The consolidated guidelines are complemented by an operational handbook which is designed to assist with implementation of the WHO recommendations by Member States, technical partners and others who are involved in the management
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of patients with DR-TB. The WHO Operational Handbook on Tuberculosis, Module 4: Treatment - Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment provides practical guidance on how to put in place the recommendations at the scale needed to achieve national and global impact.
The document provides information on different aspects of care and support for TB patients. In particular, the handbook provides practical guidance on the implementation of the interventions that enable treatment adherence such as social support, treatment administration options, digital adherence technologies. The practical guidance also includes models of care for all TB patients, models of care for children and adolescents, integrated care for TB, HIV and comorbidities, engagement of private sector, managing of TB in health emergencies. This new practical handbook also includes two important chapters on health education and counselling, and palliative care for patients with TB.
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Summary of key informant interviews with representatives of organizations providing, funding, or supporting WASH services to refugee populations
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified mental health as an integral component of the COVID-19 response. Its rapid assessment of service delivery for mental, neurological and substance us
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e (MNS) disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic, on which this report is based, is the first attempt to measure the impact of the pandemic on such services at a global level. The data were collected through a web-based survey completed by mental health focal points at ministries of health between June and August 2020. The questionnaire covered the existence and funding of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) plans, the presence and composition of MHPSS coordination platforms, the degree of continuation and causes of disruption of different MNS services, the approaches used to overcome these disruptions, and surveillance mechanisms and research on MNS data.
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The health impact of radiological and nuclear emergencies can last for decades. Lessons learned from past radiological and nuclear accidents have d
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emonstrated that the mental health and psychosocial consequences can outweigh the direct physical health impacts of radiation exposure. International radiation emergency preparedness and response standards outline provisions for mitigating these effects. Yet, practical guidance for addressing the mental health and psychosocial aspects of radiation emergencies remains scarce.
This framework aims to promote integration between the MHPSS and radiation protection fields. It is intended for officials and specialists involved in radiation emergency planning and risk management as well as MHPSS experts working in health emergencies.
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The Disaster Recovery Framework (DRF) Guide for the Health Sector provides guidance on how to implement a comprehensive, integrated, and structured approach to disaster recovery. Its overarching goal is to minimize the impact
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of the disaster on communities and help countries to recover quickly and effectively from disasters, in coordination with key stakeholders.
The DRF Guide for the Health Sector is adapted from the generic DRF Guide, and draws on the Implementation Guide For Health Systems Recovery in Emergencies, the Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Framework as well as the Disaster Recovery Guidance Series. The guide also makes links with multi-sectoral, government-led recovery planning processes such as the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), and it supports the implementation of the HDPN.
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This report presents three scenarios on the impact of COVID-19 in Africa using economic growth forecasts, mortality and efforts to ameliorate impact
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through social grants. Likely effects are examined on per capita income, poverty and the attainment of selected Sustainable Development Goals targets. Africa’s development trajectory has suffered a severe setback, with extreme poverty rising in all the scenarios. The pandemic threatens Africa in several ways, and the report provides policy recommendations to reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience.
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The roundtable provided a forum that allowed communicators across a number of Federal agencies to share information, strategies, and challenges in developing and providing communication messages and materials to the public in prep
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aration for, and in response to, a radiation emergency. Throughout the discussion , several “big picture” qestions were brought up that may be addressed in future interagency efforts.
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INTRODUCTION: Health service use among the public can decline during outbreaks and had been predicted among low and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the government of the Democratic Republic
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of the Congo (DRC) started implementing public health measures across Kinshasa, including strict lock-down measures in the Gombe health zone.
METHODS: Using monthly time series data from the DRC Health Management Information System (January 2018 to December 2020) and interrupted time series with mixed effects segmented Poisson regression models, we evaluated the impact of the pandemic on the use of essential health services (outpatient visits, maternal health, vaccinations, visits for common infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases) during the first wave of the pandemic in Kinshasa. Analyses were stratified by age, sex, health facility and lockdown policy (i.e, Gombe vs other health zones).
RESULTS: Health service use dropped rapidly following the start of the pandemic and ranged from 16% for visits for hypertension to 39% for visits for diabetes. However, reductions were highly concentrated in Gombe (81% decline in outpatient visits) relative to other health zones. When the lock-down was lifted, total visits and visits for infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases increased approximately twofold. Hospitals were more affected than health centres. Overall, the use of maternal health services and vaccinations was not significantly affected.
CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in important reductions in health service utilizsation in Kinshasa, particularly Gombe. Lifting of lock-down led to a rebound in the level of health service use but it remained lower than pre-pandemic levels.
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The two-year impact report for the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator details impact, case studies and timelines of key milestones for the
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Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Vaccines pillars, as well as the Health Systems and Response Connector.
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BackgroundClimate change is one of the great challenges of our time. The consequences of climate change on exposed biological subjects, as well as
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on vulnerable societies, are a concern for the entire scientific community. Rising temperatures, heat waves, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts, fires, loss of forest, and glaciers, along with disappearance of rivers and desertification, can directly and indirectly cause human pathologies that are physical and mental.
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The new guide provides practical, first-line management recommendations for mental, neurological and substance use conditions. Contents include modules on assessing and managing conditions such as acute stress, grief, moderate-severe depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, and
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harmful use of alcohol and drugs.
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The purpose of the toolkit is to bring together existing learning and guidance as a starting point for stakeholders to begin SRH preparedness work. Within the SRH sector the field of preparedness is
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relatively new and growing. More collective effort is required to further evaluate the impact of preparedness efforts and push the field forward. This effort is a first attempt at a draft guidance for SRH preparedness, and is intended for field testing. The toolkit recognizes the longstanding work of the field of emergency and disaster risk management, and endeavors to bridge that work with the human rights-oriented and peoplecentered field of sexual and reproductive health.
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The magnitude and complexity of these mental health conditions caused by prolonged and extensive trauma requires a diagnosis fitting the unique context of the Syrian conflict. Over half a million pe
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ople have been killed since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, and more than 6.4 million are internally displaced with over 5 million living as refugees. SAMS documents the multi-dimensional nature of mental health disorders afflicting Syrians, including accounts of refugee experiences from Eastern Ghouta, Idlib, and beyond. This qualitative report seeks to raise awareness about increasing mental health needs, while sharing personal stories of those who have been affected by the trauma of the conflict.
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An estimated 99% of children worldwide – or more than 2.3 billion children – live in one of the 186 countries that have implemented some form of
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restrictions due to COVID-191. Although children are not at a high risk of direct harm from the virus, they are disproportionately affected by its hidden impacts.
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From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic until August 2021, extreme weather events have affected at least 139.2 million people and killed at least 17,242 people in at least 433 unique events. These figures are certainly an underestimate, as they do n
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ot include estimates of numbers of people affected by extreme temperatures, or mortality during drought events.
One dimension of the compound risk of COVID-19 and climate extremes was the additional challenge of preparing for and responding to disasters during the pandemic, such as the constraints of physical distancing during evacuations and response operations.
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More than three months since the start of the war in Ukraine, people globally are facing a cost-of-living crisis not seen in more than a generation, with escalating price shocks in the global food,
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energy and fertilizer markets - in a world already grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
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