This document outlines PAHO’s regional priorities for the year 2023 to sustain and scale up health emergency and humanitarian assistance in the Americas, with a focus on five priority countries currently facing a prolonged humanitarian crisis and ...recovering from recent acute emergencies: Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of). These goals align with and build on the World Health Organization’s Global Health Emergency Appeal for 2023, its principles, priorities, and strategies.
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The objective of Critical Considerations and Actions for Achieving Universal Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Context of Universal Health Coverage through a Primary ...bute-to-highlight medbox">Health Care Approach is to provide guidance to WHO Member States for ensuring progress towards universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in the context of primary health care (PHC)- and universal health coverage (UHC)-related policy and strategy reforms.
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The 2030 health-related Sustainable Development Goals call on countries to end AIDS as a public health threat and also to achieve universal health ...coverage. The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes primary health care (PHC) as the key mechanism for achieving universal health coverage, and the PHC approach is also essential for ending AIDS and reaching other Sustainable Development Goal targets.
The PHC approach is defined as a whole-of-society approach to health that aims to maximize the level and distribution of health and well-being through three components: (1) primary care and essential public health functions as the core of integrated health services; (2) multisectoral policy and action; and (3) empowered people and communities.
This publication helps decision-makers to consider and optimize the synergies between existing and future assets and investments intended for both PHC and disease-specific responses, including HIV. Specifically, it aims to:
• provide guidance to policy-makers, health system managers and programmatic leads from both PHC and HIV backgrounds regarding opportunities to jointly advance their respective efforts to strengthen PHC and end AIDS as a public health threat; and
• provide a resource for all stakeholders who seek to contribute to strengthening PHC and ending AIDS as a public health threat in a synergistic manner, including people living with HIV, members of key and vulnerable populations, community and civil society representatives, people working in all areas of health systems, researchers, funders and private-sector decision-makers.
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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown that public financial management (PFM) should be an integral part of the response. Effectiveness in financing the health response depends not only on the level of funding but also on the way public funds are a...llocated and spent, this is determined by the PFM rules, and how money flows to health service providers. So far, early assessments have shown that PFM systems ranged from being a fundamental enabler to acting as a roadblock in the COVID-19 health response. While service delivery mechanisms have been extensively documented throughout the pandemic, the underlying PFM mechanisms of the response also merit attention. To highlight the importance of PFM in health emergency contexts, this rapid review analyses various country PFM experiences and identifies early lessons emerging from the financing of the health response to COVID-19. The assessment is done by stages of the budget cycle: budget allocation, budget execution, and budget oversight. Identifying lessons from the varying PFM modalities used to finance the response to COVID-19 is fundamental both for health policy-makers and for finance authorities to prepare for future health emergencies.
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WHO/Europe has launched a new guide, providing support to countries on how to apply behavioural and cultural insights (BCI) for health. It presents a simple step-wise approach, complemented by a rich collection of detailed considerations, tools and ...exercises. The guide is the first of its kind, specifically developed for use by public health professionals developing policies, services and communications informed by BCI across health topics.
Some of the most persistent public health challenges involve human behaviour. Using a BCI lens means that health policies, services and communications can be tailored to the needs and circumstances of people and communities, and thereby help combat these challenges. The new Tailoring Health Programmes (THP) guide describes how this can be done.
Building on several topic-specific guides that focused on applying BCI to routine and influenza vaccination and tackling antimicrobial resistance, as well as external evaluations and a rigorous peer-review process, this guide is the result of over a decade of work by WHO/Europe. The THP approach has already been adopted in over 20 countries and has received positive feedback from public health agencies.
“This guide is the culmination of a decade of work involving many colleagues at country, regional and global levels. The guide is our “BCI bible”, guiding our work with and in countries to help tackle persistent health challenges,” said Katrine Bach Habersaat, Regional Advisor for BCI at WHO/Europe.
Karina Godoy, Senior Analyst and National Focal Point for Behavioural Insights at the Public Health Agency of Sweden, who is employing the approach described in the guide across several health projects, comments: “The THP guide is easy to use and at the same time provides detailed guidance and inspiration where needed. We have decided to translate the document into Swedish and use the approach widely”.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) is releasing the second edition of its Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!) guidance. The document aims to equip governments to respon...d to the health and well-being challenges, opportunities and needs of adolescents.
The guidance provides the latest available data on adolescent health and well-being. It also outlines an updated list of core indicators that data should be collected on. Globally, road injury was the top cause of death for adolescent males in 2019. Among female adolescents, the leading causes of death were diarrhoeal diseases among the younger group (10-14 years) and tuberculosis (TB) in the older group (15-19 years).
Over the last 20 years, mortality rates have declined among adolescents globally, with the largest decline in older (15–19 years) adolescent girls. For non-fatal diseases, the burden has not improved over the past two decades, with the main causes of ill health in this category being: mental health conditions (depressive and anxiety disorders, childhood behavioural disorders), iron deficiency anaemia, skin diseases and migraine.
Adolescent well-being depends on a range of factors, including healthy food, education, life skills and employability, connectedness, feeling valued by society, safe and supportive environments, resilience, and the freedom to make choices. To take an appropriately holistic approach, the guidance outlines how to take crosscutting action to support adolescent health and well-being, with mutually reinforcing interventions across sectors, such as health, education, social protection, and telecommunications. Targeted efforts are also required to engage adolescents, as they trust health systems less than adults do and are especially vulnerable to modern-day trends, like online bullying and gaming.
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This toolkit was developed to provide detailed information and resources to support implementation of the WHO intrapartum and immediate postnatal care recommendations at the health-care facility level. The careful design of this toolkit is based on ...a rigorous evidence-based approach that includes implementation strategies of proven effectiveness to help close the gap between WHO’s care recommendations and current policies and practices.
The primary target audience for the toolkit includes policy-makers, health-care facility managers, implementers and managers of maternal and child health programmes, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and professional societies involved in the planning and management of maternal and child health services.
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WHO-OHCHR launch new guidance to improve laws addressing human rights abuses in mental health care
Ahead of World Mental Health Day, the World Health...span> Organization (WHO) and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) are jointly launching a new guidance, entitled "Mental health, human rights and legislation: guidance and practice", to support countries to reform legislation in order to end human rights abuses and increase access to quality mental health care.
Human rights abuses and coercive practices in mental health care, supported by existing legislation and policies, are still far too common. Involuntary hospitalization and treatment, unsanitary living conditions and physical, psychological, and emotional abuse characterize many mental health services across the world.
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This document presents the World Health Organization Operational framework for building climate resilient and low carbon health systems*. ***The framework's goal is to increase the climate resilienc...e of health systems to protect and improve the health of communities in an unstable and changing climate, while optimizing the use of resources and implementing strategies to reduce GHG emissions. It aims to contribute to the design of transformative health systems that can provide safe and quality care in a changing climate.
Implementation of the framework's ten components would help health organizations, authorities, and programmes to be better able to anticipate, prevent, prepare for, and manage climate-related health risks and therefore decrease the burden of associated climate-sensitive health outcomes. Implementing low carbon health practices would contribute to climate change mitigation while also improving health outcomes. Achieving these aims is an important contribution to universal health coverage (UHC), global health security, and specific targets within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The document is a useful resource for decision-makers in health systems, including public health agencies, and other specialized institutions, and for decision-makers in health-determining sectors.
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In 2006, the Special Session of African Union Health Ministers adopted the Maputo Plan of Action for implementing the Continental Policy Framework on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)..., which expired at the end of 2015. The goal was for all stakeholders and partners to join forces and re-double efforts, so that together, the effective implementation of the Continental Policy framework including universal access to sexual and reproductive health by 2015 in all countries in Africa can be achieved. The Revised Maputo Plan of Action (MPoA) 2016 – 2030 was subsequently endorsed by the African Union Heads of State at the 27th AU Summit in July 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda. The plan reinforces the call for universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services in Africa and lays foundation to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 3 and 5, as well as the African Union Agenda 2063.
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In 2024, we need US$1.5 billion to provide live-saving health care to millions of people in emergencies. An alarming combination of conflict, climate-related threats and increasing economic hardship mean an estimated 166 million people require ... class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health assistance.
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This MHPSS in Emergencies training aims to prepare MHPSS responders, disaster managers, and emergency team leaders for work in the field by building understanding of basic concepts of MHPSS in emergencies as well as planning and implementing PSS activities. It is for MHPSS focal points from the Red ...Cross and Red Crescent Societies Movement and humanitarian organizations responsible for initiating or supporting the overall mental health and psychosocial activities and interventions during emergencies. The training modules in this guide have been developed to be flexible and adapted to different contexts and training needs. The guide and accompanying materials include the information and materials you will need to design and facilitate MHPSS in Emergencies training.
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The Government of Malawi is committed to improving health and livelihoods in Malawi through community health – the
provision of basic health ser...vices in rural and urban communities with the participation of people who live there.
Historically, Community Health has significantly contributed to improvements in Malawi’s health outcomes in particular
attainment of MDG4. However, the community health system faces resource constraints and inconsistencies around quality
of service – which negatively affect health outcomes.
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These guidelines were written for anyone trying to meet and solve the challenges of operating a warehouse today. They are an important reference tool for managers and staff, whether they are constructing a new warehouse, implementing a new warehouse system, or redesigning their current system.
G...uidelines for Warehousing Health Commodities is for use by supply chain managers, logistics advisors, and warehouse managers who want to improve and increase efficiency in their current health commodity warehouse.
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This report explores community-focused change initiatives in the financing, organization, and delivery of mental health services in Peru from 2013 to 2016. It examines the national dimension of reforms but focuses above all on implementation and res...ults in the economically fragile district of Carabayllo, in northern Lima.
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A guide to promote health systems strengthening to achieve universal health coverage.