These guidelines are based on the 3rd Edition of the WHO Guidelines (Published 2015) World Health Organization’s Guidelines for the treatment of malaria. Additional literature surveys have been undertaken. Factors that were considered in the choice of therapeutic options included effectiveness, sa...fety, and impact on malaria transmission and on the emergence and spread of antimalarial drug resistance. On-going surveillance is critical given the spread of artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia, although not yet confirmed anywhere in Africa. The guidelines on the treatment of malaria in South Africa aim to facilitate effective, appropriate and timeous treatment of malaria, thereby reducing the burden of this disease in our communities. This is essential to further reduce the malaria case fatality rates currently recorded in South Africa, to decrease malaria transmission and to limit resistance to antimalarial drugs.
more
Emergency medical teams (EMT) are first response health care providers – doctors, nurses, paramedics, and others – during outbreaks and emergencies or disasters, working with governments, charities such as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), armies, and international organizations such as the ...International Red Cross/Red Crescent movement. They comply with the classification and minimum standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners and bring to an emergency their training and self-sufficiency so as not to burden the national health system. EMT initiatives strengthen national surge capacities and facilitate the deployment of internationally classified teams of health- care professionals to countries and territories during emergencies, particularly during disease outbreaks and natural disasters, providing immediate assistance when national health systems are overwhelmed . Considering that they aim to support the provision of quality clinical care services to populations affected by public health emergencies, the expectation is that financial resources and equipment will be available to enable the performance of the requested task.
more
Schistosomiasis, which is the second most important parasitic infection after malaria in terms of its socioeconomic impact, is responsible for the loss of an estimated 4.5 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide. Schistosomiasis, including both intestinal and urinary forms of the di...sease, occurs in 78 countries across the globe. An estimated 240 million people are infected, with more than 779 million living at risk globally. The majority of those infected and those at risk for infection live in low-income countries, and approximately 80% of the morbidity occurs in impoverished communities and households in sub-Saharan Africa. Within Uganda, 91 of the 134 districts are endemic for intestinal schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma mansoni, and the eastern region, especially along Lake Victoria, has one of the highest S. mansoni burdens worldwide. Schistosoma haematobium is only endemic in the five districts of the Lango region in northern Uganda.
more
The chapter Dementia in Latin America and the Caribbean: Prevalence, Incidence, Impact, and Trends over Time, is part of the publication series titled “Decade of Healthy Aging: situation and challenges”. This document aims to provide an outline of the current situation in Latin America and the C...aribbean in respect of the prevalence and incidence of dementia and its impact on the health status of older people. As dementia is a significant global health problem which also has social and economic impacts this document highlights the importance of monitoring dementia in the region. The document evidences that dementia is one of the main contributors to dependence and disability in older people in Latin America and the Caribbean and, although its prevalence and incidence increase exponentially with age, it is not part of normal aging. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common dementia, and there is no cure for this condition, but with timely diagnosis is possible to ameliorate symptoms. It is important to assess what are the needs of people leaving with dementia and their families and to integrate dementia risk reduction strategies in pre-existing strategies for other non-communicable diseases. As shown in the report, despite the huge burden dementia is still underdiagnosed, and it is fundamental to better monitor its prevalence, incidence and the different societal impact that dementia can have. For that, it is crucial to promote the use of harmonized methodologies to address this information in a broader number of studies and countries in the region. This can contribute to the generation of direct actions to decrease dementia risk and lead to healthier lives for people with dementia and their families.
more
This country cooperation strategy (CCS) outlines how the World Health Organization (WHO) will work with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic over the next five years (2024–2028), supporting the implementation of the five-year health sector development plans and the Health Sector Reform Strategy ...2021–2030 to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic experienced substantial economic growth in the 30 years prior to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, contributing to reduced poverty and significant progress toward the SDGs. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought this development to a halt. It was anticipated that the COVID-19 recovery and the tremendous population growth in recent years would provide opportunities for a shift toward more sustainable and inclusive development in the years ahead. In 2023, however, the contrary was the case. Rural residents, including many ethnic minorities, continued to face marginalization because of limited access to education, health care and economic opportunities.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks, the country has made significant improvements in health. Nonetheless, progress has been uneven and not everyone has benefited from these achievements. In the mountainous region, many people lack access to quality health care because of the unequal distribution of well-trained health-care workers. Preventable deaths due to poor-quality health care for children and newborns, infants and mothers remain a concern, as do communicable diseases such as sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis. The increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases and the health impact of worsening climate change further heighten the need for strengthened and resilient health systems, which are at risk due to an underfunded health sector and weak economy.
This CCS aims to address remaining and future challenges as well as health needs while creating an impact that is sustainable. It identifies three strategic priorities and nine deliverables (Table 1) to support the attainment of the national vision of Health for all by all, as articulated in the 9th Health Sector Development Plan 2021–2025. It contributes to the country’s goals to achieve universal health coverage, graduate from least developed country status by 2026 and attain SDGs by 2030.
more
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to transform our world. They are a call to action to end poverty and inequality, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy health, justice and prosperity. It is critical that no one is left behind. In 2015, all the countries in the United... Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It sets out 17 Goals, which include 169 targets. These wide-ranging and ambitious Goals interconnect. SDG 3 is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. It has 13 targets measured through 26 indicators. However, a person’s health and well-being are affected not only by disease and treatment, but also by social and economic factors such as housing, poverty and education. Health targets can therefore also be found across the other SDGs. This fact sheet shows how alcohol consumption undermines commitments to achieve 13 of the 17 SDGs, impacting on a range of health-related indicators, such as child health, infectious diseases and road injuries as well as much broader range of indicators related to economic and social development, environment and equality. The inclusion of a specific target on harmful use of alcohol (SDG 3.5: strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol) into the SDGs demonstrates the key role of alcohol within the global development agenda. The factsheet highlights positive examples of Member States’ experiences. It provides a short overview of the most cost-effective and feasible policy recommendations to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-attributable burden in the WHO European Region, in line with the European Action Plan to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. It also suggests some important resources for Member States. This factsheet was launched as part of the European Awareness Week on Alcohol Related Harm 2020.
more
Background: Investing in the health workforce is key to achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. However, achieving these Goals requires addressing a projected global shortage of 18 million health workers (mostly in low- and middle-income countries). Within that context, in 2016, ...the World Health Assembly adopted the WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030. In the Strategy, the role of official development assistance to support the health workforce is an area of interest. The objective of this study is to examine progress on implementing the Global Strategy by updating previous analyses that estimated and examined official development assistance targeted towards human resources for health. Methods: We leveraged data from IHME’s Development Assistance for Health database, COVID development assistance database and the OECD’s Creditor Reporting System online database. We utilized an updated keyword list to identify the relevant human resources for health-related activities from the project databases. When possible, we also estimated the fraction of human resources for health projects that considered and/or focused on gender as a key factor. We described trends, examined changes in the availability of human resources for health-related development assistance since the adoption of the Global Strategy and compared disease burden and availability of donor resources.
more
Key facts
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally.
- An estimated 17.9 million people died from CVDs in 2019, representing 32% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85% were due to heart attack and stroke.
- Over three quarters of CVD deaths take place in low- an...d middle-income countries.
- Out of the 17 million premature deaths (under the age of 70) due to noncommunicable diseases in 2019, 38% were caused by CVDs.
- Most cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by addressing behavioural risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and obesity, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol.
- It is important to detect cardiovascular disease as early as possible so that management with counselling and medicines can begin.
more
The study analyzes the global burden of cancer in 2020 attributable to alcohol consumption. Using data from the GLOBOCAN 2020 database and alcohol consumption patterns, it estimates that 4.1% of all new cancer cases globally (approximately 741,300 cases) were caused by alcohol. The most affected can...cers include esophageal, liver, and breast cancer, with heavy drinking contributing the most cases, followed by risky and moderate drinking. The study highlights regional differences, with the highest attributable fractions in Eastern Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. It underscores the need for policies to raise awareness about alcohol-related cancer risks and reduce alcohol consumption globally.
more
A handbook for leaders and managers
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.09.099
Our analysis included 14 Asian countries that were estimated to have a total of 850,000 choleracases and 25,500 deaths in 2015 While, the WHO cholera report documented around 60,000 cholera casesand 28 deaths. We estimated around $20.2 million (I$74.4 m...illion) in out-of-pocket expenditures, $8.5million (I$30.1 million) in public sector costs, and $12.1 million (I$43.7 million) in lost productivity in2015. Lost productivity due to premature deaths was estimated to be $985.7 million (I$3,638.6 million).Our scenario analyses excluding mortality costs showed that the economic burden ranged from 20.3%($8.3 million) to 139.3% ($57.1 million) in high and low scenarios when compared to the base case sce-nario ($41 million) and was least at 10.1% ($4.1 million) when estimated based on cholera cases reportedto WHO
more
The Lancet Global Health, June 11, 2019DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(19)30250-5
This volume on CVDs, renal, and respiratory disorders has particularly high value. It carries the potential to become the most effective game-changer in global health by helping all countries to combat, contain, and control the biggest killer presently prowling the globe and by enabling us to reach ...the 2030 goals for NCDs and health overall. As one who has witnessed the epidemic of CVDs advance menacingly across the world in the past four decades, I fervently hope that the clear and convincing messages conveyed by the extensively researched and elegantly communicated analyses in this volume will be heard, heeded, and harmonized with policy and practice in all countries.
Large file: 33 MB. Please download directly from the website link.
more
PLoS Med 15(7): e1002615. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pmed.1002615
This booklet presents data on NCD mortality and prevalence of NCD risk factors, by country, for the Region of the Americas. The focus is on the 5 x 5 NCD agenda which includes the main NCDs (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases), and mental health (suicide); as... well as the main NCD risk factors (tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet, insufficient physical activity), along with air pollution. It includes information on the number and percentage of deaths, age-standardized death rates, premature death from NCDs and the prevalence of NCD risk f actors.
more
The aim of this toolkit is to guide countries on how to best estimate their current burden of dengue by combining existing data from dengue surveillance systems with on-going research efforts to measure the community burden
of dengue.
Large File: 85 MB!!!. Please download directly from the website link
Division of Global Migration and Quarantine
April 16, 2012
This report reviews the current situation in relation to national capacity to address NCDs and the progress made at country level over the past decade. It highlights that, while progress is being made, there is still much work to be done to create the infrastructure, policies, surveillance and healt...h systems response that will allow NCDs and their contributing risk factors to be successfully contained and reversed.
more