[Preface]. For more than forty years Primary Health Care (PHC) has been recognized as the cornerstone of an effective and responsive health system. The Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978 reaffirmed the ri
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ght to the highest attainable level of health, with equity, solidarity and the right to health as its core values. It stressed the need for comprehensive health services, not only curative but services that addressed needs in terms of health promotion, prevention, rehabilitation and treatment of common conditions. A strong resolutive first level of care is the basis for health system development [...] The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) has supported the countries in the establishment of interprofessional PHC teams, in the transformation of health education and in building capacity in the strategic planning, and management of human resources for health. Nursing can play a critical role in advancing PHC. New profiles such as the advanced practice nurses, as discussed in this document, can be fundamental in this effort, and in particular, in health promotion, disease prevention and care, especially in rural and underserved areas.
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In 2013 the World Health Organization (WHO) published the report Protecting health from climate
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change:vulnerability and adaptation assessment. The aim was to provide basic and flexible guidance on conducting national or subnational assessments of current and future vulnerability (the susceptibility of a population or region to harm) to the health risks of climate change, and of policies and programmes that could increase resilience, taking into account the multiple determinants of climate-sensitive health outcomes.
That guidance has been a very useful tool, applied to more than 50 countries and settings, and has helped countries to prepare their health contributions to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change national adaptation plans.
Since the launch of the guidance, WHO, technical partners such as Health Canada, and countries have learned much in terms of its applicability in different countries, at national and local levels.
At the same time, knowledge on climate change and health has increased.
WHO, the Pan American Health Organization and Health Canada have produced this updated version, which aims to better support countries in their assessments by proposing a simpler tool that incorporates
all lessons learned.
more
Climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessment
In 2013 the World Health Organizat
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ion (WHO) published the report Protecting health from climate change:
vulnerability and adaptation assessment. The aim was to provide basic and flexible guidance on conducting national or subnational assessments of current and future vulnerability (the susceptibility of a population or region to harm) to the health risks of climate change, and of policies and programmes that could increase resilience, taking into account the multiple determinants of climate-sensitive health outcomes.
That guidance has been a very useful tool, applied to more than 50 countries and settings, and has helped countries to prepare their health contributions to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change national adaptation plans.
Since the launch of the guidance, WHO, technical partners such as Health Canada, and countries have learned much in terms of its applicability in different countries, at national and local levels.
At the same time, knowledge on climate change and health has increased.
WHO, the Pan American Health Organization and Health Canada have produced this updated version, which aims to better support countries in their assessments by proposing a simpler tool that incorporates all lessons learned.
more
Washington, D.C., USA, 23-27 September 2018
Provisional Agenda Item 4.6
CD56/10, Rev. 1 31 August 2018
Original: Spanish
The overview of findings from five Latin American countries
Training for Health Care Providers
Facilitators’ Manual
Regional Tuberculosis Program, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO)
Regional Initiative for the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Congenital Syphilis in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Member States of the Pan American Health Organization/
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World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO)
that appear in the tables below have used the assessment instrument for mental health systems (WHOAIMS)
(1), as have Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos, all British
Overseas Territories. For the purpose of this report, the countries and territories were grouped into three subregions, as follows:
Central America, Mexico, and the Latin Caribbean, the non-Latin Caribbean, and South America. The tables
also indicate the year each national WHO-AIMS report was published.
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Climate-related disasters, heatwaves, climate-sensitive diseases, and severe droughts and floods are taking lives and harming health, livelihoods, and ecosystems across the countries of the Caribbean, as in other Small Island Developing States (SIDS
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) around the world. In recognition of the high vulnerability of those countries, the World Health Organization launched in 2017 the Special Initiative on Climate Change and Health in Small Island Developing States, aiming to increase the resilience of these countries and territories to climate variability and climate change
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This publication presents a comprehensive methodology to support the Member States of the Pan American Health
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Organization (PAHO) in preparing for and responding to heat-health risks in the Region of the Americas. It builds on World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization global documents, as well as on the disaster preparedness methodologies employed throughout the countries of the Region. This publication is part of an effort coordinated by PAHO to support Member States in multihazard preparedness, and includes: early warning system strengthening; threat characterization; activation and deactivation procedure definition; and institutional coordination. It engages different disciplines and recognizes the importance of intersectoral collaboration to respond to heat-health risks. It aims to bring awareness of the impacts of heat on the health of people of the Americas to public health decisionmakers, and thereby strengthen health service provision.
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This document provides Technical content on ZIKV, its manifestations, complications, modes of transmission, and prevention measures to be used in answering frequently asked questions and conveying messages in information and communication materials, community talks, press conferences, etc.
This report aims to improve the assessment of mental health needs in the Americas by providing an updated and nuanced picture of: (a) the disability resulting from mental, substance use, and specific neurological disorders, plus self-harm, alone and
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in combination with premature mortality; (b) the imbalance between mental health spending and its related disease burden; and (c) the inadequate allocation of the meager mental health spending by countries of the Region
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A Toolkit for Implementation. Module 1: An Overview of Implementation at National, Province and District Levels
Care for persons with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a major health priority for most countries worldwide, particularly for low-middle income countries
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where the problem seems to be worsening. Globally, research demonstrates that the vast majority of people with NCDs receive suboptimal care. Many people living with chronic conditions remain undiagnosed and unaware of their condition, while many others remain untreated or with inadequate control. Meanwhile the premature mortality caused by NCDs remains high in many countries. In response to the global epidemic of NCDs, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in 2012, which establishes 9 voluntary global targets and indicators to be considered by Member States when formu- lating national plans to combat NCDs.
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A toolkit for Implementation. Module 3: Participatory community assessment in maternal and newborn health