The Monitoring Report, which covers the first two months of the response from 25 August to 31 October, highlights the work of the Government of Bangladesh, in cooperation with humanitarian partners who are working to provide relief services for the refugee population and Bangladeshi host communities.... Of the 1.2 million people in need, around half have been reached with assistance. The Report also explains the challenges and gaps that remain. The risk of disease outbreak is high, and the impact of a cyclone or heavy rain would be massive. There is not enough land to provide adequate living conditions for the more than 830,000 refugees that now crowd Cox’s Bazar.
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The emergence of multifrug-resistant malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) has been identified as an emergency issue that may have catastrophic consequences on the future of malaria elimination in the GMS as well as globally. In recognition of the need for a cohesive regional response,... GMS countries have committed to a shared goal of eliminating malaria from the GMS by 2030 working within the framework of the Strategy for Malaria Elimination in the Greater Mekong Subregion 2015-2030. Population mobility has been identified as a key concern in the context of multidrug-resistant malaria; and in a region of highly porous borders where the majority of intra-Mekong migration occurs through informal channels, addressing the health needs of migrant populations has never been more critical.
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Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) programs targeted at children aged 6–59 months are implemented in many countries. By improving immune function, vitamin A (VA) reduces mortality associated with measles, diarrhea, and other illnesses. There is currently a debate regarding the relevance of VAS, but a...midst the debate, researchers acknowledge that the majority of nationally-representative data on VA status is outdated. To address this data gap and contribute to the debate, we examined data from 82 countries implementing VAS programs, identified other VA programs, and assessed the recentness of national VA deficiency (VAD) data.
Article published in: Nutrients, 2017, 9, 190
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9030190
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The Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies is a collaborative partnership which supports and promotes evidence-based health policy making in the Asia Pacific Region. Based in WHO’s Regional Office for South-East Asia, it brings together governments, international agencies, foundat...ions, civil society and the research community with the aim of linking systematic and scientific analysis of health systems in the Asia Pacific Region with the decision-makers who shape policy and practice.
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Review of International, Regional and National Policies and Legal Frameworks that Promote Migrants and Mobile Populations' Access to Health and Malaria Services in the Greater Mekong Subregion (Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam)
Migrants and mobile popul...ations face many obstacles in accessing equitable essential health care services due to factors such as living and working conditions, education level, gender, irregular migration status, language and cultural barriers, anti-migrant sentiments, and lack of migrant-inclusive health policies among others. Despite significant progress having been made in the context of malaria control in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), human movements can impact malaria transmission patterns and potentially introduce drug-resistant parasites. This legal framework review therefore serves as a guidance document on approaches to address malaria and malaria elimination for migrant and mobile populations (MMPs) in five countries of the GMS.
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The Report describes the evaluation of WHO's contribution to the Maternal Health Program in South-East Asia Region. This was an independent evaluation conducted in 2015 by Amaltas, a Delhi based organization. The evaluation highlights the progress in five countries, namely Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mya...nmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka and provides specific recommendations for Organizational Learning and Development. This report will be useful for all those interested in WHO's work on Maternal Health Program in the Region.
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Birth defect has been an emerging major cause of child mortality in the region. Scarcity of the birth defects information hampers policy decisions and control measures at national level. In order to create evidence for action for birth defects prevention in the region, WHO-SEARO in collaboration wit...h CDC, USA has developed and launched a regional electronic database on birth defects. This surveillance database allows data collection on newborn health, birth defects and stillbirths cases and provides real time information at hospitals and national level.
Training of the hospital health staffs and data managers in the birth defects surveillance network; at regional, national and at hospital levels is recognized as essential for expansion of this database and to assure quality of data. A two days training module for hospital based birth defects surveillance was developed using a guide for operation and facilitator guide.
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The publication conveys the most recent quantitative surveillance results focusing on noncommunicable disease (NCDs)-related risk behaviours among adults from the WHO STEPwise approach to NCD risk factor surveillance (STEPS) and tobacco use among adults from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in... Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region. This publication contains selected indicators relating to tobacco use and other related risk behaviours of adults in Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region. The tobacco indicators are taken from GATS or STEPS and other indicators relating to risk behaviours (history– dietary behaviours, physical activity, alcohol use, cervical cancer screening; physical measurements – body mass index, blood pressure, waist circumference; biochemical measurements – fasting blood glucose level, blood glucose level 2 hours after glucose load, total blood cholesterol, urine sodium and urine creatinine) are taken from STEPS. The latest findings from surveys conducted in Member States are presented in the publication.
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The publication conveys the quantitative surveillance results focusing on tobacco use and noncommunicable disease (NCD) related behaviours among youth (13–15 years) in Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region, namely, the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) and the Global Youth... Tobacco Survey (GYTS). This publication contains selected indicators relating to tobacco use and other related risk behaviours of youth (aged 13–15 years) in Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region. The tobacco indicators are mainly taken from GYTS and other indicators relating to risk behaviours (dietary behaviours, physical activity, alcohol use, drug use, mental health, violence and unintentional injury, sexual behaviours, protective factors and hygiene) are taken from GSHS. The latest findings from surveys conducted in Member States are presented in the publication.
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At the threshold of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) era, this document captures the remarkable achievements by Member States towards achieving MDGs 4 and 5. It acknowledges new opportunities in the post-2015 phase shaped by the SDGs and the Global Strategy for women’s, children’s and adoles...cents’ health and presents an advanced state of preparedness in the Region. This also highlights the region’s renewed commitment for a more inclusive and more dynamic flagship action for ending preventable maternal, newborn and child mortality as well as to improve women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and wellbeing in the South-East Asia Region.
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Oral diseases are among the most common chronic diseases worldwide and constitute a major public health problem due to the huge health and economic burden on individuals, families, societies, and health care systems. The recent emphasis on the role of determinants of health, common risk factors and ...their recognition in the context of the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) provides good opportunities for integrating oral health into NCD prevention and control efforts. This Strategy for oral health in South-East Asia, 2013-2020, presents guidance to Member States in developing national policy and action plans to improve oral health within existing socioeconomic, cultural, political and health system contexts. It expresses the consensus on major strategies in the area of oral health promotion as well as oral disease prevention and control for the South-East Asia Region aiming at reducing the health and socioeconomic burden resulting from oral diseases, reducing oral health inequities, and improving the quality of life of the population.
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To implement the set of recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children
With the growing obesity crisis among children, WHO and other public health advocates and consumer groups have called for restrictions on advertising of ‘unhealthy foods’ high in salt, ...sugar and fat to children. Each day, children in the South East Asia Region are exposed to large volume of marketing of unhealthy foods that may influence children’s food preferences and consumption patterns and is associated with childhood overweight and obesity.
The definition of ‘unhealthy’ is debatable, and therefore, an objective method of describing foods as healthy or unhealthy is needed. A nutrient profile model does just that and therefore, a nutrition profile model for South East Asia was developed. The model is consistent with international guidance for preventing chronic disease and is a simple system with clear cut-offs for defining which foods are not suitable for advertising to children.
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This publication provides directions for a logical, evidence informed approach to selecting, developing, implementing and monitoring population-based interventions within the context of the double-burden of malnutrition in South-East Asia. The focus of this guide is on processed or ultra-processed p...re-packaged foods.
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Report of a regional workshop, New Delhi, India, 29–30 September 2014
To reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease and its subsequent problems, the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia organized a regional workshop on sodium intake and iodized salt for Member States in the South-East Asi...a Region. The general objective of the workshop was to strengthen an integrated approach for sodium reduction and salt iodization programmes in the Member States of the Region. The specific objectives included reviewing the current sodium reduction and salt iodization strategies in the Member States of South-East Asia, provide training to the participants in standardized approaches for dietary estimation of salt/sodium and urinary iodine estimation.
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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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The plan contains the latest available evidence on the extent of insecticide resistance around the world, and puts forward a strategy for global and country levels, identifying clear roles and timelines for all stakeholders. The GPIRM also summarizes information about innovative new products being d...eveloped and sets out the immediate research and development priorities.
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L’ampleur de la résistance aux insecticides chez les vecteurs du paludisme met en péril l’efficacité des programmes de lutte anti-vectorielle. Si cette résistance n’est pas atténuée, le taux de morbidité palustre va s’accroître, entraînant une hausse significative des coûts liés ... la prévention de la maladie. Ce nouveau cadre est un guide pour l’élaboration d’un plan national de suivi et de gestion de la résistance aux insecticides chez les vecteurs du paludisme, lequel doit considéré comme partie intégrante du plan stratégique national de lutte contre le paludisme.
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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 death rates fell by 84% over the same period.
I...n 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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