13 May 2021
To avoid a reversal of progress from the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, new knowledge and lessons from successful programmatic innovations are urgently needed to improve TB prevention and care. Experience can provide evidence for innovative approaches and strategies to mainta...in and scale up high-quality TB services. WHO therefore called for case studies on programmatic innovations that address emerging challenges in TB prevention and care during the pandemic in order to collect and disseminate the findings to the TB community. Between November 2020 and February 2021, a total of 23 case studies relevant to the call were accepted from 19 countries in the six regions of WHO. The lessons learnt from these country activities to ensure the continuity of essential services like TB care in the face of the crippling crisis may also inform strategies for minimizing the impact of future emerging pathogens on health services.
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A new brief published by the IFRC and Climate Centre today details the adverse impacts of climate change on human health and provides more detail on the second of four pillars of action in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement ambitions on climate.
The right to adequate housing, despite having been recognized by multiple international instruments, continues to be a human right that is consistently violated. Around 2O% of the world's population do not have adequate housing . In Latin America, informal settlements generally lack the conditions r...equired to live a decent life, and local and national public policies fail to radically transform this situation.
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Tuberculosis (TB) is, and should be, a curable disease; however, each year significant numbers of patients acquire or develop drug-resistant TB, which has a much lower cure rate. Patients with drug-resistant TB have a high prevalence of symptoms; hence, staff caring for these patients should h...ave some familiarity with palliative care, so that general palliative care principles are available to all patients. The timely identification, and addressing, of adverse events occurring during the treatment course is considered as general palliative care for those receiving curative treatment. This publication summarizes the general palliative care approach, which is recommended for use in settings and services that occasionally treat palliative care patients, but do not provide palliative care as the main focus of their work. The review focuses on 18 high TB priority countries of the WHO European Region.
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Has the world worked together to tackle the coronavirus? July 2021. This research paper assesses how the global community has responded to calls for greater solidarity in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, and presents the insights of key stakeholders and experts in global health governance, health sec...urity, and pandemic preparedness and response. The authors examine the state of solidarity at global, regional and national levels, and present case studies on COVAX and on the EU’s turbulent journey through solidarity.
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This manual is about the basic nursing care - desinfection, cleaning, sterilization, nursing documentation, hygiene, surgical care and preparation and much more. This booklet has been prepared by the NED Volunteers Foundation.
This document is based on currently available scientific evidence on treatment for drug use disorders and sets out a framework for the implementation of the Standards, in line with principles of public health care. The Standards identify major components and features of effective ...ute-to-highlight medbox">systems for the treatment of drug use disorders. They describe treatment modalities and interventions to match the needs of people at different stages and severities of drug use disorders, in a manner consistent with the treatment of any chronic disease or health condition. The Standards are aspirational, and such, national or local treatment services or systems need not attempt to meet all the standards and recommendations made in this document all at once. However over time, progressive quality improvement, with ‘evidence-based and ethical practice’ as an objective, can and should be expected to achieve better organized, more effective and ethical systems and services for people with drug use disorders.
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The manual has been designed in a comprehensive manner, the aim being to provide a holistic approach to the short-term development of human resources, with a focus on primary care physicians. This is a reference manual meant for primary care physicians who will provide care to older people in primar...y health care facilities. The information on old age care is meant to be incorporated into the everyday clinical practice of primary care physicians. This manual will help to enhance the knowledge and skills of physicians. It is expected that the use of the manual will improve the approach to issues of old age and promote holistic care of older people, which will ultimately improve their quality of life.
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The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the lead UN agency working to further gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sri Lanka. We are pleased to be a part of the joint effort with the Ministry of Health to develop the first ‘Standard Operating Procedures on sexual and gender-based vio...lence for first-contact-point healthcare providers’.
These operating procedures were developed alongside the ‘National guidelines on sexual and gender-based violence’, which aims to strengthen Sri Lanka’s health systems response to survivors of violence. We are grateful to the British High Commission in Colombo for their support in developing these guidelines and procedures as they mark an important milestone in creating a safer Sri Lanka for all women and girls. UNFPA is proud to be a part of this journey, and we stand ready to provide continued assistance to the Government of Sri Lanka and all key stakeholders to ensure women and girls receive essential services that support their safety, well-being and access to justice and to create a violence-free Sri Lanka.
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This SOP describes specific step by step procedures in clinical management like OPD, IPD Housekeeping, Emergency services, OT services, Radiology Services & Pathology services. It should be used as a hands-on reference for service providers providing services, thereby helping to standardize the prac...tice in all hospitals, with the ultimate goal of optimizing the quality & standard patient care. The manual may also be used as a reference for health service providers for effective health management.
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Primary health care offers a cost–effective route to achieving universal health coverage (UHC). However, primary health-care systems are weak in many low- and middle-income countries and often fail to provide comprehensive, people-...centred, integrated care. We analysed the primary health-care systems in 20 low- and middle-income countries using a semi-grounded approach. Options for strengthening primary health-care systems were identified by thematic content analysis. We found that: (i)despite the growing burden of noncommunicable disease, many low- and middle-income countries lacked funds for preventive services; (ii)community health workers were often under-resourced, poorly supported and lacked training; (iii)out-of-pocket expenditure exceeded 40% of total health expenditure in half the countries studied, which affected equity; and (iv)health insurance schemes were hampered by the fragmentation of public and private systems, underfunding, corruption and poor engagement of informal workers. In 14 countries, the private sector was largely unregulated. Moreover, community engagement in primary health care was weak in countries where services were largely privatized. In some countries, decentralization led to the fragmentation of primary health care. Performance improved when financial incentives were linked to regulation and quality improvement, and community involvement was strong. Policy-making should be supported by adequate resources for primary health-care implementation and government spending on primary health care should be increased by at least 1% of gross domestic product. Devising equity-enhancing financing schemes and improving the accountability of primary health-care management is also needed. Support from primary health-care systems is critical for progress towards UHC in the decade to 2030.
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This document describes the ethical values that are most important to the nursing profession in Ontario. It also provides scenarios of ethical situations in which there is a conflict of values. Nurses are encouraged to use these scenarios for reflection and discussion. No solutions are offered becau...se there is no one solution that is best in all situations. The behavioural directives are intended to help nurses work through ethical situations and provide information about the College of Nurses of Ontario’s (CNO’s) expectations for ethical conduct. These are taken into account when CNO Committees assess nurses’ practices. Nurses need to consider behavioural directives carefully when making decisions about ethical care as this process will strengthen their practice.
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This document outlines why and how nurses and midwives are important, not only for individual health optimization but also to achieve the thematic priorities of For the Future. More specifically, it provides case studies to showcase the amazing work that nurses and midwives across the Region are doi...ng to improve health. The document also provides future policy directions to strengthen the scope and leadership of the nursing and midwifery workforce, alongside actions to accelerate investment in their education, skills and employment.
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Midwifery Capacity Building Strategy for Northern Syria
2017-2021
Available in Arabic
After ten years of war, the vast majority of Syria’s children cannot imagine a future in their country, according to a new report by Save the Children. On average, 86% of Syrian refugee children surveyed in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and the Netherlands said they would not want to return to their cou...ntry of origin. Of children displaced inside Syria, one in three would rather be living in another country. Children who fled their homes are struggling to feel safe where they are now, as around two in five children of those surveyed by Save the Children said they face discrimination and a lack of education. Many feel they have no say over their future.
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