In this paper we aim to provide information on the importance of efficiency measurement of health care facilities in developing countries. We state that efficiency measurement can be a substantial contribution to saving lives. Therefore we analyse the performance of health centres in rural Burkina F...aso making use of data which were taken from a comprehensive long-term cost information system. In the subsequent parts of this article, the study site is described and the DEA method outlined. The ensuing analysis of the data is carried out in two stages. Firstly, quantitative aspects concerning relative efficiency are presented. Secondly, the measures of performance are explained. The implications of the results are then discussed.
more
The global tripartite self-assessment survey of country progress in addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a component of a broader approach for monitoring and evaluation of the global action plan on AMR. This report analyses the results of the second tripartite self-assessment survey. It has ...been developed and run by the three Tripartite organizations (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and World Health Organization (WHO)) and reflects progress in the human, animal (terrestrial and aquatic), plant, food safety and environmental sectors. 154 countries out of 194 WHO Member States responded to this round of the self-assessment survey – a response rate of 79.4%.
more
This handbook aims to help labour inspectors deal with the issue of HIV/AIDS.
It establishes the links between the key principles and core responsibilities of labour inspectorates and the management of HIV/ AIDS at the workplace.
It includes training activities and practical tools to help inspecto...rs integrate HIV/AIDS in their work.
more
The current trend in AMR in Uganda and globally is rising and calls for immediate action. The 71st UN General Assembly (UNGA), the 68th World Health Assembly, and organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Organization for ...Animal Health (OIE), have agreed on a set of actions that member countries such as Uganda are committed to implement. The Government of Uganda (GoU) has put in place a framework through this National AMR Action Plan to address the threat AMR poses to the welfare of the peoples of Uganda. The Action Plan sets out a coordinated and collaborative One Health approach involving key stakeholders in government and other sectors to confront the threat and shall be coordinated by a Uganda National Antimicrobial Resistance Committee (UNAMRC).
more
The National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB), 2020-2025, presents
coordinated, strategic actions that the United States Government will take in the next five years to improve the health and wellbeing of all Americans by changing the course of antibiotic resistance.
T...his Plan is based on the U.S. Government’s 2014 National Strategy for CARB, and builds on the first National Action Plan released in 2015 by expanding evidence-based activities that have already been shown to reduce antibiotic resistance, such as optimizing the use of antibiotics in human and animal health settings.
more
Antimicrobials are precious agents for combating infectious diseases and had saved millions of lives throughout the world. However, the current trend of increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a global health problem with increased morbidity and mortality in infectious diseases. Sri La...nka is not an exemption and face many health related issues with multidrug resistant (MDR) organisms. Currently there is a global effort in combating antimicrobial resistance. WHO extends its fullest support and plays a major role in motivating the countries to combat antimicrobial resistance with national action plans in place. Sri Lanka has initiated combating AMR with multisectoral collaboration, under one health concept. The development of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2017-2022 provides the roadmap to combat AMR.
more
Les maladies infectieuses sont en constante mutation. De nouvelles maladies apparaissent, d’autres qui sont bien connues se propagent ou refont surface, et quelques rares fois, une maladie est éradiquée. Les maladies infectieuses telles que le VIH, la tuberculose et le choléra sont des causes c...onsidérables de morbidité et de mortalité dans plusieurs régions du monde. Le personnel de la santé joue un rôle primordial, en ce qui concerne la protection de leurs clients contre les maladies infectieuses et leurs traitements en cas d’infection. Dans le cadre de leur travail, le personnel de santé accomplisse des tâches cliniques ou autres activités susceptibles de les exposer ainsi que leurs clients aux microorganismes – orga- nismes potentiellement infectieux. Bon nombre de ces clients sont malades et, par conséquent, sont plus vulnérables aux infections ou peuvent avoir des infec-tions susceptibles d’être transmises à d’autres personnes. Par chance, l’ensemble du personnel travaillant dans les services de santé est en mesure d’exécuter des procédés simples visant à minimiser le risque – vis-à-vis d’eux-mêmes et de leurs clients – et réduire la propagation des infections. Ces pratiques peuvent être intégrées à moindre frais dans les habitudes quotidiennes au sein des établissements de santé du monde entier. Ce guide de référence est spécialement conçu pour l’emploi à tous les niveaux du système sanitaire, depuis les plus grands hôpitaux jusqu’aux plus petits dispensaires ou centres de santé, dans des établissements où les ressources sont rares.Ce guide, publié pour la première fois en 1999, a été mis à jour. Bien que la plu-part des pratiques restent inchangées, il a fait l’objet de quelques modifications significatives – par exemple, concernant les recommandations liées au lavage des mains et aux précautions standard. Toutefois, ce guide continue de présenter des recommandations pratiques en matière de procédés simples et relativement peu coûteux pouvant être exécutés partout, à l’aide des matériels de base et des équi-pements de niveau technologique moyen.
more
Confronted with the important issue of patient safety, in 2002 the Fifty-fifth World Health Assembly adopted a resolution urging countries to pay the closest possible attention to the problem and to strengthen safety and monitoring systems. In May 2004, the Fifty-seventh World Health Assembly approv...ed the creation of an international alliance as a global initiative to improve patient safety. The World Alliance for Patient Safety was launched in October 2004 and currently has its place in the WHO Patient Safety programme included in the Information, Evidence and Research Cluster.
more
Produced by Training and Research Support Centre for the Regional Network for Equity in Health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET), March 20, 2020.
This brief summarises and provides links to official, scientific and other resources to support an understanding of and individual to regional level... responses to the epidemic of ‘novel coronavirus’, also known as COVID-19.
more
The guidelines are to be used to guide the management of adults with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). As will be seen in the following text, this diagnosis, and the other clinical syndromes within this grouping, can be difficult to make accurately. In the absence of agreed definitions of th...ese syndromes these guidelines are to be used when, in the opinion of a clinician, an LRTI syndrome is present. The following are put forward as def-initions to guide the clinician, but it will be seen in the ensuingtext that some of these labels will always be inaccurate. These definitions are pragmatic and based on a synthesis of available studies. They are primarily meant to be simple to apply in clinical practice, and this might be at the expense of scientific accuracy. These definitions are not mutually exclusive, with lower respiratory tract infection being an umbrella term that includes all others, which can also be used for cases that cannot be classified into one of the other groups. No new evidence has been identified that would lead to a change in the clinical definitions,which are therefore unchanged from the 2005 publication.
Clin Microbiol Infect 2011;17(Suppl. 6): 1–24 The full version of these guidelines can be found on Wiley Online Library.
more
Updated 8 June 2021. Coronavirus is spreading globally. How can individuals, communities, humanitarian actors, local and national authorities best respond to uphold the rights of all affected people?
WHO would like to express its gratitude and appreciation to all Member States that provided information to the WHO survey on policies and activities at the national level in the area of antimicrobial resistance. The contribution of staff in WHO Regional and Country Offices has been invaluable: in ga...ther-ing original data and information from Member States, in supporting the process of aggregation of these data; and in reviewing the regional analysis of the findings that reflect the country situation at the point when the survey was conducted. The support and commitment of the members of the WHO Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance, comprising WHO staff from Headquarters and Regional Offices has, is also acknowledged.
more
This policy brief has been developed in response to the contemporary challenge of antibiotic resistance (ABR). ABR poses a formidable threat to global health and sustainable development. It is now increasingly recognized that the systematic neglect of cultural factors is one of the biggest obs...tacles to achieving better health outcomes and better standards of living worldwide. Using a cultural contexts of health approach, the policy brief explores the centrality of culture to the challenge of ABR. The brief examines how the prescription and use of antibacterial medicines, the transmission of resistance, and the regulation and funding of research are influenced by cultural, social and commercial, as well as biological and technological factors. The brief moves beyond the ready equation of culture with individual behaviours and demonstrates how culture serve as an enabler of health and provide new possibilities for change.
more
The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging health systems across the world. Rapidly increasing demand for care of people with COVID-19 is compounded by fear, misinformation and limitations on the movement of people and supplies that disrupt the delivery of frontline health care for all people...
This g...uidance addresses the specific role of community-based health care in the pandemic context and outlines the adaptations needed to keep people safe, maintain continuity of essential services and ensure an effective response to COVID-19. It is intended for decision-makers and managers at the national and subnational levels and complements a range of other guidance, including that on priority public health interventions, facility-based care, and risk communication and community engagement in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic.
more
Only 8,730 asylum applications were registered in the EU+ in April, the lowest since at least 2008, and a massive 87% decrease from pre-COVID-19 levels in January and February.
The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has released a special report which shows that the COVID-19 related travel restr...ictions and national health measures which were imposed during the past few months led to a dramatic cut in asylum applications in Europe.
more
How should humanitarian organisations prepare and respond to COVID-19 in humanitarian settings in low- and middle-income countries?
This Rapid Learning Review outlines 14 actions, insights and ideas for humanitarian actors to consider in their COVID-19 responses. It summarises and synthesises the... best available knowledge and guidance for developing a health response to COVID-19 in low- and middle-income settings as at April 2020
The paper, supported by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock, will be updated throughout 2020 to reflect emerging knowledge and evidence on the most effective approaches to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
more
1 June 2020
Countries around the world are facing the challenge of increased demand for care of people with COVID-19, compounded by fear, misinformation and limitations on movement that disrupt the delivery of health care for all conditions. Maintaining essential health services: operational guidan...ce for the COVID-19 context recommends practical actions that countries can take at national, subregional and local levels to reorganize and safely maintain access to high-quality, essential health services in the pandemic context. It also outlines sample indicators for monitoring essential health services, and describes considerations on when to stop and restart services as COVID-19 transmission recedes and surges. This document expands on the content of pillar 9 of the COVID-19 strategic preparedness and response plan, supersedes the earlier Operational guidance for maintaining essential health services during an outbreak, and complements the recently-released Community-based health care, including outreach and campaigns, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is intended for decision-makers and managers at the national and subnational levels.
This is an update to COVID-19: Operational guidance for maintaining essential health services during an outbreak: Interim guidance, 25 March 2020
more
This policy paper underscores that, although children do not represent a high-risk group for direct COVID-19 fatality, the pandemic posts far-reaching secondary impacts that heighten risks to African children’s rights and wellbeing.