Mental health problems are common and cause great suffering to individuals and communities around the world. They have a significant impact not only on the physical and mental health of those affected but also on their families and the communities they live in. At the same time, all communities have... their own traditional mechanisms for support and contain a range wide of resources that can be helpful in preventing mental health conditions from developing, promoting positive mental health and supporting the recovery of people that are struggling with a mental health condition.
In the wider context, people living with a mental health condition are often excluded from their communities and experience various violations to their basic human rights (discrimination, violence, exclusion from employment opportunities). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the mean prevalence of global mental health disorders is 10.8% while the prevalence in emergency settings is 22.1% in any conflict-affected population.
During emergencies and crisis, the stigma, exclusion and discrimination towards people living with mental health conditions is often higher, which can cause isolation and protection issues. Communities can play a crucial role in promoting mental health as well as enhancing primary care and access. Their role is to help reduce mental health inequalities by providing community resources that connect people to community-based resources and by providing mental health education. This also helps to reduce the massive mental health treatment gap.
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Objective: To conduct a landscape assessment of public knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk factors and acute myocardial infarction symptoms, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) awareness and training in three underserved communities in Brazil.
Metho...ds: A cross-sectional, population-based survey of non-institutionalised adults age 30 or greater was conducted in three municipalities in Eastern Brazil. Data were analysed as survey-weighted percentages of the sampled populations.
Results: 3035 surveys were completed. Overall, one-third of respondents was unable to identify at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor and 25% unable to identify at least one myocardial infarction symptom. A minority of respondents had received training in CPR or were able to identify an AED. Low levels of education and low socioeconomic status were consistent predictors of lower knowledge levels of cardiovascular disease risk factors, acute coronary syndrome symptoms and CPR and AED use.
Conclusions: In three municipalities in Eastern Brazil, overall public knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk factors and symptoms, as well as knowledge of appropriate CPR and AED use was low. Our findings indicate the need for interventions to improve public knowledge and response to acute cardiovascular events in Brazil as a first step towards improving health outcomes in this population. Significant heterogeneity in knowledge seen across sites and socioeconomic strata indicates a need to appropriately target such interventions.
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Approximately 80% of the 463 million adults worldwide with diabetes live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). A major obstacle to designing evidence-based policies to improve diabetes outcomes in LMICs is the scarce availability of nationally representative data on the current patterns... of treatment coverage. The objectives of this study were to estimate the proportion of adults with diabetes in LMICs who receive coverage of recommended pharmacological and non-pharmacological diabetes treatment; and to describe country-level and individual-level characteristics that are associated with treatment.
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The burden of diabetes is enormous, positioning it as one of the main challenges facing public health today. Currently, it is estimated that 62 million people are living with diabetes in the Region of the Americas and projections show its prevalence will continue rising over the following years. The... Region shows the highest number of years of healthy life lost (through either disability or premature death) due to diabetes worldwide. The high costs associated with its treatment produce a heavy economic burden. Its complications can seriously affect the quality of life of people living with diabetes, their families, and society and overload health systems. This report shows the latest internationally comparable data on diabetes and its main risk factors by year, country, and sex. It also includes a summary of the countries health systems’ response to diabetes, including national plans, targets, surveillance, guidelines, and access to essential drugs and technologies, and synthesizes information about diabetes-related complications and the close relationship between diabetes and other pathologies, such as cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, and COVID-19. The data presented here reveal that, despite advances in national responses, diabetes continues to expand, and our response remains insufficient. This report aims to draw attention to the urgent need to strengthen efforts to prevent, diagnose, and control diabetes in the Region of the Americas.
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Anaemia is a serious global public health problem that particularly affects young children, menstruating adolescent girls and women, and pregnant and postpartum women. It is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal, affectin...g the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to the body’s tissues.
To reliably monitor the prevalence of anaemia at a population level, it is vital to measure the haemoglobin concentration in an accurate and precise way. In large-scale surveys, however, haemoglobin is most commonly measured using single-drop capillary blood specimens in point-of-care devices. Emerging evidence suggests that the use of single-drop capillary blood can introduce random and/or systematic errors, which may lead to inaccurate estimates, complicating effective anaemia programming.
This technical brief describes the current best practices for haemoglobin measurement, providing guidance to help plan or implement field surveys to assess anaemia at a population level. Continuing work to review emerging evidence is led by members of the WHO-UNICEF Technical Expert Advisory group on nutrition Monitoring (TEAM).
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The World Food Programme (WFP) has taken important steps to progress disability inclusion across its programming and operations. In late 2022, WFP commissioned the Nossal Institute, University of Melbourne in partnership with the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia to identify ...pathways for increasing disability inclusion in WFP’s emergency preparedness and response (EPR) programming.
The study explored WFP’s programming in Indonesia and the Philippines, including WFP’s advisory, technical assistance and service provision roles to government and partners and informed the development of this guide (see appendix 2). As general guidance on disability inclusion is increasingly available, the purpose of this guide is to contextualize disability inclusion in WFP’s emergency preparedness and response programming. The guide builds on core reference materials, such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, 2019. While of wider relevance, this guide is directed at WFP’s EPR programming in Asia and the Pacific.
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For the global community to be able to achieve ambitious targets relating to the prevention and treatment of HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), multiple types of medicines must be widely accessible to all affected populations in all countries.
The purpose of this rep...ort is to provide forecasts of future demand for medicines used in the fields of HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs. This report jointly presents medicines forecasts across three disease areas in recognition of the benefits of addressing HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs in a coordinated manner.
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The mounting burden of type 2 diabetes is a major concern in healthcare systems worldwide. The purpose of this study is to investigate the trend of type 2 diabetes from 1990 to 2019 in Asia.
Developed as part of the UN Women–WHO Global Joint Programme on Violence Against Women Data, this briefing note focuses on the measurement of violence against women with disability and is one in a series of methodological briefing notes for strengthening the measurement and data collection of viol...ence against particular groups of women or specific aspects of violence against women.
The briefing note is meant for researchers, national statistics offices, and others involved in data collection on violence against women. It provides an overview of the challenges in the availability, measurement, and collection of data on violence against women with disability and outlines recommendations for good practice in measurement, with the aim of strengthening ongoing and future data collection efforts and increasing the availability of such data.
The inclusion of women with disability and the issue of disability within population-based surveys and research on violence against women is necessary for an improved understanding of populations of women at specific risk of violence. This knowledge would also allow more tailored prevention strategies and response/services and programmes to be designed in a way that addresses the specific needs of women with disability.
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In this document, the Inter-American Committee of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, together with the South
American Society of Cardiology, aimed to formulate strategies, measures, and actions for cardiovascular disease prevention
and rehabilitation (CVDPR). In the context of the imple...mentation of a regional and national health policy in Latin American
countries, the goal is to promote cardiovascular health and thereby decrease morbidity and mortality. The study group on
Cardiopulmonary and Metabolic Rehabilitation from the Department of Exercise, Ergometry, and Cardiovascular Rehabilitation
of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology has created a committee of experts to review the Portuguese version of the guideline
and adapt it to the national reality.
The mission of this document is to help health professionals to adopt effective measures of CVDPR in the routine
clinical practice. The publication of this document and its broad implementation will contribute to the goal of the World
Health Organization (WHO), which is the reduction of worldwide cardiovascular mortality by 25% until 2025.
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Since the discovery of insulin nearly 100 years ago, advances in diabetes treatments and therapies have transformed the lives of people
with diabetes (PwD), notably reducing the daily burden of its management.
Newer technologies, including those driven by artificial intelligence, have the potentia...l to further improve the quality of life of PwD and help
identify and diagnose people at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and diabetes-related complications early. However, medical and technological advances alone are not enough to fix the diabetes challenge. It is also critical to acknowledge the complexity and the seriousness of diabetes, its impact on the quality of life and well-being of over 32 million PwD in the EU and the financial burden it represents for health systems and society at large.
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Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a growing public health problem in Ghana and other African countries. Strokes and other CVDs have become a leading cause of death due to increasing risk factors such as hypertension. According to the Global Burden of Disease study (GBD), ischaemic heart disease was... the fourth leading cause of death in Ghana in 2016. The prevalence of hyper-
tension, a major risk factor for CVDs, is increasing rapidly and ranges from 19% to 48%, according to the Ghana Health Service Annual Report, 2017, due to rising life expectancy and the increasing prevalence of contributing factors such as overweight/obesity. Early diagnosis and adequate management of the risk factors can reduce the fatal consequences of CVDs.
At the heart of improving risk assessment and management of CVDs are nationally approved guidelines, which facilitate standardisation of care approaches.
These guidelines developed by experts from all levels of health care and stakeholders capture all recommended approaches and necessary information for clinicians and other healthcare workers on CVDs. They also serve as a practical guide for assessing and managing the most important CVDs prevalent in Ghana and can be used at all levels of care namely health facilities without a doctor; with a general practitioner and with a physician specialist.
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Produced by UNICEF and IRC, with the support of the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ) and the generous funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Caring for Child Survivors of Sexual Abuse (CCS) Resource Package (Second Editi...on, 2023) is a revision of the original CCS Guidelines and associated Training (First Edition, 2012). The Second Edition offers an up-to-date global technical guidance on providing a model of quality care for children and families affected by sexual abuse in humanitarian settings. The new resources include both revised and content additions based on practitioner feedback, the most recent evidence and learning. In particular, the Guidelines aim to bring a stronger focus on gender inequality, intersectionality, as well as the connections between the best interests of the child and a survivor-centered approach.
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Produced by UNICEF and IRC, with the support of the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ) and the generous funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Caring for Child Survivors of Sexual Abuse (CCS) Resource Package (Second Editi...on, 2023) is a revision of the original CCS Guidelines and associated Training (First Edition, 2012). The Second Edition offers an up-to-date global technical guidance on providing a model of quality care for children and families affected by sexual abuse in humanitarian settings. The new resources include both revised and content additions based on practitioner feedback, the most recent evidence and learning. In particular, the Guidelines aim to bring a stronger focus on gender inequality, intersectionality, as well as the connections between the best interests of the child and a survivor-centered approach.
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The Kenya Health Policy 2014-2030 aims at attaining the highest possible standard of health in a manner responsive to the health needs of our population. One of the major policy directions towards realizing the intentions of this policy is to halt and reverse the
rising burden of non-communicable d...iseases.
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The document provides the NICE Quality Standard for managing Type 2 diabetes in adults (QS209). It outlines evidence-based recommendations for preventing Type 2 diabetes, structured education, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), medication such as SGLT2 inhibitors, and regular care processes to mon...itor complications. The guidelines emphasize individualized care, addressing health inequalities, and improving patient outcomes. They are intended to support healthcare professionals and services in delivering high-quality, equitable diabetes care.
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The document provides quality standards for managing Type 1 diabetes in adults, emphasizing areas like structured education, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), cardiovascular risk management, and diabetic foot assessment. It aims to improve care processes, reduce complications, and enhance patient... outcomes through evidence-based and patient-centered approaches. The guidelines also focus on supporting inpatient self-management and ensuring equality and accessibility in diabetes care.
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The combined effects from ambient (outdoor) air pollution and indoor (household, in particular) air pollution cause approximately 7 million premature deaths every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, IHD, COPD, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections (1). Air pollution ...can occur in both the outdoor and indoor environments. Cook-stoves in homes, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. Air pollutants with the strongest evidence for adverse health outcomes include particulate matter (PM; both PM 2.5 (i.e. particles with an aerodynamic diameter
equal to or less than 2.5 μm) and PM10 (i.e. particles with an aerodynamic diameter equal to or less than 10 μm), ozone (O 3), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and carbon monoxide (CO). Air pollution is however composed of many more pollutants (1).
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The “ActiveAge Handbook” is an outcome of the “ActiveAge Project, which was carried out from January 2013 until June 2014 in the frame of “2012 Preparatory Actions in the Field of Sport” of the European Commission Directory General Education and Cul-
ture (DG EAC) in cooperation with 13 E...uropean partners under the leadership of the German Gymnastic Federation (DTB). “ActiveAge” was set up as a transnational project that fosters the exchange of knowledge and experience to counteract the physical inactivity of elderly people through capacity building for physical activities and sport programs of aging people in well-
structured and wide-spread settings, with the starting point in sport-organizations.
The handbook is intended to be used as a guideline for further activities of the “European Platform Active Aging in Sport” (EPAAS), which will continue the mission of the ActiveAge Project. Furthermore the handbook should serve as well for any other stakeholder interested to promote physical activities and sport for elderly people.
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This report includes analysis from informal regional consultations in the African Region, the Caribbean and North America, Latin America, South-East Asia Region, European Region, Eastern Mediterranean Region, alongside three forums in the Western Pacific Region. It analyses the overarching similarit...ies, regional nuances and priorities raised across the six WHO regions for the meaningful engagement of individuals with lived experience.
It is the second publication in the WHO Intention to action series, which aims to enhance the limited evidence base on the impact of meaningful engagement and address the lack of standardized approaches on how to operationalise meaningful engagement. The Intention to action series aims to do this by providing a platform from which individuals with lived experience, and organizational and institutional champions, can share solutions, challenges and promising practices related to this cross-cutting agenda. The Intention to action series also aims to provide powerful narratives, inspiration and evidence towards the Fourth United Nations High Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025 and achieving the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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