The overall goal of this strategy is to ensure accurate understanding of the
benefits of covid-19 vaccination and alleviate apprehension about the vaccine, to ensure its acceptance and encourage uptake across various audiences.
Objectives
x Create demand, promote acceptability and accessibility o...f COVID-19
vaccine among at least 90% of the general public.
x Develop appropriate messages and identify channels to communicate
the potential benefits and risks of the vaccine to all concerned parties,
including decision-makers at all levels.
x Provide timely and accurate information to address misinformation,
rumors and other crisis situations.
x Effectively mobilize and empower communities to ensure participation
and ownership of the vaccination process
x Strengthen communication mechanisms and partnerships among key
stakeholders to support the national communication effort.
more
3rd edition. In 2001, Uganda adapted the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) developed by World Health Organization (WHO) for member states in African region. The Ministry of Health has been implementing the IDSR strategy since then with success across the country. This strategy prov...ides the opportunity for rational use of resources and maximises investments in health surveillance systems. The 3rd edition IDSR guidelines incorporates lessons learnt from previous
epidemics, new frameworks like the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), One Health, Disaster Risk Management (DRM), the WHO regional strategy for health security and emergencies, and the rising non-communicable diseases, and aims to strengthen implementation of IHR (2005) core surveillance and response capacities. These guidelines have been adapted to reflect national priorities, policies and public health structures; and shall be used in conjunction with other similar
guidelines/strategies or initiatives.
Overall, the 3rd edition technical guidelines will incorporate the following:
• Strengthening Indicator Based Surveillance
• Strengthening Event Based Surveillance
• Improving community-based disease surveillance
• Improving Cross Border Surveillance and response
• Scaling up e-IDSR implementation
• Improving reporting and information sharing platforms
• Improved data sharing across sectors
• Tailoring IDSR to Emergency or Disaster contexts
The 3rd edition guidelines are intended for use as:
• A general reference for surveillance activities across all levels
• A set of definitions for thresholds that trigger some action for response
• A stand-alone reference for level-specific guidelines on surveillance and response
• A resource for developing training, supervision and evaluation of surveillance activities
• A guide for improving early detection and preparedness for outbreak response.
more
People with underlying noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and cancer have a high risk for developing severe and even fatal COVID-19. It is important for them to strictly follow basic protective measures and make sure th...eir chronic diseases are well managed. However, pandemics cripple health systems and compromise provision routine medical care. This technical note gives general guidance to people living with NCDs, their caregivers and family members, the public, health programme managers and health-care workers on how to reduce risks of a COVID-19 infection and maintain care for people living with NCDs during the outbreak.
more
The purpose of this interim guidance is to provide information and insight to assist public policy and
health system leaders in preparing for and responding to an MCE caused by terrorist use of explosives
(TUE). This document provides practical information to promote comprehensive mass casualty ca...re
in the event of a TUE event and focuses on two areas:
1. leadership in preparing for and responding to a TUE event, and
2. effective care of patients in the prehospital and hospital environments during a TUE event.
more
The number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise again, with South Africa nearing half of all confirmed cases in the WHO African Region. Threats of new variants loom and low vaccination coverage raises questions on the future of the response to COVID-19. Prevention remains the key strategy in most sub-Sa...haran countries. Five National Centres (NCs) from the African Health Observatory Platform on Health Systems and Policies (AHOP), based in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Senegal, reflect on lessons to be learnt from their containment responses in the initial phases. They construct timelines to highlight the policies and challenges associated with introducing a range of public health containment measures and
discuss the extent to which these measures continue to be valuable given the ever-changing nature of the pandemic.
more
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are known to cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
A novel coronavirus (CoV) was identified in 2019 in Wuhan, China. This is a ...new coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans.
This course provides a general introduction to nCoV and emerging respiratory viruses and is intended for public health professionals, incident managers and personnel working for the United Nations, international organizations and NGOs.
This course is also available in the following languages:
français - Español - 中文 - Português - العربية - русский - Türkçe - српски језик - فارسی - हिन्दी, हिंदी - македонски јазик - Tiếng Việt - Indian sign language - magyar - Bahasa Indonesia - বাংলা - اردو - Kiswahili - አማርኛ - ଓଡିଆ - Hausa - Tetun - Deutsch - Èdè Yorùbá - Asụsụ Igbo - ਪੰਜਾਬੀ - isiZulu
more
“Preferred product characteristics” (PPCs) are key tools to incentivize and guide the development of urgently needed health products. Some of the vector control interventions deployed in complex emergencies and in response to natural disasters – namely insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoo...r residual spraying (IRS) – have already met identified public health needs in more stable settings; other tools such as insecticide-treated tarpaulins have been specifically designed for this use case. Given the diverse mix of existing and potential new interventions and the considerable gaps in the associated evidence base, this PPC aims to clearly articulate the unmet public health needs for tools designed to control malaria transmission in complex emergencies and in response to natural disasters.
more
The far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the critical need for evidence-informed, transparent and inclusive decision-making. Policy-makers have grappled with complex choices amidst uncertainty. They have constantly reassessed response measures while navigating their economic impl...ications and unintended consequences on societal well-being. Effective communication of the basis for these decisions has also posed a challenge, requiring transparency and public trust.
more
Successful detonation of an improvised nuclear device (IND) would be a catastrophic event, causing an unprecedented number of injuries and lives lost, as well as economic, political, and social disruption. However, an effective medical response and an infrastructure prepared to protect itself from f...allout could save tens of thousands of lives. Since 2001, all levels of government, academic institutions, and professional organizations have done significant work to enhance our ability to prepare for and respond to a nuclear detonation. The following manual is intended to simplify and translate the necessary protective actions and medical response modalities in order to make them more accessible and easier to translate into practice. The approach of this manual is to provide a common baseline application for various allied response disciplines (to include senior operational responders, emergency managers, public health advisors, and municipal, State, and Federal executives and elected officials). This manual will enhance mutual understanding of the basics of nuclear response.
more
ECDC launched the HEPSA (Health Emergency Preparedness Self-Assessment) tool, in order to support countries in improving their level of public health emergency preparedness. The tool is worksheet-based and is targeted at professionals in public health organisations responsible for emergency planning... and event management. It consists of seven domains that define the process of public health emergency preparedness and response: 1) Pre-event preparations and governance; 2) Resources: Trained workforce; 3) Support capacity: Surveillance; 4) Support capacity: Risk assessment; 5) Event response management; 6) Post-event review; 7) Implementation of lessons learned.
more
A Situational Assessment and Five-YearAction Plan for the Africa CDC Strengthening Regional Public Health Institutions and Capacity for Surveillance and Response Program
No Public Health without Refugee and Migrant health.
This report, the first of its kind, creates an evidence base with the aim of catalysing progress towards developing and promoting migrant-sensitive health systems in the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region and beyond. This report seeks to... illuminate the causes, conse-quences and responses to the health needs and challenges faced by refugees and migrants in the Region, while also providing a snapshot of the progress being made across the Region. Additionally, the report seeks to identify gaps that require further action through collaboration, to improve the collection and availability of high-quality data and to stimulate policy initiatives
more
salud pública de méxico / vol. 50, suplemento 2 de 2008, pp.167-177.
In response to the emerging global concern regarding health and people with intellectual disabilities (ID), several developed countries have established national initiatives to address the unique health needs of this population ...segment. However, most people with ID reside in countries with developing economies, such as many Latin American countries, yet there is virtually no information on the health of people with ID in these regions. Countries with developing economies face distinct challenges in promoting health among this population segment that may preclude adoption or adaptation of policies and practices developed in regions with established economies. This paper will address the issue of health promotion among people with ID in Latin America, an area that is undergoing significant reforms in both health care and disability rights
more
Policy makers and public health professionals may be forced to weigh and prioritize potentially competing ethical values in the face of severe time and resource constraints. This video from the World Health Organisation explains that ethical concerns associated with the planning, preparedness and re...sponse to disease outbreaks are important to consider, ensuring that response efforts are not hindered in the event of a pandemic.
more
The Ebola outbreak that started in December 2013 became a public
health, humanitarian and socioeconomic crisis with a devastating
impact on families, communities and affected countries. It also served
as a reminder that the world, including WHO, is ill-prepared for a large
and sustained disease ...outbreak.
more
The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented public health, economic, and social impacts on the international community, and prompted an unprecedented range and size of policy actions globally. Collective efforts, at national, regional, and global levels, were called for to contain and mitigate such ...impacts. The public health response measures alone proved to be insufficient, calling for additional socio-economic policy interventions such as ring-fencing economic activities to contain the spread of the virus. Faced with devastating socio-economic costs, all possible sources of financing, both public and private, have been explored.
more
The slow global response to the Ebola crisis in west Africa suggests that important gaps exist in donor financing for key global functions, such as support for health research and development for diseases of poverty and strengthening of outbreak preparedness. In this Health Policy, we use the Intern...ational Development Statistics databases to quantify donor support for such functions. We classify donor funding for health into aid for global functions (provision of global public goods, management of cross-border externalities, and fostering of leadership and stewardship) versus country-specific aid. We use a new measure of donor funding that combines official development assistance (ODA) for health with additional donor spending on research and development (R&D) for diseases of poverty.
more
Advances have been made through expanded interventions delivered through five public health approaches: innovative and intensified disease management; preventive chemotherapy; vector ecology and management; veterinary public health services; and the provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene. I...n 2015 alone nearly one billion people were treated for at least one disease and significant gains were achieved in relieving the symptoms and consequences of diseases for which effective tools are scarce; important reductions were achieved in the number of new cases of sleeping sickness, of visceral leishmaniasis in South-East Asia and also of Buruli ulcer.
The report also considers vector control strategies and discusses the importance of the draft WHO Global Vector Control Response 2017–2030.
more
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent public health guidance to reduce the spread of the diseasehave wide-reaching implications for children’s health and wellbeing. Furthermore, paediatric emergency departments(EDs) have rapidly adapted provision of care in response to the pandemic. This qualitativ...e study utilized insight frommultidisciplinary frontline staff to understand the changes in paediatric emergency healthcare utilization duringCOVID-19 the experiences of working within the restructured health system.
more
This document is intended to guide the care of COVID-19 patients as the response capacity of health systems is challenged; to ensure that COVID-19 patients can access life-saving treatment, without compromising public health objectives and safety of health workers.
It promotes two key messages:
...
1. Key public health interventions regardless of transmission scenario; and
2. Key action steps to be taken by transmission scenario to enable timely surge of clinical operations.
more