The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone, including key populations at higher risk of HIV. And the gains made against other infectious diseases, including HIV, are at risk of being reversed as a ...result of disruptions caused by COVID-19. This is the background to a new report published by FHI 360, in collaboration with UNAIDS, which gives advice on how to minimize the impacts of COVID-19 on key populations.
more
How to respond to, mitigate, and prevent risks to children’s protection and well-being is a profound, if unanswered, question. Practitioners agree that it is necessary to develop or strengthen protective factors at multiple levels, such as the fam...ily, community, and national levels.
more
Over the past weeks, there has been wide media attention on the risk of transmission of the novel coronavirus [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)] by asymptomatic individuals. This situation has also been extensively discus...sed on various platforms globally. The purpose of this position statement is for the Africa Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to clarify the situation of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by pre-asymptomatic and asymptomatic Individuals.
more
Protecting Migrants or Reversing Migration? COVID-19 and the risks of a protracted crisis in Latin America
Key Considerations
This brief focuses on cross-border movement in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) and its implications for development of risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies aimed at preventing transmission of COVID-19 i...n the ESA region. Given the extensive risk of cross-border transmission of the virus and the imminent reopening of borders, such strategies are essential to containment efforts
more
The first update of the ECDC ventilation guidance document contains:
key new findings that emphasise four bundles of NPIs to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in closed spaces;
updated references on the evidence of transmission in... closed spaces;
recommendations based on the new evidence and on national and international guidance; and
an overview of national guidance ventilation documents in the context of COVID-19 based on an inquiry sent to ECDC’s National Focal Points (NFPs) for Preparedness and Response and NFPs for Influenza and other respiratory diseases.
more
This joint ECDC-European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) document aims to support Member States in determining a coordinated approach to reduce the risks related to the movement of people by air within and between the EU/EEA countries and the UK... in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the impact of quarantine and testing is likely to vary according to levels of ongoing community transmission, and in the context of ECDC’s current advice that non-essential travel should be avoided during the end-of year festive period
more
Excessive consumption of salt (more than 5 g per day) raises blood pressure, a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke, and is the leading cause of death in the WHO European Region. Many countries in the Region... have initiated national salt reduction strategies, including public awareness campaigns, reformulation, and front-of-pack nutrition labelling. However, despite ongoing efforts, surveillance data indicate that salt intake still far exceeds the limits recommended by WHO to protect health.
more
The COVID-19 outbreak has restricted global mobility, whilst heightening the risk of exploitation of vulnerable populations. This report provides a snapshot of the COVID-19 epidemiological situation and mobility restrictions, and of the current migr...ation trends along the Eastern Corridor migration route, in addition to an analysis of the impact that movement restrictions have had in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen. Moreover, it provides information on the main protection concerns for migrants and assistance provided, and COVID-19 risk mitigation measures. This report utilizes data collected through IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Flow Monitoring Points (FMPs), Migrant Response Centres (MRCs), Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) data, as well as anecdotal information provided by IOM team members working in the region.
more
The purpose of this TPP is to communicate the minimum and ideal characteristics desired to meet the need for discriminating low levels of risk for transmission, i.e. targeted prevalence thresholds in the surveyed areas. An in vitro diagnostic test i...s needed for the detection of analyte(s) specific to Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori to aid in the surveillance of defined geographic areas as to whether infection and/or transmission potential has increased (recrudescence) or decreased (elimination of transmission).
more
In the wake of the Covid‑19 Pandemic, parts of the public health system at increased risk of reduced efficiency include healthcare services for women and children. This in turn could reverse all the progress achieved over the ye...ars in reducing maternal and child mortality. In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the indirect effect of the pandemic on maternal and child health services in public health facilities.
more
If you have the choice of more than one vaccine and are wondering which one to take and how to assess the risk of side effects, this episode of Science in 5 with WHO’s Dr Katherine O’Brien is for you.
This mapping of community experiences for the defense of the right to adequate housing in situations of risk of eviction or eviction in progress brings together practices and strategies used by families, collectives and community organizations that ...have different origins and interests in the region, and also those on other continents.
more
What do we know about the Delta variant so far? How can we assess our risk? What strategies should we apply to protect ourselves whether we are in a low vaccination or high vaccination setting? WHO’s Dr Maria Van Kerkhove explains in Science in 5.
15 July 2021. This report describes the demographics, clinical presentation, clinical outcomes, and risk factors among people living with HIV (PLHIV) who have been hospitalized for suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
The specific objectives of the a...nalysis were to:
describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of PLHIV hospitalized for COVID-19
assess whether PLHIV hospitalized with COVID-19 were at increased risk of presenting with severe or critical illness at admission and were at increased risk of in-hospital death compared to individuals not infected with HIV
assess risk factors associated with severe or critical illness at hospital admission and of in-hospital death among PLHIV hospitalized for COVID-19.
more
If you are living with diabetes, what is the risk that COVID-19 poses to you and how can you stay safe and healthy during the pandemic?
WHO’s Dr. Gojka Roglic explains in Science in 5.
Despite some improvements, current levels of air pollution still pose a considerable risk to the environment and to human health in the WHO European Region. One issue of concern is that monitoring of particulate matter is very limited in the countri...es of eastern Europe, the Caucasus and central Asia. This paper summarizes the evidence about the health effects of air pollution from particulate matter and presents the policy implications, the aim being to stimulate policy-makers to develop more effective strategies to reduce air pollution and its health effects in those countries.
more
Despite some improvements, current levels of air pollution still pose a considerable risk to the environment and to human health in the WHO European Region. One issue of concern is that monitoring of particulate matter is very limited in the countri...es of eastern Europe, the Caucasus and central Asia. This paper summarizes the evidence about the health effects of air pollution from particulate matter and presents the policy implications, the aim being to stimulate policy-makers to develop more effective strategies to reduce air pollution and its health effects in those countries.
more
This study aimed to analyze the geographical distribution of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to identify high-risk areas in space and time for the occurrence of cases and deaths in the indigenous population of Brazil. This is an ecological s...tudy carried out between 24 March and 26 October 2020 whose units of analysis were the Special Indigenous Sanitary Districts. The Getis-Ord General G and Getis-Ord Gi* techniques were used to verify the spatial association of the phenomena and a retrospective space–time scan was performed. There were 32 041 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 471 deaths. The non-randomness of cases (z score = 5.40; P < 0.001) and deaths (z score = 3.83; P < 0.001) were confirmed. Hotspots were identified for cases and deaths in the north and midwest regions of Brazil. Sixteen high-risk space–time clusters were identified for the occurrence of cases with a higher RR = 21.23 (P < 0.001) and four risk clusters for deaths with a higher RR = 80.33 (P < 0.001). These clusters were identified from 22 May and were active until 10 October 2020. The results indicate critical areas in the indigenous territories of Brazil and contribute to better directing the actions of control of COVID-19 in this population.
more
The Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia (FMOH), the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) and other government actors together with UN agencies (UNICEF, UNHCR, WHO and WFP) and nutrition development partners call for all parties in...volved in the response to emergencies in Ethiopia to provide appropriate, prompt support for the feeding and care of infants, young children and their mothers. This is a critical for supporting child survival, growth and development and preventing malnutrition, illness and death. This joint statement has been issued to help secure immediate, coordinated, multi- sectoral action on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) in emergencies.
more