Updated 20 Nov. 2020
Countries can use this checklist of hospital governance, structures, plans and protocols to rapidly determine the current capacities of hospitals to respond to the COVID-19 pan...demic and to identify gaps and major areas that require investment and action for the development of hospital readiness improvement plans. The tool can be used periodically to monitor hospital emergency operational readiness capacity development
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Testing and diagnosis of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) infection is the gateway for access to both prevention and treatment services, and is a crucial component of an effective response to ...ss="attribute-to-highlight medbox">the hepatitis epidemic. Early identification of persons with chronic HBV or HCV infection enables them to receive the necessary care and treatment to prevent or delay progression of liver disease. Testing also provides an opportunity to link people to interventions to reduce transmission, through counselling on risk behaviours and provision of prevention commodities (such as sterile needles and syringes) and hepatitis B vaccination.
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The document explains why vector control is important in national programmes and describes the preparation of a tailor-made vector control plan for... national programmes. It outlines entomological procedures for regular and specific vector control and how data should be analysed for better overall understanding of filarial transmission and vectors. The document will also be useful for teaching personnel in lymphatic filariasis programmes about the use and value
of entomological procedures in overall epidemiological appraisal in the context of
elimination
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The 23rd meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines was coordinated from Geneva, Switzerland, and held virtual...ly from 21 June to 2 July 2021. The Committee considered 88 applications proposing additions, changes and deletions of medicines, medicine classes and formulations on the Model Lists of Essential Medicines. The Committee evaluated the scientific evidence for comparative effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of the medicines in question. The Committee also considered a review of the therapeutic alternatives for medicines on the Model Lists, and update to the AWaRe classification of antibiotics, and reviews and reports relevant to the selection and use of essential medicines.
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The report focuses on antibacterial resistance (ABR) in common bacterial pathogens. There is a major gap in knowledge about the magnitude of this problem. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens ...pan class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">the effective revention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. This WHO report, produced in collaboration with Member States and other partners, provides for the first time, as accurate a picture as is presently possible of the magnitude of AMR and the current state of surveillance globally. It examines the information on AMR, in particular antibacterial resistance (ABR), at country level worldwide.
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This is a pre-deployment training, tailored specially to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, offered to WHO personnel, consultants, and key partners. The...span> material covered in modules 1-4 is applicable and useful to frontline response workers, national and international. Only Module 5, which focuses on operational aspects - the code of conduct for international civil servants and human resources arrangements for WHO deployees, are specifically geared to all internationally recruited personnel and to WHO deployees respectively
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The Tripartite AMR Country Self-Assessment Survey (TrACSS) helps to monitor country progress on the implementation of AMR national actions plans and has been administered on an annual basis by ... class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">the Tripartite organizations (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and World Health Organization (WHO)) since 2016.
This report analyzes the global responses on the fourth round of TrACSS (2019-2020) and examines the global trends and actions towards addressing AMR in all sectors.
Complete country and global responses to all rounds of the survey can be accessed through the TrACSS database: https://amrcountryprogress.org/.
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The report provides a global knowledge base on suicide and suicide attempts as well as actionable steps for countries based on their current resources and context to move forward in suicide preventi...on.
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Interim Guidance October 2022. This addendum addresses some of the methodological aspects of VE evaluations that have been learned during the past year, as well as those that have become relevant in... the current epidemiological setting of the COVID-19 pandemic. For some of the COVID-19 vaccine methodology issues there are still insufficient data to make a recommendation, in which case different options for approaching VE evaluations are presented.
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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 r...esponsible for 18% 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.
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The goal of the strategy is to prevent seasonal influenza, control the spread of influenza from animals to humans, and prepare ...te-to-highlight medbox">for the next influenza pandemic.
The new strategy is the most comprehensive and far-reaching that WHO has ever developed for influenza. It outlines a path to protect populations every year and helps prepare for a pandemic through strengthening routine programmes.
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The key to a lasting world free of all forms of poliovirus lies in rapidly interrupting all remaining endemic transmission of WPV in the endemic ar...eas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. This is the only way to ensure that such strains do not re-emerge globally through international spread. It lays the cornerstone for the eventual cessation of all oral polio vaccine use, in order to eliminate the long-term risks associated with variant poliovirus strains, which is the GPEI’s top operational priority. The target for certifying the
world free of all WPV remains end-2026.
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NEUROLOGY ATLAS presents for the first time, the most
comprehensive collection and compilation of information on
neurological resources across 10...9 countries. The results confirm
that the available resources including services for neurological
disorders are markedly insufficient; in addition, there are large
inequities across regions and income groups of countries.
Urgent action is required to enhance the resources available
to address the increasing burden of neurological disorders.
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The purpose of this handbook is to provide guidance to Member States on the practical aspects of maintaining sanitary standards at international borders at ports, airports, and ground crossings (poi...nts of entry) as set out in the International Health Regulations (2005). It provides technical advice for developing a comprehensive programme for systematic monitoring of disease vectors and integrated vector control at points of entry. This includes standardizing procedures at points of entry and ensuring a sufficient monitoring and response capacity with the necessary infrastructure for surveillance and control of vectors. In addition, this handbook to serves as reference material for port health officers, regulators, port operators, and other competent authorities in charge of implementing the IHR (2005) at points of entry and on conveyances.
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WHO Guideline. Since 2010, countries in the meningitis belt have started to introduce a new serogroup A meningococcal conjugate vaccine conferring individual protection and herd immunity. Following ...the successful roll-out of this vaccine, epidemics due to Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A (NmA) are disappearing, but other serogroups (e.g. NmW, NmX and NmC) still cause epidemics, albeit at a lower frequency and of a smaller size. Due to these changes, WHO organized the review of the evidence to provide recommendations for epidemic control, related to operational thresholds for investigation and response to outbreaks, the use of rapid diagnostic tests, antibiotic regimens in epidemics, and prophylaxis for household contacts of cases
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In fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings, delivery of quality health services faces significant challenges, including disruption of a routine health service ...ghlight medbox">organization and delivery systems, increased health needs, complex and unpredictable resourcing issues, and vulnerability to multiple public health crises. Despite the difficulty of addressing quality in such settings, the necessity for action is acute, given the significant health needs of the populations in these environments and the increasing numbers of people for whom such settings are home.
This manual has been developed to provide a starting point for multi-actor efforts and actions to address quality of care in the most challenging settings. This includes practical approaches to action planning and implementation of a contextualised set of quality interventions.
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The Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework is a World Health Assembly resolution adopted unanimously by all Member States in 2011. It brin...gs together Member States, industry, other stakeholders and WHO to implement a global approach to pandemic influenza preparedness and response. The Framework includes a benefit-sharing mechanism called the Partnership Contribution (PC). The PC is collected as an annual cash contribution from influenza vaccine, diagnostic, and pharmaceutical manufacturers that use the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS). Funds are allocated for: (a) pandemic preparedness capacity building; (b) response activities during the time of an influenza pandemic; and (c) PIP Secretariat for the management and implementation of the Framework.
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4th edition
The WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual (LBM) has been in broad use at all levels of clinical and public health laboratories, and other bi...omedical sectors globally, serving as a de facto global standard that presents best practices and sets trends in biosafety.
LBM encouraged countries to accept and implement basic concepts in biological safety and to develop national codes of practice for the safe handling of biological agents in laboratories within their geographical borders.
This fourth edition of the manual builds on the risk assessment framework introduced in the third edition. A thorough, evidence-based and transparent assessment of the risks allows safety measures to be balanced with the actual risk of working with biological agents on a case-by-case basis.
This novel evidence- and risk-based approach will allow optimised resource use and sustainable laboratory biosafety and biosecurity policies and practices that are relevant to their individual circumstances and priorities, enabling equitable access to clinical and public health laboratory tests and biomedical research opportunities without compromising safety.
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Diabetes is a serious, chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar, or glucose), or when the body cannot effectively us...e the insulin it produces. Diabetes is an important public health problem, one of four priority noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) targeted for action by world leaders. Both the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes have been steadily increasing over the past few decades.
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Vitamin D deficiency is thought to be common among pregnant women, particularly during the winter months, and has been found to be associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, preterm birth, and other tissue-spe...cific conditions.
This guideline is intended for a wide audience including policy-makers, their expert advisers, and technical and programme staff at organizations involved in the design, implementation and scaling-up of nutrition actions for public health.
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