WHO’s Global Health Estimates (GHE) provide the latest available data on death and disability globally, by region and country, and by age, sex and cause. The latest updates include global, regiona...l and country trends from 2000 to 2019 inclusive. By providing key insights on mortality and morbidity trends, these estimates are a powerful tool to support informed decision-making on health policy and resource allocation.
The next update to these estimates will include an assessment of the direct and indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality and morbidity.
more
The WHO SAGE values framework for the allocation and prioritization of COVID-19 vaccination is intended to offer guidance on the prioritization of groups for vaccination when vaccine supply is limited. It provides a values foundation for the object...ives of COVID-19 vaccination programmes and links those to target groups for vaccination. This information is valuable to countries and globally while specific policies will be developed once vaccines become available.
This document it available in Arabic, Chinese English, French, Portuguese and Russian
more
The WHO SAGE values framework for the allocation and prioritization of COVID-19 vaccination is intended to offer guidance on the prioritization of groups for vaccination when vaccine supply is limited. It provides a values foundation for the object...ives of COVID-19 vaccination programmes and links those to target groups for vaccination. This information is valuable to countries and globally while specific policies will be developed once vaccines become available.
This document it available in Arabic, Chinese and Russian
more
The checklist is aligned with, and builds upon, existing COVID-19-related WHO guidelines and is structured around protective measures related to: 1) hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette; 2) physical distancing; 3) use of masks in schools; 4) envir...onmental cleaning and ventilation; and 5) respecting procedures for isolation of all people with symptoms. The checklist is designed to support policy-makers, staff and officials from the education and health sectors, local authorities, school principals/leaders and administrators, teachers’ unions, community leaders, school staff, teachers, parents and caregivers.
more
The 2020 Report analyzes global health spending for 190 countries from 2000 to 2018 and provides insights as to the health spending trajectory from the MDG era to the SDG era prior to the crisis of ...2020. The report shows that global spending on health continually rose between 2000 and 2018 and reached US$ 8.3 trillion or 10% of global GDP. The data also show that out-of-pocket spending has remained high in low and lower-middle income countries, representing greater than 40% of total health spending in 2018. We also report and summarize the data on expenditures for PHC, as well as by disease and intervention, including for immunization. The report also analyzes the available data on budget allocation in response to the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, we combine World Bank/IMF projections of the macroeconomic and fiscal impact of the crisis with an analysis of the historical determinants of health spending patterns and UHC indicators, and based on this, we draw out the likely implications of 2020 for future health spending, highlighting key policy and monitoring concerns.
more
The WHO Labour Care Guide is a tool that aims to support good-quality, evidence-based, respectful care during labour and childbirth, irrespective of the setting or level of health care. This manual ...has been developed to help skilled health personnel to successfully use the WHO Labour Care Guide. The manual will also be of interest to staff involved in training health care personnel, health-care facility managers, and implementers and managers of maternal and child health services.
more
When can we expect a vaccine for COVID-19? How will we ensure that it is safe? Who should be vaccinated first and why? Find out the answers to these and other questions.
How do vaccines work to protect us? What are the vaccine technologies in the pipeline and how do we ensure safe vaccines? Dr Katherine O’ Brien explains in Science in 5 !
As vaccines get approved by national authorities, learn about National and WHO approval processes for vaccines and how safety is ensured during emergency approval of vaccines. Dr Mariângela Simão explains in Science in 5.
How concerned should we be about the new variants of SARS CoV 2 which cause COVID-19? Is it unusual for viruses to change and mutate? Do vaccines protect against these variants and what can you do to protect yourself? WHO’s Chief Scientist Dr Soum...ya Swaminathan explains in Science in 5
more
Why are experts concerned about COVID-19 and antibiotics? And what can you do about it? Learn about antibiotics and COVID-19 from WHO’s Dr Hanan Balkhy in Science in 5
8 January 2021
Sequencing enabled the world to rapidly identify SARS-CoV-2 and develop diagnostic tests and other tools for outbreak management. Continued genome sequencing supports the monitoring of the disease’s spread and evolution of the viru...s. Accelerated integration of genome sequencing into the practices of the global health community is required if we want to be better prepared for the future threats. This document provides guidance for laboratories on maximizing the impact of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing now and other emerging pathogens in the future.
more
This document outlines the evaluation process that WHO undertakes to assess novel tools and strategies targeted at VBDs. Its aim is to articulate the linkage between the generation of evidence that demonstrates public ...ight medbox">health impact of novel interventions, and the development of policy recommendations based on the generated data. The document defines standards for the evaluation process, as well as the steps that an applicant needs to undertake, along with some guiding principles that aim to support applicants in the development of submissions with WHO.
more
To help parents keep their children healthy and fit, WHO has developed the Child Nutrition and Physical Activity Guide. In addition to parents, the guide may prove to be a useful tool for other adul...ts (such as grandparents or caregivers) working with primary school-aged children.
The Child Nutrition and Physical Activity Guide is published only in the Russian language with support from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation for use in Russian-speaking countries. It addresses the urgent need in some countries to improve child nutrition, particularly in areas that face a double health burden characterized by coexistence of undernutrition and overweight, obesity or noncommunicable diseases. Many children in those countries never eat breakfast, and their diet consists of large quantities of sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages with almost no vegetables and fruit.
The WHO guide also offers ideas on how to stimulate children’s interest in physical activity, such as active play, exercise or sports. This is especially relevant for countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), where, according to the latest findings, schoolchildren have a low participation in organized sports and exercise. On the other hand, a high proportion of schoolchildren walk to school every day. This could be a good starting point for CIS countries to make physical activity a daily habit that not only improves children’s physical health, but also promotes better mental health and well-being.
The guide aims to ensure that children obtain the knowledge and skills to make healthy food choices, critically evaluate their diet and integrate physical activity into daily life.
more
Calls for greater implementation research (IR) capacity came in the wake of compelling evidence that implementation strategies are critically important for the dissemination and facilitation of evidence-informed policies and interventions to tackle noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), thereby improving ...outcomes for both individuals and populations. However, at present, implementation of evidence-based interventions and policies is challenged by a gap in lack of academic research on how these cost–effective recommended interventions can be implemented in the context of local settings, especially those of low and middle-income.
more
14 January 2021
This practical guide can be used to help countries monitor and analyse the impact of COVID-19 on essential health services to inform planning and decision-making. It provides practical recommendations on how to use key performance i...ndicators to analyse changes in access to and delivery of essential health services within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; how to visualize and interpret these data; and how to use the findings to guide modifications for safe delivery of services and transitioning towards restoration and recovery. The guide focuses on existing indicators and data that are captured in routine reporting systems and how they can be used by national and subnational authorities to understand specific contexts, challenges and bottlenecks. This guide supports Maintaining essential health services: operational guidance for the COVID-19 context, which provides an integrated framework to guide countries in their efforts to reorganize, adapt and maintain safe delivery of high-priority essential health services within the context of the pandemic.
more
Recommendations for health care professionals – the experience from Latvia