An Overview of Current Evidence with Recommendations for Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs to Accelerate Progress in Achieving the Health-related Millennium Development Goals
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                July 2018 
This fourth edition of the Unitaid/WHO market and technology landscape: HIV rapid diagnostic tests for self-testing report summarizes the current HIV testing gap; the challenges facing efforts to scale up; and the potential role HIV se
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        lf-testing (HIVST) could play to achieve the United Nation’s 90-90-90 targets. In particular, the report synthesises the existing and emerging market demand and supply of kits.
The information in this report is intended for manufacturers, donors, national programmes, researchers and other global health stakeholders who are exploring the potential role of HIVST.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                As the Convention of the Rights of Children recognizes, children are human beings with a distinct set of rights, and not the passive objects 
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        of care and charity. They deserve to be full participants in society, and to live lives free of poverty. But for children, living in poverty is particularly impactful. The foundations for life are built in childhood. In the early part of our lives, our bodies and brains develop their capacities to function and interact with the world. We learn the social skills we need to fit into society, and acquire the human capital necessary to earn a living, support a family, and to fully take part in the life of our community Poverty can stunt this development. So can the onset of a disability. As the World Report on Disability (WHO/World Bank 2011) points out, people with disabilities are all too often excluded from the economic and social lives of their community. And the interaction between disability and poverty has the potential to develop a vicious circle that can greatly limit life opportunities.
Working Paper Series: No. 25
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Brief review of selected topics 
The following pages provide a focus on selected areas in relation to neurology. The specialists who contributed the reviews are listed in the Project Team and Partners
Neurology Atlas (2004)
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                The aim of the framework is to provide guidance to Member States and partners on region-specific priority actions towards the goals, targets and milestones of the GTS. The central pillar 
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        of the framework is the adoption of programme phasing and transitioning, aimed at facilitating a tailored approach to malaria control/elimination. This is in response to the increasing heterogeneity of malaria epidemiology among and within countries of the region.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Trachoma is an eye infection that for thousands of years caused many people to go blind across all continents. As the result of development and targeted interventions, trachoma is now limited to an 
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        estimated 57 countries, often affecting the poorest
populations of the world. Today, more than 2 million people are either blind or suffer from a very painful disability as the result of trachoma.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                The African Regional Convening of the Global Initiative to Support Parents (GISP) stimulated the interest or engagement of almost 1500 individuals from 742 unique organizations in the fields 
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        of health, education, social welfare, women’s affairs, early childhood, water and sanitation, mental health, violence prevention, innovative finance, climate, and many others. The convening united representatives across governments, civil society organizations, programme implementers, philanthropies, multilateral organizations, bilateral funders, private companies, universities, schools and day care centres, and hospitals around the common cause of supporting parents and caregivers.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                The backsliding of immunization coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with delayed catch-up efforts has resulted in a large and growing immunity gap. There is an urgent need to close this gap, and enable millions 
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        of missed children to be vaccinated. The Essential Immunization Recovery Plan sets out a path to getting immunization back on track, framed by three key approaches – Catch-Up, Restore and Strengthen. This document serves as the joint strategic description of this coordinated effort by WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, along with the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) Partnership, to support countries to plan and implement intensified efforts to bolster immunization programmes in 2023 and beyond.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                About one fourth of the world’s population is estimated to have been infected with the tuberculosis (TB) bacilli, and about 5–10% of those infected develop TB disease in their lifetime. The risk
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                         for TB disease after infection depends on several factors, the most important being the person’s immunological status. TB preventive treatment (TPT) given to people at highest risk of progressing from TB infection to disease remains a critical element to achieve the global targets of the End TB Strategy, as reiterated by the second UN High Level Meeting on TB in 2023. Delivering TPT effectively and safely necessitates a programmatic approach to implement a comprehensive package of interventions along a cascade of care: identifying individuals at highest risk, screening for TB and ruling out TB disease, testing for TB infection, and choosing the preventive treatment option that is best suited to an individual, managing adverse events, supporting medication adherence and monitoring programmatic performance.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                The purpose of adding the books to the website of MCAI for download, is to make this life-saving, up-to-date information available to all who need it.  Fill in a short registration field and you can
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                         download the pdf-files. 
If you work in a hospital in a low income country - providing free care - you are probably intitled to FREE copies of these books.  MCAI will send them to you, all you have to do is to read our Flyer and fill in the request form.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Today, more children than ever before are displaced within their own countries. Their harrowing stories of displacement are unfolding every day, and with increasing frequency. At the end of 2019, ap
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        proximately 45.7 million people were internally displaced by conflict and violence (Fig. 1.1). Nearly half – 19 million – were estimated to be children. And millions more are displaced every year by natural disasters.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                13 May 2021
To avoid a reversal of progress from the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, new knowledge and lessons from successful programmatic innovations are urgently needed to improve TB p
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        revention and care. Experience can provide evidence for innovative approaches and strategies to maintain and scale up high-quality TB services. WHO therefore called for case studies on programmatic innovations that address emerging challenges in TB prevention and care during the pandemic in order to collect and disseminate the findings to the TB community. Between November 2020 and February 2021, a total of 23 case studies relevant to the call were accepted from 19 countries in the six regions of WHO. The lessons learnt from these country activities to ensure the continuity of essential services like TB care in the face of the crippling crisis may also inform strategies for minimizing the impact of future emerging pathogens on health services.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                As part of the UN’s data strategy—which seeks to nurture data as a strategic asset for insight, impact and integrity—UNAIDS plays an indispensable role in generating data for effective action against the AIDS pandemic. It leads the
world’s 
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        most extensive data collection on HIV epidemiology, programme coverage, policy and finance, and it publishes the most authoritative and up-to-date information on the HIV pandemic and response. The UNAIDS database of countryreported data is a foundational pillar for global and regional AIDS programmes, research, advocacy and resource mobilization
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                The purpose of the toolkit is to bring together existing learning and guidance as a starting point for stakeholders to begin SRH preparedness work. Within the SRH sector the field of preparedness is
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                         relatively new and growing. More collective effort is required to further evaluate the impact of preparedness efforts and push the field forward. This effort is a first attempt at a draft guidance for SRH preparedness, and is intended for field testing. The toolkit recognizes the longstanding work of the field of emergency and disaster risk management, and endeavors to bridge that work with the human rights-oriented and peoplecentered field of sexual and reproductive health.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                This progress report reflects achievements made during the first year of implementation (through December 2016), as countries have taken actions in line with new or existing national strategies. The most recent data on country progress in 2016 are b
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        ased on country-reported data and country-developed models using Spectrum software that were reported to UNAIDS in 2017.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Using an ensemble of climate models and socioeconomic scenarios, WRI scored and ranked future water stress—a measure of competition and depletion of
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                         surface water—in 167 countries by 2020, 2030, and 2040. We found that 33 countries face extremely high water stress in 2040 (see the full list). We also found that Chile, Estonia, Namibia, and Botswana could face an especially significant increase in water stress by 2040. This means that businesses, farms, and communities in these countries in particular may be more vulnerable to scarcity than they are today.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                The overall aim of the study was to understand the acceptability and usefulness of PHC clinical placements for nursing and midwifery students.
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                An in-depth analysis of the health-seeking  behaviour of patients and health system response in seven countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                         
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Improving the survival chances and quality of life of women, newborns, and children remains an urgent global challenge. Since 2012, substantial progress has been made in reducing maternal and under-
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        5 deaths, and a only handful of countries are on target to meet the SDG targets in 2030. Yet, 5 million children still die each year under the age of 5, and nearly half of those are newborns less than a month old. Worse still, the global maternal mortality ratio is going in the wrong direction.
A Decade of Progress and Action for the Future will examine the tenacity and innovation that helped us make gains, the lessons learned through monitoring, country-led adaptation and leadership, analysis, and reflection, as well as the approaches we must take to reinvigorate the momentum and global commitment to improving maternal and child survival. Increasing coverage, strengthening the quality of care, and enhancing equity will be tantamount to our global progress.
                                    
                                    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