Large-Scale UN Response Needed to Address Health and Food Crises
This report is based on interviews with more than 150 health care professionals, Venezuelans seeking or in need of medical care who recently arrived in Colombia and Brazil, representatives from international and nongovernmental humani...tarian organizations. In addition, researchers analyzed data on the situation inside Venezuela from official sources, hospitals, international and national organizations, and civil society organizations.
We found a health system in utter collapse with increased levels of maternal and infant mortality; the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and diphtheria; and increases in numbers of infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis (TB). Although the government stopped publishing official data on nutrition in 2007, research by Venezuelan organizations and universities documents high levels of food insecurity and child malnutrition, and available data shows high hospital admissions of malnourished children.
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interim guidance, 14 June 2021
This document is intended for national authorities and decision makers in countries that have introduced large scale public health and social measures. It offers guidance for adjusting public health and social measures, while managing the risk of a resurgence of cases....
Available in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish
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The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been facing a sociopolitical and economic situation that has negatively impacted social and health indicators. There have been intensified population movements both within the country and to other countries, particularly to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,... Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay. Since 2017, an estimated 5.2 million Venezuelans have migrated to other countries, including an estimated 4.3 million who have gone to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Vaccines 2021, 9(2), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9020160
Health Evidence Network synthesis report 72
13 May 2021
To avoid a reversal of progress from the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, new knowledge and lessons from successful programmatic innovations are urgently needed to improve TB prevention and care. Experience can provide evidence for innovative approaches and strategies to mainta...in and scale up high-quality TB services. WHO therefore called for case studies on programmatic innovations that address emerging challenges in TB prevention and care during the pandemic in order to collect and disseminate the findings to the TB community. Between November 2020 and February 2021, a total of 23 case studies relevant to the call were accepted from 19 countries in the six regions of WHO. The lessons learnt from these country activities to ensure the continuity of essential services like TB care in the face of the crippling crisis may also inform strategies for minimizing the impact of future emerging pathogens on health services.
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orientations provisoires, 25 juin 2021. Des tests de diagnostic rapides et précis sont un outil essentiel pour prévenir et contrôler la propagation du COVID-19. Ce document décrit les recommandations relatives aux stratégies nationales de dépistage et à l'utilisation de la PCR et des tests an...tigéniques rapides dans différents scénarios de transmission de l'épidémie de COVID-19, y compris la manière dont les tests pourraient être rationalisés dans les milieux à faibles ressources. Tous les tests doivent être suivis d'une réponse de santé publique forte, comprenant l'isolement des personnes dont le test est positif et la fourniture de soins, la recherche des contacts et la mise en quarantaine des contacts.
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orientations provisoires, 14 juin 2021
orientaciones provisionales, 14 de junio de 2021
Les pays du monde entier sont confrontés à des situations épidémiologiques diverses, et disposent de capacités de réaction différentes et d’un accès inégal aux outils permettant de sauver des vies. L’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) recommande aux autorités nationales de contin...uer à appliquer une approche fondée sur les risques lorsqu’elles mettent en œuvre des mesures relatives aux voyages internationaux dans le contexte de la COVID-19, tout en respectant la dignité, les droits humains et les libertés fondamentales des voyageurs. Cette approche doit prendre en compte le risque d’importation et d’exportation de cas posé par les voyages dans le cadre de l’évolution de la situation épidémiologique, y compris de l’émergence et de la circulation de variants préoccupants du SARS-CoV-2, du déploiement de la vaccination contre la COVID-19 et des enseignements tirés de la riposte à la pandémie, notamment en ce qui concerne la détection précoce et la prise en charge des cas, ainsi que l’application de mesures sociales et de santé publique.
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In the Region of the Americas, the leishmaniases are a group of diseases caused by various species of Leishmania, which cause a set of clinical syndromes in infected humans that can involve the skin, mucosa, and visceral organs. The spectrum of clinical disease is varied and depends on the interacti...on of several factors related to the parasite, the vector, and the host. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is the form most frequently reported in the Region and nearly 90% of cases present single or multiple localized lesions. Other cutaneous clinical forms, such as disseminated and diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis, are more difficult to treat and relapses are common. The mucosal form is serious because it can cause disfigurement and severe disability if not diagnosed and treated early on. Visceral leishmaniasis is the most severe form, as it can cause death in up to 90% of untreated people.
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Orientations provisoires
9 août 2021
Le présent document vise à décrire un ensemble minimal d'activités de surveillance recommandées au niveau national pour détecter et surveiller la prévalence relative des variantes du SRAS-CoV-2 et à présenter un ensemble d'activités pour la caractér...isation et l'évaluation du risque que présentent ces variantes. k posés par ces variants. Un ensemble d'indicateurs est également fourni pour normaliser la surveillance et la déclaration publique de la circulation des variants.
Ce document est principalement destiné aux autorités de santé publique nationales et infranationales et aux partenaires qui soutiennent la mise en œuvre de la surveillance des variantes du SRAS-CoV-2.
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The overview of findings from five Latin American countries
Countries reported disruptions in all health-care settings. In more than half of countries surveyed, many people are still unable to access care at the primary care and community care levels. Significant disruptions have also been reported in emergency care, particularly concerning given the impact... on people with urgent health needs. Thirty-six per cent of countries reported disruptions to ambulance services; 32% to 24-hour emergency room services; and 23% to emergency surgeries.
Elective surgeries have also been disrupted in 59% of countries, which can have accumulating consequences on health and well-being as the pandemic continues. Disruptions to rehabilitative care and palliative care were also reported in around half of the countries surveyed.
Major barriers to health service recovery include pre-existing health systems issues which have been exacerbated by the pandemic as well as decreased demand for care.
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The Lancet Regional Health - Americas 2022;00: 100248 Published online xxx https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2022.100248.
The Lancet Countdown report, discuss the overlapping social, climate and health challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean, and urge multisectoral and political action to trans...form these challenges into opportunities through adaptation and mitigation measures that place peoples’ health and wellbeing at the centre of public policies. Latin American and Caribbean governments are called upon to promote climate-resilient health care systems with adaptation plans that are tailored to guarantee quality access to care for all in this viewpoint.
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Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. The decade ahead will test the nation's nearly 4 million nurses in new and complex ways. Nurses live and work at the intersection of health, education, and communities. Nurses work in a wide array of settings and practice at a range of professional levels. T...hey are often the first and most frequent line of contact with people of all backgrounds and experiences seeking care and they represent the largest of the health care professions.
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Background: Healthcare workers’ mental health was affected by SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Aim: To evaluate healthcare workers’ mental health and its associated factors during the pandemic in Chile. Material and Methods: An online self-reported questionnaire was designed including the Goldberg Healt...h Questionnaire, the Patient Health
Questionnaire, (PHQ-9), and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale among other questions. It was sent to 28,038 healthcare workers.
Results: The questionnaire was answered by 1,934 participants, with a median age of 38 years (74% women). Seventy five percent were professionals, and 48% worked at a hospital. Fifty nine percent of respondents had a risk of having a mental health disorder, and 73% had depressive symptoms. Significant associations were found with sex, workplace, and some of the relevant experiences during the pandemic. Fifty one
percent reported the need for mental health support, and 38% of them received it.
Conclusions: There is a high percentage of health workers with symptoms of psychological distress, depression, and suicidal ideas. The gender approach is essential to understand the important differences found. Many health workers who required mental health care did not seek or received it.
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