Policy brief. HIV testing services (HTS) and anti-retroviral therapy (ART) have been scaled up substantially. It is estimated that, globally, nearly 80% of people with HIV now know their status. Wit
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h the offer of immediate ART initiation and improved treatment options, access to and uptake of treatment have increased, too. Now, most people with HIV who know their status are obtaining treatment and care.
In response to these changes in the global HIV epidemic, WHO is encouraging countries to use three consecutive reactive tests for an HIV-positive diagnosis as their treatment-adjusted prevalence and national HTS positivity fall below 5% .
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A toolkit for behavioural and social communication in outbreak response
Assessing and improving quality and human rights in mental health and social care facilites
The report discusses the epidemiological and social aspects of ageing, health and functional changes experienced with ageing, the impact of physica
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l activity, assessment of the nutritional status of older persons, and nutritional guidelines for healthy ageing.
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Intra-African migration remains a dominant trend in contemporary African migration. The Strategy frames the Organization’s new orientation with Africa at policy and strategic levels. It is consist
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ent with the goals and objectives of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) to which almost all African countries adhere, as well as the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, the IOM strategic vision, and IOM Migration Governance Framework (MIGoF).
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This resource presents "the minimum level of educational quality and access in emergencies through to recovery. The aim of the handbook is to enhance the quality of educational preparedness, response and
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recovery; to increase access to safe and relevant learning opportunities for all learners, regardless of their age, gender or abilities; and to ensure accountability and strong coordination in the provision of education in emergencies through to recovery...The INEE Minimum Standards are organised in five domains: Foundation standards; Access and learning environment; Teaching and learning; Teachers and other education; personnel; Education policy". Available in different languages: English, French, Arabic, Azerbajani, Bangla, Indonesia, Bosnian, Coratian, Serbian, Burmese, Chinese, Dari, Japanese, Nepali, Pashto, Portugese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese
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Policy Brief, Updated in March 2017
Key messages
• Sex workers have the right to equal protection under the law, regardless of the legal status of sex work.
• Sex workers have the right to access HIV, sexually transmitted infectio
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n (STI) and other health services free from the threat of violence, intimidation, incarceration, and stigma and discrimination.
• Justice and law enforcement sectors, together with the health sector and sex worker communities, should work in partnership to reform relevant legislation, policies and practices.
• Capacity development of all partners is critical to the success of the HIV response among sex workers.
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Guidelines for planning and provision of pastoral and social support services
Policy brief.
Globally, one in five people with HIV are unaware of their status, despite considerable scale up of HIV testing, treatment and prevention services. Many of those unreached by HIV test
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ing services (HTS) are from key populations, partners of people with HIV and, in Eastern and southern Africa, men and young people. Improving the availability, accessibility, friendliness and quality of services is important to address these testing gaps.
At the same time, tools and interventions that increase the demand for HTS are needed to reach people who are uninformed about HTS options and advances in treatment and prevention, people who are not motivated to seek HTS and those who are hesitant to test because of fear of an HIV diagnosis or other reasons.
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To Initiating a Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Project in Urban Slums with Social Mapping, Census Taking, and Community Engagement
From 2000 to 2010, Rwanda implemented comprehensive health sector reforms to strengthen the public health system, with the aim of reducing maternal and newborn deaths in line with Millennium Development Goal 5, among many other improvements in natio
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nal health. Based on a systematic review of the literature, national policy documents and three Demographic & Health Surveys (2000, 2005 and 2010), this paper describes the reforms and the policies they were based on, and provides data on the extent of Rwanda’s progress in expanding the coverage of four key women’s health services. Progress took place in 2000–2005 and became more rapid after 2006, mostly in rural areas, when the national facility-based childbirth policy, performance-based financing, and community-based health insurance were scaled up. Between 2006 and 2010, the following increases in coverage took place as compared to 2000–2005, particularly in rural areas, where most poor women live: births with skilled attendance (77% increase vs. 26%), institutional delivery (146% increase vs. 8%), and contraceptive prevalence (351% increase vs. 150%). The primary factors in these improvements were increases in the health workforce and their skills, performance-based financing, community-based health insurance, and better leadership and governance. Further research is needed to determine the impact of these changes on health outcomes in women and children.
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This report presents data and outlines best practices and policies that can put governments on the path to providing every child with the best start in life. It outlines the neuroscience of early ch
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ildhood development (ECD), including the importance of nutrition, protection and stimulation in the early years. And it makes the case for scaling up investment, evaluation and monitoring in ECD programmes. The report concludes with a six-point call to action for governments and their partners to help maximize the potential of the children who will build the future – by making the most of the unparalleled opportunities offered by the early moments in life.
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Operational Guidelines.
Guidelines for the development of educational programmes for MHM, including tips on the topics to address and methods to assess girls’ practices in
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a respectful way with practical tools
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Prescriptions and Actionables for a Healthy and Green Recovery.
The practical steps outlined in this report aim at creating a healthier, fairer and
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greener world while investing to maintain and resuscitate the economy hit by the effects of COVID-19.
Policy makers, national and local decision-makers and a wide array of other actors wishing to contribute to a healthy recovery can now take decisive steps by shaping the way we live, work and consume. Effects on environmental degradation and pollution and climate change will be wide ranging. WHO and partner organizations have since long been developing substantive guidance and provide support for building healthier environments for healthier populations.
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This policy brief aims to provide a review of the current progress on implementing the Mali national action plan on AMR, identifies critical gaps, and highlights findings to accelerate further progr
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ess in the human health sector. The target audience includes all those concerned with implementing actions to combat antimicrobial resistance in Mali.
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Available in Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish; WHO and UNICEF policy brief, 19 April 2021
Persons with disabilities are disproportion
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ately impacted by COVID-19, both directly because of infection, and indirectly because of restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus. Persons with disabilities are a diverse group, and the risks, barriers and impacts faced by them will vary in different contexts according to, among other factors, their age, gender identity, type of disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and migration status.
This document presents considerations and actions for the following stakeholders to ensure equity in access to vaccination against COVID‑19 for persons with disabilities
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In East Africa, the trend in cross-border FGM puts at risk the progress achieved in eliminating the practice. The only way we can reach zero FGM by 2030 is by concerted and immediate action to address all aspects of FGM.
This
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policy brief highlights the cross-border dimension of FGM (Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda) in the East Africa region. The brief describes the factors that perpetuate cross-border FGM and the work that is being done to reduce the rates.
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The document explains why vector control is important in national programmes and describes the preparation of a tailor-made vector control plan for national
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programmes. It outlines entomological procedures for regular and specific vector control and how data should be analysed for better overall understanding of filarial transmission and vectors. The document will also be useful for teaching personnel in lymphatic filariasis programmes about the use and value
of entomological procedures in overall epidemiological appraisal in the context of
elimination
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Promoting and protecting health is essential to human welfare and sustained economic and social
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development. This was recognized more than 30 years ago by the Alma-Ata Declaration signatories, who noted that Health for All would contribute
both to a better quality of life and also to global peace and security
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This policy paper underscores that, although children do not represent a high-risk group for direct COVID-19 fatality, the pandemic posts far-reaching secondary impacts that heighten risks to African children’s rights
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and wellbeing.
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