Antimalarial drug resistance has emerged as a threat to global malaria control efforts, particularly in the Greater Mekong subregion. Drawing on data collected through more than 1000 therapeutic efficacy studies as well as molecular marker studies of Plasmodium falciparum drug resistance, the Report
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on antimalarial drug efficacy, resistance and response: 10 years of surveillance (2010–2019) presents a decade’s worth of data on drug efficacy and surveillance, as well as recommendations to monitor and protect the efficacy of malaria treatment in the decades to come.
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1 February 2021 to 31 January 2022
The INEE Minimum Standards Handbook is the only global tool that articulates the minimum level of educational quality and access in emergencies through to recovery. The Minimum Standards express a commitment that all individuals—children, youth and adults—have a right to education.
There are
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different languages available: Arabic, Azerbajan, Bahsa Indonesia, Bengali, Bosnian, Coratian, Serbian, Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Krygyz, Nepali, Pashto, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Urdu, Turkish, Vietnamese
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Background paper 10
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response
May 2021
The figures and findings reflected in the 2020 PMR represent the independent analysis of the United Nations (UN) and its humanitarian partners based on information available to them. Many of the figures provided throughout the document are estimates based on sometimes incomplete and partial data set
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s using the methodologies for collection that were available at the time. The Government of Syria has expressed its reservations over the data sources and methodology of assessments used to inform the 2020 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) as well as on a number of HNO findings reflected in the 2020 HRP. This applies throughout the document.
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o support and guide countries and partners to strengthen a health systems response to address violence against women, WHO has produced several tools, including:
• clinical and policy guidelines;
• implementation handbooks and manuals;
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training curriculum;
• evidence-based policy, prevention and intervention strategy packages.
The resource package consolidates these documents to support countries to develop or update their national or subnational guidelines, protocols, standard operating procedures, health provider training materials, and multisectoral action plans to prevent and respond to violence against women.
The resource package is also intended to be used for training and sensitization of policy-makers, advocates, health care providers and managers of services and programmes to address violence against women.
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3rd edition. In 2001, Uganda adapted the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) developed by World Health Organization (WHO) for member states in African region. The Ministry of Health has been implementing the IDSR strategy since then
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with success across the country. This strategy provides the opportunity for rational use of resources and maximises investments in health surveillance systems. The 3rd edition IDSR guidelines incorporates lessons learnt from previous
epidemics, new frameworks like the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), One Health, Disaster Risk Management (DRM), the WHO regional strategy for health security and emergencies, and the rising non-communicable diseases, and aims to strengthen implementation of IHR (2005) core surveillance and response capacities. These guidelines have been adapted to reflect national priorities, policies and public health structures; and shall be used in conjunction with other similar
guidelines/strategies or initiatives.
Overall, the 3rd edition technical guidelines will incorporate the following:
• Strengthening Indicator Based Surveillance
• Strengthening Event Based Surveillance
• Improving community-based disease surveillance
• Improving Cross Border Surveillance and response
• Scaling up e-IDSR implementation
• Improving reporting and information sharing platforms
• Improved data sharing across sectors
• Tailoring IDSR to Emergency or Disaster contexts
The 3rd edition guidelines are intended for use as:
• A general reference for surveillance activities across all levels
• A set of definitions for thresholds that trigger some action for response
• A stand-alone reference for level-specific guidelines on surveillance and response
• A resource for developing training, supervision and evaluation of surveillance activities
• A guide for improving early detection and preparedness for outbreak response.
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The 2021 COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) for AFR serves as a regional guide for a holistic public health response to COVID‑19 at regional, national and sub-national levels
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. The 2021
SPRP:
1. Builds upon the lessons learnt from the implementation of the 2020 SPRP and outlines a regional preparedness, response and recovery strategy for COVID‑19.
2. Has been adapted to reflect the Regional context including COVID-19 vaccination. It also considers epidemiological changes and recommen-dations emerging from the evaluation report of the 2020 SPRP4.
3. Highlights to Member States strategic preparedness and response actions to be sustained at national and sub-national levels, as well as the critical inter-agency and partner support required.
4. provides the indicative resource requirements to reinforce WHO planned interventions in the African Region to enhance countries’ capacities to suppress transmission, save lives and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on people and health systems.
5. Provides a road map for mitigating potential resurgence in the Region as economies reopen and ensure country level continuity of other essential health services.
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Cancer centres are a major resource in ensuring a comprehensive approach to cancer treatment and its planning. As part of a new roadmap developed by WHO and IAEA to help countries design national cancer control programmes, this publication proposes a frame
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work to develop a cancer centre and/or to strengthen the provision of services in an existing cancer centre. The publication provides the features of multidisciplinary cancer care and details the infrastructure, human resources and equipment for different services. This framework is expected to be used as a guide to implementation, taking into consideration the local context and resources.
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The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Union together have called for a New Public Health Order which will safeguard the health and economic security of the continent as it strives to meet the aspirations of the Agenda 2063. A key pillar of this mandate seeks to expan
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d the local manufacture of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Presently, less than one percent of vaccines administered on the continent are manufactured locally. This places a great burden on the health systems of African countries and reduces their ability to respond to pandemics and other health crises.
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IAEA Safety Standards for protecting people and the environment
Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, a country known as the 'breadbasket of Europe', is raising fears of a
global food crisis, further exacerbating existing food security challenges worldwide. Much depends on the
response of the international
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community, including the EU, to a number of rapidly evolving scenarios.
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This background document (EUR/RC72/BG/7) was considered and adopted by the WHO Regional Committee for Europe at its 72nd session (Tel Aviv, Israel, 12–14 September 2022), together with the working document (EUR/RC72/7) and information document (EUR/RC72/INF./4). The Regiona
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l Committee adopted resolution EUR/RC72/R3, in which it endorsed the framework.
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Forests, trees and green spaces, hereinafter ‘forests and trees’ for short, provide multiple goods and services that contribute to human health. These include medicines, nutritious foods and other non-wood forest products (NWFPs). Globally, at least 3.5 billion people use NWFPs, including medici
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nal plants, which are particularly important for vulnerable groups and Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs).
During periods of crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for forest products typically increases amongst these groups. Forests and trees also contribute to better health by playing a role in climate change
mitigation and adaptation, contributing to regulating the carbon cycle, but also moderating the micro-climate, filtering pollutants from the air and protecting settlements against the effects of extreme events such as droughts and flash floods.
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Annual and medium-term budget preparation processes are the platforms through which specific plans are transformed into actual resource allocation decisions. The aim of this Process Guide is to support key stakeholders involved in these processes (such as the Cabinet, Ministries of Finance and Healt
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h, the Parliament, citizens, media, and civil society organizations) to reorient budgetary arrangements in order to facilitate the ability of national governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering, therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccine services to their populations. Reorienting budgetary arrangements positions governments to sustain the capacity to mitigate and respond to COVID-19 while concurrently delivering other essential health services and working towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The reorientation process is an opportunity to better align budgetary arrangements to sustain systemic capacity to prevent emerging health threats over the short, medium, and long terms.
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A year ago, the second Special Session of the World Health Assembly (WHASS) unanimously agreed to start a diplomatic process for a new binding instrument aimed at ensuring the international community is better prepared for the next health emergencies. The establishment of an Intergovernmental Negoti
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ating Body (INB) at the WHO paved the terrain for a proper negotiation, which has started to unfold. The INB will be releasing the “conceptual zero draft” of the treaty text in early December 2022.
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The World Food Programme (WFP) has taken important steps to progress disability inclusion across its programming and operations. In late 2022, WFP commissioned the Nossal Institute, University of Melbourne in partnership with the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia to identify
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pathways for increasing disability inclusion in WFP’s emergency preparedness and response (EPR) programming.
The study explored WFP’s programming in Indonesia and the Philippines, including WFP’s advisory, technical assistance and service provision roles to government and partners and informed the development of this guide (see appendix 2). As general guidance on disability inclusion is increasingly available, the purpose of this guide is to contextualize disability inclusion in WFP’s emergency preparedness and response programming. The guide builds on core reference materials, such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, 2019. While of wider relevance, this guide is directed at WFP’s EPR programming in Asia and the Pacific.
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An external team evaluated PAHO’s response to COVID-19 to provide an independent assessment of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau’s (PASB) performance regarding preparedness for and response to th
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e COVID-19 pandemic. The evaluations’ final report culminates with eight recommendations for actions to future response to health emergencies. The final report of EPRC culminates with eight evidence-based recommendations of actions to strengthen future pandemic responses, while building a resilient recovery in the Region. The recommendations by the external team focus on PAHO’s governance and management, on specialized regional mechanisms, diversified funding models, and use of new technologies, among others.
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