Working document from an informal consultation of experts. A Protocol for risk assessment at the field level. The purpose of document is to provid...e guidance on the methodology to be used for assessing, at field level, the yellow fever virus circulation in areas at risk, and is primarily intended for public health specialists
more
WHO would like to express its gratitude and appreciation to all Member States that provided information to the WHO survey on policies and activities at the national level in ...o-highlight medbox">the area of antimicrobial resistance. The contribution of staff in WHO Regional and Country Offices has been invaluable: in gather-ing original data and information from Member States, in supporting the process of aggregation of these data; and in reviewing the regional analysis of the findings that reflect the country situation at the point when the survey was conducted. The support and commitment of the members of the WHO Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance, comprising WHO staff from Headquarters and Regional Offices has, is also acknowledged.
more
WHO published the first COVID-19 Strategic Response and Preparedness Plan (SPRP) on 3 February, 2020. This report highlights the main points of progress that were made up to 30 June 2020 under ... class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">the three objectives outlined in the SPRP: scaling up international coordination and support; scaling up country preparedness and response by pillar; and accelerating research and innovation. The report also discusses some of the key challenges faced so far, and provides an update on the resource requirements for the next phase of WHO’s response as part of an unprecedented whole-of-UN approach to the pandemic.
more
Developmental disabilities are common. Yet, children with developmental disabilities have been neglected in health systems planning and policy provisions for ...ox">health and continue to experience stigmatization, institutionalization, barriers to access health care and inequalities in health and education outcomes.
Using findings from research and practice and guided by the tenets of international human rights conventions, this WHO-UNICEF Global Report on children with developmental disabilities provides principles and approaches to intentionally include the needs and aspirations of children and young people with developmental disabilities in policy, programming and public health monitoring. It makes the case for greater accountability and proposes 10 priority actions to accelerate changes towards inclusive environments and responsive multisectoral care systems for children with developmental disabilities.
more
About one fourth of the world’s population is estimated to have been infected with the tuberculosis (TB) bacilli, and about 5–10% of those infe...cted develop TB disease in their lifetime. The risk for TB disease after infection depends on several factors, the most important being the person’s immunological status. TB preventive treatment (TPT) given to people at highest risk of progressing from TB infection to disease remains a critical element to achieve the global targets of the End TB Strategy, as reiterated by the second UN High Level Meeting on TB in 2023. Delivering TPT effectively and safely necessitates a programmatic approach to implement a comprehensive package of interventions along a cascade of care: identifying individuals at highest risk, screening for TB and ruling out TB disease, testing for TB infection, and choosing the preventive treatment option that is best suited to an individual, managing adverse events, supporting medication adherence and monitoring programmatic performance.
more
The COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) 2021 Monitoring and Evaluation Framework tracks global progress against the COVID-19 SPRP 2021 ...">for the ten pillars of the public health response. The operational intelligence complements the epidemiologic information used to drive a global dynamic system of support and response. Monitoring SPRP 2021 implementation will support countries, partners and WHO in strategic thinking, operational tracking and course correction based on evidence and transparency to strengthen the response to COVID-19.
more
The primary audience for this guidance is persons
working directly in vector-borne disease prevention
and control, including programme managers,
researchers and field workers. A brief technical
...background is provided for the benefit of persons
without expertise in vector-borne diseases; readers
working in the field may wish to skip the background
section and begin with the discussion of ethical
issues and values in Chapter 3. The guidance cannot
offer universally applicable answers to the complex
ethical issues raised, nor can it provide a checklist of
issues that are necessarily relevant in all situations.
Rather, its goal is to help readers recognize aspects
of their work that raise significant ethical challenges
and to respond to these challenges in accordance
with internationally accepted values and norms.
more
The main objective of this mission was to assess the level of preparedness of Guinea-Bissau in respect of the WHO consolidated checklist. ...ss="attribute-to-highlight medbox">The checklist helps countries to assess and test their level of readiness it is being used to identify concrete action to be taken and where countries will require support from partners. It lists 10 key components and tasks for both countries and the international community that should be completed within 30, 60 and 90 days from the date of issue of the list, with minimal requirements for equipment, material and human resources.
The components include: overall coordination; rapid response teams; public awareness and community engagement; infection prevention and control; epidemiological and laboratory surveillance; contact tracing; points of entry; laboratory; social mobilization and risk communication; budget.
more
Policy brief, 24 July 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected older people disproportionately, especially those living in long-term care facilities. In many countries, evidence shows that more than 40% of COVID-19 related deaths have been linked to... long-term care facilities, with figures being as high as 80% in some high-income countries. Concerted action is needed to mitigate the impact across all aspects of long-term care, including home- and community-based care, given that most users and providers of care are those who are vulnerable to severe COVID-19.
This policy brief provides 11 policy objectives and key action points to prevent and manage COVID-19 across long-term care. Its intended audience is policy makers and authorities (national, subnational and local) involved in the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief builds on currently available evidence on the measures taken to prevent, prepare for and respond to the COVID‑19 pandemic across long-term care services including care providers
more
The purpose of this book is to provide an overview of Buruli ulcer (Mycobacterium ulcerans infection) for the medical and scientific communities an...d the general public alike.
more
The 2023 Country Presence Report provides an overview of what WHO does in countries to advance towards the SDGs and implement GPW13, how we do it, with whom we work, and what is needed to overcome c...hallenges for achieving results and impact in countries.
more
Ahead of World Malaria Day, the WHO Global Malaria Programme published a new operational strategy outlining its priorities and key activities up to 2030 to help change ...light medbox">the trajectory of malaria trends, with a view to achieving the global malaria targets. The strategy outlines 4 strategic objectives where WHO will focus its efforts, including developing norms and standards, introducing new tools and innovation, promoting strategic information for impact, and providing technical leadership of the global malaria response.
In recent years, progress towards critical targets of the WHO Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030 has stalled, particularly in countries that carry a high burden of the disease. In 2022 there were an estimated 608 000 malaria-related deaths and 249 million new malaria cases globally, with young children in Africa bearing the brunt of the disease.
Millions of people continue to miss out on the services they need to prevent, detect, and treat malaria. Additionally, progress in global malaria control has been hampered by resource constraints, humanitarian crises, climate change and biological threats such as drug and insecticide resistance.
“A shift in the global malaria response is urgently needed across the entire malaria ecosystem to prevent avoidable deaths and achieve the targets of the WHO global malaria strategy,” notes Dr Daniel Ngamije, Director of the Global Malaria Programme. “This shift should seek to address the root causes of the disease and be centred around accessibility, efficiency, sustainability, equity and integration.”
more
Responses to epidemics, emergencies and disasters raise many ethical issues for the people involved, including public health specialists and polic...y makers. This training manual provides material on ethical issues in research, surveillance and patient care in these difficult contexts.
more
The recently published World Health Organization (WHO) Strengthening infection prevention and co...ntrol in primary care document collates existing standards, measurement and implementation approaches, and resources for infection prevention and control (IPC) in primary care. During its development, it became apparent that a number of already existing tools and resources have the potential to support facility-level implementation of IPC in primary care.
This toolkit brings together in one place a number of these tools and resources from WHO and other organizations, with a focus on those most relevant to primary care. These tools and resources have been compiled to support facility-level implementation in line with the recommended WHO IPC Hub and Task Force multimodal approach.
more
The Updated guidelines on Management of tuberculosis in children and adolescents include new recommendations that cover diagnostic approaches for TB, shorter treatment ...light medbox">for children with non-severe drug-susceptible TB, a new option for the treatment of TB meningitis, the use of bedaquiline and delamanid in young children with multidrug- and rifampicin-resistant TB and decentralized and family-centred, integrated models of care for TB case detection and prevention in children and adolescents.
more
It provides guidance on care for use in resource-limited settings or in settings where families with sick young infants do not accept or cannot access referral care, but can be managed in outpatient settings by an appropriately trained ...attribute-to-highlight medbox">health worker. The guideline seeks to provide programmatic guidance on the role of CHWs and home visits in identifying signs of serious infections in neonates and young infants.
more
This guideline provides evidence-based recommendations on parenting interventions for parents and caregivers of children aged 0–17 years that are designed to reduce child maltreatment and harsh parenting, enhance ...t medbox">the parent–child relationship, and prevent poor mental health among parents and emotional and behavioural problems among children.
more
Chapter 1 provides new data on the latest developments in the global treatment effort, highlighting positive trends as well as aspects that require improvement. Chapter 2 summarizes ...ribute-to-highlight medbox">the impact of the scale-up in reducing AIDS-related mortality and new HIV infections. Chapter 3 examines the sequence of steps in the continuum of care from HIV diagnosis to successful provision of ART services and outlines key supportive innovations. Chapter 4 discusses the implications and anticipated impact of the new "Consolidated guidelines on the use of ARV drugs for treating and preventing HIV infection
more
The report provides a global knowledge base on suicide and suicide attempts as well as actionable steps for countries based on their current resources and context to move forward in suicide preventi...on.
more
Guideline
Iron deficiency is one of the most common forms of nutritional deficiencies, particularly among vulnerable groups such as women, children and low-income populations. Iron deficiency often precedes anaemia, and anaemia during pregnancy... is one of the strongest predictors of anaemia during the postpartum period, beginning just after childbirth throughout the subsequent 6 weeks. The consequences of iron deficiency and anaemia during the postpartum period can be serious and have long-term health implications for the mother and her infant.
This guideline reviews the evidence on the safety and effectiveness of iron supplementation in postpartum women.
more