Has the world worked together to tackle the coronavirus? July 2021. This research paper assesses how the global community has responded to calls fo...r greater solidarity in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, and presents the insights of key stakeholders and experts in global health governance, health security, and pandemic preparedness and response. The authors examine the state of solidarity at global, regional and national levels, and present case studies on COVAX and on the EU’s turbulent journey through solidarity.
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This real-time learning process was carried out in order to identify the gaps and needs within World Vision’s current Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) response in Sierra Leone ...highlight medbox">and to inform World Vision on how other surrounding countries (specifically those with national offices such as Mali, Ghana, Niger, Mauritania, Senegal and Chad) should prepare for a possible Ebola outbreak.
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A practitioner’s guide to the principles of COVID-19 vaccine communications.
The factors that lead people to make choices to take vaccines are ...nuanced and affected by how they see the world, their perceptions of the choices people like them will make, who they trust, their perceptions of risk, consistency of message and convenience of actually getting the vaccine.
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This document is a guide defining requirements for quality and safety for malaria rapid diagnostic testing services to safeguard the quality of the results, the safety of the operators ...attribute-to-highlight medbox">and patients and that of the environment for use by national malaria control programmes, regulators, implementers and rapid diagnostic providers.
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Interim guidance 2 February 2021 . Available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Ukranian, Russian
Health workers are at the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak response and as such are exposed to... different hazards that put them at risk. Occupational hazards include exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens, violence, harassment, stigma, discrimination, heavy workload and prolonged use of personal protective equipment (PPE). This document provides specific measures to protect occupational health and safety of health workers and highlights the duties, rights and responsibilities for health and safety at work in the context of COVID-19.
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Guidance for Asia Pacific National Societies.
This document provides guidance for Asia Pacific National Societies on how to include migrants and d...isplaced people in COVID-19 preparedness and response activities.
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This rapid advice guide examines the evidence and makes recommendations for the use of chest imaging in acute care of adult patients with suspected, probable or confirmed COVID-19. Imaging modalitie...s considered are radiography, computed tomography and ultrasound. This guide addresses the care pathway from presentation of the patient to a health facility to patient discharge. It considers different levels of disease severity, from asymptomatic individuals to critically ill patients. Accounting for variations in the benefits and harms of chest imaging in different situations, remarks are provided to describe the circumstances under which each recommendation would benefit patients. The guide also includes implementation considerations for different settings, provides suggestions for impact monitoring and evaluation and identifies knowledge gaps meriting further research.
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The report – the first of its kind – shows how the pandemic has driven up food insecurity and increased vulnerability among migrants, families reliant on remittances ...ighlight medbox">and communities forced from their homes by conflict, violence and disasters.
The two UN agencies warn the social and economic toll of the pandemic could be devastating and call on the world to prevent it by stepping up support in response to immediate and rising humanitarian needs, addressing the socioeconomic impacts of the crisis and ensuring that the most vulnerable are not forgotten.
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The Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) provides WHO with rapid and flexible resources to respond to disease outbreaks ...-highlight medbox">and other health emergencies. The annual report provides an overview of the use and impact of the Fund over the previous year.
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Modelling the health impacts of disruptions to essential health services during COVID-19 Module 1
Several epidemiological models have been created to assess the potential impact of disruptions ...n class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">to essential health services caused by COVID-19 on morbidity and mortality from conditions other than COVID-19 illness. This guide presents models that have been used to assess these indirect impacts. The effects have been studied in various settings, using a variety of models.
The guide is intended for people who need to understand what the models say, their construction and their underlying assumptions, or need to use models and their outcomes for planning and programme development and to support policy decisions for a country or region.
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Self-care interventions are among the most promising and exciting new approaches to improve health and well-being, both from a health systems persp...ective and for people who use these interventions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) uses the following working definition of self-care: Self-care is the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker. The scope of self-care as described in this definition includes health promotion; disease prevention and control; self-medication; providing care to dependent persons; seeking hospital/specialist/primary care if necessary; and rehabilitation, including palliative care. It includes a range of self-care modes and approaches. While this is a broad definition that includes many activities, it is important for health policy to recognize the importance of self-care, especially where it intersects with health systems and health professionals.
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This report presents examples from different agencies on how they approached community engagement in their Covid-19 responses, the tools and methodologies used, as well as the challenges they encoun...tered and how they attempted to overcome these. It discusses what community engagement means to the various agencies interviewed and in the literature consulted. And it puts forward some reflections on how CCCM and other sector agencies can take steps to ensure community participation in this and future pandemic responses.
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Community health workers (CHWs) play a significant role in Primary health Care due to their proximity to households, communities and the health car...e system. Many studies focus on CHWs and the work they do. However, few have examined their experiences and identity and how that might influence how they view and perform their roles. The objectives of the study were to: Describe the role of CHWs in community-based health care in Northern Cape, Identify the perceived barriers and enablers to CHWs role performance, Explore CHWs views regarding the support from the communities and the formal healthcare system in Northern Cape. An exploratory qualitative design using focus groups was adopted. Forty-six (46) CHWs were purposively selected using the critical case sampling approach. Data were collected through three focus group interviews in three regions. Analysis followed the Graneheim & Lundman thematic analysis. Three themes emerged from data: perceived contribution to Primary Health Care, recognition of CHWs role, measures to improve working conditions. Findings showed that CHWs were engaged in various health and social care roles, they believed that they made a significant contribution to PHC, and that the health system persistently relied on their services. The enabler for finding meaning in their work was the positive community response and the good relations they had with the team leaders. The major barrier was the structure of the CHWs programme and the perceived lack of support by the government. The complex issues CHWs address in the community call for a review of their roles and workload as well as the support they receive from the formal healthcare system.
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The guide is suitable and can be used for the following audiences:
1. nurses and other trained healthcare workers who can use this manual as a sel...f-study tool and then incorporate its guidance into their practice;
2. governmental and non-governmental employers of lay and professional TB treatment adherence workers, who can provide training and guidance to their staff using the guidance in this manual;
3. TB clinicians, programme managers, policy makers and other leaders, to make them aware of the full range of interventions required by a person on TB treatment to complete his or her treatment and thus understand the gap that often exists in the support provided to patients;
4. people who, with enhanced capacity and support, can act as peer counsellors and supporters for people affected by TB. This can include family members who, in most contexts, play an important role in offering support to people with TB.
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In the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response, WHO identifies young people as a priority target audience with specific concerns, experiences and behaviours. This policy brief provides relevant insights from behavioural evide...nce and a set of behavioural considerations for those promoting COVID-19 preventive behaviours among young people. Designers of programmes and initiatives targeting youth may find it helpful to refer to the youth-specific barriers and drivers identified in this policy brief and to prioritize these for testing when planning initiatives targeted at young people.
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SARS-CoV-2 infections among children and adolescents cause less severe illness and fewer deaths compared to adults. While a less severe course of i...nfection is a positive outcome, there are concerns that mild symptoms may have led to less testing, resulting in fewer identified cases of COVID-19 in children. If children with mild or no symptoms transmit the disease, they may act as drivers of transmission within their communities. Understanding symptoms, infectivity and patterns of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in children and adolescents is essential for developing, adapting and improving control measures for COVID-19 across all ages. This is a summary of the current knowledge around SARS-CoV-2 infection acquisition and transmission and COVID-19 disease symptoms in children and adolescents. It aims to inform decisions, based on local contexts, on how to best keep schools, kindergarten and day-care facilities open and what advice to apply to intergenerational mixing.
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Throughout the gestational period, it is important for obstetric health care facilities to strengthen health counselling, screening, and follow-ups for pregnant women, while incorporating screening,... hand hygiene practice, good respiratory etiquette and infection prevention control precautions. These screening procedures will help determine individualised precautions necessary, such as the wearing of face masks during consultations.
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The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented levels of disruption to education, impacting over 90% of the world’s student population: 1.54 billion children, including 743 million girls. S...chool closures and the wider socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 on communities and society also disrupt children’s and young people’s normal support systems, leaving them more vulnerable to illnesses and child protection risks such as physical and humiliating punishment, sexual and gender-based violence, child marriage, child labour, child trafficking and recruitment and use in armed conflict. Girls and other marginalised groups, particularly those in displaced settings, are particularly affected.
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Conflict, in its active or latent forms, is everywhere. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that public health emergencies can strike any country at any time. Given the universality of and interconnections between conflict, humanitarian crises, <...span class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">and public health emergencies, practitioners trained in one sector or the other are being called upon to understand how to navigate all of these emergencies at once.
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This course describes the health effects of war, weapons and strategies of violent conflict. Beginning with weapons of mass destruction it then moves on to other weapons ...ghlight medbox">and strategies of war such as the use of landmines and mass rape. The course concludes with a number of lessons which give an historical and practical analysis of the response of health professional groups to war and militarisation.
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