Testing and diagnosis of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) infection is the gateway for access to both prevention and treatment services, and is a crucial component of an effective response to the hepatitis epidemic. Early identification of persons with chronic HBV or HCV infection enables them to recei...ve the necessary care and treatment to prevent or delay progression of liver disease. Testing also provides an opportunity to link people to interventions to reduce transmission, through counselling on risk behaviours and provision of prevention commodities (such as sterile needles and syringes) and hepatitis B vaccination.
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Chapter 9: Public health guide for emergencies
Revision for Field Review
Online version of the manual: https://iawgfieldmanual.com/manual
Humanitarian crises can affect women, men, girls and boys in radically different ways. To address the different impacts of conflict and disasters on each group and promote the potential for positive transformation of gender norms, Oxfam calls for humanitarian agencies to analyse, plan, and respond t...o crises in ways that address practical gender needs and promote women’s rights. Oxfam is committed to promoting gender equality and preventing gender-based violence, through the implementation of its Minimum Standards for Gender in Emergencies. In addition, the promotion of gender equality must be central to the broader efforts to protect civilians and manage and prevent conflict and armed violence.
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Vanquishing violence and vulnerability in humanitarian settings
Background paper for the joint African Union–UNAIDS (in capacity of serving
Chair of H6) high-level side event at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly,
24 September 2018, at UNHQ, Conference Room 3
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the worst in the world. Nearly four years of conflict and severe economic decline are driving the country to the brink of famine and exacerbating needs in all sectors. An estimated 80 per cent of the population – 24 million people – require some form of h...umanitarian or protection assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need. Severity of needs is deepening, with the number of people in acute need a staggering 27 per cent higher than last year. Two-thirds of all districts in the country are already pre-famine, and one-third face a convergence of multiple acute vulnerabilities
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In line with its decentralization principle, the Ethiopian Health Policy has achieved great progress in improving access to comprehensive HIV/AIDS services to the majority of the population. Both quality and coverage of services have improved significantlysince the initiation... of the free ART program in 2005. The role of health workforce in general and that of pharmacy professionals assumes a central position in these achievements. To further enhance accessibility and quality of services, capacity buildingof health cadres is critical. Therefore, this comprehensive HIV prevention, care and treatment training material is prepared with the primarily intention to build the capacity of pharmacy professionals at all levels so that they can contribute to the provision of HIV services.
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This perspective draws on the record of ancient pathogengenomes and microbiomes illuminating patterns of infectious disease over the course of the Holocene in order toaddress the following question. How did major changes inliving circumstances involving the transition to and intensification of farmi...ng alter pathogens and their distributions? Answers to this question via ancient DNA researchprovide a rapidly expanding picture of pathogen evolution and in concert with archaeological and historical data, give a temporal and behavioral context for heath in the past that is relevant for challenges facing the world today, including the rise of novel pathogens.
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Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by pathogenic organisms belonging to the genus Leptospira, that are transmitted directly or indirectly from animals to humans. Leptospirosis is a major direct zoonosis. Humanto-human transmission occurs only very rarely.
Rabies is a devastating and societally important zoonotic disease, which is transmitted principally to humans through the bite of infected dogs. This acute, progressive viral encephalitis has the highest case fatality of any infectious disease and kills tens of thousands of people annually, with chi...ldren and impoverished communities being affected disproportionately.
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Rabies is a fatal viral zoonosis and serious public health problem.1 All mammals are believed to be susceptible to the disease, and for the purposes of this document, use of the term animal refers to mammals. The disease is an acute, progressive encephalitis caused by viruses in the genus Lyssavirus....
2 Rabies virus is the most important lyssavirus globally. In the
United States, multiple rabies virus variants are maintained in wild mammalian reservoir populations such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats. Although the United States has been declared free from transmission of canine rabies virus variants, there is always a risk of reintroduction of these variants.The rabies virus is usually transmitted from animal to animal through bites. The incubation period is
highly variable. In domestic animals, it is generally 3 to 12 weeks, but can range from several days to months, exceeding 6 months.8 Rabies is communicable during the period of salivary shedding of rabies virus. Experimental and historic evidence documents that dogs, cats, and ferrets shed the virus for a few days prior to the onset of clinical signs and during illness. Clinical signs of rabies are variable and include inappetance, dysphagia, cranial nerve deficits, abnormal behavior, ataxia, paralysis, altered vocalization, and seizures. Progression to death is rapid. There are currently no known effective rabies antiviral drugs.
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The Pharmaceutical Forum of the Americas (PFA) has previously published guidelines and organised campaigns for community pharmacists on the prevention, detection and control of arbovirus infections in 2018 with a grant from the FIP Foundation for Pharmacy Education and Research. Building on that exp...ertise, FIP joined efforts with the PFA and is now publishing its first-ever handbook to support pharmacists in the
area of vector-borne diseases. As the integration of the regional forums in FIP advances, such collaborative projects are tangible results of an increasingly regionally informed and regionally targeted work by FIP.
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Diagnosis, Case Management Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis
The Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) provides WHO with rapid and flexible resources to respond to disease outbreaks and other health emergencies. The annual report provides an overview of the use and impact of the Fund over the previous year.
Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country; with a population of 102 million and a growth rate of 2.6% in 2020, it is also the world’s 12th most populous one. The country is home to various ethnicities, with more than 80 different spoken languages. The country borders six countries. Most ...of the population in Ethiopia lives in central and northern plateaus. The southeastern and eastern parts of the country are sparsely populated and inhabited by pastoralist communities. Ethiopia is also home to many (estimated at 1 million) refugees from South Sudan, Somalia, Somaliland, and Eritrea. Though fewer in numbers, Ethiopia also hosts Syrian and Sudanese refugees.
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I examine the effectiveness of donors in targeting the highest burden of malaria in the Democratic Republic of Congo when health information structure is fragmented. I exploit local variations in the burden of malaria induced by mining activities as well as financial and epidemiological data from he...alth facilities to estimate how local aid is matching local health needs. Using a regression discontinuity design, I find significant but quantitatively small variations in aid to health facilities located within mining areas. Comparing local aid with the additional cost of treatment and prevention associated with the increased risk of malaria transmission, I find suggestive evidence that local populations with the highest burden of the disease receive a proportionately lower share of aid compared to neighbouring areas with reduced exposure to malaria infection. The evidence of disparities in the allocation of aid for malaria supports the view that donors may have inaccurate information about local population needs.
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Cholera remains a significant public health threat in many countries worldwide. In resource-constrained settings, it disproportionately affects thousands of poor and vulnerable population