parts of the world, affecting millions of people every year. Since mid-2021, the world has been facing an ac...ute upsurge of the 7th cholera pandemic, which is characterized by the number, size and concurrence of multiple outbreaks, the spread to areas that had been free of cholera for decades and alarmingly high mortality rates. The mortality associated with these outbreaks is of particular concern as many countries have reported higher case fatality ratios (CFR) than in previous years
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Humanitarian emergencies, regardless of type and cause, have a number of common risk factors for communicable diseases inextricably linked to excess risk ...of morbidity and mortality which can come from vaccine–preventable diseases (VPDs). The reduction of VPDs is a significant aim of public-health interventions during crises.
The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization carried out a comprehensive review of evidence on vaccination decision-making processes and considerations in humanitarian emergencies.
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Evaluation report
April 2013
Evaluation report
This report is part of the overall Ukrainian National AIDS programme evaluation conducted
in September 2012
The meningitis road map has been designated as a flagship global strategy of the WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work, 2019–2023 and is an essential component in achieving universal ...class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health coverage.
The road map will reinforce and combine with wider initiatives, such as those aimed at strengthening primary health care and health systems, increasing immunization coverage, improving global health security, fighting antimicrobial resistance and advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities. It will complement other global control strategies, such as those addressing sepsis, pneumonia, tuberculosis and HIV. Implementation will be a challenge for all countries across the world, but especially in resource-poor settings where the burden of meningitis is greatest. The targets for the visionary and strategic goals will be adapted to regional and local contexts.
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The second edition of the joint WHO, WIPO and WTO
publication “Promoting Access to Medical Technologies
and Innovation: Intersections between public health,
intellectual pro...perty and trade” (the Trilateral Study),*
published in 2020, included a special insert mapping the
challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation
to the integrated health, trade and IP policy framework set
out in the study. The Trilateral Study and the special insert
were designed to serve as background reference for policy-
makers in the widest sense – lawmakers, government
officials, delegates to international organizations, non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) and researchers
who seek a comprehensive presentation of the full range
of issues, including institutions and legal concepts with
which they may be unfamiliar. It is also designed to serve
as a factual resource for the three organizations’ technical
cooperation activities.
This update revises the information contained in that
insert in the light of more recent developments as of
30 August 2021. Further updates will be made to reflect
subsequent developments.
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This report assesses the impact of the conflict in Ukraine and its implications for organized crime and security-related issues for neighbouring countries, with a focus on Moldova.
These include:
Organized crime and illicit trafficking (includin...g trafficking in persons, drugs, arms, illicit tobacco, and other goods); Cybercrimes and fraud; Disinformation and propaganda; and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats.
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The Assessment package has been developed for countries to evaluate the implementation of the WHO Standards for prosthetics and orthotics. It enables identification of areas in need ...ribute-to-highlight medbox">of strengthening and facilitates relevant planning. The complete Assessment package consists of four components: Assessment guide: gives directions on how to organize and implement the assessment. Assessment tool: Excel instrument used to carry out assessments and record results.
User manual: explains how the Assessment tool should be used.
Planning document: Excel file into which the recommendations that are generated by the Assessment tool can be pasted for easy use in subsequent planning.
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Policy briefs produced for FP2020 and other countries, presenting analysis of Family Planning Effort (FPE) scores from the current and previous rounds. Research and policy implications based on the analyses are also presented.
Depression is a leading cause of non-fatal disease burden worldwide, with a lifetime prevalence of 9% among European adult men and 17% among European adult women.
The task at hand requires substant...ial investments in preventive mental health care, but the potential benefits can be equally rewarding. After all, mental wellbeing is a key resource for learning, productivity, participation and inclusion. Investing in proactive care to promote, protect and sustain mental health in the population is therefore likely to offer good value for money.
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China is one of the major countries for the production and use of antibacterial agents. Antibacterial agents are widely used in healthcare and animal husbandry. It plays a significant role in treati...ng infections and saving patient lives, preventing and treating animal diseases, improving farming efficiency, and guaranteeing public health security. However, antimicrobial resistance has become increasingly prominent due to insufficient research and development capacity of new antimicrobials, sales of antimicrobials without prescriptions in pharmacies, irrational use of antibacterial agents in medical and food animal sectors, non-compliant waste emissions of pharmaceutical enterprises, as well as lack of public awareness toward rational use of antimicrobials. Bacterial resistance ultimately affects human health, but the cause of bacterial resistance and consequences are beyond the health sector. Antimicrobial resistance brings increasing biosecurity threats, worsens environmental pollution, constrains economic development and other adverse effects to human society, thus, there is an urgent need to strengthen multi-sectoral and multi-domain collaborative planning to jointly cope with this issue.
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This manual is designed primarily to assist managers of national malaria programmes and national reference laboratory responsible for quality assurance of malaria microscopy control. The information... is also applicable to non-governmental organizations and funding agencies investing in quality management systems for malaria microscopy.
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