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Addressing Inequalities in Global Health: UNU IIGH Strategic Plan 2024–2028

United Nations University UNU (2024) C1

The 2019-2023 Strategy for UNU-IIGH, developed in 2018, built on UNU-IIGH’s strategic advantage and position vis-à-vis the UN and global health ecosystem. The Strategy set a goal to advance evidencebased policy on key issues related to sustainable development and health and shifted the Instit... more

Air pollution exposure—the (in)visible risk factor for respiratory diseases

Bălă, G.P.; Râjnoveanu, R.M.; Tudorache, E. et al. Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2021) CC

There is increasing interest in understanding the role of air pollution as one of the greatest threats to human health worldwide. Nine of 10 individuals breathe air with polluted compounds that have a great impact on lung tissue. The nature of the relationship is complex, and new or updated ... are constantly being reported in the literature. The goal of our review was to summarize the most important air pollutants and their impact on the main respiratory diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, respiratory infections, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis) to reduce both short- and the long-term exposure consequences. We considered the most important air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, ozone, particulate matter and biomass smoke, and observed their impact on pulmonary pathologies. We focused on respiratory pathologies, because air pollution potentiates the increase in respiratory diseases, and the evidence that air pollutants have a detrimental effect is growing. It is imperative to constantly improve policy initiatives on air quality in both high- and low-income countries. more

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Cardiovascular diseases in Africa in the twenty-first century: Gaps and priorities going forward

Minja, N.W.; Nakagaayi, D.; Aliku, T. et al. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (2022) CC

In 2015, the United Nations set important targets to reduce premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths by 33% by 2030. Africa disproportionately bears the brunt of CVD burden and has one of the highest risks of dying from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide. There is currently an epide...miological transition on the continent, where NCDs is projected to outpace communicable diseases within the current decade. Unchecked increases in CVD risk factors have contributed to the growing burden of three major CVDs—hypertension, cardiomyopathies, and atherosclerotic diseasesleading to devastating rates of stroke and heart failure. The highest age standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to hypertensive heart disease (HHD) were recorded in Africa. The contributory causes of heart failure are changing—whilst HHD and cardiomyopathies still dominate, ischemic heart disease is rapidly becoming a significant contributor, whilst rheumatic heart disease (RHD) has shown a gradual decline. In a continent where health systems are traditionally geared toward addressing communicable diseases, several gaps exist to adequately meet the growing demand imposed by CVDs. Among these, high-quality research to inform interventions, underfunded health systems with high out-of-pocket costs, limited accessibility and affordability of essential medicines, CVD preventive services, and skill shortages. Overall, the African continent progress toward a third reduction in premature mortality come 2030 is lagging behind. More can be done in the arena of effective policy implementation for risk factor reduction and CVD prevention, increasing health financing and focusing on strengthening primary health care services for prevention and treatment of CVDs, whilst ensuring availability and affordability of quality medicines. Further, investing in systematic country data collection and research outputs will improve the accuracy of the burden of disease data and inform policy adoption on interventions. This review summarizes the current CVD burden, important gaps in cardiovascular medicine in Africa, and further highlights priority areas where efforts could be intensified in the next decade with potential to improve the current rate of progress toward achieving a 33% reduction in CVD mortality. more

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Management of a cholera epidemic - Practical guide for doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, medical auxiliaries, water and sanitation specialists and logisticians
recommended

Médecins Sans Frontières MFS (2023) CC

Cholera is a transmissible diarrhoeal infection caused by Vibrio cholerae. Endemic and/or epidemic in over 40 countries (mainly in Africa and Asia), cholera continues to be a major global public health issue. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the number of cases reported worldwid...e represents in reality only 5 to 10% of actual cases. This guide is intended for medical and non-medical staff responding to a cholera outbreak. It attempts to provide concrete answers to the questions and problems faced by staff, based on the recommendations of reference organisations, such as WHO and UNICEF, as well as Médecins Sans Frontières’ experience in the field. It is divided into 8 chapters. Chapter 1, Cholera overview, outlines the epidemiological and clinical features of cholera. Chapter 2, Outbreak investigation, explains the method and stages of a field investigation, from the alert to implementation of initial activities. Chapter 3, Cholera control measures, details measures and tools to prevent and/or control cholera transmission and mortality in populations affected, or at risk of being affected, by an epidemic (curative care, prevention means and health promotion activities). Chapter 4, Strategies for epidemic response, addresses the roll-out strategies of the measures described in Chapter 3 which depend on context (e.g. urban, rural, endemic, non-endemic setting, etc.), resources and particular constraints. Chapter 5, Cholera case management, details the different stages of cholera treatment, from diagnosis through to cure. Chapter 6, Setting up cholera treatment facilities, focuses on the installation of treatment facilities that vary in size and complexity according to operational requirements (treatment centres and units and oral rehydration points). Chapter 7, Organisation of cholera treatment facilities, describes the organisation of these specialized facilities in terms of human resources, supply, water, hygiene and sanitation, etc. Chapter 8, Monitoring and evaluation, presents the key data to be collected and analysed during an epidemic to facilitate a tailored response and evaluate its quality and effectiveness. The guide includes various practical tools in the appendices to facilitate activities (e.g. water quality tests, job descriptions, documents, etc.). Moreover, the toolbox also contains additional tools in editable formats (individual patient file, cholera case register, pictograms). Despite all efforts, it is possible that certain errors may have been overlooked in this guide. Please inform the authors of any errors detected. To ensure that this guide continues to evolve while remaining adapted to field realities, please send any comments or suggestions. more

African Union AMR Landmark Report: Voicing African Priorities on the Active Pandemic

Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2024) CC

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a leading cause of death in the African region, surpassing fatalities from malaria, HIV, and TB. In response to this critical threat, the region has adopted the AMR Global Action Plan and the African Union Framework for Antimicrobial Resistance Control 2...020 – 2025, which is tailored to meet the specific needs of African nations through a coordinated approach. While most countries in the region have developed and prioritized National Action Plans (NAPs) to tackle AMR, the overall response remains inadequate given the magnitude of the threat, which endangers human, animal, environmental, aquatic, and plant health. Africa bears a significant burden of infectious diseases, accounting for approximately 95% of malaria deaths, 70% of people living with HIV, and 25% of TB deaths globally. In 2019, AMR was linked to approximately 55,000 deaths from HIV, 30,000 from malaria, and 255,000 overall. Major drivers of AMR in the region include the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in human and food systems, migration, suboptimal vaccination rates, and environmental contamination from hospital and pharmaceutical effluents. Additionally, there is a lack of access to quality-assured antimicrobials and diagnostics, compounded by inadequate knowledge about AMR. Unlike high-income countries, where indiscriminate antimicrobial use is the primary factor driving AMR, African countries face additional challenges, including a lack of access to clean and safe water, poor Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) programs, inadequate infection prevention measures, and suboptimal vaccinations for preventable diseases. One in three hospitals in the region lacks clean, safe running water, and one in eight people defecate openly due to inadequate sanitation. Investments in WASH, infection prevention, and biosecurity could save approximately 700,000 lives annually. Addressing AMR in Africa requires a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach involving the entire society. Sustainable access to antimicrobials, including antibiotics, vaccines, and therapeutics, is crucial, as lack of access leads to more morbidity and mortality than AMR itself. Support for the region should focus on preventing infections, strengthening health and food systems, developing human resources, ensuring sustainable access to diagnostics and therapeutics, and investing in laboratory infrastructure to support surveillance and data generation. more

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Clinical quality and patient safety in child and adolescent mental health

Fung; D.; C. M. Chern; T. Z. Ting Fang IACAPAP (2019) C2

Miscellaneous Chapter J.8

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Quality of care in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings: taking action

World Health Organization WHO (2020) CC

In fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings, delivery of quality health services faces significant challenges, including disruption of a routine health service organization and delivery systems, increased health needs, complex and unpredic... more

Resource Catalogue forService Quality and Experience Literature and Tools

GAVI The Vaccine Alliance (2020) CC

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Assessing the Quality of Care in Family Planning, Antenatal, and Sick Child Services at Health Facilities in Kenya, Namibia, and Senegal

Wang, W., Do, M., Hembling, J. & Ametepi, P. (2014) C1

DHS Analytical Studies No. 44 Rockville, Maryland, USA: ICF International.

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Future and potential spending on health 2015–40: development assistance for health, and government, prepaid private, and out-of-pocket health spending in 184 countries

Global Burden of Disease Health Financing Collaborator Network Lancet (2017) C1

Background: The amount of resources, particularly prepaid resources, available for health can affect access to health care and health outcomes. Although health spending tends to increase with economic development, tremendous variation exists among health financing systems. Estimates of future spendi... more

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Guidelines for the Implementation of the SHA 2011 Framework for Accounting Health Care Financing

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and World Health Organization (WHO) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and World Health Organization (WHO) (2014) CC

The accounting framework for health care financing is a key component of A System of Health Accounts 2011, published by OECD, Eurostat and WHO in October 2011.1 The framework makes health accounts more adaptable to rapidly evolving health financing systems, further enhances crosscountry comparabilit... more

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Health Statistics

OECD (2019) C2

The OECD carries out work on health data and indicators to improve international comparisons and economic analyses of health systems. Accessed 26 February 2019.

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Vaccines/COVID-19 vaccine EUL issued

World Health Organization WHO (2022) C_WHO

This chronology of facts has challenged public health systems worldwide and regulatory bodies are no exception. Regulatory authorities with mechanisms in place to authorize the use of investigational products had to development guidelines and procedures, create task forces and alliances to maximize ... more

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Malawi Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care Needs Assessment, 2014

Ministry of Health (Malawi), USAID, UNFPA, UNICEF, Save the Children International, Clinton Health Foundation (2015) C2

In 2014, the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Malawi conducted a nationwide assessment of emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) services. This cross-sectional facility-based survey used 10 data collection modules. ... collection began on 23rd September 2014 and concluded on 17th October 2014, in all 28 districts. Facilities in both the public and private sector (for-profit and not-for-profit) were included. Since the focus of the assessment was obstetric and newborn care, health facilities that did not offer maternal and newborn health (MNH) services were not selected. In all districts, a census of all hospitals and a 60 percent random sample of health centres that ought to have performed deliveries in the previous year yielded a total of 365 facilities: 87 hospitals and 278 health centres. All these facilities were visited during the assessment. During analysis, weighting procedures were applied to extrapolate results to the district and national level, representing all 87 hospitals and 464 health centres. Such weighting was necessary as a stratified random sample of health centres was taken and weighting applied to all indicators and presentations that have health facility as a unit of measurement. Case reviews and provider’s interviews, on the other hand, are not weighted as their sampling strategy is based on convenience. more

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Living conditions among people with disabilities in Southern Africa

SAF OD, FFO and SINTEF (2017)

Accessed November 2, 2017

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A Guide for Preparing, Mapping, and Linking Logistics Data to a Geographic Information System

Inglis, Andrew USAID | DELIVER PROJECT, Task Order 4 (2012)

This guide is an introduction on how to integrate logistics management information systems (LMIS) with geographic information systems (GIS). It covers the value of integrating these two systems, the steps in assessing if it is currently viable to link the systems, how to set the linkage, the process... more

Air Pollution - Our overview of indoor and outdoor air pollution

Ritchie, H.; Roser, M. Global Change Data Lab (2024) CC2

The Our World in Data webpage on air pollution provides an extensive overview of the global impact of air pollution on health and the environment. It presents data on sources of pollution, such as i... more

Loss of life expectancy from air pollution compared to other risk factors: a worldwide perspective

Lelieveld, J.; Pozzer, A.; Pöschl, U. et al. Cardiovascular Research (2020) CC

Long-term exposure of humans to air pollution enhances the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. A novel Global Exposure Mortality Model (GEMM) has been derived from many cohort studies, providing much-improved coverage of the exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). We applied the GE... more

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Harmonized health facility assessment (‎HHFA)‎: comprehensive guide

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

The HHFA Comprehensive guide serves as the main reference document for planning and implementing a country HHFA. This guide will promote understanding of: What the HHFA is and the information it can and cannot provide. The HHFA modules, questionnaires and CSPro electronic ... collection tool. The HHFA indicators, indices and their organization within the HHFA indicator inventory platform. The HHFA data analysis platform. The HHFA sampling and data collection methodologies. The detailed steps involved in planning and implementing an HHFA. Key concepts in review, interpretation and communication of HHFA findings. more

Laboratory quality management system: Handbook

World Health Organization et al. WHO (2011) C_WHO

"Achieving, maintaining and improving accuracy, timeliness and reliability are major challenges for health laboratories. Countries worldwide committed themselves to build national capacities for the detection of, and response to, public health events of international concern when they decided to eng... more

Management of a cholera epidemic - Practical guide for doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, medical auxiliaries, water and sanitation specialists and logisticians recommended

Management of a cholera epidemic - Practical guide for doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, medical auxiliaries, water and sanitation specialists and logisticians
recommended