This report is the first of its kind. It brings together various data sets to present the current status of hand hygiene, highlight lagging progress, and call governments and supporting agencies to ...action, offering numerous inspiring examples of change.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hand hygiene received unprecedented attention and became a central pillar in national COVID prevention strategies. However, concern with hand hygiene should not only be as temporary public health measure in times of crisis, but as a vital everyday behaviour that contributes to health and economic resilience. Hand hygiene is a highly cost-effective investment, providing outsized health benefits for relatively little cost.
Despite efforts to promote hand hygiene, the rates of access to hand hygiene facilities remain stubbornly low. If current rates of progress continue, by the end of the SDG era in 2030, 1.9 billion people will still lack facilities to wash their hands at home.
This report presents a compelling case for investment in five key ‘accelerators’ as a pathway towards achieving hand hygiene for all – governance, financing, capacity development, data and information, and innovation. These accelerators are identified under the UN-Water SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework.
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Contact tracing may help limit COVID-19 transmission when the first cases are identified within a country but can be very resource intensive.
It is likely not to be feasible when community transmission is occurring and cases outside known transmiss...ion chains increase greatly.
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Zoonotic tuberculosis (TB) is a form of TB in people predominantly caused by the bacterial species, Mycobacterium bovis, which belongs to the M. tuberculosis complex. The implications of zoonotic TB go beyond human health. The organism is host-adapted to cattle, where it is refer...red to as bovine TB, and it also causes TB in other animal species including wildlife. Bovine TB has an important economic impact and threatenslivelihoods.
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Response to the tropical cyclone in southern Africa
Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Meningitis outbreak in Togo
Lassa fever outbreak in Liberia.
The purpose of this document is to provide interim guidance to laboratories and stakeholders involved in laboratory testing of patients who meet the definition of suspected case of pneumonia associated with a novel coronavirus identified in Wuhan, C...hina.
19 March 2020
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This Quick Reference Handbook of Selected Congenital Anomalies and Infections is a companion tool to Birth defects surveillance: a manual for programme managers, ...medbox">and is intended for use by front-line health care professionals who are diagnosing and collecting data on congenital defects and infections. When used in conjunction with the manual, the tools in this handbook will help the reader to: identify an initial list of congenital anomalies to consider for monitoring;describe the tools needed to define and code identified cases; define specific congenital anomalies under surveillance.
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21 August 2020
This guidance provides specific considerations for the use of non-medical masks, also known as fabric masks, by children as a means for source ...box">control in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. It also advises on the use of medical masks for children under certain conditions.
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This diagnostic and treatment manual is designed for use by medical professionals involved in curative care at the dispensary and hospital levels. ...We have tried to respond in the simplest and most practical way possible to the questions and problems faced by field medical staff, using the accumulated field experience of Médecins Sans Frontières, the recommendations of reference organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and specialized works in each field.
Available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic
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The Operational guide: use of referral laboratories for the analysis of foodborne hazards in the Pacific aims to strengthen the food analysis capacity of Pacific Island countries and areas by identi...fying national and reference laboratories capable of testing for priority foodborne hazards. The Pacific Island countries and areas are often vulnerable to food safety incidents and emergencies due to their geographical distribution and dependence on food imports. The guide outlines key considerations for selecting referral laboratories and submitting samples to them, enabling continuous improvement of food safety systems and providing safe food for all. The target audiences are health and food safety authorities.
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The third edition, released in 2018, has grown to include a total of 18 chapters, contributed by 20 experts and authors from many countries. The goal remains the same: to educate primary care providers on the best practices in TB diagnosis, treatmen...t and follow-up. All articles are richly illustrated, and most include quizzes and CME questions for self learning. The 3rd edition includes new chapters on MDR-TB, adverse effects of TB drugs, adherence monitoring strategies, and nutritional support. There is also content on how to manage children with TB, care for patients co-infected with TB and HIV, how to read and interpret chest x-rays, and how to avoid common pitfalls in TB management.
To download book chapters or the whole book go to the website: http://www.letstalktb.org/download/
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Video: How asthma is treated.
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on the cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces in the context of COVID-19. This guidance is intended for health care professionals, pu...blic health professionals and health authorities that are developing and implementing policies and standard operating procedures (SOP) on the cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces in the context of COVID-19.
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A guide for developing a hygiene promotion program to increase handwashing with soap
The risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) competency framework is a resource that details the essential behaviours and activities necessary f...or effective communication and engagement with communities before, during and after public health emergencies. The purpose of this framework is to establish and promote a common understanding of behavioural competencies and how they should be applied for high-performing and community-centred health emergency programmes. It is intended to support the development of standardized training programmes, professional development and talent acquisition and to enhance the capabilities of public health professionals involved in RCCE. Its goal is to inform the establishment of a skilled, well-trained RCCE workforce that consistently understands and executes the necessary behaviours and activities required to conduct RCCE activities with competence and professionalism.
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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, ...n class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">and communities. Nurses work in a wide array of settings and practice at a range of professional levels. They 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.
Free download available, register for free
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Smallpox eradication was certified in 1980. Mpox has been endemic in Central and West African countries since it was first detected in 1958 . It is a zoonosis; cases are often found close to tropical rainforests where various animals carry the ortho...poxvirus that causes the disease. In endemic countries, most mpox infections in humans result from a primary animal-to-human transmission. Human-to-human transmission can result from close contact with respiratory secretions, skin lesions of an infected person, or recently contaminated objects. Transmission can also occur via the placenta from mother to fetus or through close contact during and after birth.
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Guidelines for national programmes and other stakeholders, for annexes see http://www.who.int/tb/publications/2012/tb_hiv_policy_9789241503006/en/
Clinical Guidelines for the Diagnose and Management of Nosocomial Pneumonia in Indonesia