Updated version June 2015
The main objective of this mission was to assess the level of preparedness of Guinea-Bissau in respect of the WHO consolidated checklist. The checklist helps countries to assess and test their level of readiness it is being used to identify concrete action to be taken and where countries will requir...e support from partners. It lists 10 key components and tasks for both countries and the international community that should be completed within 30, 60 and 90 days from the date of issue of the list, with minimal requirements for equipment, material and human resources.
The components include: overall coordination; rapid response teams; public awareness and community engagement; infection prevention and control; epidemiological and laboratory surveillance; contact tracing; points of entry; laboratory; social mobilization and risk communication; budget.
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SCOPING QUESTION: For adults and children with medication-resistant convulsive epilepsy, which anti-epileptic medications produce benefits and/or harm in the specified outcomes when compared to a placebo or a comparator?
Guideline
Iron deficiency is one of the most common forms of nutritional deficiencies, particularly among vulnerable groups such as women, children and low-income populations. Iron deficiency often precedes anaemia, and anaemia during pregnancy is one of the strongest predictors of anaemia duri...ng the postpartum period, beginning just after childbirth throughout the subsequent 6 weeks. The consequences of iron deficiency and anaemia during the postpartum period can be serious and have long-term health implications for the mother and her infant.
This guideline reviews the evidence on the safety and effectiveness of iron supplementation in postpartum women.
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The aim of this publication is to provide practical guidance for the first responders who will respond during the first few hours to a radiological emergency and for the national officials who would support this early response. This publication provides guidance in the form of action guides, instruc...tions and data that can be easily applied by a State to build a basic capability to respond to a radiological emergency.
Also available in Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish: https://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/7606/Manual-for-First-Responders-to-a-Radiological-Emergency
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World Psychiatry16:2 - June 2017
First published: 12 May 2017
https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20428
Volume16, Issue2; Pages 213-214
The Lancet Published Online September 13, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31404-0
This report assesses the impact of the conflict in Ukraine and its implications for organized crime and security-related issues for neighbouring countries, with a focus on Moldova.
These include:
Organized crime and illicit trafficking (including trafficking in persons, drugs, arms, illicit toba...cco, and other goods); Cybercrimes and fraud; Disinformation and propaganda; and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats.
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There has been important progress for the rights of adolescent girls and women in recent decades, yet millions still struggle to
access the nutritious diets, essential nutrition services and nutrition and care practices they need to prevent malnutrition.
Undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies ...and anaemia amplify gender inequalities by lowering learning potential, wages and life opportunities for adolescent girls and women, weakening their immunity to infections, and increasing their risk of lifethreatening complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
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The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2023 highlights that the number of people experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity and requiring urgent food and livelihood assistance increased for the fourth consecutive year in 2022. Over a quarter of a billion people were estimated to face acute h...unger, with economic shocks and the Ukraine war contributing to the increase. In 2022, around 258 million people across 58 countries and territories faced acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels (IPC/CH Phase 3-5), up from 193 million people in 53 countries and territories in 2021.
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This guide presents a basis for understanding how diarrhoeal diseases are currently influenced by climate and weather, and may be further exacerbated by climate change. It is a technical guide on how to conduct a Vulnerability & Adaptation assessment for diarrhoeal diseases and climate change, and p...rovides guidance on how to:
identify populations and regions vulnerable to diarrhoeal diseases and the reasons for their vulnerability;
establish relevant baselines that can be analysed and monitored;
conduct analyses to project how diarrhoeal diseases may be impacted in the future due to climate change; and
identify appropriate responses to mitigate and monitor these risks over time.
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Many features of the environment have been found to exert an important influence on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, progression, and severity. Changes in the environment due to migration to different geographic locations, modifications in lifestyle choices, and shifts in social policies and cultu...ral practices alter CVD risk, even in the absence of genetic changes. Nevertheless, the cumulative impact of the environment on CVD risk has been difficult to assess
and the mechanisms by which some environment factors influence CVD remain obscure. Human environments are complex; and their natural, social and personal domains are highly variable due to diversity in human ecosystems, evolutionary histories, social structures, and individual choices. Accumulating evidence supports the notion that ecological features such as the diurnal cycles of
light and day, sunlight exposure, seasons, and geographic characteristics of the natural environment such altitude, latitude and greenspaces are important determinants of cardiovascular health and CVD risk. In highly developed societies, the influence of the natural environment is moderated by the physical characteristics of the social environments such as the built environment
and pollution, as well as by socioeconomic status and social networks. These attributes of the
social environment shape lifestyle choices that significantly modify CVD risk. An understanding
of how different domains of the environment, individually and collectively, affect CVD risk could
lead to a better appraisal of CVD, and aid in the development of new preventive and therapeutic
strategies to limit the increasingly high global burden of heart disease and stroke.
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WHO has published the first-ever guidance on the clinical management of diphtheria. The only previously available guidance was an operational protocol. The new guidance followed the rigorous process for developing guidance at WHO.
It addresses the use of Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT) in the treatmen...t of diphtheria. There is a worldwide shortage of DAT and evidence based recommendations on the use of DAT were requested by many Member States.
The guidance also includes new recommendations on antibiotics. In patients with suspected or confirmed diphtheria, WHO recommends using macrolide antibiotics (azithromycin, erythromycin) rather than penicillin antibiotics.
This clinical practice guideline has been rapidly developed recognizing the global increase in diphtheria outbreaks. Outbreaks of diphtheria in Nigeria, Guinea and neighbouring countries in 2023 have highlighted the urgent need for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of diphtheria. Given the sporadic nature of outbreaks, many clinicians in the affected regions have never managed acute diphtheria and its related complications. Diphtheria remains a neglected disease and vaccination is the top priority. At the same time, for patients with diphtheria, access to antibiotics, DAT and supportive care can be lifesaving.
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