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 virus. Accelerated integration of genome sequencing int...o 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.
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The Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) has been coordinating sector wide reforms that aim to improve equity and quality of maternal and child health services. As part of these efforts, ... the ministry is also exerting concerted efforts to improve availability and use of quality RMNCH pharmaceuticals. Management of RMNCH pharmaceuticals has had significant challenges such as poor availability of essential pharmaceuticals and wastages of valuable resources as pharmacy professionals were not demonstrating the required knowledge, skill and attitude towards availing the pharmaceuticals and ensuring their rational medicine use.
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28 Dec 2020. The main objective of these guidelines is to provide tools for staff working in the field of immunization to support effective communication between health personnel and the general population, with the aim of strengthening, maintaining... or recovering trust in vaccines and the immunization programs in the Region of the Americas.
Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese
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The purpose of the toolkit is to bring together existing learning and guidance as a starting point for stakeholders to begin SRH preparedness work. Within the SRH sector the field of preparedness is relatively new and growing. More collective effort is required to further evaluate the impact of prep...aredness efforts and push the field forward. This effort is a first attempt at a draft guidance for SRH preparedness, and is intended for field testing. The toolkit recognizes the longstanding work of the field of emergency and disaster risk management, and endeavors to bridge that work with the human rights-oriented and peoplecentered field of sexual and reproductive health.
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This report describes findings from a telephone survey with 1,284 people conducted in February 2021. The survey examined how people respond to public health and social measures (PHSMs) to prevent COVID-19. The sample is representative of households ...with access to a landline or cell phone, but does not include people without access to phones. As phone penetration varies by country, findings should be interpreted with caution.
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A WHO-UNICEF joint statement encouraging greater health commodity supply chain integration for temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals where appropriate, 19 November 2020
The procurement of essential medicines and other health products is a critical function in support of the effective discharge of WHO’s mandate, and WHO values the importance of the quality of essential medicines and ...ight medbox">health products that are supplied to countries. The first World Health Assembly in 1948 recognized the need to establish a procurement service at WHO, and recommended setting up an office “to give advice on the procurement of essential drugs, biological products and other medical supplies”.
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This report is documenting the global incidence of attacks and threats against health workers, facilities, and transport around the world. The report cites 806 incidents of violence against or obstruction of ...x">health care in 43 countries and territories in ongoing wars and violent conflicts in 2020, ranging from the bombing of hospitals in Yemen to the abduction of doctors in Nigeria. Attacks -- including killings, kidnappings, and sexual assaults, as well as destruction and damage of health facilities and transports -- compounded the threats to health in every country as health systems struggled to prepare for and respond to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Background paper 8
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response
May 2021
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 to e...ssential 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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This National Health Policy has 5 objectives, namely
i. To strengthen the healthcare delivery system to be resilient
ii. To encourage the adoption of healthy lifestyles
iii. To improve the physical environment
iv. To improve the socio-economic s...tatus of the population
v. To ensure sustainable financing for health
These objectives shall collectively ensure that there will be improved alignment, complementarity and synergies within and across all public sector ministries as well as with other stakeholders, towards achieving the national health goal.
The policy shall therefore ensure that MDAs and other identifiable organizations work within the principles of the Health-in-All Policy and the One-Health Policy frameworks (WHO), to achieve the desired healthy life status of people living in Ghana.
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Community health nurses have the potential to make significant contributions to meet the health care needs of various population groups in a variety of community settings. In order to assess the ext...ent to which CHNs are achieving this potential, WHO conducted a study between 2010 and 2014 that examined the status of community health nursing in 22 countries, 13 of which were experiencing a critical shortage of health care workers. The study revealed that the countries surveyed had the basic and operational framework for optimizing CHN in their health systems as evidenced by the availability of PHC structures to guide interventions. However, challenges were identified related to the education, practice and management of CHNs in these countries. The major challenges identified were: Limited availability of career opportunities; poor worker retention; low recognition for CHNs; inadequate and unsupportive working conditions and environments; absence of educational standards; varying educational entry-level requirements for CHN programmes; and a lack of consensus on the scope of practice for CHNs.
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Investment in all the drivers and facilitators of hand hygiene action in health care to ensure that it occurs at the point of care and other critical moments requires a multidisciplinary, multifaceted approach. WHO describes such an approach as a ...multimodal improvement strategy” (MMIS) which is at the core of its implementation models for hand hygiene and infection prevention and control (IPC) programmes. The focus of this document is on the resource considerations for investing in hand hygiene improvement in health care (primary, secondary and tertiary) using the MMIS approach.
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This section provides general information on HCW and key elements of management procedures that are essential to know before developing a HCWM plan.
The standards for the care of small and sick newborns in health facilities define, standardize and mainstream inpatient care of small and sick newborns, building on essential newborn care and ensuring consistency with the WHO quality of care framewo...rk. The standards will guide countries in caring for this vulnerable population and support the quality of care of newborns in the context of universal health coverage. They will provide a resource for policy-makers, health care professionals, health service planners, programme managers, regulators, professional bodies and technical partners involved in care
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