Pneumonia and diarrhoea account for 23% of under-five mortality and were responsible for an estimated 1.17 million deaths in children under five globally. Furthermore, pneumonia and diarrhoea were responsible for 18% ...ght medbox">of mortality in children 5–9 years of age, resulting in an estimated 86 000 preventable deaths globally in 2021. Existing World Health Organization (WHO) guidance on the clinical management of pneumonia and diarrhoea has mainly focused on children less than 5 years of age.
more
Objectives and scope of the document
This document was developed to provide recommended management strategies for problems and disorders that are specifically related to the occurrence of a major s...tressful event. The recommended strategies will form the basis of a new module to be added to the WHO (2010) mhGAP Intervention Guide for use in non-specialized specialized health-care settings.
The scope of the problems covered by these guidelines is:
symptoms of acute stress in the first month after a potentially traumatic event, with the following subtypes:
- symptoms of acute traumatic stress (intrusion, avoidance and hyperarousal) in the first month after a potentially traumatic event;
- symptoms of dissociative (conversion) disorders in the first month after a potentially traumatic event;
- non-organic (secondary) enuresis in the first month after a potentially traumatic event (in children);
- hyperventilation in the first month after a potentially traumatic event;
- insomnia in the first month after a potentially traumatic event;
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
bereavement in the absence of a mental disorder.
more
This report is the first of its kind. It brings together various data sets to present the current status of hand hygiene, highlight lagging progress, and call governments and supporting agencies to ...action, offering numerous inspiring examples of change.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hand hygiene received unprecedented attention and became a central pillar in national COVID prevention strategies. However, concern with hand hygiene should not only be as temporary public health measure in times of crisis, but as a vital everyday behaviour that contributes to health and economic resilience. Hand hygiene is a highly cost-effective investment, providing outsized health benefits for relatively little cost.
Despite efforts to promote hand hygiene, the rates of access to hand hygiene facilities remain stubbornly low. If current rates of progress continue, by the end of the SDG era in 2030, 1.9 billion people will still lack facilities to wash their hands at home.
This report presents a compelling case for investment in five key ‘accelerators’ as a pathway towards achieving hand hygiene for all – governance, financing, capacity development, data and information, and innovation. These accelerators are identified under the UN-Water SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework.
more
This adaptation and implementation guide is part of a five-part Caregiver skills training for families of children with developmental delays or disabilities (CST) package providing guidance on careg...iver skills training for families of children aged 2–9 years with developmental delays or disabilities.
This adaptation and implementation guide provides information on how to adapt caregiver skills training materials and delivery strategies to the local context. It includes guidance on development and implementation of contextual and cultural adaptation plans.
more
The report summarizes the estimates of the burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene for the year 2019 for four hea...lth outcomes - diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, soil-transmitted helminthiases, and undernutrition - which are included in the reporting of the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.9.2. The report includes estimates at global, regional and country level for 183 WHO Member States.
more
Coordinated Use of Anthelminthic Drugs in Control Interventions: a Manual for Health Professionals and Programme Managers
Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, was devastated by an earthquake in 2010. The disaster uncovered the realities of a non-existent mental h...ealth care system with only ten psychiatrists nationwide. Attempts were made to assess the increased prevalence of mental illness, likely due to the trauma to which many were exposed. Several interventions were carried out with aims to integrate mental health into primary health care services. The interplay between socio-cultural beliefs and health (both mental and physical) in Haiti has been widely commented upon by both foreign aid and local caregivers. Observations frequently highlight barriers to the willingness of patients to seek care and to their acceptance of biomedicine over traditional Vodou beliefs. The perception of Haitian beliefs as barriers to the availability and acceptance of mental health care has intensified the difficulty in providing effective recommendations and interventions both before and after the earthquake. Argued in this review is the importance of considering the interactions between socio-cultural beliefs and mental health when developing models for the prevention, screening, classification and management of mental illness in Haiti. These interactions, especially relevant in mental health care and post-disaster contexts, need to be acknowledged in any healthcare setting. The successes and failures of Haiti’s situation provide an example for global consideration.
more
The internationally recognized criteria for diagnosis of neurocysticercosis include a requirement for neuroimaging techniques, such as computerized tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ideally supported by serology. These facilit...ies are not available in all settings, especially in rural areas of low-income countries, making it difficult to identify and treat patients. Additionally, there is controversy about the role, type and duration of anthelmintic, antiinflammatory and antiepileptic drug (AED) treatments for different forms of neurocysticercosis.
These guidelines were developed to assist health-care providers in appropriate, evidence-based management of parenchymal neurocysticercosis. The guidelines do not address other forms of neurocysticercosis and do not include management of extraparenchymal disease (including cysticerci in the cerebral ventricles or subarachnoid space). The aim of the guidance is to improve decision-making to ensure appropriate patient care and to avoid misdiagnoses and inappropriate treatment of patients with neurocysticercosis.
more
The leishmaniases are a group of diseases caused by Leishmania spp., which occur in cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral forms. They are neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which disproportionately affect marginalized populations who have limited a...ccess to health care. HIV co-infected patients with Leishmania infection are highly infectious to sandflies, and an increase in the coinfection rate in an endemic area is likely to increase the effective infective reservoir.
more
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is described as a situation when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites
change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder or impossible to treat,
and increasing the risk of disease spread,... severe illness and death.1 AMR in recent years has become
a global priority in public health due to its widespread consequences and increasing occurrence from
time to time. AMR has a formidable impact where the existing antibiotics and other antimicrobial
medicines become ineffective, and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat.
more
WHO has published the first-ever guidance on the clinical management of diphtheria. The only previously available guidance was an operational protocol. The new guidance followed the rigorous process for developing guidance at WHO.
It addresses th...e use of Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT) in the treatment of diphtheria. There is a worldwide shortage of DAT and evidence based recommendations on the use of DAT were requested by many Member States.
The guidance also includes new recommendations on antibiotics. In patients with suspected or confirmed diphtheria, WHO recommends using macrolide antibiotics (azithromycin, erythromycin) rather than penicillin antibiotics.
This clinical practice guideline has been rapidly developed recognizing the global increase in diphtheria outbreaks. Outbreaks of diphtheria in Nigeria, Guinea and neighbouring countries in 2023 have highlighted the urgent need for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of diphtheria. Given the sporadic nature of outbreaks, many clinicians in the affected regions have never managed acute diphtheria and its related complications. Diphtheria remains a neglected disease and vaccination is the top priority. At the same time, for patients with diphtheria, access to antibiotics, DAT and supportive care can be lifesaving.
more
Vol. 7, No. 1 (2018) | ISSN 2166-7403 (online) DOI 10.5195/cajgh.2018.295 | http://cajgh.pitt.edu
The conduct of COVID-19 vaccine trials in the context of a candidate vaccine being issued with Emergency Use Designation raises challenging ethical questions, including in relation to the use ...class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">of placebo controls and unblinding of trial participants in current and future COVID-19 vaccine trials. This policy brief was developed by the WHO Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator Ethics & Governance Working Group, to provide guidance for researchers, sponsors, regulators, research ethics committees, and policy-makers, on these and related issues.
more
A 2013 Plan study across 30 countries found that children with disabilities were on average 10 times less likely to go to school than children without disabilities. This report presents the findings of a follow-up second phase to the research with a... qualitative study on barriers and enablers to education for children with disabilities in Nepal.
The Full Report and Executive Summary Reports in English, French and Spanish are now available for download at:
http://disabilitycentre.lshtm.ac.uk/include-us-education-study-available-now/
more
hese are two parallel guidelines, one for small hospitals and another one for large hospitals. In view of heavy burden of malaria and prevalence of... drug resistant falciparum malaria in the South-East Asia Region, the guidelines were developed for use by medical personnel who treat severe malaria patients, referred from lower-level health facilities. The guidelines were developed by the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia and the WHO Collaborating Centre for the Clinical Management of Malaria, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Thailand. The guidelines are based on a review of current evidence, existing WHO guidelines and experience in the management of malaria in the Region
more
Snakebites are well-known medical emergencies in many parts of the world, especially in rural areas. Agricultural workers and children are the most affected. The incidence of snakebite mortality is ...particularly high in South-East Asia. Rational use of snake anti-venom can substantially reduce mortality and morbidity due to snakebites. These guidelines are a revised and updated version of Regional Guidelines for the Management of snakebites published by the WHO Regional Office in South-East Asia in 2011. These guidelines aim to promote the rational management of snakebite cases in various health facilities where trained health functionaries and quality snake antivenom are available.
more