Humanitarian emergencies result in a breakdown of critical health-care services and often make vulnerable communities dependent on external agencies for care. In resource-constrained settings, this may occur against a backdrop of extreme poverty, malnutrition, insecurity, low literacy and poor infra...structure. Under these circumstances, providing food, water and shelter and limiting communicable disease outbreaks become primary concerns. Where effective and safe vaccines are available to mitigate the risk of disease outbreaks, their potential deployment is a key consideration in meeting emergency health needs. Ethical considerations are crucial when deciding on vaccine deployment. Allocation of vaccines in short supply, target groups, delivery strategies, surveillance and research during acute humanitarian emergencies all involve ethical considerations that often arise from the tension between individual and common good. The authors lay out the ethical issues that policy-makers need to bear in mind when considering the deployment of mass vaccination during humanitarian emergencies, including beneficence (duty of care and the rule of rescue), non-maleficence, autonomy and consent, and distributive and procedural justice
more
This Topic Guide has been compiled to provide an overview of undernutrition in the context of development. The focus of the Guide is on undernutrition, defined as the outcome of insufficient (quantity and quality) of food intake (hunger) and repeated infectious diseases. Undernutrition includes bein...g underweight for one’s age, too short for one’s age (stunted), underweight for one’s height (wasted), and deficient in vitamins and minerals (micronutrient malnutrition). This review does not focus on the other component of malnutrition, which is overnutrition
more
Male circumcision reduces a man’s risk of heterosexual acquisition of HIV by about 60%. This guideline provides an evidence-based recommendation on the use of adult male circumcision devices for HIV prevention in public health programmes in high HIV prevalence, resource-limited settings. It also p...resents key programmatic considerations for the introduction and use of these devices in public health HIV prevention programmes. The primary audiences are policy- and decision-makers, programme managers, health-care providers, donors and implementing agencies.
more
Undernutrition increases the risk of tuberculosis (TB) and in turn TB can lead to malnutrition. Undernutrition is therefore highly prevalent among people with TB. It has been demonstrated that undernutrition is a risk factor for progression from TB infection to active TB disease and that undernutrit...ion at the time of diagnosis of active TB is a predictor of increased risk of death and TB relapse. However, the evidence concerning the effect of nutritional supplementation on TB prevention and health outcomes among people with TB had not previously been systematically reviewed. This guideline provides guidance on the principles and recommendations for nutritional care and support of patients with TB as part of their regular TB care
more
Pneumonia kills more children than any other illness – more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Over 2 million children die from pneumonia each year, accounting for almost 1 in 5 under five deaths worldwide. Yet, little attention is paid to this disease. This joint UNICEF/WHO report examines ...the epidemiological evidence on the burden and distribution of pneumonia and assesses current levels of treatment and prevention. It is a call to action to reduce pneumonia mortality, a key step towards the achievement of the millennium development goal on child mortality.
more
Volume 1 covers emergency triage assessment and treatment, and acute care for a severely ill or acutely injured patient for approximately the first 24 hours of care. It describes the clinical procedures commonly used in emergency and acute care, and gives a summary of the medicines used and the step...s necessary for infection control.
more
Coordinated Use of Anthelminthic Drugs in Control Interventions: a Manual for Health Professionals and Programme Managers
The integrated Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD)
The report offers an overview of the progress the humanitarian sector has made and the obstacles it has faced over the past 10 years. Accountability is no longer just a fashionable term, there is now a shared understanding of what it takes to be accountable. From changes at policy level, to concrete... actions taken in the field, this report documents this sector-wide shift. It also shows that being accountable to the people we aim to serve is not just the right thing to do, it is also the best way to ensure programmes are relevant, effective, efficient and sustainable
more
This publication is designed to be used by programme planners and managers as a resource when designing interventions to integrate postpartum family planning into national and subnational strategies. Postpartum family planning should not be considered a ‘vertical’ programme, but rather as an int...egrated part of existing maternal and child health and family planning efforts. Successful interventions for postpartum family planning require holistic and evidence-based programme strategies that contribute to strengthened health systems and sustained improvements in high-quality services that put people at the centre of health care
more
4th edition 2022 of the Handbook includes new WHO recommendations that expand contraceptive choices. Also, guidance on starting ongoing contraception following emergency contraception is provided.
Drawing on lessons from recent outbreaks, this new edition details tangible me...asures for frontline health workers to protect access to family planning services during emergencies, such as wider access to self-administered contraceptives and the use of digital technologies by providers. It also expands guidance for women and young people at high risk of HIV.
more
Advancing Health, Learning and Equity through WASH in Schools