The World health statistics report is the annual compilation of health and health-related indica
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tors which has been published by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2005. The 2023 edition reviews more than 50 health-related indicators from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW 13).
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The classification of digital health interventions (DHIs) categorizes the different ways in which digital and mobile technologies are being used to support
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health system needs. Historically, the diverse communities working in digital health—including government stakeholders, technologists, clinicians, implementers, network operators, researchers, donors— have lacked a mutually understandable language with which to assess and articulate functionality. A shared and standardized vocabulary was recognized as necessary to identify gaps and duplication, evaluate effectiveness, and facilitate alignment across different digital health implementations. Targeted primarily at public health audiences, this Classification framework aims to promote an accessible and bridging language for health program planners to articulate functionalities of digital health implementations.
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A Students' Toolkit.
How does the digital transformation of health care change the daily routine of a healthcare professional? Which knowledge and skills will healthcare professionals need? Are uni
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versities in Europe preparing their students well enough to work within a digitised health system?
This toolkit prepared by the European Medical Students’ Association (EMSA) provides an insightful context, an introduction to the topic of digital health and a framework to encourage future healthcare professionals to start activities and discussions at their university.
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The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the lead UN agency working to further gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sri Lanka. We are pleased to be a part of the joint effort with the Ministry of
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Health to develop the first ‘Standard Operating Procedures on sexual and gender-based violence for first-contact-point healthcare providers’.
These operating procedures were developed alongside the ‘National guidelines on sexual and gender-based violence’, which aims to strengthen Sri Lanka’s health systems response to survivors of violence. We are grateful to the British High Commission in Colombo for their support in developing these guidelines and procedures as they mark an important milestone in creating a safer Sri Lanka for all women and girls. UNFPA is proud to be a part of this journey, and we stand ready to provide continued assistance to the Government of Sri Lanka and all key stakeholders to ensure women and girls receive essential services that support their safety, well-being and access to justice and to create a violence-free Sri Lanka.
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February 2020Earth's Future 8(2):e2019EF001377.The water planetary boundary attempts to provide a global limit to anthropogenic water cycle modifications, but it has been challenging to translate and
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apply it to the regional and local scales at which water problems and management typically occur. We develop a cross‐scale approach by which the water planetary boundary could guide sustainable water management and governance at subglobal contexts defined by physical features (e.g., watershed or aquifer), political borders (e.g., city, nation, or group of nations), or commercial entities (e.g., corporation, trade group, or financial institution).
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A framework to implement the Agenda for the Americas on Health, Environment, and Climate Change 2021–2030
Emergencies, in spite of their tragic nature and adverse effects on mental health, are unparalleled opportunities to build better mental health sys
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tems for all people in need. This WHO publication shows how this was done in 10 diverse emergency-affected areas
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A toolkit for pharmacists.
Emerging data show that medication errors and adverse events cause significant harm to patients’ health and
well-bei
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ng. It is estimated that the burden of adverse events due to medicines is now comparable to that of
widespread diseases, such as malaria or tuberculosis.1 The impacts of medication errors also represent a
burden for health systems, with the annual cost associated with medication errors estimated at USD 42 billion
worldwideharm
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Chromoblastomycosis (CBM), represents one of the primary implantation mycoses caused by melanized fungi widely found in nature. It is characterized as a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) and mainly affects populations living in poverty with significa
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nt morbidity, including stigma and discrimination.
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To enhance health co-benefits across urban policies which tackle air pollution and climate change, WHO, in cooperation with various international, national,
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and local partners, implemented the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) pilot project in Accra, Ghana. The Initiative prompted the health sector to use its influential position to demonstrate to decision-makers and the public the full range of health, environmental and economic benefits that can be achieved from implementing local emission reduction and energy access policies and strategies. Policy tracking, although not always considered, is a fundamental component of this procedure. It assesses the planning, implementation and progress of a policy to refine or adjust policies with the final objective of increasing the likelihood of the policy being successful. This report is an outcome of the last component of the UHI model process, Policy tracking and monitoring outcomes. The report proposes a framework for tracking urban health policies, with a special focus on the impacts of air quality and energy access on human health and well-being in African countries, giving some examples from the pilot project in Accra. The report also provides resources to survey air quality in cities and other tools to assess public health and the environmental impacts of urban policies and monitor or track their effects.
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This report documents the secondary humanitarian problems and impacts of large-scale Ebola outbreak on the different humanitarian sectors, to provide a non-exhaustive plan to help future responders. A large scale Ebola outbreak, in this document, re
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fers to an epidemic with an unprecedented scale, geographical spread and duration.
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The strategic plan reflects shared commitments to enhance collaboration between environmental, animal (wildlife and domestic) and human health,
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and building new One Health workforce capacity through higher institutions of learning. The strategy also outlines interventions to be undertaken by government institutions and other partners to enhance existing structures and pool together additional resources to prevent and control zoonotic diseases and other events of public health importance. Successful implementation of the strategy will contribute to the realization of vision 2020 by improving public health, food safety and security, and hence significantly improve the socioeconomic status of the people of Rwanda. It is in this regard that we call upon implementing institutions, bilateral and multilateral partners, civil society and the private sector to join us in implementing the One Health strategy in Rwanda.
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A new global Police Handbook aims to address some of the most difficult challenges that survivors of violence face when accessing police and justice sector services around the world.
The article "Barriers and determinants of asthma control in children and adolescents in Africa: a systematic review" analyzes factors contributing to poor asthma control in African youth. Based on s
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tudies conducted between 2014 and 2019 in Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa, the review identifies key challenges such as limited access to asthma diagnosis, inadequate use of inhaled corticosteroids, and environmental and socio-economic factors. It finds that urban living, older age, and concurrent allergic conditions significantly affect asthma management. The study emphasizes the need for improved diagnostic tools, better access to treatment, and tailored public health interventions to enhance asthma outcomes in African children.
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A wide range of potential enablers and barriers were identified for influencing progress for the scale-up of severe wasting services within national health systems. Findings were categorised accordi
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ng to the six pillars of WHO’s health system strengthening framework.
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What are the local beliefs and practices around illnesses and death, the transmission of disease and spirituality, which affect decision-making (ar
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ound health-seeking behaviour, caring for relatives and nature of burials) and can inform effective behaviour change interventions for preventing Ebola in Sierra Leone?
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Chinese Medicine, (2016) 11:37
Medicinal plants are globally valuable sources of herbal products, and they are disappearing at a high speed. This article reviews global trends, developments
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and prospects for the strategies and methodologies concerning the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plant resources to provide a reliable reference for the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. We emphasized that both conservation strategies (e.g. in situ and ex situ conservation and cultivation practices) and resource management (e.g. good agricultural practices and sustainable use solutions) should be adequately taken into account for the sustainable use of medicinal plant resources. We recommend that biotechnical approaches (e.g. tissue culture, micropropagation, synthetic seed technology, and molecular marker-based approaches) should be applied to improve yield and modify the potency of medicinal plants.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13020-016-0108-7
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Advice on physical activity should be encouraged as part of treatment for adults with depressive episode/disorder with inactive lifestyles. In moderate and severe depression, this intervention should be considered as adjunct to antidepressants or br
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ief structured psychological treatments.
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UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic shows that 2020 targets will not be met because of deeply unequal success; COVID-19 risks blowing HIV progress way off course. Missed targets have resulted in 3.5 million more HIV infections
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and 820 000 more AIDS-related deaths since 2015 than if the world was on track to meet the 2020 targets. In addition, the response could be set back further, by 10 years or more, if the COVID-19 pandemic results in severe disruptions to HIV services.
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The brief concludes that sustaining the continuity of EHS requires policies that ensure a whole-society and systems strengthening approach. This involves increased health care investment, community
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engagement, disease control regulations, and multisector approaches to improve resilience, EHS quality, and equity.
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