22nd edition
The purpose of the SAHR has always been to analyse and assess progress and challenges in key areas of the health system, and to propo...se recommendations for improvement. We are pleased to continue this tradition in the 2019 edition, which presents a unique collection of perspectives on the key challenges in implementing universal health coverage (UHC) in South Africa, as analysed by experts in various fields.
Each of the 20 chapters deals with aspects of the UHC journey, dedicated towards an equitable and inclusive national health system that leaves no-one behind. While some authors describe the fundamental changes and practical considerations required to reconfigure the country's health system, others have reflected on specific programmatic areas and have made recommendations from a National Health Insurance (NHI)/UHC lens.
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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 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.
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This report aims to raise awareness about the role that the reform of public health laws can play in advancing the right to health and in creating the conditions for people to live healthy lives. By... encouraging a better understanding of how public health law can be used to improve the health of the population, the report aims to encourage and assist governments to reform their public health laws in order to advance the right to health.
The report highlights important issues that may arise during the process of public health law reform. It provides guidance about issues and requirements to be addressed during the process of developing public health laws. It also includes case studies and examples of legislation from a variety of countries to illustrate effective law reform practices and some features of effective public health legislation.
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mhGAP is based on evidence-based technical guidelines (4) and provides a set of tools and
training packages to extend service provision. The mhGAP Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG)
...ute-to-highlight medbox">for MNS disorders in non-specialized health settings (8) is a clinical decision-making tool
for assessing and managing priority MNS conditions (depression, psychoses, epilepsy, child
and adolescent mental and behavioural disorders, dementia, disorders due to substance
use, self-harm and suicide).
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his practical Guide serves as a companion to the “WHO guideline: recommendations on digital interventions for health system strengthening” and provides a systematic process ...e-to-highlight medbox">for countries to develop a costed implementation plan for digital health within one or more health programme areas, drawing guidance from the WHO guideline–recommended digital health interventions, providing direction to ensure investments are needs-based and contribute effective and interoperable systems aligned with national digital architecture, country readiness, health system and policy goals.
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At least half of the world’s population does not have full coverage of essential health services. Health expenses push more than 100 million people into extreme poverty each and every year, forcing them into terrible choices that no one should eve...r have to make: Buy medicine or food? Education or health care? These stark statistics make the case for universal health coverage compelling.
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The threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to public health as well as global health security has been reiterated in umerous World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions. AMR is also prioritized under the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), and... India is one of the contributing countries. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) identified AMR as one of the top 10 priorities for the ministry’s collaborative work with WHO. The National Health Policy 2017 identifies antimicrobial resistance as a problem and calls for effective action to address it. An international conference on AMR – “Combating Antimicrobial Resistance: A
Public Health Challenge and Priority”, was jointly organized by the Government of India and World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2016, which was attended by more than 350 participants. The Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, and the Hon’ble Union Minister for Health, Shri J.P. Nadda have reiterated government’s commitment to tackle AMR.
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WHO‘s Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, launched today, outlines three key steps: vaccination, screening and treatment. Successful implementation of all three could reduce more than 40% of ...highlight medbox">new cases of the disease and 5 million related deaths by 2050.
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The seventh WHO Report on the global tobacco epidemic analyses national efforts to implement the most effective measures from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) that are proven to reduce demand for tobacco.
The report show...ed that while only 23 countries have implemented cessation support policies at the highest level, 116 more provide fully or partially cost-covered services in some or most health facilities, and another 32 offer services but do not cost-cover them, demonstrating a high level of public demand for support to quit.
Tobacco use has also declined proportionately in most countries, but population growth means the total number of people using tobacco has remained stubbornly high. Currently, there are an estimated 1.1 billion smokers, around 80% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
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TNew data from the World Health Organization reveal that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted malaria services, leading to a marked increase in cases and deaths.
According to WHO’s latest World malaria report, there were an estimated 241 million m...alaria cases and 627 000 malaria deaths worldwide in 2020. This represents about 14 million more cases in 2020 compared to 2019, and 69 000 more deaths. Approximately two-thirds of these additional deaths (47 000) were linked to disruptions in the provision of malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment during the pandemic.
As in past years, the report provides an up-to-date assessment of the burden of malaria at global, regional and country levels. It tracks investments in malaria programmes and research as well as progress across all intervention areas. This latest report draws on data from 87 countries and territories with ongoing malaria transmission.
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The Pharmacovigilance team in WHO aims to assure the safety of medicines and vaccines by ensuring reliable and timely exchange of information on safety issues, promoting pharmacovigilance activities... throughout the Organization and encouraging participation in the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring. This text was developed in consultation with the WHO Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring and the national pharmacovigilance centres participating in the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring.
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The goal of the draft global action plan is to ensure, for as long as possible, continuity of successful treatment and prevention of infectious diseases with effective ...light medbox">and safe medicines that are quality-assured, used in a responsible way, and accessible to all who need them.
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Treating children infected with intestinal worms is one of the simplest and most cost–effective ways to improve their health.
The recommendations are intended for a wide audience, including poli...cy-makers and their expert advisers as well as technical and programme staff at government institutions and organizations involved in the design, implementation and expansion of programmes to control soil-transmitted helminth infections.
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Recent efforts to fight malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) have yielded impressive results. According to the latest WHO estimates, the six GMS countries cut their malaria case incidence by an estimated 54% between 2012 and 2015. Malaria d...eath rates fell by 84% over the same period.
In May 2015, GMS Ministers of Health adopted the WHO Strategy for malaria elimination in the Greater Mekong Subregion 2015-2030. Urging immediate action, the plan aims to eliminate P. falciparum malaria from the subregion by 2025 and all species of human malaria by 2030.
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The WHO COVID-19 Clinical management: living guidance contains the most up-to-date recommendations for the clinical management of people with COVID-19. Providing guidance that is comprehensive and h...olistic for the optimal care of COVID-19 patients throughout their entire illness is important.
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22 December 2020
The COVID-19 vaccine safety guidance manual has been developed upon recommendation and guidance of GACVS members, as well as by experts incorporating current and available informa...tion critical to all stakeholders when COVID-19 vaccines will be introduced.
For ease of use, the manual is available in a compiled form and in several separate modules that can be consulted individually. For each module, specific training material is also available to facilitate implementation.
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An estimated 59 000 people die from rabies each year. That’s one person every nine minutes of every day, 40% of whom are children living in Asia and Africa. As dog bites cause almost all human cases, we can prevent rabies deaths by increasing awar...eness, vaccinating dogs to prevent the disease at its source and administering life-saving treatment after people have been bitten. We have the vaccines, medicines, tools and technologies to prevent people from dying from dog-mediated rabies. For a relatively low cost it is possible to break the disease cycle and save lives
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The goal of this Global Action Plan is to articulate synergistic actions that will be required to prevent HIVDR from undermining efforts to achieve global targets on health and HIV, and to provide t...he most effective treatment to all people living with HIV including adults, key populations, pregnant and breastfeeding women, children and adolescents. The Global Action Plan has five strategic objectives: 1) prevention and response; 2) monitoring and surveillance; 3) research and innovation; 4) laboratory capacity; and 5) governance and enabling mechanisms.
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious public health concern with economic, social and political implications that are global in scope, and cross all environmental ...ibute-to-highlight medbox">and ethnic boundaries. As a global threat, AMR risks the achievements of modern medicine, and has the potential to impact overall global development. It is important, therefore, to elevate AMR beyond health as part of a larger development agenda in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report provides in-depth technical discussions in areas that have direct implications to the containment of AMR as a development agenda. The report is organized in five chapters which served as the technical background documents for the Biregional Technical Consultation on AMR in Asia, 14-15 April 2016. More information from the meeting is available in the WHO Meeting Report: Biregional Technical Consultation on Antimicrobial Resistance in Asia. The meeting was the first time senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture across Asia came together to tackle AMR
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From policy to practice: how the TB-HIV response is working
“The HIV community must place much more focus on TB co-infection than
it has done to date. TB takes the lives of over 1000 people living with HIV
every day, a number which is absolutely unacceptable. This report highlights that
TB d...oesn’t have to be a death sentence for people living with HIV, but we need
more action. By joining forces, the HIV and TB community can finally give this
deadly issue the attention it deserves.”
– Mike Podmore, Director STOPAIDS
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