This interim guidance is for LTCF managers and corresponding infection prevention and control (IPC) focal persons in LTCF and updates the guidance published in March 2020. The objective of this document is to provide guidance on IPC in LTCFs in the context of COVID-19 to 1) prevent COVID-19-virus fr...om entering the facility and spreading within the facility, and 2) to support safe conditions for visiting through the rigorous application of IPC procedures for the residents’ well-being. WHO will update these recommendations as new information becomes available.
Availabel in English, French, Russian and Spanish
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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 t...he 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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23 December 2020 This document summarizes WHO recommendations for the rational use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in health care settings and temporary strategies during acute supply shortages. This document also contains 2 Annex sections describing updated PPE use recommendations for health... workers based on the transmission scenario, setting, and activity in the context of COVID-19 (Annex 1), and updated considerations for the decontamination or reprocessing of PPE (Annex 2). This guidance is intended for public health authorities, organizations, and focal persons involved in decisions regarding PPE distribution, management, and use by health workers.
Available in Arabic, French, English, Spanish and Russian
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Policy Brief.
Our understanding of how to diagnose and manage Long COVID is still evolving but the condition can be very debilitating. It is associated with a range of overlapping symptoms including generalized chest and muscle pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, and cognitive dysfunction, and the ...mechanisms involved affect multiple system and include persisting inflammation, thrombosis, and autoimmunity. It can affect anyone, but women and health care workers seem to be at greater risk.
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It estimates that there have been 228,000 additional deaths of children under five in these six countries [Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka] due to crucial services, ranging from nutrition benefits to immunisation, being halted.
It says the number of children being tr...eated for severe malnutrition fell by more than 80% in Bangladesh and Nepal, and immunisation among children dropped by 35% and 65% in India and Pakistan respectively...
It also estimates that there have been some 3.5 million additional unwanted pregnancies, including 400,000 among teenagers, due to poor or no access to contraception...
The interruption to health services also affected those suffering from other diseases - the report predicts an additional 5,943 deaths across the region among adolescents who couldn't get treated for tuberculosis, malaria, typhoid and HIV/Aids.
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n este documento de orientación se abordan las las consecuencias sociales, económicas y en materia de salud de las medidas adoptadas para controlar la pandemia en relación con el cierre de las escuelas, así como los elementos que deben tenerse en cuenta al reabrir y cerrar las escuelas, haciendo... hincapié en los niños, niñas y adolescentes en situación de vulnerabilidad. Además, se plantean otras consideraciones para que los planes de reapertura de las escuelas incluyan medidas concebidas específicamente para beneficiar a los niños, niñas y adolescentes que tienen más riesgo de tener resultados desfavorables en materia de educación y salud por el impacto negativo, directo e indirecto, de la pandemia de COVID-19.
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The World Happiness Report 2021 focuses on the effects of COVID-19 and how people all over the world have fared. Our aim was two-fold, first to focus on the effects of COVID-19 on the structure and quality of people’s lives, and second to describe and evaluate how governments all over the world ha...ve dealt with the pandemic. In particular, we try to explain why some countries have done so much better than others.
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In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material, Mama Fatima Singhateh, focuses on the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) p...andemic on increased risk and various manifestations of sale and sexual exploitation of children. The Special Rapporteur outlines the push and pull factors, protection challenges and good practices, and provides recommendations on measures to address the heightened risks of sale and sexual exploitation of children, both online and offline, during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and the ensuing lockdowns.
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28 May 2021
Contact tracing is a key component of a public health response to infectious disease outbreaks. The purpose of this guidance is to reinforce the place of community engagement and participation in the contact tracing process. The guidance and related products articulate best practice pri...nciples for community engagement and how they can be operationalized as part of any community-centred contact tracing strategy. The material provided can stand on its own or be used to complement other documents that support strategies, implementation plans or training and capacity building modules.
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A new brief published by the IFRC and Climate Centre today details the adverse impacts of climate change on human health and provides more detail on the second of four pillars of action in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement ambitions on climate.
Background paper 11
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response
May 2021
Interim guidanceAnnex to: Policy considerations for implementing a risk-based approach to international travel in the context of COVID-19, 2 July 2021
15 July 2021. This report describes the demographics, clinical presentation, clinical outcomes, and risk factors among people living with HIV (PLHIV) who have been hospitalized for suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
The specific objectives of the analysis were to:
describe the clinical char...acteristics and outcomes of PLHIV hospitalized for COVID-19
assess whether PLHIV hospitalized with COVID-19 were at increased risk of presenting with severe or critical illness at admission and were at increased risk of in-hospital death compared to individuals not infected with HIV
assess risk factors associated with severe or critical illness at hospital admission and of in-hospital death among PLHIV hospitalized for COVID-19.
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The roadmap describes the actions needed to
achieve the three development goals for TB
vaccines set by the WHO:
1. A safe, effective and affordable TB vaccine
for adolescents and adults.
2. An affordable TB vaccine for neonates and
infants with improved safety and efficacy.
3. A therapeutic v...accine to improve TB
treatment outcomes
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Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs, though it can affect any organ in the body. It can develop when bacteria spread through droplets in the air. TB can be fatal, but in many cases, TB is preventable and treatable. This report examines the human rights impact of... the prevalence of Tuberculosis (TB) and Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) among the Indigenous San peoples of Namibia. Combining political economy and root-cause methodology, the report explores the socioeconomic factors that make the San vulnerable to TB and limit their access to adequate health services.
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Annals of Global Health, 87(1), p.30. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2647
Objectives: This paper reviews the mental health policies that have been implemented in Chile in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the international context of countries' responses. Even before the start of the pandemic, there were significant barriers to access mental health services in Chile, ...coupled with a scenario of nationwide social unrest and protests that questioned the legitimacy of public institutions; now the rapidly worsening outbreaks of COVID-19 are exacerbating the pre-existing mental health crisis.
Methods: We conducted a bibliometric and content analysis of the Chilean mental health public policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and then compared these policies with international experiences and emerging scientific evidence on the mental health impact of pandemics.
Results: Our analysis of the policies identifies five crucial points of action developed in Chile: (i) an established framework to address mental health in emergency and disaster situations; (ii) a timely COVID-19 Mental Health Action Plan; (iii) inclusion of mental health in the public health agenda; (iv) development of a presidential strategy during the pandemic for comprehensive mental health and well-being; and (v) emerging research assessing the mental health implications of COVID-19.
Conclusions: In Chile, the public policy responses to address the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been characterized by the coordinated implementation of mental health plans, ranging from a health sectoral initiative to inter-agency and intersectoral efforts. However, it is imperative that increased funding is allocated to mental health, and efforts should be made to promote the participation of people with lived experiences and communities in the design and implementation of the proposed actions. This aspect could be of key importance to social peace and community recovery after the pandemic.
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Climate change is a major risk to good development outcomes, and the World Bank Group is committed to playing an important role in helping countries integrate climate action into their core development agendas. The World Bank Group is committed to supporting client countries to invest in and build a... low-carbon, climate-resilient future, helping them to be better prepared to adapt to current and future climate impacts.
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This profile is part of a series of Climate Risk Country Profiles developed by the World Bank Group (WBG). The country profile synthesizes most relevant data and information on climate change, disaster risk reduction, and adaptation actions and policies at the country level. The country profile seri...es are designed as a quick reference source for development practitioners to better integrate climate resilience in development planning and policy making. This effort is managed and led by Veronique Morin (Senior Climate Change Specialist, WBG) and Ana E. Bucher (Senior Climate Change Specialist, WBG)
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