This WHO information note provides an updated list of recommended criteria for selecting RDTs for malaria, and highlights the performance of RDTs evaluated by the WHO malaria RDT product testing programme. It also provides an overview of additional considerations in the procurement of rapid tests.
(August 28 – October 10, 2017)
A nutrition and mortality assessment using SMART methodology was applied and the survey covered 15 statistical (14 districts plus 1) domains countrywide. The main objective of the survey was to assess the current nutrition status of the population, especially ch...ildren 6-59 months old and women of reproductive age (15-49 years of age). The survey also looked at the major contextual factors contributing to undernutrition such as infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices; food security indicators; water, sanitation and hygiene indicators; and health situation in Sierra Leone
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DHS Methodological Report No. 20
This study used Service Provision Assessment (SPA) and Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from Haiti, Malawi, and Tanzania to compare traditionally used additive methods with a data reduction method—principal component analysis (PCA).
We scored ...the quality of health facilities with three approaches (simple additive, weighted additive, and PCA) for two constructs: quality of services, with only facilities-level data, and quality of care, which incorporates observation and client data. We ranked facilities as high, medium, or low quality based on their scores. Our results indicated that the rankings change with the scoring methodology. There was more consistency in the rankings of facilities by the simple additive and PCA methods than the weighted additive and PCA-based rankings. This may be due to the low factor loadings and little variance explained by the first component in the PCA. We aggregated facility scores to their respective DHS clusters (Haiti, Malawi) or regions (Tanzania) and geographically linked them to women interviewed in DHS surveys to test associations between the use of family planning services and the quality environment, as measured with each index.
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The aim of these Guidelines is to provide a framework for the conservation and sustainable use of plants in medicine. To do this, the Guidelines describe the various tasks that should be carried out to ensure that where medicinal plants are taken from the wild, they are taken on a basis that is sust...ainable.
The Guidelines conform to the principles of Caring for the Earth, prepared in partnership by IUCN, UNEP and WWF. Caring for the Earth extends the message and scope of the World Conservation Strategy to an ethic of sustainable living, and explains how to integrate conservation with development. Its message is particularly relevant to the issue of medicinal plants, which in many parts of the world are being seriously depleted due to over-exploitation and loss of habitats, resulting in a lack of essential medicines and so reducing options for the future.
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Every Newborn: an action plan to end preventable deaths is a roadmap for change. It takes forward the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health by focusing specific attention on newborn health and identifying actions for improving their survival, health and development.
The aim of this report is to: (1) synthesize the findings from selected maternal and newborn related studies in Nepal conducted during 2011-2014, (2) identify areas of improvement in existing interventions, and (3) recommend possible strategies to fulfill such gaps.
Regional Network for Equity in Health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET): Disussion Paper 109
This report describes the evolution of mainland Tanzania’s EHB; the motivations for developing the EHBs, the methods used to develop, define and cost them; how it is being disseminated, communicat...ed, and used; and the facilitators (and barriers) to its development, uptake or use. Findings presented in this report are from three stages of analysis: literature review, key informant perspectives and a national consultative meeting.
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Paying for performance (P4P) provides financial incentives for providers to increase the use and quality of care. P4P can affect health care by providing incentives for providers to put more effort into specific activities, and by increasing the amount of resources available to finance the delivery ...of services. This paper evaluates the impact of P4P on the use and quality of prenatal, institutional delivery, and child preventive care using data produced from a prospective quasi-experimental evaluation nested into the national rollout of P4P in Rwanda. Treatment facilities were enrolled in the P4P scheme in 2006 and comparison facilities were enrolled two years later. The incentive effect is isolated from the resource effect by increasing comparison facilities’ input-based budgets by the average P4P payments to the treatment facilities. The data were collected from 166 facilities and a random sample of 2158 households. P4P had a large and significant positive impact on institutional deliveries and preventive care visits by young children, and improved quality of prenatal care. The authors find no effect on the number of prenatal care visits or on immunization rates. P4P had the greatest effect on those services that had the highest payment rates and needed the lowest provider effort. P4P financial performance incentives can improve both the use of and the quality of health services. Because the analysis isolates the incentive effect from the resource effect in P4P, the results indicate that an equal amount of financial resources without the incentives would not have achieved the same gain in outcomes.
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Version 1.1 July 2016
The purpose of this document is to describe standard operating procedures for viral load monitoring, including the schedule for viral load testing when used for routine monitoring of children, adolescents and adults on ART; interpretation of results; patient management; an...d specimen collection, preparation and transport. This template document to be adapted for use in various contexts and is one component of a viral load monitoring toolkit, to be used in conjunction with ICAP’s Viral Load Monitoring Flipchart and Enhanced Adherence Treatment Plan.
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CARE International’s Personal Safety & Security Handbook has been developed to provide practical personal safety and security advice and guidance to all staff working in CARE offices and field sites throughout the world.
Each section has a detailed list of contents at the beginning and cut-ou...t tabs to allow fast access to topics. Symbols and easy referencing are used throughout the handbook to help you find what you need quickly.
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Due to the anticipated significant rise in VL testing occasioned by Ghana’s adaptation of 2016 ART guidelines, it has become necessary to develop this VL scale-up and operational plan to assure complete client access to laboratory monitoring towards the achievement of the third 90 of the HIV care ...cascade. The plan will enhance VL testing, monitoring whilst improving the clinical and laboratory interface for improved client care.
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In 2014, GHS/NACP, with support from UNICEF and other partners, conducted a situation analysis on paediatric HIV care and treatment in Ghana. The purpose of this analysis was to identify the gaps within the current delivery of paediatric HIV care and support system and develop a road map for effecti...ve implementation of Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) and to increase paediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage. The analysis identified gaps such as lack of task shifting on ART services, low paediatric ART coverage, and poor linkage of ART, EID, and PMTCT services with other RCH - immunization and nutrition services.
In view of the findings of the analysis, it was recommended that an Acceleration Plan for Paediatric HIV Services be developed to address the barriers and bottlenecks identified during the assessment. At the current pace of paediatric HIV Services, it can be extrapolated that paediatric ART coverage will increase from 26% to only about 40% by 2020; Ghana will, therefore, fall short of the global target of 90-90-90 (UNAIDS concept).
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A treatment literacy guide for pregnant women and mothers living with HIV
Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention for Women and their Babies is intended for use by networks of women living with HIV, women’s groups, peer educators and others wishing to help guide women living with HIV t...hrough the decisions they will need to take before, during and after their pregnancy. It is not intended as a substitute for going to a health facility and seeking information from a healthcare worker.
The facilitator’s manual and flipchart are intended to be used by leaders of support groups, peer educators or lay counsellors to facilitate small groups or community sessions with women living with HIV. Together, they provide accurate and comprehensive information to enable pregnant women and mothers living with HIV to know their rights and make informed decisions about their health, and the health of their baby.
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