South Africa has faced many challenges over the past two decades, accomplishing profound positive changes in the social structure and government of the nation. This has not yet fully translated into better
...
health for the population, however, particularly the poorest segment. In fact, the population has lost ground since the 1990s in virtually all important health indicators, leaving South Africa with a high burden of infectious disease.
August 2011, Vol. 101, No. 8 SAMJ
more
The desired impact of the OH JPA is a world better able to prevent, predict, detect and
respond to health threats and improve the
...
health of humans, animals, plants and the
environment while contributing to sustainable development. The OH JPA aims to work
towards this vision in the following way:
• Provide a framework for action and propose a set of activities the four organizations
can offer together to advance and sustainably scale up One Health.
• Provide upstream policy and legislative advice and technical assistance, to help
set national targets and priorities across the sectors for the development and
implementation of One Health legislation, initiatives and programmes.
• Take stock of existing cross-sectoral global and regional initiatives around One
Health, identify and advise on synergies and overlaps, and support coordination.
• Mobilize and make better use of resources across sectors, disciplines and
stakeholders.
• The OH JPA is guided by a theory of change and makes use of One Health principles
to strengthen collaboration, communication, capacity building and coordination
more
The "Questions and Answers on Prevention and control of Alcohol related harm" has been developed by WHO country office in Viet Nam with technical contribution from national
...
and international experts in the field. This publication provides scientific evidences on harms of alcohol use to the health of users as well as to others and society at large. It provides WHO recommendations for the most effective prevention measures in Viet Nam and will also help answer questions that policy makers may have on how to develop effective policies for prevention and control of alcohol related harms.
more
Summary Report on the Comprehensive Study
This study is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of their authors
...
and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
more
The guide to implementing the One Health Joint Plan of Action (OH JPA) at national level provides practical guidance on how countries can adopt and adapt the OH JPA to strengthen
...
and support national One Health action.
Building on the OH JPA theory of change, this guide describes three pathways and five key steps to implement the OH JPA at national level:
Pathway 1 -- Governance, policy, legislation, financing and advocacy
Pathway 2 -- Organizational and institutional development, implementation and sectoral integration
Pathway 3 -- Data, evidence, information systems and knowledge exchange.
The stepwise approach comprises:
Situation analysis including stakeholder mapping and review of existing assessment results
Set-up/strengthening of a multisectoral, One Health coordination mechanism
Planning for implementation, including activity prioritization and leveraging of resources
Implementation of national One Health action plans
Review, sharing and incorporation of lessons learned.
more
AIDSFree Case study series
This publication is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the U.S. Ag
...
ency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of Cooperative Agreement AID-OAA-A-14-00046.
The contents are the responsibility of AIDSFree and do not necessarily reflect the views of PEPFAR, USAID, or the U.S. Government.
more
This report challenges policy-makers and political leaders to tackle fossil fuel production and consumption as a
...
health control issue, in the same way that smoking has been reduced and regulated. Fossil fuel combustion is a major source of toxic air pollution that kills 7 million people every year, almost the same as the number of deaths caused by tobacco smoking.
In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognised air pollution as a major health risk factor. There is widespread public discussion about the effects of fossil fuel combustion and emissions on climate change… but what about the effect on our health? Climate change poses a threat not only to the health of the planet, but also to humans.
The case studies evaluated in this report offer examples of mechanisms that can be used to restrict the production and consumption of unhealthy commodities, so that the health, air pollution and climate communities can learn from one another, using shared approaches and language. These case studies show that the connection with health is a strong argument to support sustainable change.
more
The Kenya Health Policy 2014-2030 aims at attaining the highest possible standard of health in a manner responsive to the
...
health needs of our population. One of the major policy directions towards realizing the intentions of this policy is to halt and reverse the
rising burden of non-communicable diseases.
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 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
The intention of this handbook on integrated vector management (IVM) is to provide
guidance to the managers of vector-borne disease control programmes, including
comparable officials in health and
...
other sectors involved in vector-borne disease control.
The target audience is managers and officials at central, district and lower administrative
levels. The handbook provides background information to complement the Core structure
for training curricula on integrated vector management and associated training materials.
A separate document, Guidance on policy-making for integrated vector management,
was prepared for policy-makers
more
The COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) 2021 Monitoring and Evaluation Framework tracks global progress against the COVID-19 SPRP 2021
...
for the ten pillars of the public health response. The operational intelligence complements the epidemiologic information used to drive a global dynamic system of support and response. Monitoring SPRP 2021 implementation will support countries, partners and WHO in strategic thinking, operational tracking and course correction based on evidence and transparency to strengthen the response to COVID-19.
more
Policy brief, 24 July 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected older people disproportionately, especially those living in long-term care facilities. In many countries, evidence shows that more than 40% of COVID-19 related deaths have been linked to
...
long-term care facilities, with figures being as high as 80% in some high-income countries. Concerted action is needed to mitigate the impact across all aspects of long-term care, including home- and community-based care, given that most users and providers of care are those who are vulnerable to severe COVID-19.
This policy brief provides 11 policy objectives and key action points to prevent and manage COVID-19 across long-term care. Its intended audience is policy makers and authorities (national, subnational and local) involved in the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief builds on currently available evidence on the measures taken to prevent, prepare for and respond to the COVID‑19 pandemic across long-term care services including care providers
more
Unhealthy diets and excess body weight are leading risk factors for death and disability in the WHO European Region. Addressing malnutrition in all
...
its forms is essential to ensure health and well-being for all and, consequently, sustainable development. It requires coherent and innovative actions covering the entire food system and across other sectors to ensure access to a diversified, balanced and healthy diet for all.
more
Male circumcision reduces a man’s risk of heterosexual acquisition of HIV by about 60%. This guideline provides an evidence-based recommendation on the use of adult male circumcision devices for HIV prevention in public
...
health programmes in high HIV prevalence, resource-limited settings. It also presents key programmatic considerations for the introduction and use of these devices in public health HIV prevention programmes. The primary audiences are policy- and decision-makers, programme managers, health-care providers, donors and implementing agencies.
more
This document outlines why and how nurses and midwives are important, not only for individual health
...
optimization but also to achieve the thematic priorities of For the Future. More specifically, it provides case studies to showcase the amazing work that nurses and midwives across the Region are doing to improve health. The document also provides future policy directions to strengthen the scope and leadership of the nursing and midwifery workforce, alongside actions to accelerate investment in their education, skills and employment.
more
Globally, approximately 56.8 million people are in need of palliative care
services; 78% of them living in low and middle-income country yet only
about 12% have their needs being met causing great suffering
...
for many.
more
The WHO Guidelines on risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia provide evidence-based recommendations on lifestyle behaviours and interventions to delay or prevent cognitive decline
...
and dementia. These WHO Guidelines are an important tool for health care providers as well as governments, policy-makers and other stakeholders to strengthen their response to the dementia challenge.
Executive Summary available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish at: https://www.who.int/mental_health/neurology/dementia/guidelines_risk_reduction/en/
more
The plan contains the latest available evidence on the extent of insecticide resistance around the world, and puts forward a strategy for global and
...
country levels, identifying clear roles and timelines for all stakeholders. The GPIRM also summarizes information about innovative new products being developed and sets out the immediate research and development priorities.
more
A Students' Toolkit.
How does the digital transformation of health care change the daily routine of a healthcare professional? Which knowledge and skills will healthcare professionals need? Are uni
...
versities in Europe preparing their students well enough to work within a digitised health system?
This toolkit prepared by the European Medical Students’ Association (EMSA) provides an insightful context, an introduction to the topic of digital health and a framework to encourage future healthcare professionals to start activities and discussions at their university.
more
The report is geared towards mayors, local government officials and city policy planners.It highlights key areas where city leaders can tackle the drivers of NCDs, including tobacco use, air polluti
...
on, poor diets and lack of exercise, and improve road safety.
From anti-tobacco actions in Beijing and Bogor, to road safety initiatives in Accra and Bangkok, a bike sharing scheme in Fortaleza, and actions to create walkable streets for seniors that have reduced elderly pedestrian deaths by 16% in New York City, the report aims to share knowledge between urban policy planners.
Of the 19 case studies cited, 15 are from developing countries, where 85% of premature adult deaths through NCDs take place, and over 90% of road traffic fatalities are recorded. You can download the case studieson the website https://www.who.int/ncds/publications/tackling-ncds-in-cities/en/.
Over 90% of future urban population growth will be in low or middle-income countries, and seven of the world’s 10 largest cities are in developing countries.
more