These consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services (HTS) bring together existing and new guidance on HTS across different settings and populations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) first released consolidated guidelines on HTS in 2015, in response to requests from Member States, national pr...ogramme managers and health workers for support to achieve the United Nations (UN) 90–90–90 global HIV targets – and specifically the first target of diagnosing 90% of all people with HIV. In 2016, based on new evidence, WHO released a supplement to address important new HIV testing approaches – HIV self-testing (HIVST) and provider-assisted referral.
Since the release of 2015 and 2016 HTS guidelines, new issues and more evidence have emerged. To address this, WHO has updated guidance on HIV testing services. In this guideline, WHO updates recommendation on HIVST and provides new recommendations on social network-based HIV testing approaches and western blotting (see box, next page). This guideline seeks to provide support to Member States, programme managers, health workers and other stakeholders seeking to achieve national and international goals to end the HIV epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.
These guidelines also provide operational guidance on HTS demand creation and messaging; implementation considerations for priority populations; HIV testing strategies for diagnosis HIV; optimizing the use of dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests; and considerations for strategic planning and rationalizing resources such as optimal time points for maternal retesting
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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.
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WHO‘s Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, launched today, outlines three key steps: vaccination, screening and treatment. Successful implementation of all three could reduce more than 40% of new cases of the disease and 5 million related deaths by 2050.
Driving Impact through Programme Monitoring and Management
These guidelines – an update to the World Health Organization’s 2015 publication Consolidated strategic information guidelines – present a set of essential aggregate indicators and guidance on choosing, collecting and systematically ...analysing strategic information to manage and monitor the national health sector response to HIV.
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This guidance is intended to be used by programme managers following the decision to introduce human papillomavirus (HPV) virological testing as a screening assay in their national cervical cancer prevention and control programme. The guidance includes a step-by-step process to be followed after the... decision has been made to specifically introduce and/or scale-up HPV virological testing for screening, which would be followed up with adequate management within the context of cervical cancer prevention
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The first update of the ECDC ventilation guidance document contains:
key new findings that emphasise four bundles of NPIs to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in closed spaces;
updated references on the evidence of transmission in closed spaces;
recommendations based on the n...ew evidence and on national and international guidance; and
an overview of national guidance ventilation documents in the context of COVID-19 based on an inquiry sent to ECDC’s National Focal Points (NFPs) for Preparedness and Response and NFPs for Influenza and other respiratory diseases.
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Every year, an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm – before 37 weeks of pregnancy. That is more than 1 in 10 live births. Approximately 1 million children die each year worldwide due to complications from their early birth. Those that survive often face a lifetime of ill-health including ...disability, learning difficulties, and visual and hearing problems.
Half of the babies born at or below 32 weeks (2 months early) die in low-income settings, due to a lack of feasible, cost-effective care, such as warmth, breastfeeding support, and basic care for infections and breathing difficulties. In high-income countries, almost all these babies survive.
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The publication provides an overview and analysis of international instruments that set standards related to the use of antimicrobials across the human, animal and plant sectors, and their release into the environment. The purpose of the document is to identify existing instruments and standards in ...order to guide both their implementation and to inform discussions and direction for future international instruments related to antimicrobial use.
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This document provides guidance on how to implement contact screening and chemoprophylaxis with single-dose rifampicin. The contents are logically ordered: counselling and obtaining consent, identification and listing of index case, listing of contacts, tracing of contacts, screening of contacts, ad...ministration of prophylactic drugs. Managerial aspects to undertake contact screeninig and chemoprophylaxis are also elaborated, including planning , training , supervision and drug management.
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Mental health is critical to personal well-being, interpersonal relationships, and successful contributions to society. Mental health conditions consequently impose a high burden not only on individuals, families and society, but also on economies. In Jamaica, mental health conditions are highly pre...valent and major contributors to morbidity, disability, and premature mortality.
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The WHO Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour provide evidence-based public health recommendations for children, adolescents, adults and older adults on the amount of physical activity (frequency, intensity and duration) required to offer significant health benefits and mitigate he...alth risks. For the first time, recommendations are provided on the associations between sedentary behaviour and health outcomes, as well as for subpopulations, such as pregnant and postpartum women, and people living with chronic conditions or disability.
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This article was published on December 10, 2020, and updated on December 16, 2020, at NEJM.org. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2034577
The second edition of the joint WHO, WIPO and WTO
publication “Promoting Access to Medical Technologies
and Innovation: Intersections between public health,
intellectual property and trade” (the Trilateral Study),*
published in 2020, included a special insert mappi...ng the
challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation
to the integrated health, trade and IP policy framework set
out in the study. The Trilateral Study and the special insert
were designed to serve as background reference for policy-
makers in the widest sense – lawmakers, government
officials, delegates to international organizations, non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) and researchers
who seek a comprehensive presentation of the full range
of issues, including institutions and legal concepts with
which they may be unfamiliar. It is also designed to serve
as a factual resource for the three organizations’ technical
cooperation activities.
This update revises the information contained in that
insert in the light of more recent developments as of
30 August 2021. Further updates will be made to reflect
subsequent developments.
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This toolkit is designed to help you plan and implement a Patient Navigation program with the best chance of reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes for your patients. It contains evidence-based and experience-based examples, case studies, practical tools, and resources to help you...:
1. Establish an evidence-based patient navigation program tailored to reduce barriers for your patients
2. Incorporate best practices to enhance current patient navigation programs or services
3. Implement a patient navigation model to address any targeted medical condition
where disparities exist
4. Hire, prepare, supervise, support and retain effective Patient Navigators
5. Navigate patients who experience health disparities
6. Evaluate patient navigation programs with the aim of continuous quality
improvement
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