the aid library

Surface sampling of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): A practical “how to” protocol for health care and public health professionals

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

The role of environmental contamination in transmission of COVID-19 virus is currently not clear. This protocol has been designed to determine (viable) virus presence and persistence on fomites in various locations where a patient infected with COVI... more

COVID-19 Impacts on African Children - How to Protect-a-generation at Risk

Save the Children (2020) C1

This policy paper underscores that, although children do not represent a high-risk group for direct COVID-19 fatality, the pandemic posts far-reaching secondary impacts that heighten risks to African children’s rights and wellbeing.

Delivering trauma and rehabilitation interventions to women and children in conflict settings: a systematic review

Jain, R.P., et al. (2020) CC

BMJ Global Health2020;5:e001980. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2019-00198

A step-step guide to develop national action plans for Noma prevention and control in priority countries

World Health Organization WHO, Regional Office of Africa (2021) C_WHO

This updated step by step guide aims to assist the ministries of health (MoHs) in developing the national action plans for noma prevention and control, with a view to sustainably reducing the incide... more

COVID-19 strategic preparedness and response plan: operational planning guideline: 1 February 2021 to 31 January 2022

World Health Organization WHO (2021) C_WHO

Statement of guidance and recommendations to African Union Member States on the epidemic modelling of the COVID-19 pandemic

African Union; Africa CDC Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) C1

Many African countries were amongst the most rapid to respond to the emerging threat of COVID-19, implementing large-scale interventions at very early stages of their epidemic. As demonstrated in th... more

A step-by-step Guide to develop National Action Plans for Noma Prevention and Control in Priority Countries

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2020) C_WHO

Noma (cancrum oris) is a severe gangrenous disease of the mouth and face. It mostly affects children between the ages of 2 and 6 years living in extreme poverty. In addition to the known factors such as malnutrition, lack of vaccination in children ... more

Ending the neglect to attain the sustainable development goals. One health: approach for action against neglected tropical diseases 2021-2030

World Health Organization WHO (2021) C_WHO

This companion document to Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: a road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021-2030 ("the road map") aims ... support a range of stakeholders - including countries in which neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are endemic, international organizations and non-State actors - to achieve the road map targets through a transdisciplinary, cross-cutting One Health approach. Specifically, it provides guidance on the One Health actions needed by major stakeholders and how to support a paradigm shift towards One Health in national NTD programmes. Examples of common One Health challenges and how they can be overcome as well as illustrative cases studies are provided throughout. The companion document was developed through a global consultative process involving stakeholder interviews, interactive workshops, and online public consultation. more

Western Pacific regional framework to end TB: 2021-2030

World Health Organization WHO (2022) C_WHO

his Framework begins with a desired future scenario and considers actions and interventions necessary to get there. It advocates for holistic view to address tuberculosis. The Framework revisits cha... more

Estimating excess mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic analysis of COVID-19-related mortality, 2020–21

OVID-19 Excess Mortality Collaborators (2022) CC

Mortality statistics are fundamental to public health decision making. Mortality varies by time and location, and its measurement is affected by well known biases that have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.... more

Considerations for selection of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics and potential multiplexing: A perspective to ensure continuity of care for people with TB

Stop TB Partnership; WHO (2020) C_WHO

The number of people exposed to water stress in relation to how much water is reserved for the environment: a global modelling study

Vanham, D.; L. Alfieri, M. Flörke et al. The Lancet, Planetary Health (2021) CC

The Lancet, Planetary Health Volume 5, ISSUE 11, e766-e774, November 01, 2021 Increasing human demand for water and changes in water availability due to climate change threatens water security worldwide. Additionally, exploitation of water resourc... more

Assessing Health Vulnerabilities and Adaptation to Climate Change

Berry, P.; P. M. Enright, J. Shumake-Guillemot et al. (2018) CC

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(12), 2626; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122626 Climate change is increasing risks to human health and to the health systems that seek ... protect the safety and well-being of populations. Health authorities require information about current associations between health outcomes and weather or climate, vulnerable populations, projections of future risks and adaptation opportunities in order to reduce exposures, empower individuals to take needed protective actions and build climate-resilient health systems. An increasing number of health authorities from local to national levels seek this information by conducting climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments. While assessments can provide valuable information to plan for climate change impacts, the results of many studies are not helping to build the global evidence-base of knowledge in this area. They are also often not integrated into adaptation decision making, sometimes because the health sector is not involved in climate change policy making processes at the national level. Significant barriers related to data accessibility, a limited number of climate and health models, uncertainty in climate projections, and a lack of funding and expertise, particularly in developing countries, challenge health authority efforts to conduct rigorous assessments and apply the findings. This paper examines the evolution of climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments, including guidance developed for such projects, the number of assessments that have been conducted globally and implementation of the findings to support health adaptation action. Greater capacity building that facilitates assessments from local to national scales will support collaborative efforts to protect health from current climate hazards and future climate change. Health sector officials will benefit from additional resources and partnership opportunities to ensure that evidence about climate change impacts on health is effectively translated into needed actions to build health resilience. more

The Ukraine war and threats to food and energy security

Benton, T.; et al. Chatham House (2022) CC

Cascading risks from rising prices and supply disruptions, April 2022. Global resource markets are still reeling from the impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; the two countries are major suppliers of energy, food and fertilizers. Supply disruption and the sudden imposition, in response ... the crisis, of unprecedented economic sanctions, trade restrictions and policy interventions have caused prices of commodities to skyrocket. Before the conflict, demand for global resources already exceeded supply and drove up prices as economies rebounded after the COVID-19 pandemic. This gave rise to a global cost-of-living crisis, characterized by increasing levels of energy and food poverty. This situation is likely to become much worse as a consequence of the war in Ukraine, and poses a threat to human security, particularly among low-income and vulnerable populations. more

An integrated, Sustainable Framework to Elimination of Communicable Diseases in the Americas. Concept Note

Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) (2019) C_WHO

The objective of this concept note and the framework it outlines is the elimination of a group of CDs and the negative health effects they generate, which together create a tangible burden on affected individuals, their families and communities, and on health care systems throughout the Region. Thou... more

WHO standard: universal access to rapid tuberculosis diagnostics

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

The WHO standard: Universal access to rapid tuberculosis diagnostics sets benchmarks to achieve universal access to WHO-recommended rapid diagnosti... more

Burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene: 2019 update

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

The report summarizes the estimates of the burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene for the year 2019 for four health outcomes - diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, soil-transmitted helminthiases, and und... more