Recently, a renewed interest in large-scale community health worker (CHW) programs has been seen globally. This renewal provides an opportune moment to take stock of issues and challenges such programs face and what can be done ...e-to-highlight medbox">to make them as effective as possible. With this in mind, this manual is intended to be used a practical guide for policymakers and program
managers wishing to develop or strengthen a CHW program, drawing lessons from other countries that have implemented CHW programs at-scale. Throughout, we discuss major policy and programmatic issues that decision-makers and planners need to consider when designing, implementing, scaling up or strengthening a national-level CHW program. We offer an overview
of specific challenges CHW programs face, country lessons, tools, and other resources that may be helpful, while incorporating relevant programmatic examples as much as possible.
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These National Operational Guidelines for Viral Load Testing detail how routine viral load testing will be implemented at the facility level in India. They include frequency and interpretation of mo...nitoring, sample collections, storage and transportation, receipt of results, adherence counseling, and reporting requirements. Roles and responsibilities are outlined as well as turnaround time requirements.
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Social Determinants of Health Discussion Paper 1 (Debates). This paper was prepared for the launch of the Commission on Social Determinants of Hea...lth (CSDH) by its secretariat based at WHO in Geneva. It was discussed by the Commissioners and then revised considering their input.
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Review over the work and challenges of the Nigerian National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in combatting counterfeit...ing of medicines in Nigeria.
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Guide for community-based management and care of people with dementia
Version 1.0
Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Division of NCD and Health through the Life-Course
World Health Organization... Regional Office for the Western Pacific
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Purpose of this document: to present eight practical steps that Member States can take at the national and sub-national level to improve WASH in he...alth care facilities
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This document is designed to provide UNICEF staff and UNICEF partner staff with principles and concepts that can assist them to respond to ...ass="attribute-to-highlight medbox">the psychosocial needs of children in natural disasters and social emergencies such as armed conflict and other forms of violence. It aims to introduce humanitarian workers to psychosocial principles and UNICEF’s position on these principles. It also provides a number of examples from field work of how these principles have been turned into concrete actions. These psychosocial principles and concepts inform both emergency responses and subsequent programmatic responses post-emergency.
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This document provides an overview of strategic purchasing of nutrition services within primary health care. It introduces key terms and payment methods for countries to use in preparing ...="attribute-to-highlight medbox">to transform their health financial systems to scale up nutrition services. It does so by introducing nutritional perspectives to strategic health purchasing core areas: What to buy, From whom to buy and How to buy.
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Globally each year, millions of people suffer illness or lose their lives because the vaccines, medicines and diagnostic tests that they need are either unavailable or unaffordable – and this lack of access ...ox">to medicine is acute in low- and middle-in-
come countries (LMICs). While the COVID-19 pandemic laid this inequity bare, it also saw the pharmaceutical industry develop and bring new vaccines and treat- ments to market at unprecedented speed. As the world emerges from the worst
of this crisis, pharmaceutical companies are now at an important juncture, where lessons learned from the pandemic can prove pivotal in finding solutions to bridge long-standing gaps in access to medicine in LMICs.
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J Infect Dis. (2012) 206 (suppl. 1): S61-S67
Influenza data gaps in sub-Saharan Africa include incidence, case fatality, seasonal patterns, and associations with prevalent disorders. The authors found that ...">the burden of influenza was small during 2007–2010 in this paediatric hospital in Kenya. Influenza A virus subtype H3N2 predominated, and 2009 pandemic influenza A virus subtype H1N1 had little impact
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WHO would like to express its gratitude and appreciation to all Member States that provided information to ...ox">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 gather-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.
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Children with disabilities in South Africa: The hidden reality is part of a multiple-country study conducted by ACPF. The study seeks to analyse ho...w cultural, social, physical and other societal barriers prevent children with disabilities from enjoying their constitutional rights to equality, freedom and human dignity. It also seeks to establish opportunities and practices that could be used to address these barriers to enhance disabled children’s participation in society.
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In many conflicts around the world, more children die from diseases linked to unsafe water than from direct violence. UNICEF is releasing Water Under Fire volume 3, a report that highlights ...ass="attribute-to-highlight medbox">the issues children face in accessing water in times of war. The report demonstrates the humanitarian impact on children through case studies from Iraq, State of Palestine, Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine. Attacks on water, sanitation services and staff must stop.
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This pan-African report describes and analyses the cultural, social, physical and other societal barriers preventing children with disabilities in Africa from realising their full human potential. It also describes ...t medbox">the opportunities, initiatives and good practices that exist, that indicate the progress, albeit insufficient, that has been made towards realising the rights for children with disabilities in Africa. Recommendations and priorities for action are presented which promote inclusive and accessible laws, policies, and programmes for children with disabilities throughout Africa
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No country can claim to be free from health-care associated infections, therefore, improvement of infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies is essential. WHO recommends the use of multimodal... improvement strategies to implement IPC interventions. These include each item of standard and transmission-based precautions according to national guidelines or standard operating procedures and under the coordination of the national IPC focal point (or team, if existing). This publication consists of three focused improvement tools, called “aide-memoires”, which focus on 1) respiratory and hand hygiene, 2) personal protective equipment, and 3) environmental cleaning, waste and linen management, all elements of standard, droplet/contact and airborne precautions.
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This report presents examples from different agencies on how they approached community engagement in their Covid-19 responses, the tools and methodologies used, as well as the challenges they encoun...tered and how they attempted to overcome these. It discusses what community engagement means to the various agencies interviewed and in the literature consulted. And it puts forward some reflections on how CCCM and other sector agencies can take steps to ensure community participation in this and future pandemic responses.
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Interium guidance, 25 June 2021Timely and accurate diagnostic testing is an essential tool in preventing and controlling the spread of COVID-19. This document describes recommendations for national ...testing strategies and the use of PCR and rapid antigen tests in different transmission scenarios of the COVID-19 outbreak, including how testing might be rationalized in low resource settings. All testing should be followed by a strong public health response including isolating those who test positive and providing them care, contact tracing and quarantine of contacts.
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A Public Health EOC (PHEOC) serves as a hub for coordinating the preparation for, response to, a...nd recovery from public health emergencies. The preparation includes planning, such as risk and resource mapping, development of plans and procedures, and training and exercising. The response includes all activities related to investigation, response and recovery. The PHEOC also serves as a hub for coordinating resources and information to support response actions during a public health emergency and enhances communication and collaboration among relevant stakeholders.
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Loss and damage is an urgent concern, driven by the increasingly harmful effects of climate change. Communities are experiencing new types and forms of climate impact, of higher frequency and intensity, which they are not equipped ...bute-to-highlight medbox">to handle. These impacts compel vulnerable communities to migrate to find alternative livelihoods and ways to survive. But migration generates grave socioeconomic consequences. Through case study analysis from 12 regions in Asia, Africa and the Pacific, this paper explores how climate change-induced migration is creating physical health, mental health and wellbeing issues — both for migrants and the families they leave behind. It then provides recommendations to policymakers on how to strengthen policy, planning and response frameworks to support communities manage health and wellbeing risks created by climate impacts.
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Irresponsible pharmaceutical companies fuel the proliferation of superbugs through supply chain pollution, the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) reports. ...box">The advocacy group uncovered lapses such as dirty production and inadequate waste disposal in the production of antimicrobials in China and India, which supplies most of the antimicrobials consumed in Europe. In a briefing detailing the pollution, the EPHA urges major purchasers of antibiotics to blacklist irresponsible pharmaceutical companies, demand that the industry clean up its supply chain, introduce greater transparency on the origin of antibiotics, and review and revise procurement policies from an ethics perspective.
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