This manual is designed to provide specific information for trachomatous trichiasis (TT) trainers who are training others to undertake surgery for entropion trachomatous trichiasis (TT). Other approaches are not addressed. The manual is divided into two parts. The first part covers specifics designe...d for training TT surgeon candidates, and serves as a resource document. The trainer can elect to have trainees read the material directly, use this manual as a guide for creating a training presentation, or use it in other ways to assist in the training. The manual contains both knowledge that should be imparted during training and a description of the skills that need to be developed and assessed during practice and surgery sessions. The second part is designed only for the trainers of the surgeon trainees and covers selection and final assessment of the trainees.
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Despite the significant role of vector control in national leishmaniasis control programmes, the programmatic community perceives vector control as the weakest component of leishmaniasis control strategies in terms of resources, scientific evidence of the usefulness of interventions and capacity for... quality-assured implementation. Therefore, the main objective of this manual is to provide practical tools, techniques and procedures to strengthen sand fly control and surveillance in order to improve implementation of leishmaniasis control programmes. The manual provides a rationale for programme managers in different geographical regions on the types of vector control interventions to be used in different epidemiological and environmental settings and also how to measure their impact.
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The objectives of the meeting were:
1. To update the current status of the disease transmission, country capacities and plans for tackling the disease.
2. To understand the epidemiology including disease distribution and risk, the models
for estimating under-detection, the geographical variati...ons of in clinical presentation,
the roles of domestic and wild animal reservoirs and the subsequent different
transmission patterns and control approaches, including vector control.
3. To update current research and development efforts for improving diagnostic and
treatment tools.
4. To define the goals for achieving the control of r-HAT, the need for a multisectoral
approach and to discuss the strategy for controlling r-HAT and the coordination
mechanisms.
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The annual Joint Meeting of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Panel of Experts on Pesticide Residues in Food and the Environment and the World Health Organization (WHO) Core Assessment Group on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) was held in Rome, Italy, from 13 to 22 September.... The FAO panel of experts had met in preparatory sessions from 8 to 12 September. The Meeting was held in pursuance of recommendations made by previous Meetings and accepted by the governing bodies of FAO and WHO that studies should be undertaken jointly by experts to evaluate possible hazards to humans arising from the occurrence of pesticide residues in foods. During the meeting the FAO Panel of Experts was responsible for reviewing pesticide use patterns (use of good agricultural practices), data on the chemistry and composition of the pesticides and methods of analysis for pesticide residues and for estimating the maximum residue levels that might occur as a result of the use of the pesticides according to good agricultural use practices. The WHO Core Assessment Group was responsible for reviewing toxicological and related data and for estimating, where possible and appropriate, acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) and acute reference doses (ARfDs) of the pesticides for humans. This report contains information on ADIs, ARfDs, maximum residue levels, and general principles for the evaluation of pesticides. The recommendations of the Joint Meeting, including further research and information, are proposed for use by Member governments of the respective agencies and other interested parties.
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Violence against women and girls is widespread in the Region of the Americas, resulting in enormous consequences for the health and wellbeing of women and girls, their families and communities. These costs are unacceptable and they can be prevented through evidence-based action, including the health... sector through its policies and protocols, as well as in collaboration with other sectors. This report remains the first of its kind and is a major milestone for the Region. It is specifically informed by the commitments of Member States in the regional Strategy and Plan of Action on Strengthening the Health System to Address Violence against Women. The report provides an analysis of efforts to advance the prevention of violence against women through health policies, clinical protocols, multisectoral plans and related approaches across the Americas. Attention to this topic is timely, as the COVID-19 pandemic has created new visibility for this area of work. This report offers critical information on efforts in the Region that can be learned from and used to build upon in the future to prevent and respond to violence against all women and girls everywhere.
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The Event-based Surveillance Framework is intended to be used by authorities and agencies responsible for
surveillance and response. This framework serves as an outline to guide stakeholders interested in implementing
event-based surveillance (EBS) using a multisectoral, One Health approach. To ...that end, the document is arranged
in interlinked chapters and annexes that can be modified and adapted, as needed, by users.
This is a revised version of the original “Framework for Event-based Surveillance” that was published in 2018. This
framework does not replace any other available EBS materials, but rather builds on existing relevant or related
documents and serves as a practical guide for the implementation of EBS in Africa. This framework is aligned with
the third edition of the WHO Joint External Evaluation for the following indicators: strengthened early warning
surveillance systems that are able to detect events of significance for public health and health security (Indicator
D2.1); improved communication and collaboration across sectors and between National, intermediate and local
public health response levels of authority regarding surveillance of events of public health significance (Indicator
D2.2); and improved national and intermediate-level capacity to analyse data (Indicator D2.3). As countries begin
to implement and demonstrate EBS functionality they will ensure an increase in JEE scores and progress towards
meeting the requirements outlined in the IHR3F
Additionally, in African Union Member States that have adopted the Integrated Disease Surveillance and
Response (IDSR) strategy, this document is a complement to and can enhance the implementation of IDSR,
especially for the 3rd edition (2019) that includes components related to EBS.
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Oral health is defined as the absence of disease and a status that ensures optimal functioning of the mouth and its tissues in a manner preserving the highest level of function and self-esteem. Oral health enables an individual to eat, speak and socialise having no active disease, discomfort or disc...ouragement thus contributing to the general well-being. Good oral health is an essential component of general health and a right of every person1. Poor oral health has a negative impact on general health, work productivity, educational performance and adversely affects growth and development.
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Ebola disease and Marburg disease outbreaks continue to occur in Africa, with increased frequency. In addition to resulting in high mortality and morbidity, the outbreaks generate fear and mistrust about the response activities within the communities affected.
Infection prevention and control (IP...C) is a key pillar in the outbreak response; adherence to IPC practices can prevent and control transmission of infections to health and care workers, patients and their family members.
During the 2014-2016 West African Ebola disease outbreak, there was an urgent need for rapid IPC guidance to help support ministries of health, health-care providers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In response, WHO produced several documents related to the outbreak based on expert opinion, including IPC-specific documents and documents on clinical management that also referenced key IPC principles and practices. Since that time, many practices in the field have become institutionalized.
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This document seeks to help health communication professionals working on the topic of immunization more effectively communicate about Events Supposedly Attributed to Vaccination and Immunization (ESAVI) by building trust in National Immunization Programs, understanding risk perceptions related to v...accination, and responding to false information related to vaccination. It includes practical dos and don’ts regarding risk communication and community engagement processes and principles, messaging, risk perceptions, handling false information, collaborating with partners, and pharmacovigilance, as well as real-world examples.
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The World Heart Federation (WHF) has been advocating globally for stronger
legislation and policy regarding cardiovascular disease (CVD) for many years. Now, as focus shifts from global to national progress, we call on members and colleagues to advocate for greater action on CVD in your local setti...ngs. This ‘Road to 2018 Toolkit’ provides World Heart Federation members with information
and specific, practical tools to support national CVD advocacy, especially around the United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2018.
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Asthma is the most common non-communicable disease in children and remains one of the most common throughout the life course. The great majority of the burden of this disease is seen in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), which have disproportionately high asthma-related mortality relati...ve to asthma prevalence. This is particularly true for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Although inhaled asthma treatments (particularly those containing inhaled corticosteroids) markedly reduce asthma morbidity and mortality, a substantial proportion of the children, adolescents, and adults with asthma in LMICs do not get to benefit from these, due to poor availability and affordability. In this review, we consider the reality faced by clinicians managing asthma in the primary and secondary care in sub-Saharan Africa and suggest how we might go about making diagnosis and treatment decisions in a range of resource-constrained scenarios. We also provide recommendations for research and policy, to help bridge the gap between current practice in sub-Saharan Africa and Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) recommended diagnostic processes and treatment for children, adolescents, and adults with asthma.
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This purpose of this guide is to inform robust evaluations of the WHO training package – a package aimed at personnel whose primary role in health-care facilities is environmental cleaning, hereafter referred to as cleaners.
The WHO training package – Environmental cleaning and infection prev...ention and control in health-care facilities in low- and middle-income countries – was designed to improve the competencies of cleaners through a practical, educational approach for adult learners in low- and middle-income countries and comprises two volumes: trainer’s guide and modules and resources (1,2). An associated OpenWHO online course describes the essential preparations for trainers to deliver the WHO training package.
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HIV testing programmes need to ensure that all clients who test for HIV are provided with correct diagnoses. The accuracy of HIV testing is critical to prevent misdiagnosis, as the consequences of giving an incorrect test result can be serious for clients, HIV testing services, HIV programmes and pu...blic health.
With the evolution of global HIV epidemiology, HIV testing approaches must also evolve to maintain accuracy and efficiency in population-level diagnosis. Reports suggest that misdiagnosis of HIV status may occur when suboptimal testing algorithms and out-of-date testing strategies are used. As a result of changing epidemiology and declining HIV positivity in testing, WHO recommends all countries use a standard three-test strategy to ensure a PPV of at least 99%, minimizing false-positive misdiagnosis. The WHO-recommended HIV testing strategy, along with quality assurance measures such as retesting to verify a positive diagnosis prior to initiation of HIV treatment, is cost-effective as it prevents misdiagnosis and unnecessary initiation of costly lifelong treatment.
This implementation guide provides practical advice on switching to a three-test strategy and instituting other measures that can help national HIV programmes deliver high-quality, accurate HIV testing services and ensure that misdiagnosis is minimized.
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Pneumonia and diarrhoea account for 23% of under-five mortality and were responsible for an estimated 1.17 million deaths in children under five globally. Furthermore, pneumonia and diarrhoea were responsible for 18% of mortality in children 5–9 years of age, resulting in an estimated 86 000 preve...ntable deaths globally in 2021. Existing World Health Organization (WHO) guidance on the clinical management of pneumonia and diarrhoea has mainly focused on children less than 5 years of age.
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A Reference Guide for Program Managers and Policy Makers. Recently, a renewed interest in large-scale community health worker (CHW) programs has been seen globally. This renewal provides an opportune moment to take stock of issues and challenges such programs face and what can be done to make them a...s effective as possible. With this in mind, this manual is intended to be used a practical guide for policymakers and program managers wishing to develop or strengthen a CHW program, drawing lessons from other countries that have implemented CHW programs at-scale
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Technical report
This manual aims to provide information about the methods for investigating outbreaks of hepatitis E, and measures for their prevention and control. In addition, the manual gives information about the causative agent – known as the hepatitis E virus (HEV) – its epidemiology..., clinical manifestations of the disease and diagnosis.
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Maternal and child malnutrition is a significant public health problem in South Sudan. Among children aged 6-59 months, 31% are stunted, 28% are underweight, and nearly 23% are acutely malnourished of which 13% are estimated to suffer from moderate acute malnutrition and 10% from severe acute malnut...rition.
Overall, South Sudan’s nutrition situation is worrisome, with GAM persistently above the emergency threshold in the Greater Upper Nile, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap states. Though data on micronutrient deficiencies is scanty, Vitamin A Supplementation (VAS) among children 6-59 months stood at only 2.6% in 2010, showing low uptake (SHHS, 2010). This is against a backdrop of high morbidity levels and a negligible proportion of children 6 to 23 months receiving at least the recommended minimum acceptable diet. In order to ensure optimal child growth, it is essential to ensure good nutrition and basic health care from pregnancy through two years of age (the first 1000 days).
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The present booklet is about gender-responsive substance abuse treatment services for women. It is part of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) project to develop tools to support the development and improvement of substance abuse treatment services, based on evidence from the litera...ture and case studies that illustrate practical experiences and lessons learned in providing substance abuse treatment services in various regions of the world.
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Interim guidance, 6 October 2021
Direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins (antigens) in nasal swabs and other respiratory secretions using lateral flow immunoassays (also known as rapid diagnostic tests, RDTs) offers a faster and less expensive method to test for SARS-CoV-2 than the reference ...method, nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). This interim guidance offers recommendations on the priority uses of antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) in specific populations and settings, including (i) for primary case detection in symptomatic individuals suspected to be infected and asymptomatic individuals at high risk of COVID-19, (ii) for contact tracing, (iii) during outbreak investigations and (iv) to monitor trends of disease incidence in communities. Ag-RDTs meeting minimum performance requirements can be used outside of clinical and laboratory settings, including in communities, by trained operators in accordance with instructions. The guidance additionally provides recommendations on implementation, product selection and storage.
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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 demonstrated that the mental health and psychosocial consequences can outweigh the direct physical health impacts of radiation exposure. International rad...iation 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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