Tuberculosis continues to represent a severe public health problem in the Region of the Americas, even more so in the case of indigenous peoples, whose TB incidence is much higher than that of the general population. To achieve tuberculosis control in these communities, it is necessary to respond t...o communities’ diverse needs from an intercultural perspective that allows the application of a holistic approach—from a standpoint of equality and mutual respect—and considers the value of their cultural practices. In the Region of the Americas, although there has been progress toward recognizing the need for an intercultural approach to health services, obstacles rooted in discrimination, racism, and the exclusion of indigenous peoples and other ethnic groups persist. To respond to this situation, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) prepared this guidance which––based on an intercultural approach in accordance with the priority lines of the current PAHO Policy on Ethnicity and Health and its practical development in the Region’s indigenous populations––represent a support tool for implementing the End TB Strategy. This publication integrates PAHO’s accumulated experience and best practices developed by its Member States in recent years, including discussions and experiences shared in regional meetings on the issue, and emphasizes innovation and social inclusion. This requires an urgent shift away from traditional paradigms, taking specific actions that gradually reduce TB incidence and moving toward effective multisectoral actions that have proven effective in quickly containing the epidemic. This publication integrates PAHO’s accumulated experience and best practices developed by its Member States in recent years, including discussions and experiences shared in regional meetings on the issue, and emphasizes innovation and social inclusion. This requires an urgent shift away from traditional paradigms, taking specific actions that gradually reduce TB incidence and moving toward effective multisectoral actions that have proven effective in quickly containing the epidemic.
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Global asymmetries influence policies for recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nearly 30 years after the Earth Summit and the global adoption of an international development agenda, in practical terms the environmental pillar of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has not been taken ...into consideration in recovery policies in the region. This has created major problems in terms of the medium- and long-term direction of regional economies.
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The COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErs Study (HEROES): Regional Report from the Americas is a multicenter prospective cohort study to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of health care workers in 26 countries on four continents and how it is affected by several factors at diffe...rent interrelated levels: individual, family, occupational, and social. This brief report presents the evidence generated from the baseline survey of 11 participating countries in the Region of the Americas. Using validated scales, the findings show high rates of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and psychological distress in several countries of the Region. The spirit of the project is not only to generate quality scientific evidence on the mental health of health care workers, but also to help develop interventions (both individual and institutional) and policies to address the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health.
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Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2022; 19(1): 37–45.
Published online 2022 Jan 29. doi: 10.1007/s11904-021-00589-4.
COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the cascade-of-care among PLWH in LAC. There is a need for
longitudinal studies that assess clinic implication of these pandemic interactions in LAC.
Lancet Oncol 2022; 23: e251–312Published OnlineMay 9, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00720-8
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), urgent action is needed to curb a growing crisis in cancer incidence and mortality.
Without rapid interventions, data estimates show a major increase in cancer mo...rtality from 520 348 in 2020 to about
1 million deaths per year by 2030. Here, we detail the state of cancer in SSA, recommend key actions on the basis of
analysis, and highlight case studies and successful models that can be emulated, adapted, or improved across the
region to reduce the growing cancer crises. Recommended actions begin with the need to develop or update national
cancer control plans in each country. Plans must include childhood cancer plans, managing comorbidities such as
HIV and malnutrition, a reliable and predictable supply of medication, and the provision of psychosocial, supportive,
and palliative care. Plans should also engage traditional, complementary, and alternative medical practices employed
by more than 80% of SSA populations and pathways to reduce missed diagnoses and late referrals. More substantial
investment is needed in developing cancer registries and cancer diagnostics for core cancer tests.
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Mental health is critically important to everyone, everywhere. All over the world, mental health needs are high but responses are insufficient and inadequate. The World mental health report: transforming mental health for all is designed to inspire and inform better mental health for everyone everyw...here. Drawing on the latest evidence available, showcasing examples of good practice from around the world, and voicing people’s lived experience, it highlights why and where change is most needed and how it can best be achieved. It calls on all stakeholders to work together to deepen the value and commitment given to mental health, reshape the environments that influence mental health, and strengthen the systems that care for mental health.
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Minimizing risk of developing antibiotic resistance and aquatic ecotoxicity in the environment resulting from the manufacturing of human antibiotic.
The Standard, facilitated by BSI Standards Limited (BSI), provides clear guidance to manufacturers in the global antibiotic supply chain to ensure t...hat their antibiotics are made responsibly, helping to minimize the risk of AMR in the environment.
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Economic conditions in Syria are projected to continue to be mired by prolonged armed conflict, turmoil in Lebanon and Turkey, COVID-19, and the war in Ukraine. Subject to extraordinarily high uncertainty, we project that Syria’s real GDP will contract by 2.6 percent in 2022 (to US$ 15.5 billion i...n constant 2015 prices) after declining by 2.1 percent in 2021. Risks to the growth outlook are significant and tilted to the downside.
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The Guidelines for the Prevention, Surveillance and Management of COVID-19 Infection amongst Health Care Workers (HCW) in Zimbabwe were developed to prevent, detect and manage HCW COVID-19 infection, an emerging pandemic affecting the whole world. The HCW is at the fore front of this pandemic, thus ...the need for standardised operating procedures is of utmost importance. These guidelines therefore seek to reduce the significant morbidity and mortality among the HCW, ultimately ensuring the reduction of the cost to the health care worker and the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) as a whole. The Ministry of Health and Child Care requires that all health care workers in various health care settings follow infection prevention and control procedures.
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Nurses are key players in health promotion and disease prevention and the backbone of health care systems worldwide. Nurses work on the front lines of disease prevention, health promotion, and health management and are often the unsung heroes in health care facilities and emergency response. Despite... the critical role they play in health care, there is a nursing shortage across the world that will affect the delivery of competent nursing care. This document highlights key action points for targeted investment in the nursing workforce and calls on Member States to strengthen nursing within the context of their own country efforts.
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Policy Brief. 24 June 2022. This policy brief, one of two on the updated hepatitis C (HCV) guidelines, focuses on the new recommendations on simplified service delivery for a public health approach to HCV testing, care and treatment. These recommendations include decentralization, integration and ta...sk-sharing, in addition to the use of point-of-care (POC) HCV viral load assays and reflex viral load testing.
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This report presents an analysis of antibacterial agents in preclinical (third annual review) and clinical (fifth annual review) development. The analysis covers traditional (direct-acting small molecules) and non-traditional antibacterial agents in development worldwide. It evaluates to what extent... the present pipeline addresses infections caused by WHO Priority Pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Clostridioides difficile. The report also provides an assessment of the traditional agents with respect to whether they meet a set of predefined criteria for innovation, namely absence of known cross-resistance, new target, mode of action and/or class. It also includes an overview of the agents that obtained authorization since 1 July 2017.
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Children’s mental health is top concern for Ukrainian parents, new World Vision report finds; Studies show 22 per cent of people in conflict zones suffer mental disorders; Prevention programs must be urgently prioritised
Desde hace muchas décadas, los microbios, en particular las bacterias, se han vuelto cada vez más resistentes a diversos antimicrobianos. El aval de la Asamblea Mundial de la Salud al Plan de Acción Mundial sobre la resistencia a los antimicrobianos, en mayo de 2015, y la Declaración política d...e la reunión de alto nivel de la Asamblea General sobre la resistencia a los antimicrobianos, en septiembre de 2016, reconocen que la resistencia a los antimicrobianos es una amenaza para la salud pública mundial. Estas iniciativas políticas reconocen el uso excesivo e inapropiado de los antimicrobianos como el principal factor que favorece dicha resistencia, así
como la necesidad de optimizar el uso de estos medicamentos.
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This guide also draws on the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to apply for measles outbreak response
support from the Measles & Rubella Initiative Outbreak Response Fund (17) and includes a section on
measles outbreak recovery so that contributing factors and potential root causes are identifi...ed and
addressed systematically after a measles outbreak. This guide does not aim to be a comprehensive guide
on measles elimination or routine immunization (RI) more broadly.
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The African Region has been experiencing unprecedented health challenges due to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which have compounded the already difficult task the Region was facing in moving towards universal health coverage (UHC) attainment.
El Sector Salud tiene, junto con otras áreas responsables de la implementación de políticas públicas, la función de promover los entornos protectores de los derechos de niños y niñas, garantizando su atención temprana en forma integral, de manera
que sean contemplados los aspectos biológi...cos, psicológicos y socioculturales. En la República Argentina, estos derechos están contemplados por la Ley Nacional N° 26.061 de Protección Integral de los Derechos de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes.
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The WHO Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Clinical management: living guidance contains the Organization’s most up-to-date recommendations for the clinical management of people with EVD. Providing guidance that is comprehensive and holistic for the optimal care of patients with EVD throughout their il...lness is important.
The living guidance is available in both pdf format (via the ‘Download’ button) and via an online platform in both French and English, and is updated regularly as new evidence emerges.
This first version of the Clinical management for EVD living guidance contains four new recommendations regarding use of therapeutics for EVD, this includes two strong recommendations for the use of monoclonal antibody therapies. This new living guideline is written to accompany the optimized supportive care (oSoC) for EVD standard operating procedures (5, 6). The living guideline aims to summarize high quality evidence for EVD therapeutics and make recommendations for their use.
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Tools and practical guidance for achieving high uptake
WHO recommends prompt recognition of progressive acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure when a patient with respiratory distress is failing to respond to standard oxygen therapy and adequate preparation to provide advanced oxygen/ventilatory support.
Hypoxaemic respiratory failure in ARDS commonly re...sults from intrapulmonary ventilation-perfusion mismatch or shunt and usually requires mechanical ventilation.
At any time, if there are urgent or emergent indications for intubation, do not delay.
WHO suggests that hospitalized patients with severe or critical COVID-19 with acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure that do not require emergent intubation be treated with HFNO, or CPAP or NIV (BiPAP) rather than standard oxygen therapy.
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