Toolkit regarding Zika Virus
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Preparedness planning is essential in order to respond effectively to outbreaks, including single case occurrences of highconsequence infectious diseases (HCID), such as the importation of a viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) case
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                PEPFAR Malawi’s Country Operational Plan 2022 (COP22) embodies joint priorities from national and subnational dialogues building on the 2020-2025 National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS. The interagency team has developed a person-centered, district-tailored and Malawi Population-Based HIV Impact Ass
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        essment (MPHIA)-informed strategy through extensive engagement with Government of Malawi (GoM) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to sustain HIV epidemic control. At the end of COP21, PEPFAR Malawi was commended for contributing to reaching epidemic control in strong collaboration with GoM and stakeholders including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). This includes enrollment of 88% of recipients of care on three or more months of antiretroviral treatment (ART), better outcomes for Malawian children through remarkable efforts in Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programming and progress made towards reaching men with more intentional and focused programming.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Since February 24th, 2022, the beginning of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, more than 80,000 women were expected to give birth. Therefore, understanding the impact of war on the perinatal health of women is an important requisite to improve perinatal care. This narrative synthesis has two mai
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        n purposes: on one hand, it aims to summarize the current evidence available based on perinatal health outcomes and care among perinatal women; on the other, it attempts to identify the gaps still present in research in relation to perinatal care.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                This document provides a list of key WHO-recommended maternal and newborn health commodities and aims to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. It consolidates the key and enabling commodities from existing WHO guidelines on maternal and newborn health.
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                This is the 42nd situation report for the multi-country outbreak of mpox, which provides an update on the epidemiological situation of mpox in Africa (including countries in the WHO African Region and some countries in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region), with data as of 3 November 2024.
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                The Haiti Earthquake and Cholera Emergency appeal (MDRHT018) was implemented by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in collaboration with the Haitian Red Cross Society (HRCS) following the devastating earthquake on 14 August 2021, and the cholera outbreak on 2
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                         October 2022.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Despite recent global declines, under-five mortality remains high in many of the poorest countries.  Barriers to timely
quality care, including user fees, distance to facilities and the availability of trained health workers and medical supplies,
hinder progress in further reducing morbidity and m
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        ortality
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Climate change is one of the biggest crises of our time. Climate threats range from higher temperatures, heavy rainfalls and floods, erratic precipitation, droughts, desertification, and land degradation. This has negative implications on the quality and quantity of natural resources, such as land a
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        nd water, agricultural productivity, rural livelihood options, food prices, and nutrition security, particularly when there is a lack of adaptation capacities and preparedness measures (Pacillo, 2024). Farmers are at the forefront of the climate crisis where their livelihoods are being jeopardized, and they are faced with many challenges to secure water, energy, and agriculture inputs, and maintain agriculture productivity. This heightens the risk of competition over natural resources and aggravates grievances and structural inequalities related to land rights and ownership as well as land access, management, and governance. In Africa, land-related issues are among the triggers of many violent disputes (Medina et al, 2024). For instance, communal violence in Nigeria and Sudan is tied to competition over scarce fertile land and poor resource governance (Bruce and Bourdeaux, 2013).
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Women and children, especially pregnant girls and women, infants and young children and postpartum women, are populations that are extremely vulnerable in emergencies. Breastfeeding provides children with hydration, comfort, connection, high quality nutrition and protection against disease, shieldin
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        g them from the worst of emergency conditions. This ability has been described as empowering and healing by some breastfeeding women.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Safe sanitation is essential for health, from preventing infections to improving and maintaining mental and social
well-being. Lack of adequate sanitation contributes to diarrhoeal diseases, parasitic infections, and undernutrition, as
well as posing significant risks and causing anxiety, especial
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        ly for women and girls. Achieving universal access to safe
sanitation, which protects health, privacy, and dignity, is a global development goal and a recognized basic human right.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                An interdisciplinary approach to address global health challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, loss of biodiversity, human migration has been framed by the One Health approach. This approach is promoted at global level by the Tripartite of the World Health Organisation, the World A
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        nimal Health Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, recently joint by the United National Environment Program to form the Quadripartite. The German government through its Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development supports this approach with its One Health strategy and investment in several technical cooperation projects.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                The target audience of this document (and the associated online companion tool) includes WHO country offices 
in Member States of the African Region; Member States’ ministries of health and their public health emergency 
operation centres; relevant external assessment teams; and partners looking
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                         to identify preparedness gaps and 
support interventions that help address them. In the event of a suspected or confirmed VHF case, the document  also serves to provide any intervening partner with a sense of what structures should be in place, in order to guide 
scale-up activities in line with regional and national plans.
                                    
                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of poor health, and the scarcity of resources limits access to
essential health care services.
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                
                                Suicides take a high toll. Over 800 000 people die by suicide every year and it is the second leading cause of
death in 15-29-year-olds. Most suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries where resources
and services, if they do exist, are often scarce and limited for early identification, tr
                                                                    ...
                                    
                                        eatment and support of
people in need. These striking facts and the lack of implemented timely interventions make suicide a serious
global public health problem that needs to be tackled urgently.
                                    
                                    more