PERC produces regional and member state situation analyses, updated regularly.
COVID-19 disproportionately affects the poor and vulnerable. Community health workers are poised to play a pivotal role in fighting the pandemic, especially in countries with less resilient health s...ystems. Drawing from practitioner expertise across four WHO regions, this article outlines the targeted actions needed at different stages of the pandemic to achieve the following goals: (1) PROTECT healthcare workers, (2) INTERRUPT the virus, (3) MAINTAIN existing healthcare services while surging their capacity, and (4) SHIELD the most vulnerable from socioeconomic shocks. While decisive action must be taken now to blunt the impact of the pandemic in countries likely to be hit the hardest, many of the investments in the supply chain, compensation, dedicated supervision, continuous training and performance management necessary for rapid community response in a pandemic are the same as those required to achieve universal healthcare and prevent the next epidemic.
BMJ Global Health2020;5:e002550. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002550
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In March 2020 the IASC Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support uniting 57 humanitarian organizations as member issued the Interim Briefing Note Addressing Mental Health and Psychos...ocial Aspects of COVID-19 Outbreak. This document has proven to be very useful in the response and has till now been translated in 24 languages. It covers a set of recommended activities as well as messages for different target groups.
The current document is an annex to the Interim Briefing Note and is meant to support the MHPSS operational response within the various sectors of humanitarian work. Approaches and interventions to MHPSS are not confined to one sector, but need to be integrated within many existing sectors and clusters.This document contains a wealth of operational information and practical approaches that can be used for humanitarian programming in health, SGBV, community-based protection, nutrition, camp management and camp coordination.
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Interim Guidance
This document is to help Member States build on actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve national medium- to long-term preparedness for future threats. It maps COVID-19 preparedness and response actions to the building of sustainable International ...e-to-highlight medbox">Health Regulations (2005) core capacities; locates relevant supporting WHO resources that are not specific to the pandemic; and advocates for the conscious and effective allocation of COVID-19 funds to also meet countries’ longer-term need
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The aim of this brief is to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic does not disrupt the supply of and demand generation for condoms. Sexual relations may be transformed in the new context of the pandemic, but they have not stopped. While access to male and female condoms has been critical in the global r...esponse to reduce HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies over the past three decades, these gains can be lost if condoms are not included in the essential commodities that are freely available to populations during the lockdown of countries. This brief for country condom programme managers and experts provides a summary of relevant actions to sustain supplies of male condoms, female condoms and lubricants, and to adjust approaches for condom promotion during the time of COVID-19
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This guidance is targeted to primary health care policy-makers and only addresses issues relevant for primary health care providers. It has been prepared on the basis of a systematic review of the b...est available evidence and emergent country practices in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the WHO European Region. It will be updated on a regular basis as new information becomes available.
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This primer aims to guide health professionals on engaging with WASH-related issues. It gives an overview of WASH interventions and the status of WASH services globally and outlines key linkages with healt...h. It provides examples of key actions that health actors can take to ensure WASH efforts effectively protect public health and highlights World Health Organization (WHO) activities to support those actions.
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Guidance for General Medical and Specialised Mental Health Care Settings
This manual presents a compelling case for action on carbapenem-resistant organisms (CROs) and describes the linkages between the prevention and control of CROs and the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). It describes how the eight recommendations contained within the World ...lass="attribute-to-highlight medbox">Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for the prevention and control of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in health care facilities relate to general measures (that is, the core components of infection prevention and control [IPC] programmes) that need to be in place in all countries and health care facilities to prevent and control health care-associated infections (HAIs). The use of a stepwise approach is proposed to support implementation and improvement, based on the evidence and experience of what has worked in several health care settings worldwide. The focus is on adoptable and adaptable information.
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Interim practical manual supporting implementation of the WHO guidelines on core components of infection prevention and control programmes
Lessons from three African Countries.
Achieving Health for All, and in particular universal health coverage (UHC), will not happen without fully functioning basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WAS...H) services in all health care facilities. Such services are needed to provide quality care, ensure adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) norms and standards and guarantee that facilities are able to provide environments that respect the dignity and human rights of all care seekers, especially mothers, newborns and children. WHO undertook a series of national situational analyses in three countries (Ghana, Ethiopia and Rwanda) to understand current barriers to change, accountability structures and measures to strengthen WASH in health care facilities and more broadly, the quality of health service delivery.
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This new edition highlights once again the importance of collecting disaggregated data to conduct gender-based analysis in order to determine, address, reduce, and eliminate the causes of gender-related inequalities.
his practical Guide serves as a companion to the “WHO guideline: recommendations on digital interventions for health system strengthening” and provides a systematic process for countries to develop a costed implementation plan for digital ...class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health within one or more health programme areas, drawing guidance from the WHO guideline–recommended digital health interventions, providing direction to ensure investments are needs-based and contribute effective and interoperable systems aligned with national digital architecture, country readiness, health system and policy goals.
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This document provides interim guidance on the prevention, identification and management of health worker infection in the context of COVID-19. It is intended for occupational health departments, in...fection prevention and control departments or focal points, health facility administrators and public health authorities at both the national and facility level.
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The aim of this guidance is to enhance the capacity of health care facilities to protect and improve the health of their target communities in an unstable and changing climate; and to empower ...class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health care facilities to be environmentally sustainable, by optimizing the use of resources and minimizing the release of waste into the environment. Climate resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities contribute to high quality of care and accessibility of services, and by helping reduce facility costs also ensure better affordability. They are, therefore, an important component of universal health coverage (UHC).
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WHO‘s Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, launched today, outlines three key steps: vaccination, screening and treatment. Successful implementation of all three could reduce more than 40% of new cases of the disease and 5 million related deaths by 2050.
Every year, an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm – before 37 weeks of pregnancy. That is more than 1 in 10 live births. Approximately 1 million children die each year worldwide due to complications from their early birth. Those that survive often face a lifetime of ill-...ibute-to-highlight medbox">health including disability, learning difficulties, and visual and hearing problems.
Half of the babies born at or below 32 weeks (2 months early) die in low-income settings, due to a lack of feasible, cost-effective care, such as warmth, breastfeeding support, and basic care for infections and breathing difficulties. In high-income countries, almost all these babies survive.
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Mental health is critical to personal well-being, interpersonal relationships, and successful contributions to society. Mental health conditions consequently impose a high burden not only on individ...uals, families and society, but also on economies. In Jamaica, mental health conditions are highly prevalent and major contributors to morbidity, disability, and premature mortality.
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