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Birth defects surveillance training: facilitator’s guide, second edition

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2024) C_WHO

This Birth Defect Surveillance facilitator (train-the-trainer) guide 2nd edition covers foundational skills needed to begin the development, implementation and ongoing improvement of a congenital anomaly surveillance programme, whether population-based or hospital-based, in particular for countries ... more

Mpox Testing Strategy - November 2024

Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2024) CC

Mpox is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by the mpox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus closely related to the variola virus that causes smallpox. Mpox was first discovered in 1958 when outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research. The first human case was recorde...d in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox and since then the infection has been reported in a number of African countries. Mpox can spread in humans through close contact, usually skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact, with an infected person or animal, as well as with materials contaminated with the virus such as clothing, beddings and towels, and respiratory droplets in prolonged face to face contact. People remain infectious from the onset of symptoms until all the lesions have scabbed and healed. The virus may spread from infected animals through handling infected meat or through bites or scratches. Diagnosis is confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of material from a lesion for the virus’s DNA. Two separate clades of the mpox virus are currently circulating in Africa: Clade I, which includes subclades Ia and Ib, and Clade II, comprising subclades IIa and IIb. Clade Ia and Clade Ib have been associated with ongoing human-to-human transmission and are presently responsible for outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while Clade Ib is also contributing to outbreaks in Burundi and other countries. In 2022‒2023 mpox caused a global outbreak in over 110 countries, most of which had no previous history of the disease, primarily driven by human-to-human transmission of clade II through sexual contact. In just over a year, over 90,000 cases and 150 deaths were reported to the WHO. For the second time since 2022, mpox has been declared a global health emergency as the virus spreads rapidly across the African continent. On 13 Aug 2024, Africa CDC declared the ongoing mpox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS), marking the first such declaration by the agency since its inception in 2017.7 This declaration empowered the Africa CDC to lead and coordinate responses to the mpox outbreak across affected African countries. On August 14, 2024, the WHO declared the resurgence of mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) emphasizing the need for coordinated international response. As of August 2024, Mpox has expanded beyond its traditional endemic regions, with new cases reported in countries including Sweden, Thailand, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Sweden has confirmed its first case of Clade 1 variant, which has been rapidly spreading in Africa, particularly in DRC. The emergence of this new variant raises concerns about its potential for higher lethality and transmission rates outside Africa. more

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: Guidance from the Conference of the Parties and Responses by the Global Environment Facility, COP1 - COP28

Global Environment Facility GEF (2024) CC

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established its Financial Mechanism to facilitate the provision and transfer of resources from developed to developing countries. The Global Environment Facility became the first operating entity of the Financial Mechanism after the ... more

Guidance note for practitioners leveraging climate-smart agriculture for peace: Insights from a bundle of interventions in Ghana

Alliance of Bioversity & CIAT; CGIAR (2024) CC

Climate change is one of the biggest crises of our time. Climate threats range from higher temperatures, heavy rainfalls and floods, erratic precipitation, droughts, desertification, and land degradation. This has negative implications on the quality and quantity of natural resources, such as land a... more

Integrating disease outbreaks and strengthening of health in whole-of-society disaster risk management

UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (2024) CC

The guide aims to provide health and DRM practitioners, planners and policymakers across sectors with targeted information to help them strengthen national health systems and integrate the risks of disease outbreaks in national DRR strategies The following are some of the principles and approache... more

Preventing HIV misdiagnosis: implementation guide

World Health Organization WHO (2024) CC

HIV testing programmes need to ensure that all clients who test for HIV are provided with correct diagnoses. The accuracy of HIV testing is critical to prevent misdiagnosis, as the consequences of giving an incorrect test result can be serious for clients, HIV testing services, HIV programmes and pu... more

A comprehensive review of cystic fibrosis in Africa and Asia

Abubakar, B.K.; Ahmad, U., Chau, D.M. et al. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences (2023) CC

Cystic ﬁbrosis (CF) was earlier thought to be a disease prevalent in the West among Caucasians. However, quite a number of recent studies have uncovered CF cases outside of this region, and reported hundreds of unique and novel variant forms of CFTR. Here, we discuss the evidence of CF in parts of... more

Operational Guidance: Breastfeeding Counselling in Emergencies

Emergency Nutrition Network ENN (2021) C2

Women and children, especially pregnant girls and women, infants and young children and postpartum women, are populations that are extremely vulnerable in emergencies. Breastfeeding provides children with hydration, comfort, connection, high quality nutrition and protection against disease, shieldin... more

Considerations for wastewater and environmental surveillance for monkeypox virus: interim guidance, 25 November 2024

World Health Organization WHO (2024) C_WHO

interim guidance, 25 November 2024

Multiple first-line therapies as part of the response to antimalarial drug resistance

World Health Organization WHO (2024) C_WHO

Effective malaria case management requires quick access to diagnostics and antimalarial treatments to reduce illness and death. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been essential to malaria treatment since 2001, as it combines artemisinin for rapid parasite reduction with a partner drug ... more

Sanitation inspections User guide

World Health Organization WHO (2024) C_WHO

Safe sanitation is essential for health, from preventing infections to improving and maintaining mental and social well-being. Lack of adequate sanitation contributes to diarrhoeal diseases, parasitic infections, and undernutrition, as well as posing significant risks and causing anxiety, especial... more

Overview of capacity building opportunities in “One Health”, internationally and with focus on Africa

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ (2022) CC2

An interdisciplinary approach to address global health challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, loss of biodiversity, human migration has been framed by the One Health approach. This approach is promoted at global level by the Tripartite of the World Health Organisation, the World A... more

The failure of community-based health insurance schemes in Tanzania: opening the black box of the implementation process

Kigume, R.; Maluka, S. (2021) CC2

Globally, there is increased advocacy for community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes. Like other low and middle-income countries (LMICs), Tanzania officially established the Community Health Fund (CHF) in 2001 for rural areas; and Tiba Kwa Kadi (TIKA) for urban population since 2009. This study... more

National Operational Guideline for Community-Based Health Services, 2021

Ministry of Health The United Republic of Tanzania (2021) CC2

Towards Sustainable Community Health and Social Welfare Services Leaving No One Behind. This Operational Guideline for Community-Based Health Services (CBHS) in line with the CBHS Policy Guideline map an integrated and coordinated national approach to community-based health services in Tanzania. ... more

Essential and actionable measures for enhancing country preparedness for Viral Haemorrhagic Fever outbreaks in the WHO African Region
recommended

World Health Organization WHO (2024) C_WHO

The target audience of this document (and the associated online companion tool) includes WHO country offices in Member States of the African Region; Member States’ ministries of health and their public health emergency operation centres; relevant external assessment teams; and partners looking... more

Beyond illness: Understanding the social determinants in the life of a middle-aged Pakistani woman

World Health Organization WHO EMHJ – Vol. 30 No. 12 – 2024 (2025) C_WHO

Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of poor health, and the scarcity of resources limits access to essential health care services.

An Infographic Guide to Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence (TFGBV)

UNFPA (2025) C2

An Infographic Guide to Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence (TFGBV) offers a visually engaging toolkit designed to raise awareness and deepen understanding of the pervasive and harmful impact of TFGBV on women and girls in all their diversity.

Polio Vaccine Security Framework

Global Polio Eradication Initiative GPEI (2025) CC

Long-term polio vaccine security – the timely, sustained, and uninterrupted supply of suitable types of affordable, quality-assured polio vaccines – is essential in the global effort to achieve and maintain a polio free world. However, fragmented approaches and short-term planning pose considera... more

Targeted and selective strategies in measles and rubella vaccination campaigns: Interim guidance

World Health Organization WHO (2025) C_WHO

The World Health Organization provides regional and national strategies and operational plans that aim to support countries in work to achieve measles control and elimination. These are guided by high level frameworks including the Immunization Agenda 2030 and the Measles and Rubella Strategic Frame... more

Making every school in the Region of the Americas a health-promoting school: Implementation guide for educational institutions

Pan American Health Organization PAHO (2024) CC

Every day, schools engage in numerous activities that help promote the health and well-being of students, families, and communities. There is clear evidence of the benefits of the health-promoting schools (HPS) approach, not only for improving overall health outcomes (physical, mental, and social) i... more

Essential and actionable measures for enhancing country preparedness for Viral Haemorrhagic Fever outbreaks in the WHO African Region recommended

Essential and actionable measures for enhancing country preparedness for Viral Haemorrhagic Fever outbreaks in the WHO African Region
recommended