A study conducted by the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Africa. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on older persons both globally and in the African region. Although overall the region’s population is younger relative to many other world regions, the WHO AFRO region ...has a population just over 62 million older people and is ageing rapidly, with the number of older people expected to triple in the next three decades (Aboderin et al., 2020).
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Eight years after Super Typhoon Haiyan, the most destructive storm to ever hit the Philippines, Super Typhoon Rai brought similar torrential rains, violent winds, mudslides, floods and storm surges to central parts of the Philippines, leaving a wide path of destruction and debris in its wake. While ...not as powerful as Haiyan in terms of wind strength, evidence shows that Rai damaged houses, infrastructure and livelihoods on a comparable scale or in even greater numbers. Most striking, Rai damaged 1.57 million homes, 500,000 more than Haiyan, across 11 of the Philippines 17 regions, with around 180,000-200,000 people still displaced – either still in evacuation centers or staying with friends, family or other temporary housing.
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As a lower-middle-income country (LMIC), South Africa (SA) bears
the burden of maternal and neonatal mortality similar to other sub-
Saharan African countries. According to the Saving Mothers Report
2017/19, there has been a progressive and sustained reduction
in institutional maternal mortality... (iMMR) in the past three triennia
(2010-2019), from 320 per 100,000 live births to 120 per 100,000 live
births.
According to the Rapid Mortality Survey, the country’s infant mortality
rate has declined from 29 deaths per 1000 live births in 2014 to 25
deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018. The institutional neonatal death
rate showed a slight decrease from 12,7 deaths per 1,000 live births in
2016 to the current level of 12 per 1,000 live births and has remained
static at this level for the past three years (saDHIS).
Working towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of reducing maternal mortality to below 70 per 100 000 live births and neonatal mortality to 12 deaths per 1000 live births, South Africa aims to reduce institutional maternal mortality, neonatal mortality and stillbirths by 50% by 2030.
This Maternal, Perinatal and Neonatal Health Policy provides a
framework for the delivery of quality, comprehensive, and integrated
MNH services and will guide the development and review of guidelines
and related MNH interventions, including strengthening of the service
delivery platform, governance, leadership and accountability for
the provision of quality MNH services, development of advocacy
messages, and guiding civil society priorities and community
initiatives. The policy will also guide the development and review of
academic curricula and the setting of research priorities.
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1.1 Why this course is needed
The first few hours and days of a newborn baby’s life are a critical window for establishing breastfeeding and for providing mothers with the support they need to breastfeed successfully. Since 1991, the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) has helped to motivate... facilities providing maternity and newborn baby services worldwide to better support breastfeeding. It has been adopted by many countries and organizations. The BFHI aims to provide a health-care environment that supports mothers to acquire the skills necessary to exclusively breastfeed for six months, and to continue breastfeeding for two years or beyond.
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To support countries in adapting their response to different COVID-19 scenarios, the World Health
Organization (WHO) Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing commissioned this scoping review of published and grey literature. The objective was to identify interventions... implemented to maintain the provision and use of essential services for MNCAAH during disruptive events and to summarize lessons learned during these interventions. The review included outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (EVD), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Zika virus disease (ZVD), the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies that caused disruption to services, transport and other activities.
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Community pharmacists are the health professionals most accessible to the public and are a cornerstone of primary health care. The role of community pharmacists is expanding globally. This report provides an overview of existing components and provisions of the legal and regulatory framework for com...munity pharmacies and their activities in Europe. It presents the diverse approaches to community pharmacy licenses and to establishment of new pharmacies and their ownership. It also details the framework for community pharmacy operating requirements (including opening hours, workforce, premises and equipment, services provided and identification of a community pharmacy) and the types of activity undertaken. Provisions associated with possible alternative forms of dispensing medicines (over-the-counter medicines, prescription-only medicines, dispensing by medical doctors and online medicine sales) are also described
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The purpose of cancer screening tests is to detect pre-cancer or early-stage cancer in asymptomatic individuals so that timely diagnosis and early treatment can be offered, where this treatment can lead to better outcomes for some people.
The aim of a cancer screening programme is either to reduc...e mortality and morbidity in a population by early detection and early treatment of a cancer (for example, breast screening) or to reduce the incidence of a cancer by identifying and treating its precursors (such as cervical and colorectal screening).
This short guide is designed to be a quick reference that contains the important ideas about cancer screening. Readers should refer to other publications for comprehensive discussion and detailed guidance on cancer screening programmes.
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9 Febr. 2022
The COVID Covovax™ (SIIPL) and Nuvaxovid™ (Novavax) vaccine explainer includes key vaccine specific information on the vaccine specific requirements.
Interim recommendations for the use of ChAdOx1-S [recombinant] COVID-19 vaccine (AstraZeneca COVID-19 AZD1222 Vaxzevria™, SII COVISHIELD™ vaccine) - Last updated 30 July 2021
English Analysis on World about Climate Change and Environment, Health and Epidemic; published on 03 Nov 2021 by World Bank
an approach to optimize the global impact of COVID-19 vaccines, based on public health goals, global and national equity, and vaccine access and coverage scenarios, first issued 20 October 2020, updated: 13 November 2020, updated: 16 July 2021, latest update: 21 January 2022
Available in English, F...rench, Spanish
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Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) experience a high disease burden for epilepsy, a chronic neurological condition.The authors evaluate the cost-effectiveness of community health workers (CHWs) to improve adherence to medication for epilepsy in South Africa. They found that utilizing CHWs to i...mprove medication adherence was cost-effective.
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