Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, imposing a consistent burden on health system. In recent years, prevalence of asthma symptoms became globally increased in children and adolescents, particularly in Low-Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Host (genetics, atopy) and environmental fa...ctors (microbial exposure, exposure to passive smoking and air pollution), seemed to contribute to this trend. The increased prevalence observed in metropolitan areas with respect to rural ones and, overall, in industrialized countries, highlighted the role of air pollution in asthma inception. Asthma accounts for 1.1% of the overall global estimate of “Disability-adjusted life years” (DALYs)/100,000 for all causes. Mortality in children is low and it decreased across Europe over recent years. Children from LMICs particularly suffer a disproportionately higher burden in terms of morbidity and mortality. Global asthma-related costs are high and are usually are classified into direct, indirect and intangible costs. Direct costs account for 50–80% of the total costs. Asthma is one of the main causes of hospitalization which are particularly common in children aged < 5 years with a prevalence that has been increased during the last two decades, mostly in LMICs. Indirect costs are usually higher than in older patients, including both school and work-related losses. Intangible costs are unquantifiable, since they are related to impairment of quality of life, limitation of physical activities and study performance. The implementation of strategies aimed at early detect asthma thus providing access to the proper treatment has been shown to effectively reduce the burden of the disease.
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Under-diagnosis of asthma in ‘under-fives’ may be alleviated by improved inquiry into disease history. We assessed a questionnaire-based screening tool for asthma among 614 ‘under-fives’ with severe respiratory illness in Uganda. The questionnaire responses were compared to post hoc consensu...s diagnoses by three pediatricians who were guided by study definitions that were based on medical history, physical examination findings, laboratory and radiological tests, and response to bronchodilators. Children with asthma or bronchiolitis were categorized as “asthma syndrome”. Using this approach, 253 (41.2%) had asthma syndrome. History of and present breathing difficulties and present cough and wheezing was the best performing combination of four questionnaire items [sensitivity 80.8% (95% CI 77.6–84.0); specificity 84.7% (95% CI 81.8–87.6)]. The screening tool for asthma syndrome in ‘under-fives’ may provide a simple, cheap and quick method of identifying children with possible asthma. The validity and reliability of this tool in primary care settings should be tested.
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Mpox is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by the mpox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus closely related to the variola virus that causes smallpox. Mpox was first discovered in 1958 when outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research. The first human case was recorde...d in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox and since then the infection has been reported in a number of African countries. Mpox can spread in humans through close contact, usually skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact, with an infected person or animal, as well as with materials contaminated with the virus such as clothing, beddings and towels, and respiratory droplets in prolonged face to face contact. People remain infectious from the onset of symptoms until all the lesions have scabbed and healed. The virus may spread from infected animals through handling infected meat or through bites or scratches. Diagnosis is confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of material from a lesion for the virus’s DNA. Two separate clades of the mpox virus are currently circulating in Africa: Clade I, which includes subclades Ia and Ib, and Clade II, comprising subclades IIa and IIb. Clade Ia and Clade Ib have been associated with ongoing human-to-human transmission and are presently responsible for outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while Clade Ib is also contributing to outbreaks in Burundi and other countries.
In 2022‒2023 mpox caused a global outbreak in over 110 countries, most of which had no previous history of the disease, primarily driven by human-to-human transmission of clade II through sexual contact. In just over a year, over 90,000 cases and 150 deaths were reported to the WHO. For the second time since 2022, mpox has been declared a global health emergency as the virus spreads rapidly across the African continent. On 13 Aug 2024, Africa CDC declared the ongoing mpox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS), marking the first such declaration by the agency since its inception in 2017.7 This declaration empowered the Africa CDC to lead and coordinate responses to the mpox outbreak across affected African countries. On August 14, 2024, the WHO declared the resurgence of mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) emphasizing the need for coordinated international response.
As of August 2024, Mpox has expanded beyond its traditional endemic regions, with new cases reported in countries including Sweden, Thailand, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Sweden has confirmed its first case of Clade 1 variant, which has been rapidly spreading in Africa, particularly in DRC. The emergence of this new variant raises concerns about its potential for higher lethality and transmission rates outside Africa.
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New and updated information.
Adverse health effects of hot weather and heat-waves are largely preventable. Prevention requires a portfolio of actions at different levels:from health system preparedness, coordinated with meteorological early warning systems, to timely public ... and medical advice andimprovements to housing and urban planning. This publication offers detailed information for various target audiences, and on medicaladvice and treatment practices
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This 88 page book is designed to help primary care workers understand mental health problems and how they can be treated. Mental health problems from childhood to old age are examined. The book focuses primarily on the Afghan culture but is also relevant to a wider community
An Indicator-based Approach - This manual presents an indicator-based approach for rapidly assessing pharmaceutical management systems and programs. The manual contains a set of 46 indicators of performance, grouped under eight topics of pharmaceutical management, with each topic being covered by a ...subset of indicators. Thirty-four of the indicators are quantitative, that is, expressed as numbers. Twelve are qualitative, in that they describe the presence or absence of a policy or management system, and in some cases, the degree of implementation.
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Objectives and scope of the document
This document was developed to provide recommended management strategies for problems and disorders that are specifically related to the occurrence of a major stressful event. The recommended strategies will form the basis of a new module to be added to the WHO ...(2010) mhGAP Intervention Guide for use in non-specialized specialized health-care settings.
The scope of the problems covered by these guidelines is:
symptoms of acute stress in the first month after a potentially traumatic event, with the following subtypes:
- symptoms of acute traumatic stress (intrusion, avoidance and hyperarousal) in the first month after a potentially traumatic event;
- symptoms of dissociative (conversion) disorders in the first month after a potentially traumatic event;
- non-organic (secondary) enuresis in the first month after a potentially traumatic event (in children);
- hyperventilation in the first month after a potentially traumatic event;
- insomnia in the first month after a potentially traumatic event;
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
bereavement in the absence of a mental disorder.
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This manual is for the beginner/intermediate and advanced EHA courses run by Channel Research on behalf of ALNAP. It is supported by a course specific set of case studies and exercises and by a bibliography of evaluation references
This document is an evidence-based policy for the implementation of sound tuberculosis (TB) infection control by all stake- holders. It recommends a combination of measures aimed at reducing the risk of TB transmission within populations. The emphasis is on early and rapid diagnosis, and proper mana...gement of TB patients.
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The objective of the 2022 Compendium is to compile and highlight emerging innovative health technologies for low-resource settings. It presents a snapshot of technologies that are solutions to an unmet medical/health technology need or are likely to improve health outcomes and the quality of life. H...ealth technologies in the Compendium underwent WHO evidence-based assessments focused on the life cycle of health technology innovations for low-resource settings.
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The companion Handbook on Humanitarian Access presents the normative framework pertaining to humanitarian access in situations of armed conflict, and therefore serves as a useful reference source for humanitarian practitioners on the normative framework.
This initial version of the Field Manual –... labeled Version 1.0 – was elaborated by Conflict Dynamics International in collaboration with the FDFA and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Development of the structured approach and guidance contained in this Manuel
involved a consultation process which included bilateral meetings with humanitarian organizations, regional consultation events and consultations during several field visits, including dedicated field missions
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The toolkit comprises ready-to-use material designed expressly for World Bank task managers working in the water and sanitation sector. It presents a range of tools for gender analysis and practical “how-to” strategies collected from program and project experience around the world. It is one of ...a series of toolkits being designed to assist task managers in improving project performance by incorporating gender into their work.
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In 2014 UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank report new joint estimates of child malnutrition using available data up to 2013 The Interactive dashboard allows users to generate a variety of graphs and charts, using the newest joint estimates of prevalence and numbers for child stunting, underweight, overw...eight, wasting and severe wasting. Users can select the different regional country groupings of the UN, MDG, UNICEF, WHO regions as well as World Bank income groups and geographic regions to present the data.
A summary of 4 pages presents the key findings for each indicator, an introduction to the dashboard and updates on methods
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Interim Assessement Report
The EMA review was started by the Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) to support decision-making by health authorities. This first interim report includes information on seven experimental medicines intended for the treatment of people infecte...d with the Ebola virus:
BCX4430 (Biocryst);
Brincidofovir (Chimerix);
Favipiravir (Fujifilm Corporation/Toyama);
TKM-100802 (Tekmira);
AVI-7537 (Sarepta);
ZMapp (Leafbio Inc.);
Anti-Ebola F(ab’)2 (Fab’entech).
The amount of information available for the seven treatments is highly variable. For some compounds there is no data from use in human subjects available. A small number of treatments have been administered to patients in the current Ebola outbreak as compassionate use. Finally, there are also medicines included in this review that have already been studied in humans, albeit for the treatment of other viral diseases.
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WHO Guideline. Since 2010, countries in the meningitis belt have started to introduce a new serogroup A meningococcal conjugate vaccine conferring individual protection and herd immunity. Following the successful roll-out of this vaccine, epidemics due to Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A (NmA) are... disappearing, but other serogroups (e.g. NmW, NmX and NmC) still cause epidemics, albeit at a lower frequency and of a smaller size. Due to these changes, WHO organized the review of the evidence to provide recommendations for epidemic control, related to operational thresholds for investigation and response to outbreaks, the use of rapid diagnostic tests, antibiotic regimens in epidemics, and prophylaxis for household contacts of cases
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This toolkit is intended to support GBV staff to build disability inclusion into their work, and to strengthen the capacity of GBV practitioners to use a survivor-centered approach when providing services to survivors with disabilities.
The tools are designed to complement existing guidelines, prot...ocols and tools for GBV prevention and response, and should not be used in isolation from these. GBV practitioners are encouraged to adapt the tools to their individual programs and contexts, and to integrate pieces into standard GBV tools and resources.
You can download from English, French and Arabic Version
http://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/research-resources/building-capacity-for-disability-inclusion-in-gender-based-violence-gbv-programming-in-humanitarian-settings-overview/
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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 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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This guideline provides global, evidence-informed recommendations on daily iron supplementation in infants and children, as a public-health intervention for the prevention of anaemia and iron deficiency. It includes recommendations for iron supplementation in countries where malaria is prevalent.
This EISF report provides an analysis of the issues surrounding the relationship between NGO’s and their local partners. It includes a section on the topic and its background, responsabilities towards the partner organisation and particularly in terms of security, how to enable and help the partne...r in developing a project from start to finish, the challenges of developing that capacity in the partner organisation. It also includes three anexes, namely a Partner Security Level Assessment, a Checklist of organisational security perspectives and Participants.
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El Niño conditions persisting during the 2015/16 planting season have caused the worst drought in 35 years in Southern Africa, resulting in a second consecutive failed harvest. This has created severe food shortages and compounded existing vulnerabilities. Since July 2016, Namibia and Botswana have... declared national drought emergencies, in addition to the declarations made earlier by Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Madagascar issued a letter of solidarity with the SADC Appeal, and Mozambique has maintained a red alert in affected areas.
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