Alcohol use is deeply embedded in the social landscape of many societies, and some 2300 million people drink alcoholic beverages in most parts of the world. At the same time, more than half of the global population aged 15 years and older reported having abstained from drinking alcohol during the pr...evious 12 months. Several major factors have an impact on levels and patterns of alcohol consumption in populations – such as historical trends in alcohol consumption, the availability of alcohol, culture, economic status and implemented alcohol control measures. At the individual level the patterns and levels of alcohol consumption are determined by multiple factors that include gender, age and individual biological and socioeconomic vulnerability factors as well as the policy environment. Prevailing social norms that support drinking behaviour and mixed messages about the harms and benefits of drinking may encourage alcohol consumption, delay appropriate health-seeking behaviour and weaken community action.
more
Alcohol consumption is deeply embedded in the social landscape of many societies. Several major factors have an impact on levels and patterns of alcohol consumption in populations – such as historical trends in alcohol consumption, the availability of alcohol, culture, economic status and trends i...n the marketing of alcoholic beverages, as well as implemented alcohol control measures. At the individual level, the patterns and levels of alcohol consumption are determined by many different factors, including gender, age and individual biological and socioeconomic vulnerability factors, as well as the policy environment. Prevailing social norms that support drinking behaviour and mixed messages about the harms and benefits of drinking encourage alcohol consumption delay appropriate health-seeking behaviour and weaken community action
more
The "Stories from the field" document by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean shares effective strategies from the Eastern Mediterranean Region for addressing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health challenges, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights regio...nal success stories in mitigating NCDs and mental health conditions through innovative, country-specific interventions. The report emphasizes multisectoral collaboration, community engagement, and resilience in public health responses. It aims to inspire further action and knowledge-sharing to enhance health outcomes in challenging settings across the region.
more
Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including mental disorders, currently pose one of the biggest threats to health and development globally, particularly in low and middle income countries2. It is predicted that unless proven interventions are rapidly implemented in countries, in the short to medium ...term, health care costs will increase exponentially and severe negative consequences will ensue not only to individuals and families but to whole societies and economies. NCDs are already a major burden in South Africa, but without added rigorous and timely action the health and development consequences may well become catastrophic. Immediate and additional, high quality, evidence based and focussed interventions are needed to promote health, prevent disease and provide more effective and equitable care and treatment for people living with NCDs at all levels of the health system. The problem is further compounded by the rising global prevalence of multi-morbidity (defined as the coexistence of two or more chronic diseases in one individual).
more
The Mental Health Atlas, released every three years, is a compilation of data provided by countries around the world on mental health policies, legislation, financing, human resources, availability and utilization of services and data collection systems. It serves as a guide for countries for the de...velopment and planning of mental health services. The Mental Health Atlas 2020 includes information and data on the progress made towards achieving mental health targets for 2020 set by the global health community and included in WHO’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan. It includes data on newly-added indicators on service coverage, mental health integration into primary health care, preparedness for the provision of mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies and research on mental health. It also includes new targets for 2030.
more
Background
Noncommunicable diseases are major contributors to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Modifying the risk factors for these conditions, such as physical inactivity, is thus essential. Addressing the context or circumstances in which physical activity occurs may promote physical activity a...t a population level. We assessed the effects of infrastructure, policy or regulatory interventions for increasing physical activity.
Methods
We searched PubMed, Embase and clinicaltrials.gov to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs), controlled before-after (CBAs) studies, and interrupted time series (ITS) studies assessing population-level infrastructure or policy and regulatory interventions to increase physical activity. We were interested in the effects of these interventions on physical activity, body weight and related measures, blood pressure, and CVD and type 2 diabetes morbidity and mortality, and on other secondary outcomes. Screening and data extraction was done in duplicate, with risk of bias was using an adapted Cochrane risk of bias tool. Due to high levels of heterogeneity, we synthesised the evidence based on effect direction.
Results
We included 33 studies, mostly conducted in high-income countries. Of these, 13 assessed infrastructure changes to green or other spaces to promote physical activity and 18 infrastructure changes to promote active transport. The effects of identified interventions on physical activity, body weight and blood pressure varied across studies (very low certainty evidence); thus, we remain very uncertain about the effects of these interventions. Two studies assessed the effects of policy and regulatory interventions; one provided free access to physical activity facilities and showed that it may have beneficial effects on physical activity (low certainty evidence). The other provided free bus travel for youth, with intervention effects varying across studies (very low certainty evidence).
Conclusions
Evidence from 33 studies assessing infrastructure, policy and regulatory interventions for increasing physical activity showed varying results. The certainty of the evidence was mostly very low, due to study designs included and inconsistent findings between studies. Despite this drawback, the evidence indicates that providing access to physical activity facilities may be beneficial; however this finding is based on only one study. Implementation of these interventions requires full consideration of contextual factors, especially in low resource settings.
more
In Control imparts knowledge, provokes reflection and triggers curiosity. The first half of the book provides an overview of the organisations, principles, frameworks and themes that every professional deploying to health emergencies should be aware of. The second half of the book provides practical... advice to help professionals survive and thrive during their mission – from staying healthy, protecting oneself from cyber-attacks and coping with stress to building trust among the host community or dealing with language barriers and the press.
This handbook is free of charge and can be made available in small quantities as long as supply lasts. To order, please send this form to: incontrol-handbook@rki.de
more
The Access to Controlled Medications Programme identified the development of treatment guidelines that cover the treatment of all types of pain as one of the core areas of focus for improving access to opioid analgesics. Such guidelines are interesting both for health-care professionals and policy-...makers. They are also important in improving access to controlled medicines for determining when those opioid medicines and when non-opioid medicines are preferred.
Based on a Delphi study, WHO planned the development of three treatment guidelines, covering chronic pain in children, chronic pain in adults and acute pain.
more
The goal of this course is to provide participants with the foundational skills needed to begin the development, implementation and ongoing improvement of a congenital anomalies surveillance programme, in particular for countries with limited resources. It focuses on the methodology needed to devel...op either population-based or hospital based surveillance programmes.
A set of congenital anomalies will be used as examples throughout this course. The specific examples used are typically severe enough that they would probably be captured within the first few days after birth, have a significant public health impact and, for some of them, have the potential for primary prevention.
more
The intent of these guidelines is to develop a holistic, coordinated, proactive and technology driven strategy for management of biological disasters through a culture of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to generate a prompt and effective response in the event of an emergency. Th...e document contains comprehensive guidelines for preparedness activities, biosafety and biosecurity measures, capacity development, specialised health care and laboratory facilities, strengthening of the existing legislative/
regulatory framework, mental health support, response, rehabilitation and recovery, etc. It specifically lays down the approach for implementation of the guidelines by the central ministries/departments, states, districts and other stakeholders, in a time bound manner.
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 im...pactful. 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
"National Disaster Management Guidelines: Management
of Chemical (Terrorism) Disasters (are intended to
focus on all aspects of the disaster management
cycle, including prevention measures such as
surveillance and intelligence, mitigation of direct
and indirect risks, preparedness in terms of
...capacity development of human resources and
infrastructure development, as well as relief,
rehabilitation and reconstruction/recovery."
more
The purpose of this manual is to provide guidance in the design, implementation and evaluation of a course that aims to build and strengthen the capacity of health personnel to manage eye patients at primary-level health facilities in the African Region. The course falls within the remit of continuo...us professional development in its broadest sense. Its content focuses on simple evidence-based practice that can be easily carried out in primary-level health facilities all over Africa.
This manual is intended for use by course directors and facilitators. Its intended audience includes all persons who wish to commission, support or offer a course serving the above aims, including pre-service training. This manual sets out the requisite steps for the preparation and organization of such a course.
more
Nearly half the population of Sierra Leone is under the age of 18 years and the impact of the Ebola crisis on their lives now and on their future opportunities has been far-reaching: no school; loss of family members and friends to the virus; and changing roles and responsibilities in the home and t...he community.
While the priority now remains meeting the goal of zero cases, the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) is also developing a comprehensive strategy aimed at supporting communities to recover from this crisis, to put the country back on track to meet development targets. The Ebola Recovery Strategy – currently being finalised by the GoSL – represents a potentially transformative framework to support the immediate recovery of children from the crisis and to ensure their place in the future development of Sierra Leone.
To date, there has not been a formal process for children to outline their own priorities for recovery to decision-makers. In mid-March 2015, child-centred agencies conducted a Children’s Ebola Recovery Assessment (CERA) in nine districts across Sierra Leone to create a mechanism for more than 1,100 boys and girls, to discuss issues of concern; assess the impact of the crisis on their roles, responsibilities and future opportunities; and to formulate their recommendations for recovery.
more
This publication aims to provide examples of better palliative care practices for older people to help those involved in planning and supporting care-oriented services most appropriately and effectively. Examples have been identifi ed from literature searches and from an international call... for examples through various organizations, including the European Association of Palliative Care and the European Union Geriatric Medicine Society. Some examples consider how to improve aspects within the whole health system; specifi c smaller examples consider how to improve palliative care education, support in the community, in hospitals or for specifi c groups of people, such as people in nursing homes and people with dementia and their families. Some examples await rigorous evaluation of effectiveness, and more research is needed in this fi eld, especially the cost–effectiveness and generalizability of these initiatives.
more
Guidelines.
The guidelines set out essential actions that humanitarian actors must take in order to effectively identify and respond to the needs and rights of persons with disabilities who are most at risk of being left behind in humanitarian settings.
The recommended actions in each chapter pl...ace persons with disabilities at the centre of humanitarian action, both as actors and as members of affected populations. They are specific to persons with disabilities and to the context of humanitarian action and build on existing and more general standards and guidelines.
These are the first humanitarian guidelines to be developed with and by persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in association with traditional humanitarian stakeholders. Based on the outcomes of a comprehensive global and regional multi-stakeholder consultation process, they are designed to promote the implementation of quality humanitarian programmes in all contexts and across all regions, and to establish and increase both the inclusion of persons with disabilities and their meaningful participation in all decisions that concern them.
more
USAID funded/ Primary Health Care Project in Iraq (PHCPI) in cooperation with Iraqi Ministry of Health (MOH) aims to promote Primary Health Care (PHC) services provided by Primary Health Care Clinics (PHCCs) in Iraq in order to achieve the development goal in enhancing the PHC provision system throu...gh achieving the following results: First: Enhancing management and operations systems, which support clinical care. Second: Improving the quality of the delivered PHC according to quality standards. Third: Enhancing and expanding local community participation and partnership in PHC. Maintaining the medical & service devices in the hospitals and health clinics besides making them function according to the adapted standard specifications, lead to providing most efficient medical services for people and accomplish the purposes for which they were invented. Maintenance and repair of facilities and infrastructure, and keeping them safe and clean are also of the important approaches for the results referred to in (first) and (second) above. This can be achieved through enhancing and developing facilities, and medical & service devices management. This guideline seeks to develop work mechanism for engineers, technicians and the PHCCs’ facilities and medical & service equipment maintenance workers; clarify the concept of maintenance, its importance and classifications in health area, its planning and implementation, the tasks and duties of other directorates and departments of the Ministry in relation to all kinds of maintenance. Add to that preparing documents and forms, which are used in documenting and monitoring the steps required to be accomplished in the maintenance of PHCCs’ facilities and medical & service equipment, for the equipment to perform the best possible services for people and get their satisfaction.
more
Validation of elimination of mother-to-child transmission, or vertical transmission, of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B virus (HBV), is an attestation that a country has successfully met standard criteria for elimination, or for being at 1 of the 3 levels of achievement on the ‘Path to Elimination... while delivering quality services for women, girls and their children, through the life-course, respecting human rights and ensuring gender equality and community engagement.
This document, the third version, adds on EMTCT of hepatitis B virus (HBV), bringing together a package of interventions and metrics to support integrated management and monitoring of vertical transmission across a wide range of epidemiological and programmatic contexts.
This document, the third version, adds on EMTCT of hepatitis B virus (HBV), bringing together a package of interventions and metrics to support integrated management and monitoring of vertical transmission across a wide range of epidemiological and programmatic contexts.
more
On September 10, 2022, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced a cholera outbreak in Aleppo governorate with 15 laboratory confirmed cases reported between August 25 and September 9, 2022. Activities under this plan seek to address the immediate needs stemming from this outbreak and highlight respons...e priorities across all areas of the response and key sectors involved. This plan initially focuses on the Health, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) responses for an initial period of 90 days. The activities detailed in this plan are also within the programmatic scope of the 2022-2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP).
more
The Strategy aims to protect and improve the well-being
of society and of the individual, to protect and promote
public health, to offer a high level of security and well-being
for the general public and to increase health literacy. The
Strategy takes an evidence-...ght medbox">based, integrated, balanced and
multidisciplinary approach to the drugs phenomenon at
national, EU and international level. It also incorporates a
gender equality and health equity perspective.
more