Disinfection of drinking-water supplies has been one of the most significant public health advancements of the last century with respect to reducing waterborne disease.
Although chlorine has be...en used as the disinfectant of choice for public drinking-water supplies for the past century, a number of emerging or alternative compounds are used or are being considered for the disinfection of drinking-water.
This series reviews the state of the knowledge on the application, efficacy and toxicity of bromine, iodine and silver as drinking-water disinfectants.
more
The number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise again, with South Africa nearing half of all confirmed cases in the WHO African Region. Threats of new variants loom and low vaccination coverage raises questions on the future of the response to COVID-19.... Prevention remains the key strategy in most sub-Saharan countries. Five National Centres (NCs) from the African Health Observatory Platform on Health Systems and Policies (AHOP), based in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Senegal, reflect on lessons to be learnt from their containment responses in the initial phases. They construct timelines to highlight the policies and challenges associated with introducing a range of public health containment measures and
discuss the extent to which these measures continue to be valuable given the ever-changing nature of the pandemic.
more
The WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2022 provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic, and of progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease, at global, regional and country levels. This is done in the context... of global TB commitments, strategies and targets.
The 2022 edition of the report is as usual, based primarily on data gathered by WHO from national ministries of health in annual rounds of data collection. In 2022, 202 countries and territories with more than 99% of the world’s population and TB cases reported data
more
Previous advocacy efforts have achieved tangible goals in terms garnering political commitments
to increase financing for TB—as seen at the 2018 UN High-Level Meeting on TB. The challenge
now is to...an> ensure that these commitments are actually met within a global biomedical research
ecosystem that is designed and incentivized to prioritize the health needs of wealthy populations
more
Updated Interim guidance 29 July 2020
The provision of safe water, sanitation and waste management and hygienic conditions is essential for preventing and for protecting human health during all infectious disease outbreaks, including of coronavirus... disease 2019 (COVID-19). Ensuring evidenced-based and consistently applied WASH and waste management practices in communities, homes, schools, marketplaces, and healthcare facilities will help prevent human-to-human transmission of pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
more
7 April 2021
The holy month of Ramadan (mid-April to mid-May 2021) is marked by social and religious gatherings. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative to observe the holiday wi...th caution and care. This document provides up-to-date public health advice that can be applied across different national contexts to make Ramadan-related activities safer.
more
These guidelines provide specific recommendations and expert suggestions — for national policy-makers and programme managers and their partners and stakeholders— on prioritizing, planning and providing HIV testing, counselling, treatment and care servi...ces for adolescents
more
The manual is written for clinicians working at the district hospital (first-level referral care) who diagnose and manage sick adolescents and adults in resource constrained settings. It aims to support clinical reasoning, and ...-to-highlight medbox">to provide an effective clinical approach and protocols for the management of common and serious or potentially life-threatening conditions at district hospitals. The target audience thus includes doctors, clinical officers, health officers, and senior nurse practitioners. It has been designed to be applicable in both high and low HIV prevalence settings.
Volume 2 provides a symptom-based approach to clinical care for acute and subacute conditions (including mental health). It provides short summaries of the management of diseases that affect multiple systems of the body, focusing on communicable diseases. It also includes the chronic or long-term management of HIV, TB, alcohol, and substance use disorders.
more
A Provisional Document. The purpose of this manual is to provide guidance to public health professionals tasked with managing a response ...s="attribute-to-highlight medbox">to viral hepatitis. As every country’s needs are different with respect to its epidemiology and the current level of response, people would use this manual in different ways
more
The "Global NCD action plan" provides a road map and a menu of policy options for countries to take in order to attain the 9 voluntary global targets, including that of a 25% relative reduction in p...remature mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases by 2025. The main focus of this action plan is on 4 types of NCDs (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes) which make the largest contribution to morbidity and mortality due to NCDs, and on 4 shared behavioural risk factors (tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol).
more
This document is intended for a wide audience including national and local policymakers, implementers and managers of national and local maternal and child health programmes, non-governmental and other organizations and professional societies involv...ed in the planning and management of maternal and child health services, health professionals including obstetricians, midwives, nurses, general medical practitioners, academic staff involved in training health professionals, managers of maternal and child health programmes and public health policymakers in all settings.
more
This handbook builds on lessons learned from surveys implemented 2015-2017 and advice provided by the Global task force on TB patient cost surveys. It provides a standardized methodology for conducting health facility-based cross-sectional surveys <...span class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">to assess the direct and indirect costs incurred by TB patients and their households. In addition, it provides recommendations on results dissemination, engaging across sectors in policy dialogue and enabling action and related research for effective modifications in care delivery models, in patient support, and wider cross-sectoral interventions.
more
Humanitarian emergencies, regardless of type and cause, have a number of common risk factors for communicable diseases inextricably linked to excess risk of morbidity and mortality which can come from vaccine–preventable diseases (VPDs). The reduc...tion of VPDs is a significant aim of public-health interventions during crises.
The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization carried out a comprehensive review of evidence on vaccination decision-making processes and considerations in humanitarian emergencies.
more
Vol. 2: Clinicians' Guide
Clinicians’ Guide is designed to assist busy medical practitioners in the field with patient management by providing current, essential, practical guidance and background, packaged into a single resource
There is a substantial and ever-increasing unmet need for rehabilitation worldwide, which is particularly profound in low- and middle
-income countries. The availability of accessible and affordable rehabilitation is necessary for many people with health<.../span> conditions to remain as independent as possible, to participate in education, to be economically productive, and fulfil meaningful life roles.
more
Overview: Risk communication and community engagement are essential for any disease outbreak response. This is particularly critical during outbreaks of Ebola which may create fear in the public and frontline responders alike due to severe presentat...ion of symptoms, misunderstanding of the causes of illness and high fatality rates. This document outlines some of the key considerations for risk communication and community engagement response to Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ebola outbreaks have been associated with misinformation and false rumours. In the context of RCCE, rumours refer to unsubstantiated information, claims or beliefs about what is causing the disease or how it can be treated/cured. If not proactively addressed in culturally appropriate ways, misinformation and rumours can lead to the further rapid spread of the disease and unnecessary deaths, severe disease, suffering, and societal and economic loss.
The publication includes a 'Rumour Tracking Tool' (Annex II).
more
This document, Ghana’s National Newborn Health Strategy and Action Plan 2014–2018 outlines a targeted strategy for accelerating the reduction of newborn deaths in Ghana. Furthermore it provides a costed action plan with clearly marked timelines ...for implementation to facilitate resource mobilisation, monitoring and evaluation, and scaling up of proposed newborn interventions. It is expected that all stakeholders working towards improving the health of children in Ghana will buy into this plan and collaborate towards attainment of the goals and objectives outlined here.
more
This report is primarily intended for the community of policymakers and researchers concerned about the rising risks of domestic, regional, and global infectious disease epidemics, and the collective failure to take the coordinated actions required ...to reduce such risks. These risks include the expected health, economic, and societal costs that are borne by countries, regions, and even all nations in the case of pandemics (which are worldwide epidemics). These risks also include the consequences of increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and its spread within regions and globally. A necessary first step is to monitor whether a broad range of stakeholders are acting to prevent outbreaks from becoming epidemics, whether their capacities to respond to epidemics are robust, and whether preparedness to respond to pandemics and limit the resulting economic and health damage is improving. Analyzing the adequacy of these efforts is vitally important for the decisions of policymakers to invest in the public health and disaster-risk management capacities. Early and effective control of disease outbreaks prevents substantial health and economic costs whether or not the disease can spread globally and become a pandemic.
more
Communities can play a critical role in suicide prevention. Facilitating community engagement in suicide prevention is an important task. The toolkit is a step-by-step guide for communities to engage in suicide prevention activities and have ownersh...ip of the process and keep efforts sustained. It is hoped that the pilot version will be used, after necessary adaptation, in many countries and contexts, so that the final product can be strengthened and become more effective and user-friendly.
more
This toolkit aims to provide you with a brief introduction of what SA and its core principles are, and how you as a student can apply several of the existing tools for your own school to... really make a difference.
French, Spanish and Arabic Version available: https://ifmsa.org/social-accountability/
more