4th edition
The WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual (LBM) has been in broad use at all levels of clinical and public health laboratories, and other biomedical sectors globally, serving as a de facto global standard that presents best practices and sets trends in biosafety.
LBM encouraged countries t...o accept and implement basic concepts in biological safety and to develop national codes of practice for the safe handling of biological agents in laboratories within their geographical borders.
This fourth edition of the manual builds on the risk assessment framework introduced in the third edition. A thorough, evidence-based and transparent assessment of the risks allows safety measures to be balanced with the actual risk of working with biological agents on a case-by-case basis.
This novel evidence- and risk-based approach will allow optimised resource use and sustainable laboratory biosafety and biosecurity policies and practices that are relevant to their individual circumstances and priorities, enabling equitable access to clinical and public health laboratory tests and biomedical research opportunities without compromising safety.
more
The immediate objective of the country visit to Cameroon was to ensure that the country is as operationally ready as possible to effectively and safely detect, investigate and report potential Ebola virus disease cases and to mount an effective response that will prevent a larger outbreak. After te...chnical working group meetings, field visits, a “table-top” exercise and a hospital-based simulation exercises were undertaken.
Key strengths and weaknesses were identified, and the following areas for improvement were proposed to the Ministry of Health: coordination, surveillance, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, rapid response teams, case management, social mobilization, laboratory, points of entry, budget, logistics.
more
This clinical management manual for Ebola Viral Disease in Liberia was developed after several ETUs were established in the country following the outbreak early this year. As the outbreak evolved, it became evident that different SOPs were being used by clinicians across these treatment facilities. ...As a result of discussions held by the National Case Management Committee of the Incident Management System, various stakeholders were brought together to contribute their time and expertise to the development of this manual.
more
Second interim report to the SMAC program, DFID Freetown
This report provides further output from an anthropological study of 25 villages affected by Ebola Virus Disease in eastern and central Sierra Leone, undertaken as part of the DFID-funded social mobilization initiative for Ebola prevention in... Sierra Leone. Eight focus group transcripts for 3 villages in Kenema District are presented, covering local responses to health issues, and Ebola in particular. Supporting material from a matching questionnaire-based study of health behavior and perceived causes of Ebola is also provided. Of particular relevance are two summary tables aggregating the questions villagers asked survey teams about Ebola and quarantine-related issues in villages where the epidemic has in effect ceased to be active
more
In response to a call by the United Nations Secretary-General and the Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, an international team conducted an Ebola Recovery Assessment.The aim was to contribute towards laying the foundation for short-, medium- and long-term recovery while the medical eme...rgency response continues to tackle the epidemic.
This summary report is based on a full report as well as three detailed reports submitted to each of the three governments as contributions to their national recovery planning processes.
more
The recommendations in these guidelines promote the use of simple, non-invasive diagnostic tests to assess the stage of liver disease and eligibility for treatment; prioritize treatment for those with most advanced liver disease and at greatest risk of mortality; and recommend the preferred use of n...ucleos(t)ide analogues with a high barrier to drug resistance (tenofovir and entecavir, and entecavir in children aged 2–11 years) for first- and second-line treatment. Recommendations for the treatment of HBV/HIV-coinfected persons are based on the WHO 2013 Consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for treating and preventing HIV infection, which will be updated in 2015.
more
Updated September 2021.
Provision of water and sanitation and good hygiene practices play an essential role in protecting human health during all disease outbreaks, including during Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreaks. This question and answer document provides practical, evidence-...tribute-to-highlight medbox">based recommendations on minimum requirements and best practices for water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH). It was originally developed in 2014 during the West Africa Ebola Outbreak and has been updated in 2021 to reflect lessons learned and new operational research data. The key recommendations on WASH remain the same.
more
Manual for step-by-step risk management for safely managed sanitation systems. 2nd edition.
This Sanitation safety planning (SSP) manual provides practical, step-by-step guidance to assist in the implementation of the 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on sanitation and health and the ...2006 WHO Guidelines for safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater in agriculture and aquaculture. The approach and tools should be applied to all sanitary systems to ensure that they are managed to meet health objectives.
The SSP manual is targeted at a variety of users at different levels including; health authorities and regulators, local authorities, sanitation utility managers, sanitation enterprises and farmers, community-based organizations, farmers associations and nongovernmental organizations.
more
Integration of mental health (MH) and HIV programs has the potential to significantly improve health outcomes for people living with HIV (PLHIV). This training package, which is comprised of a training-of-trainers manual, an accompanying presentation, and a standard operating procedure, was develope...d to support a pilot project for MH and HIV integration at the community level such that
health facilities, community-based organizations (CBOs), and traditional medical practitioners (TMPs) can collaborate to support MH screening and service provision for PLHIV in Zimbabwe
more
This manual provides a practical method for determining the pharmacovigilance indices. It is designed to be simple and can be understood by any worker in pharmacovigilance without formal training in monitoring and evaluation. Pharmacovigilance as a medical discipline is crucial in preventing medicin...e-related adverse effects in humans, promoting patient safety, and the rational use of medicines. The indicators proposed in this manual are based on the expected functions of pharmacovigilance centres as described in the WHO Mimimum Requirements for a Functional Pharmacovigilance System (1) (see Annex 1 of the manual).
more
The goal of this course is to provide participants with the foundational skills needed to begin the development, implementation and ongoing improvement of a congenital anomalies surveillance programme, in particular for countries with limited resources. It focuses on the methodology needed to devel...op either population-based or hospital based surveillance programmes.
A set of congenital anomalies will be used as examples throughout this course. The specific examples used are typically severe enough that they would probably be captured within the first few days after birth, have a significant public health impact and, for some of them, have the potential for primary prevention.
more
The aim of this handbook is to provide network members and other laboratories involved in the diagnosis of tuberculosis, with an agreed list of key diagnostic methods and their protocols in various areas of TB diagnosis, ranging from microbiological diagnosis of active TB to the diagnosis of latent ...TB infection. This handbook offers a single source of reference by compiling all methods, with a strong focus on standard (reference) and evidence-based methods. In so doing, it will also contribute to the improvement of disease surveillance data for Europe.
more
In preparing this paper, the Pharmacovigilance Group of the Pan American Health Organization’s Pan American Network for Drug Regulatory Harmonization (PANDRH) adopted the perspective of PAHO/WHO, which considers Pharmacovigilance, an essential component of public health programs. Its intention was... to facilitate the development of pharmacovigilance systems in the Region of the Americas and improve, strengthen, and promote the adoption of good practices to improve safety for patients and the general population, based on the needs of the Region.
Document also available in Spanish and Portuguese!
more
These consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services (HTS) bring together existing and new guidance on HTS across different settings and populations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) first released consolidated guidelines on HTS in 2015, in response to requests from Member States, national pr...ogramme managers and health workers for support to achieve the United Nations (UN) 90–90–90 global HIV targets – and specifically the first target of diagnosing 90% of all people with HIV. In 2016, based on new evidence, WHO released a supplement to address important new HIV testing approaches – HIV self-testing (HIVST) and provider-assisted referral.
Since the release of 2015 and 2016 HTS guidelines, new issues and more evidence have emerged. To address this, WHO has updated guidance on HIV testing services. In this guideline, WHO updates recommendation on HIVST and provides new recommendations on social network-based HIV testing approaches and western blotting (see box, next page). This guideline seeks to provide support to Member States, programme managers, health workers and other stakeholders seeking to achieve national and international goals to end the HIV epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.
These guidelines also provide operational guidance on HTS demand creation and messaging; implementation considerations for priority populations; HIV testing strategies for diagnosis HIV; optimizing the use of dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests; and considerations for strategic planning and rationalizing resources such as optimal time points for maternal retesting
more
These WHO guidelines which were updated in 2018, are valid for any country and suitable to local adaptations, and take account of the strength of available scientific evidence, the cost and resource implications, and patient values and preferences.
The 2018 edition of the guidelines includes the re...vision of the recommendation regarding the use of 80% fraction of inspired oxygen (high FiO2) in surgical patients under general anaesthesia with tracheal intubation and the update of the section on implementation. Between 2017 and 2018, WHO re-assessed the evidence on the use of high FiO2 by updating the systematic review related to the effectiveness of this intervention to reduce SSI and commissioning an independent systematic review on adverse events potentially associated with it. Based on the updated evidence, the GDG decided to revise the strength of the recommendation from strong to conditional.
more
Direct acting antivirals (DAAs) have revolutionized treatment for hepatitis C. Combi-
nations of DAAs can cure infection with HCV in 12 weeks, are highly effective and
have limited side-effects. Affordability of DAAs has improved significantly, but access remains lim-
i...ted. Initially, due to their high prices, affordability of DAAs was limited in high-, middle- and low-
income countries alike. Now there is a divide between those countries where, because of intellectual
property barriers, prices have remained (very) high and other countries where generics are, or can be,
available at much lower prices. The result is a dual market
more
This study, and similar studies in Kenya, Mozambique, Swaziland, Uganda, and Zambia is the outcome of close collaborative by a team in Swaziland, with technical and financial support from the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa, UNAIDS Geneva, and the World Bank's Global HIV.../AIDS Program (Global AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Team). The study entailed using existing data and collecting new data to better know the country's HIV epidemic, know the country HIV response and how funding was allocated, so as to improve the HIV response and strengthen prevention based on evidence on what works to prevent new infections.
more
Climate change (CC) impacts on health outcomes, both direct and indirect, are sufficient to jeopardize achieving the World Bank Group’s visions and agendas in poverty reduction, population resilience, and health, nutrition and population (HNP). In the last 5 years, the number of voices calling for... stronger international action on climate change and health has increased, as have the scale and depth of activities. But current global efforts in climate and health are inadequately integrated. As a result, actions to address climate change, including World Bank Group (WBG) investment and lending, are missing opportunities to simultaneously promote better health outcomes and more resilient populations and health sectors. Accordingly, with the financial support of the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), the World Bank Group set out to develop an approach and a 4-year action plan, outlined in this paper, to integrate health-related climate considerations into selected WBG sector plans and investments.
more
This tool is a living document that provides guidance on good partnership practices that promote strong relationships between civil society organizations and government representatives on engaging men and boys in gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights
(SRHR). ...Its goal is to strengthen these partnerships in order to enable the scale up and/or institutionalization of evidence-based approaches to engaging men and boys.
more
Experience from Save the Children and partners globally
demonstrates that improvements in education quality go hand-in-hand
with inclusion and access, Flexible, quality, responsive learning
environments will benefit all children and are fundamental to including
marginalised groups like disabled ...children in education.
These guidelines are primarily aimed at education staff trying to
develop inclusive education practices, focussing on including disabled
children in schools.While this book focuses on disabled children, we
hope it will be useful for developing general inclusive education
practices. Community groups and non-governmental organisations, as
well as people working in community-based rehabilitation(CBR) and
the wider disability context, could also use these guidelines to provide
input into inclusive education work.
While the guidelines focus primarily on schools, much of the
information is still relevant to readers working in out-of-school
situations.
more