This briefing note, which focuses on the measurement of violence against women with disability, is one in a series of methodological cbriefing notes for strengthening the measurement and data collection of violence against particular groups of women or specific aspects of violence against women. The...se briefing notes are meant for researchers, national statistics offices and others involved in data collection on violence against women. They have been developed as
part of the UN Women–World Health Organization Joint Programme on strengthening methodologies and measurement of and building national capacities for violence against women data (Joint Programme on Violence against Women Data). These briefing notes seek to contribute to strengthening the quality and availability of data on violence against women and hence enhance global, regional and national level monitoring of progress towards its elimination, including for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 5.2 on the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls
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Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose (or blood sugar), which leads over time to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves. The most common is type 2 diabetes, usually in adults, which occurs when the body becomes resist...ant to insulin or doesn't make enough insulin. In the past three decades the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has risen dramatically in countries of all income levels. Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin by itself. For people living with diabetes, access to affordable treatment, including insulin, is critical to their survival. There is a globally agreed target to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity by 2025
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Welcome to the Global Information System on Resources for the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Use Disorders. These pages present data collected from WHO Member States in broad categories: governance, policy and financing, service organization and delivery, human resources and national informat...ion systems. The latest data were collected in 2014 with the WHO Global Survey on Resources for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Use Disorders (ATLAS-SU survey). The global information system presents all available data to monitor the progress in advancing treatment coverage for substance use disorders (health target 3.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030)
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The document "Diabetes in Pregnancy" by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) outlines quality standards for managing diabetes in women during pregnancy, with a focus on five key areas. First, it emphasizes the importance of preconception planning for women of childbearing age wit...h diabetes. These women should receive guidance on optimizing their health before pregnancy, including achieving target HbA1c levels and taking high-dose folic acid to minimize risks. Second, joint diabetes and antenatal care is recommended for pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes, who should be seen early in pregnancy (ideally by 10 weeks gestation) by a combined diabetes and antenatal team to ensure optimal care throughout their pregnancy.
The third focus area is continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), which should be offered to pregnant women with type 1 diabetes. This includes either real-time CGM or flash monitoring to help improve blood glucose control and reduce complications during pregnancy. Fourth, postnatal testing and referral are essential for women diagnosed with gestational diabetes, who should receive glucose testing after birth to detect any persistent diabetes. Those eligible are referred to the National Diabetes Prevention Programme to lower their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Lastly, the document recommends annual HbA1c testing for women with a history of gestational diabetes to monitor for type 2 diabetes development.
These standards aim to improve pregnancy outcomes for women with diabetes by providing individualized, accessible, and culturally appropriate care.
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Social protection, a component of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s End TB strategy, has been upheld by Member States as an essential part of the response to tuberculosis in several political declarations, including the 2017 Moscow Declaration to End TB, and both the political declarations of ...both the 2018 and 2023 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) high-level meetings on the fight against TB. Furthermore, during the 2023 high-level meeting, member states agreed on a new target to ensure that all people with TB have access to a comprehensive package of health and social benefits by 2027.
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Neonatal tetanus (NT), a severe newborn illness from the toxigenic strains of Clostridium tetani, persists in middle- and low-income countries due to non-sterile childbirth practices. Unlike smallpox and polio, tetanus cannot be eradicated: Clostridium tetani spores exist in the environment, and ani...mal reservoirs. However, elimination as a public health issue is achievable through widespread tetanus vaccination, clean deliveries, and proper umbilical cord care. The goal of eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) as a public health problem is considered met when all municipalities in a country have an annual incidence rate of NT of less than 1 case per 1000 live births. The Region of the Americas achieved the maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination (MNTE) target in 2017 when elimination was validated in the Republic of Haiti. Yet maintaining this progress requires continued efforts. High vaccination coverage, booster doses in countries lacking them, hygienic practices, and strong maternal and child health services are key. The Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) integrated maternal and neonatal immunization platform further strengthens this fight against early childhood diseases.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the "Implementation Roadmap 2023–2030" to advance the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) 2013–2030. This roadmap addresses the recommendations from the mid-term evaluation of the original action p...lan. It outlines strategic directions and priority actions to assist countries in accelerating their responses to NCDs, aiming to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.4, which focuses on reducing premature mortality from NCDs by one-third by 2030.
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The Framework serves to guide efforts to deliver safe and sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health care waste management and reliable electricity in all health care facilities. The ultimate aim is to provide quality care for all. The Framework reflects a global consultative process a...nd includes data and recommendations articulated in recent WHO/UNICEF global reports on WASH, waste and electricity in health care facilities. It also provides an operational roadmap for implementing the 2023 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on WASH, waste and electricity in health care facilities. The target audiences for this Framework include health leaders and programme managers at the global and national levels; policymakers; WASH, waste and energy leaders and technical experts; development partners and finance institutions; and actors and experts on gender equality, disability and social inclusion and climate; and, more generally, civil society. The Framework addresses the WASH, waste and electricity elements of the WHO comprehensive approach to build safe, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities.
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The Global status report on alcohol and health and treatment of substance use disorders presents a comprehensive overview of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm and policy responses as well as treatment capacities for alcohol and drug use disorders worldwide. The report is based on data collec...ted by WHO from Member States and organized in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals health target 3.5 which calls on countries to strengthen “the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol”. The chapter on alcohol and health continues the series of WHO global status reports on alcohol and health and presents the latest available data on the status of, and trends in, alcohol consumption, as well as estimates of the alcohol-attributable disease burden and descriptions of policy responses worldwide. On the basis of data collected from countries on the treatment of substance use disorders the report describes the status of key components of treatment responses to alcohol and drug use disorders and proposes a new service capacity index for these disorders as an additional contextual indicator for monitoring progress in this domain of SDG health target 3.5. The report concludes with broad directions for international action to accelerate progress towards achievement of SDG health target 3.5.
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Ebola virus (EBOV) and Marburg virus (MARV) are associated with severe, potentially fatal, systemic diseases. During the development of the Infection Prevention and Control Guideline for Ebola Disease and Marburg Disease, the Guideline Development Group (GDG) identified multiple research gaps in key... areas and practices that lacked strong evidence to help in the formulation of recommendations. Because of the lack of strong evidence, there exists an array of research questions related to infection prevention and control (IPC) in the context of Ebola Disease (EBOD) and Marburg Disease (MARD). Identifying those that are priorities would help policy-makers target efforts and funding to support the most relevant studies. The objective of this research prioritization exercise was to identify the short- to medium-term (over the next two years) priority research questions for IPC in health care settings based on the gaps identified during the EBOD/MARD IPC guideline development process.
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Based on an increasing body of evidence pointing at the positive impact that social assistance has had in Malawi, the region and beyond, government is encouraged to continue investing in and supporting the expansion and comprehensiveness of social protection programmes in both rural and urban areas,... ensuring they effectively target and adequately address needs and vulnerabilities across the lifecycle, in line with the Malawi National Social Support Programme (MNSSP II) and Vision 2063. In addition, Government and Development Partners are encouraged to further the integration between social protection, the humanitarian and the disaster risk management sectors in response to shocks and stresses, through the roll out of a fully shock-sensitive social protection system.
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In 2014, GHS/NACP, with support from UNICEF and other partners, conducted a situation analysis on paediatric HIV care and treatment in Ghana. The purpose of this analysis was to identify the gaps within the current delivery of paediatric HIV care and support system and develop a road map for effecti...ve implementation of Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) and to increase paediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage. The analysis identified gaps such as lack of task shifting on ART services, low paediatric ART coverage, and poor linkage of ART, EID, and PMTCT services with other RCH - immunization and nutrition services.
In view of the findings of the analysis, it was recommended that an Acceleration Plan for Paediatric HIV Services be developed to address the barriers and bottlenecks identified during the assessment. At the current pace of paediatric HIV Services, it can be extrapolated that paediatric ART coverage will increase from 26% to only about 40% by 2020; Ghana will, therefore, fall short of the global target of 90-90-90 (UNAIDS concept).
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The NDMS&IP focuses on mainstreaming disability to promote equitable access to services in the six thematic areas of health, education, livelihoods, empowerment, and social inclusion and cross-cutting issues.
The first part of the NDMS&IP outlines incongruences between national and sectoral policie...s and pieces of legislation on one hand, and practice on the other and identifies key priority areas/themes of the strategy,
medium-term outcomes and strategies for each identified priority area/ theme. This process is largely informed by key findings and recommendations from a study on the Situation of Persons with Disabilities
in Malawi (CBMM/NAD, 2011). The study provides background descriptive information on existing national and sectoral policy and legal framework, level of access by children, adult women and males with disabilities to services in the areas of education, health, livelihoods and other social services as well as of participation by persons with disabilities through self-representation in development activities at various levels. A review of relevant documents at the international level further describes the disability situation in Malawi in the global context.
The second part of the NDMS&IP consists of the operational matrix, (Annex 1), a monitoring and evaluation framework (Annex 2) and budget estimates (Annex 3). This part outlines specific actions by various actors both in the public, private and civil society sectors to prioritise disability in their routine policy, programming, resource mobilisation and allocation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting routines. The action plan lays out priority sectors and concrete actions by setting out implementation schedules, defining targets, assigning responsibility to key duty bearers and rights holders for coordination, decision-making, monitoring and reporting, mobilisation and allocation and control of resources.
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The Country Cooperation Strategy is the World Health Organization’s corporate framework developed in response to a country’s needs and priorities. The 2022–2025 CCS is the fourth for WHO in Sierra Leone. It is a medium-term strategic document that defines a broad framework for WHO’s work, at... all levels, with the Government of Sierra Leone and all health partners for the next four years. This document is guided by the country’s major policy and strategy documents including the 2020 National Health and Sanitation Policy (NHSP); the 2021–2025 National Health Sector Strategic Plan (NHSSP); and the 2019–2023 National Medium-term Development Plan (NMTDP). The current CCS also reflects the broad priorities of WHO as outlined in its Thirteenth General Programme of Work (2019–2023, extended to 2025) with a focus on improving access to universal health coverage, protecting people from health emergencies, and improving people’s health and well-being. The CCS priorities are also in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) in Sierra Leone and will contribute to attaining the country's SDG targets
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A general consensus exists that as a country develops economically, health spending per capita rises and the share of that spending that is prepaid through government or private mechanisms also rises. However, the speed and magnitude of these changes vary substantially across countries, even at simi...lar levels of development. In this study, we use past trends and relationships to estimate future health spending, disaggregated by the source of those funds, to identify the financing trajectories that are likely to occur if current policies and trajectories evolve as expected.
Methods
We extracted data from WHO's Health Spending Observatory and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's Financing Global Health 2015 report. We converted these data to a common purchasing power-adjusted and inflation-adjusted currency. We used a series of ensemble models and observed empirical norms to estimate future government out-of-pocket private prepaid health spending and development assistance for health. We aggregated each country's estimates to generate total health spending from 2013 to 2040 for 184 countries. We compared these estimates with each other and internationally recognised benchmarks.
Findings
Global spending on health is expected to increase from US$7·83 trillion in 2013 to $18·28 (uncertainty interval 14·42–22·24) trillion in 2040 (in 2010 purchasing power parity-adjusted dollars). We expect per-capita health spending to increase annually by 2·7% (1·9–3·4) in high-income countries, 3·4% (2·4–4·2) in upper-middle-income countries, 3·0% (2·3–3·6) in lower-middle-income countries, and 2·4% (1·6–3·1) in low-income countries. Given the gaps in current health spending, these rates provide no evidence of increasing parity in health spending. In 1995 and 2015, low-income countries spent $0·03 for every dollar spent in high-income countries, even after adjusting for purchasing power, and the same is projected for 2040. Most importantly, health spending in many low-income countries is expected to remain low. Estimates suggest that, by 2040, only one (3%) of 34 low-income countries and 36 (37%) of 98 middle-income countries will reach the Chatham House goal of 5% of gross domestic product consisting of government health spending.
Interpretation
Despite remarkable health gains, past health financing trends and relationships suggest that many low-income and lower-middle-income countries will not meet internationally set health spending targets and that spending gaps between low-income and high-income countries are unlikely to narrow unless substantive policy interventions occur. Although gains in health system efficiency can be used to make progress, current trends suggest that meaningful increases in health system resources will require concerted action.
Funding
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) pose a substantial threat to many health systems, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) where they are already overstretched. In the past few decades, deaths from NCDs in LMICs have spiked, whereas numbers in high-income countries have stabilis...ed. Worryingly, a large proportion of deaths from NCDs (29%) in LMICs occur among people younger than 60 years compared with the proportion in high-income countries (13%). This finding has been attributed to poor access to effective and equitable health-care services in most LMICs. The threat of NCDs in LMICs was recognised by the UN 2011 High-Level Meeting, and is now featured in Sustainable Development Goal 3 in the form of reducing premature mortality from NCDs by one-third before 2030. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of deaths from NCDs (ie, 48% of all NCDs deaths). Therefore, substantial reductions in CVDs will have a major impact on reducing the overall burden of NCDs globally. The good news is that most CVDs can be prevented by addressing the key underlying behavioural risk factors, such as physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, tobacco use, and harmful use of alcohol, through population-wide approaches. Among individuals with or at high risk of CVD, early detection and effective management with appropriate counselling and medicines can reduce cardiovascular deaths substantially.
The importance of effective treatment for CVD has been recognised in the Global NCD Action Plan 2013–20, for which one of the nine global targets is that at least 50% of eligible individuals should receive drug therapy and counselling to prevent heart attacks and strokes by 2025.5 Although admirable, this is a hard target to achieve given that secondary prevention strategies in LMICs are often unaffordable or unavailable.
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The World Health Organization's fact sheet on hypertension provides a comprehensive overview of high blood pressure, highlighting its prevalence, risk factors, and health implications. It emphasizes that hypertension is a major cause of premature death worldwide, with an estimated 1.28 billion adult...s aged 30–79 years affected, two-thirds of whom live in low- and middle-income countries.
The document outlines modifiable risk factors, including unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol use, and being overweight or obese. It also discusses non-modifiable risk factors such as family history, age over 65 years, and co-existing conditions like diabetes or kidney disease. The fact sheet underscores the importance of regular blood pressure monitoring, as hypertension often presents without symptoms, and highlights lifestyle changes and medications as effective treatments. Additionally, it mentions global targets aimed at reducing the prevalence of hypertension by 33% between 2010 and 2030.
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Poor diets are the major cause of death and disease globally, driving high levels of obesity and noncommunicable diseases. Cheap, heavily marketed, ultra-processed, energy-dense and nutrient-poor food and drinks that are high in fat, sugar and salt play a major role. The high-sugar content of these ...products leads to consumption levels much higher than recommended. The World Health Organization recommends that sugar intake should be reduced to just 5% of energy intake by using fiscal policies and food and drink reformulation strategies. Over the previous decade, the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has implemented several policies aimed at reducing sugar intake. We compare the soft drinks industry levy and the sugar reduction programme, examining how differences in policy design and process may have influenced the outcomes. Success has been mixed: the mandatory levy achieved a reduction in total sugar sales of 34.3%, and the voluntary reduction programme only achieved a 3.5% reduction in sugar levels of key contributors to sugar intake (despite a target of 20%). Both policies can be improved to enhance their impact, for example, by increasing the levy and reducing the sugar content threshold in the soft drinks industry levy, and by setting more stringent subcategory specific targets in the sugar reduction programme. We also recommend that policy-makers should consider applying a similar levy to other discretionary products
that are key contributors to sugar intake. Both approaches provide valuable learnings for future policy in the United Kingdom and globally
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Background: Despite several cycles of Mass Drug Administration (MDA), however, the prevalence of Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) remains high in Bangladesh. A clear understanding of local knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to the acceptance and utilization of MDA is critical for ...effective implementation of this intervention.
Methods: This research, a cross-sectional descriptive study that utilized quantitative methods, was conducted between February and June 2017. A total of 380 questionnaire surveys were distributed to school-aged children (SAC), the parents of SAC, and school teachers.
Results: Out of 160 SACs, 81.9% knew of STH and 75.6% knew of MDA. SAC showed a high awareness of STH and recognized the importance of preventive measures and MDA. In terms of the parents of SAC and school teachers, close to half of the respondents were knowledgeable about STH and MDA. While nearly all of the participants held positive attitudes toward MDA, the respondents pointed out that school-based MDA presents severe limitations, as non-school-going children are neglected by this effort. A total of 68.3% of all school teachers and 56.8% of all parents of SAC found MDA efforts to be effective.
Conclusion: STH infections still remain a significant public health burden in Bangladesh. Reforming the MDA policy is necessary to achieve the target of STH elimination.
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African countries, like many regions of the world, are affected by the legacy of atrocity crimes. Genocide, the transatlantic slave trade and slavery, colonialism and post-independence violence committed during dictatorships, not to mention civil war and violent extremism, have severely violated hum...an rights and left devastating marks on societies across the continent. The way in which societies deal with violent pasts has profound implications for the present and the future, as well as their chances of building sustainable peace.
Strengthening education about atrocity crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, is an essential part of addressing violent pasts and preventing future atrocity crimes. Echoing a series of United Nations resolutions on the importance of educational measures for genocide prevention,1 in 2013, the Secretary-General’s annual report Responsibility to protect: State responsibility and prevention included the recommendation: “Education curriculums should include instruction on past violations and on the causes, dynamics and consequences of atrocity crimes” as an important means to promote societal resilience to atrocity crimes.
This recognition is in line with the Education 2030 Agenda and, more specifically, target 4.7 of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 on Education. This target calls on countries to promote education that fosters sustainable development, human rights, gender equality, a culture of peace, global citizenship and an appreciation of cultural diversity.
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