Primary care can play a significant role in the COVID-19 response by differentiating patients with respiratory symptoms from those with COVID-19, making an early diagnosis, helping vulnerable people cope with their anxiety about the virus, and reducing the demand for hospital services. This document... provides national and subnational health managers, as well as staff at primary care facilities, with interim guidance on timely, effective and safe supportive management of patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 at the primary care level; and delivery of essential health services at the primary care level during the COVID-19 outbreak
more
People living with HIV depend on life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART) and access to ART must be maintained during periods of travel restrictions and lockdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Information note on HIV and COVID-19 addresses common concerns people living with HIV have rega...rding the risks of COVID-19 and how to minimize them. For HIV programme managers and health facilities providing HIV services, it identifies key points related to ensuring uninterrupted provision of ART, while protecting clients and staff from the risk of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
more
Severe cases of COVID-19 are associated with rehabilitation needs related to the consequences of ventilatory support, and prolonged immobilization and bed rest. These may include: − Impaired lung function; − Physical deconditioning and muscle weakness; − Delirium and other cognitive impairment...s; − Impaired swallow and communication; and − Mental health disorders and psychosocial support needs. − Rehabilitation needs may be amplified by underlying health conditions and decrements in health associated with ageing, − Rehabilitation professionals play an important role in facilitating early discharge, which is especially critical in the context of hospital bed shortages. − Rehabilitation needs of people with severe COVID-19 exist during the acute, sub-acute and long-term phases of care; rehabilitation professionals should be positioned in ICUs, hospital wards, stepdown facilities and in the community. − Particularly in the acute phase, rehabilitation interventions for patients with severe COVID-19 requiring ventilatory support generally require a particular skill-set acquired through specialist training.
more
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing untold fear and suffering for older people across the world. As of 26 April, the virus itself has already taken the lives of some 193,710 people, and fatality rates for those over 80 years of age is five times the global average. As the virus spreads rapidly to devel...oping countries, likely overwhelming health and social protection systems, the mortality rate for older persons could climb even higher.
Less visible but no less worrisome are the broader effects: health care denied for conditions unrelated to COVID-19; neglect and abuse in institutions and care facilities; an increase in poverty and unemployment; the dramatic impact on well-being and mental health; and the trauma of stigma and discrimination.
more
Improvements in water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and wastewater management in all sectors are critical elements of preventing infections and reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as identified in the Global Action Plan to combat AMR. Yet, at present, WASH and wastewater management... actors and improvement actions are under-represented in AMR multi-stakeholder platforms and national action plans (NAPs). This WHO/FAO/OIE technical brief on WASH and wastewater management to reduce the spread of AMR provides a summary of evidence and rationale for WASH and wastewater actions within AMR NAPs and sector specific policy to combat AMR. Evidence and actions are presented in the domains of; coordination and leadership, households and communities, health care facilities, animal and plant production, manufacturing of antimicrobials, and surveillance and research.
more
While many of the countries hit by the COVID-19 in the first few months of the year are now beginning to relax lockdown measures as infection and death rates fall, in the regions most affected by HIV, TB and malaria, such as Africa, South Asia and Latin America, the pandemic continues to accelerate.... In lower resource settings, lockdowns are less effective and hard to sustain, and clinical care facilities are extremely limited. In such environments, the response to COVID-19 must focus on containing the pandemic’s spread as far as possible through testing, contact tracing and isolation, protecting the health workforce through training and the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) and minimizing the knock-on impact on other diseases through shoring up fragile health systems, and adapting existing disease programs.
more
his guidance details basic decontamination principles and procedures that should be followed to decontaminate the physical environment in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Surface contamination and transmission risk all differ by the type of setting and the volume of p...eople that frequent each setting (e.g. healthcare facilities, public transport, and other busy facilities/workplaces), even though the principles of environmental decontamination remain the same.
more
Three billion people – 40 per cent of the world’s population – do not have a place in their homes to wash their hands with water and soap. Three quarters of those who lack access to water and soap live in the world’s poorest countries and are amongst the most vulnerable: children and familie...s living in informal settlements, migrant and refugee camps, or in areas of active conflict. This puts an estimated 1 billion people at immediate risk of COVID-19 simply because they lack basic handwashing facilities.
The Hand Hygiene for All initiative aims to move the world towards this goal: supporting the most vulnerable communities with the means to protect their health and environment. It brings together international partners, national governments, public and private sectors, and civil society to ensure affordable products and services are available, especially in disadvantaged areas, and to enable a culture of hygiene.
more
This manual presents a compelling case for action on carbapenem-resistant organisms (CROs) and describes the linkages between the prevention and control of CROs and the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). It describes how the eight recommendations contained within the World Health ...Organization (WHO) guidelines for the prevention and control of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in health care facilities relate to general measures (that is, the core components of infection prevention and control [IPC] programmes) that need to be in place in all countries and health care facilities to prevent and control health care-associated infections (HAIs). The use of a stepwise approach is proposed to support implementation and improvement, based on the evidence and experience of what has worked in several health care settings worldwide. The focus is on adoptable and adaptable information.
more
Palliative care for children with life-limiting illness is the active total care of the child’s body, mind, and spirit. It begins at diagnosis and continues regardless of whether the child receives treatment directed at the disease. It seeks to control all forms of suffering related to the illness..., including pain. It involves social, psychological, spiritual, and legal support to siblings, parents, and other close family members. Effective palliative care for children requires health professionals trained to assess symptoms, care for children of different ages and developmental stages, and to provide medicines in pediatric formulations. Care may be provided in tertiary care facilities, community health centers, and at home. The child’s best interest must inform all aspects of the treatment andcare, and the child’s rights must be protected at all times.
more
With about 24 million of Yemen’s 30 million people in need of some form of assistance, the United Nations calls Yemen the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Cholera and other disease outbreaks are common, malnutrition is widespread, water is scarce, and the healthcare system is crumbling, with o...nly half of the country’s 5,000 or so health facilities fully operational and with massive medical supply and staff shortages. In August 2020, the UN warned the country was again on the brink of full-scale famine.
more
Based on scientific evidence, expert consensus and country experiences, the WHO core components for infection prevention and control (IPC) are the foundation for establishing or strengthening effective programmes at the national and facility level.
These new guidelines on core components of infecti...on prevention and control (IPC) at the national and acute health care facility level will enhance the capacity of Member States to develop and implement effective technical and behaviour modifying interventions. They form a key part of WHO strategies to prevent current and future threats from infectious diseases such as Ebola, strengthen health service resilience, help combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and improve the overall quality of health care delivery. They are also intended to support countries in the development of their own national protocols for IPC and AMR action plans and to support health care facilities as they develop or strengthen their own approaches to IPC.
more
With about 24 million of Yemen’s 30 million people in need of some form of assistance, the United Nations calls Yemen the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Cholera and other disease outbreaks are common, malnutrition is widespread, water is scarce, and the healthcare system is crumbling, with o...nly half of the country’s 5,000 or so health facilities fully operational and with massive medical supply and staff shortages. In August 2020, the UN warned the country was again on the brink of full-scale famine.
more
BMJ Open2018;8:e020423. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-02042
EC has been increasingly used in the evaluation of maternal and child health programmes.12–15 For instance, Nesbitt et al compared crude coverage and EC of pregnant women with facility-based obstetric services in Ghana and estimated that alth...ough 68% of the women studied had service access only 18% received high-quality care provided by a skilled birth attendant.16 Similarly, by comparing EC of young children receiving Strengths and limitation of this study. Using multiple data sources (direct observation, vignettes, facility inventories) this study comprehensively assessed under 5-year-old child service
performance of first-line health facilities. We conducted this study in around 500 primary-level health facilities and within 7000 households
across six regions in Burkina Faso.
more
January 2021. Save the Children urges governments and donors to take five urgent steps to ensure that children who were in school prior to COVID-19 closures can safely return:
Financial support for the world’s poorest families, so they can send their children to school and keep them healthy;
...
Catch-up classes for students who re-enter the formal education system;
Water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools, to make them COVID-19 safe for students, teachers and their families;
National back to school communications campaigns to inform communities that it is safe for children to return;
Effective training for teachers to keep everyone safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
more
18 Janaury 2021
EU/EEA Member States and the UK have increased their laboratory capacity tremendously over the past 11 months as the majority of the Member States reported sufficient testing capacity until March 2021.
Many countries are adding rapid antigen detection tests (RADT) to their ...testing strategies in order to reduce pressure on RT-PCR testing.
Some Member States have already included RADT in their case definition.
The main bottlenecks, such as shortages of laboratory consumables and human resources, as well as sample storing facilities, continue to exist and may affect the overall laboratory response to COVID-19.
more
Stock-outs of antimalarials cause unnecessary deaths among an estimated 219 million people afflicted worldwide. Good pharmaceutical information systems can avoid stock-outs with timely, accurate data and high reporting rates that ensure the continuous availability of critically-needed antimalarials....
The US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Systems for Increased Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program, with support from the US Government’s Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI), is working with the Government of Guinea to improve the national malaria reporting system. By the end of September 2013, after only a few months of training in all 19 PMI-supported zones, reporting rates had improved significantly, reaching an average completion rate of 85 percent for health facilities during the previous quarter.
more
his document, a first of its kind, clearly sets out the standards for rehabilitation and provides guidance on building or strengthening the capacity of EMTs in this area.The importance of early rehabilitation for functional outcomes is well documented. Rehabilitation needs can pe...rsist far beyond the departure of EMTs; therefore, close, supportive collaboration must be established with local services. Emergency response presents an opportunity to rebuild devastated health systems and build local rehabilitation capacity. This document emphasizes the importance of aligning practices to the local context and maximizing opportunities for training and mentorship. The minimum standards and recommendations described will result in faster access of patients to rehabilitation services and equipment and a better transition between EMTs and local health facilities.
Available in English, German, Arabic, Chinese
more
his document, a first of its kind, clearly sets out the standards for rehabilitation and provides guidance on building or strengthening the capacity of EMTs in this area.The importance of early rehabilitation for functional outcomes is well documented. Rehabilitation needs can pe...rsist far beyond the departure of EMTs; therefore, close, supportive collaboration must be established with local services. Emergency response presents an opportunity to rebuild devastated health systems and build local rehabilitation capacity. This document emphasizes the importance of aligning practices to the local context and maximizing opportunities for training and mentorship. The minimum standards and recommendations described will result in faster access of patients to rehabilitation services and equipment and a better transition between EMTs and local health facilities.
Available in English, German, Arabic, Chinese
more
This document, a first of its kind, clearly sets out the standards for rehabilitation and provides guidance on building or strengthening the capacity of EMTs in this area.The importance of early rehabilitation for functional outcomes is well documented. Rehabilitation needs can p...ersist far beyond the departure of EMTs; therefore, close, supportive collaboration must be established with local services. Emergency response presents an opportunity to rebuild devastated health systems and build local rehabilitation capacity. This document emphasizes the importance of aligning practices to the local context and maximizing opportunities for training and mentorship. The minimum standards and recommendations described will result in faster access of patients to rehabilitation services and equipment and a better transition between EMTs and local health facilities.
Available in English, German, Arabic, Chinese
more