I examine the effectiveness of donors in targeting the highest burden of malaria in the Democratic Republic of Congo when health information structure is fragmented. I exploit local variations in the burden of malaria induced by mining activities as well as financial and epidemiological data from he...alth facilities to estimate how local aid is matching local health needs. Using a regression discontinuity design, I find significant but quantitatively small variations in aid to health facilities located within mining areas. Comparing local aid with the additional cost of treatment and prevention associated with the increased risk of malaria transmission, I find suggestive evidence that local populations with the highest burden of the disease receive a proportionately lower share of aid compared to neighbouring areas with reduced exposure to malaria infection. The evidence of disparities in the allocation of aid for malaria supports the view that donors may have inaccurate information about local population needs.
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This report seeks to uncover the extent to which global goals crowd in international financing, inform domestic policy priorities, and navigate progress toward development outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LICs and MICs). Our report:
Provides a historical perspective on how ODA financin...g was aligned with the MDGs, and the perceived influence of global goals in shaping domestic priorities
Offers a baseline of ODA financing to the SDGs and a forward-looking perspective in translating past lessons learned from the MDGs era into actionable insights
Using a pilot methodology developed by AidData, we analyze ODA flows during the MDGs era (2000-2013) and approximate baseline financing for each goal prior to the adoption of Agenda 2030 in September 2015. The dataset used in the report, Financing to the SDGs, Version 1.0, provides project-level data on estimated Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from 2000 to 2013. In this report, we also draw upon the responses of nearly 7,000 public, private, and civil society leaders from AidData’s novel 2014 Reform Efforts Survey to assess how national-level policymakers perceive the MDGs in light of their domestic reform priorities, and what this may mean for the SDGs.
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The biennium 2020–2021 has revealed more clearly than ever the need for a strong, credible and independent WHO on the world stage. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis has demonstrated the fundamental importance of the global detection, response and coordination roles that only WHO can play a...cross all Member States. At the same time, the challenges to global health systems and the pressure to ensure equal access to quality health care and the best health possible for all have mounted. The triple billion targets of the Thirteenth General Programme of Work, 2019–2023 remain relevant. The work of WHO in all contexts has never been more critical. However, as several Member States have pointed out, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the discrepancy between what the world expects of WHO and what it is able to deliver with the resources/capacity it has at its disposal. Sustainable financing is thus a key challenge for the Organization that must be addressed as part of the lessons learned from the current COVID-19 pandemic. Member States discussed this issue in detail during the Seventy-third World Health Assembly and their conclusions were reflected in resolution WHA73.1 (2020). The topic of adequate funding is not new. However, discussions on the matter have, to date, remained rather abstract. Building on previous discussions and taking account of lessons learned, the WHO Secretariat would like to initiate a process aimed at finding a concrete solution to the sustainable financing of WHO. This document proposes a process through which to arrive at such a decision, including the key stages and timeline.
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The Infection prevention and control in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a living guideline consolidates technical guidance developed and published during the COVID-19 pandemic into evidence-informed recommendations for infection prevention and control (IPC). This living guideline... is available both online and PDF.
**This version of the living guideline (version 5.0) **includes the following seven revised statements for the prevention, identification and management of SARS-CoV-2 infections among health and care workers:
a good practice statement on national and subnational testing strategies;
a good practice statement on passive syndromic surveillance of health and care workers;
a good practice statement on prioritizing health and care workers for SARS-CoV-2 testing;
a good practice statement on protocols for reporting and managing health and care worker exposures;
a good practice statement to limit in-person work of health and care workers with active SARS-CoV-2 infections;
a statement on high-risk exposures and quarantine; and,
a conditional recommendation on the duration of isolation for health and care workers.
Understanding the updated section
Prevention of infections in the health care setting includes a multi-pronged and multi-factorial approach that includes IPC and occupational health and safety measures and adherence to Public Health and Social Measures in the community by the health workforce. The underlying infection prevention and control strategy of this section is the notion that early identification of symptomatic cases, testing and quarantining/isolating health and care workers decreases the risk of nosocomial infection to patients and to other health and care workers.
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This report makes clear that there is a path to end AIDS. Taking that path will help ensure preparedness to address other pandemic challenges, and advance progress across the Sustainable Development Goals. The data and real-world examples in the report make it very clear what that path is. It is not... a mystery. It is a choice. Some leaders are already following the path—and succeeding. It is inspiring to note that Botswana, Eswatini, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe have already achieved the 95–95–95 targets, and at least 16 other countries (including eight in sub-Saharan Africa) are close to doing so.
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The WHO COVID-19 Clinical management: living guidance contains the most up-to-date recommendations for the clinical management of people with COVID-19. Providing guidance that is comprehensive and holistic for the optimal care of COVID-19 patients throughout their entire illness is important.
This resource pack was developed for the country offices of the World Health Organization and national Public Health institutions, as an overview of the key information needed for advising their Member States in response to questions raised on human health due to influenza outbreaks or detections in... animals. It assembles the available information from WHO, FAO and WOAH, on recommendations and guidelines on influenza that might be relevant to a country experiencing detections or outbreaks of influenza in animals or facing suspicion of human infections with animal-origin influenza viruses. This resource pack updates the information provided in the Summary of Key Information Practical to Countries Experiencing Outbreaks of A(H5N1) and Other Subtypes of Avian Influenza, published in 2016. Additionally, the scope of this current document was broadened to address the risks to public health from all animal influenza viruses, not only avian influenza. Links to existing resources were updated and new resources were added where available.
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To better adapt current case management practices and address excess mortality in otherwise treatable
cases will require better knowledge of the demographic characteristics of the patients and comorbidities
which can make severe dehydration harder to tolerate physiologically. With this in mind, a ...scoping review
was undertaken, to explore the literature and summarise the existing evidence on cholera mortality and
reported risk factors.
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Cholera is a major health risk in many parts of the world, affecting millions of people every year. Since mid-2021, the world has been facing an acute upsurge of the 7th cholera pandemic, which is characterized by the number, size and concurrence of multiple outbreaks, the spread to areas that had b...een free of cholera for decades and alarmingly high mortality rates. The mortality associated with these outbreaks is of particular concern as many countries have reported higher case fatality ratios (CFR) than in previous years
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Pathogen genomic surveillance has become a priority for public health systems in recent years. Genomic sequencing is increasingly being used to characterize pathogens and monitor important public health priorities (e.g. poliovirus, influenza virus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Vibrio cholerae, ant...imicrobial resistance (AMR)). The decrease in cost and time of sequencing and the exponential development of bioinformatic pipelines have played a critical role in integrating pathogen genomics into routine public health surveillance. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the role that sequencing plays in the surveillance of infectious diseases. Sequencing facilitates earlier detection, more accurate investigation of outbreaks, closer real-time monitoring of pathogen evolution and tailored development and evaluation of interventions to inform local to global public health decision-making and action. However, there remains a need to coordinate efforts, leverage and link existing surveillance and laboratory networks and capabilities, and systematically integrate genetic sequence data (GSD) with clinical and epidemiological data to strengthen its utility.
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While there has been real progress in addressing the burden of disease in the WHO African region, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the link between health, economics and security, as the region saw decades of progress threatened, including positive trends in decreasing inequality. In the Africa...n Region the momentum towards achieving the 2030 SDG disease burden reduction targets (SDG targets 3.3, 3.4 and 3B) has stalled.
The COVID-19 pandemic was also a major threat to gains made, such as the eradication of polio in the region, declared in 2020; reduced numbers of new HIV infections in 2021 compared to 2010; and passing the 2020 milestone of the End TB Strategy, with a 22% reduction in new cases compared with 2015. However, the pandemic also disrupted essential health services in 92% of countries globally, 22.7 million children missed basic immunization, there was an increase in malaria and TB, and global deaths from TB rose for the first time since 2015.
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Four initiatives have estimated the value of aid for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health
(RMNCH): Countdown to 2015, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the Muskoka Initiative, and
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) policy marker. We... aimed to compare the
estimates, trends, and methodologies of these initiatives and make recommendations for future aid tracking.
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This action plan is intended for senior-level decision-makers in ministries of health, malaria
programme managers, entomologists, and epidemiologists working on malaria and other vectorborne diseases programmes. It is also intended for decision-makers and technical and advocacy
staff at other orga...nizations and stakeholders involved in public health, malaria control and
elimination, and urban and rural development.
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This brief update on tuberculosis (TB) in the African region covers the state of TB in the WHO African region, strategic priorities and targets and the impact of COVID-19 on essential services. This is followed by key figures for the region, the role of WHO in country support and, recognizing the im...portance of diagnosis and drug susceptibility testing, a focus onstrengthening laboratory networks and the regional laboratory and diagnostic objectives. A brief update of the state of the science and how this is funded across the African region is provided, before closing with challenges and opportunities,strategic directions and a brief discussion of funding concerns. Discussions around the drivers of the disease, and issues of the poverty, inequality and stigma that continue to plague those living with TB are fully recognized, but are outside the scope of this report.
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This document seeks to help health communication professionals working on the topic of immunization more effectively communicate about Events Supposedly Attributed to Vaccination and Immunization (ESAVI) by building trust in National Immunization Programs, understanding risk perceptions related to v...accination, and responding to false information related to vaccination. It includes practical dos and don’ts regarding risk communication and community engagement processes and principles, messaging, risk perceptions, handling false information, collaborating with partners, and pharmacovigilance, as well as real-world examples.
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In line with the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organisations which IFRC, ICRC and various Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies have endorsed, this short Guide aims to help practitioners integrate environmental and climate change considerations into their work. It has been dev...eloped primarily for logistics staff, administrative staff, and management. It is not necessary to be an environmental expert to use this Guide.
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The key actions, activities, and approaches in this document are organized within each of the 5Cs (see Table 1 in the PDF) and those of the Strategic preparedness and response plan (SPRP) pillars as follows:
National action plan key activities, prioritized for the current context and the current ...understanding of the threat of SARS-CoV-2
A. Transition from emergency response to longer term COVID-19 disease management.
B. Integrate activities into routine systems.
C. Strengthen global health security.
Special considerations for fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable (including humanitarian) settings
WHO global and regional support to Member States to implement their national action plans
Key guidance documents for reference
This is a living document that will be updated to incorporate new technical guidance in response to the evolving epidemiological situation. National plans should be implemented in accordance with the principles of inclusiveness, respect for human rights, and equity.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) is releasing the second edition of its Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!) guidance. The document aims to equip governments to respond to the health and well-being challenges, opportunities and needs of adolescents.
The guidance pro...vides the latest available data on adolescent health and well-being. It also outlines an updated list of core indicators that data should be collected on. Globally, road injury was the top cause of death for adolescent males in 2019. Among female adolescents, the leading causes of death were diarrhoeal diseases among the younger group (10-14 years) and tuberculosis (TB) in the older group (15-19 years).
Over the last 20 years, mortality rates have declined among adolescents globally, with the largest decline in older (15–19 years) adolescent girls. For non-fatal diseases, the burden has not improved over the past two decades, with the main causes of ill health in this category being: mental health conditions (depressive and anxiety disorders, childhood behavioural disorders), iron deficiency anaemia, skin diseases and migraine.
Adolescent well-being depends on a range of factors, including healthy food, education, life skills and employability, connectedness, feeling valued by society, safe and supportive environments, resilience, and the freedom to make choices. To take an appropriately holistic approach, the guidance outlines how to take crosscutting action to support adolescent health and well-being, with mutually reinforcing interventions across sectors, such as health, education, social protection, and telecommunications. Targeted efforts are also required to engage adolescents, as they trust health systems less than adults do and are especially vulnerable to modern-day trends, like online bullying and gaming.
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Building on the 2021 Interim guidance, this second version and update, incorporates the lessons and feedback from the hepatitis pilots that successfully demonstrated the feasibility of measuring hepatitis B and C impact targets to demonstrate elimination, whilst highlighting challenges caused by hig...h disease burden in some countries, as well as delays in reaching mortality targets due to the long natural history of disease progression to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
The path to elimination provides a framework with 3 levels of achievements for which WHO certification is available. Each stepwise progression from bronze to silver to gold tiers will promote an iterative expansion of prevention, diagnosis and treatment services for viral hepatitis services and strengthen measurement systems to support attainment of the 2030 elimination goals.
This updated version also includes changes, clarifications and new guidance on alternative measurement approaches for country validation of elimination. Through the validation process, WHO and partners continue to provide country support for strengthening health system capacity and patient-centred services that respect and protect the human rights of people living with viral hepatitis and ensures meaningful engagement of communities in the national, regional and global viral hepatitis response.
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Sound periodic programme reviews provide opportunities for countries to objectively assess progress and take corrective action to sustain or get back on track towards achieving their medium and long-term programme goals. It reflects people’s diverse needs, enables efficient use of health system re...sources and improves the predictability, sustainability and transparency of the programmes.
This publication provides guidance to countries on how to perform programme reviews for HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections in this dynamic health sector context. The guidance encourages integrated reviews across health programmes for more efficient use of health system resources. The welfare of populations to be served must be at the centre of health programme reviews, with the overarching resolve to protect and promote health as a human right.
This guidance is intended for use by all national partners, including health ministries, related ministries, civil society, affected communities and other stakeholders, for participatory and evidence-informed programme reviews.
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