This document aims to describe a minimum set of surveillance activities recommended at the national level to detect and monitor the relative prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and outline a set of activities for the characterization and assessment of... risk posed by these variants. A set of indicators is also provided to standardize monitoring and public reporting of variant circulation.
The document is primarily intended for national and sub-national public health authorities and partners who support implementation of surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 variants
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Saving Lives: Universal access to Trauma Services in Kenya
In 2015 around 15 million people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) in sub–Saharan Africa. Sustained provision of ART, though both prudent and necessary, creates substantial long–term fiscal obligations for countries a...ffected by HIV/ AIDS. As donor assistance for health remains constrained, novel financing mechanisms are needed to augment funding domestic sources. We explore how Innovative Financing has been used to co–finance domestic HIV/AIDS responses. Based on analysis of non–health sectors, we identify innovative financing instruments that could be used in the HIV response.
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Provide guidance to HIV care practitioners on the optimal use of antiretroviral (ARV) agents for the treatment of HIV infection in adults and adolescents.
This brief considers the rationale for shielding individuals at high risk of severe disease or death from COVID-19 in low- and middleincome countries. It provides an overview of proposed approaches to shielding, discusses the categories of individua...ls who may be identified for shielding, and outlines the likely difficulties of these measures and ways to mitigate them.
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Together for One Health. Building on the momentum of increased collaboration, the WHO, FAO, OIE and UNEP have developed a Strategic Framework for c...ollaboration on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This Framework reflects the joint work of the four organizations to advance a One Health response to AMR at the global, regional and country level. It broadly supports the implementation of the five pillars of the Global Action Plan on AMR, as well as strengthening global AMR governance.
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For thousands of years, humans have been using wildlife for commercial and subsistence purposes. Wildlife trade takes place at local, national and international levels, with different forms of wildl...ife, such as live animals, partly processed products and finished products. Wildlife is a vital source of safe and nutritious food, clothing, medicine, and other products, in addition to having religious and cultural value. Wildlife trade also contributes to livelihoods, income generation and overall economic development.
However, wildlife trade can have detrimental effects on species conservation, depleting natural resources, impoverishing biodiversity and degrading ecosystems (Morton et al., 2021). Wildlife trade, whether legal or illegal, regulated or unregulated, can pose threats to animal health and welfare. It also presents opportunities for zoonotic pathogens to spill over between wildlife and domestic animals, and for diseases to emerge with serious consequences for public or animal health and profound economic impacts (IPBES, 2020; Swift et al., 2007; Smith et al., 2009; Gortazar et al., 2014; Stephen, 2021; Stephen et al., 2022; FAO, 2020). The risk of pathogen spillover and disease emergence is amplified with increased interaction between humans, wildlife and domestic animals. The risk of pathogen spillover has also been exacerbated by climate change, intensified agriculture and livestock production, deforestation, and other land-use changes. Wildlife trade is also a risk to ecosystem biodiversity via the introduction of invasive species (Wikramanayake et al., 2021). Therefore, increased effort must be put into understanding the potential consequences of the wildlife trade, mapping and analysing the adjacent risks, and implementing strategies to manage those risks. Reducing wildlife-trade risks not only helps to limit disease but also minimises the negative effects of invasive species. Between 1960 and 2021, invasive alien species caused estimated cumulative damage of around 116 billion euros across 39 countries in the European Union alone, despite strict import regulations (Haubrock et al., 2021). The effect of invasive species is extremely apparent.
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This brief draws out some recommendations for Ebola response actors in North Kivu. It includes lessons learned primarily from (i) historical outbreaks in Congo; (ii) outbreaks in Uganda in 2000-01 and 2012; (iii) the 2014-2016 West African epidemic;... (iv) the outbreak in Equateur Province in DRC (May- July 2018), and (v) the ongoing outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces in DRC (August 2018 - ongoing). The full report can be accessed here: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/123456789/14160.
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Disaster Management Reference Handbook Series Overview.
Floods, storms, and wind account for large proportions of displacement compared to other disasters. Floods are the most frequent type of disa...ster whereas wind-related disasters constitute the biggest losses in terms of economic damage, displacement, and number of affected people. ASEAN has succeeded in developing institutions not only for addressing the threat posed by natural hazards but also for building resilience into communities at risk
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MOH clinical practice guidelines
This World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) joint guidelines production aims at harnessing the contribution of employers and workers towards the control of TB. It covers all the practical steps involved in es...tablishing TB control activities, including (for large employers) starting and running a workplace TB control programme. They are intended for use in all countries in which TB incidence is high and the target audience for the guidelines includes employers, employee organizations, NTP managers, and agencies providing technical support for TB control.
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Guide for coordinators and data collectors - The WHO Operational Package for Assessing, Monitoring and Evaluating Country Pharmaceutical Situations is intended as a useful tool ...e-to-highlight medbox">for researchers, policy-makers, planners and others who need to use standardized measurement tools to gather data and other information. In addition, the operational package can be used by international agencies and donors, by professional groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
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