4th edition
The WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual (LBM) has been in broad use at all levels of clinical and public health laboratories, and other biomedical sectors globally, serving as a de facto global standard that presents best practices and sets trends in biosafety.
LBM encouraged countries t...o accept and implement basic concepts in biological safety and to develop national codes of practice for the safe handling of biological agents in laboratories within their geographical borders.
This fourth edition of the manual builds on the risk assessment framework introduced in the third edition. A thorough, evidence-based and transparent assessment of the risks allows safety measures to be balanced with the actual risk of working with biological agents on a case-by-case basis.
This novel evidence- and risk-based approach will allow optimised resource use and sustainable laboratory biosafety and biosecurity policies and practices that are relevant to their individual circumstances and priorities, enabling equitable access to clinical and public health laboratory tests and biomedical research opportunities without compromising safety.
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The WHO SAGE values framework for the allocation and prioritization of COVID-19 vaccination is intended to offer guidance on the prioritization of groups for vaccination when vaccine supply is limited. It provides a values foundation for the objectives of COVID-19 vaccination programmes and links t...hose to target groups for vaccination. This information is valuable to countries and globally while specific policies will be developed once vaccines become available.
This document it available in Arabic, Chinese and Russian
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Countries around the world are facing the challenge of increased demand for care of people with COVID-19, compounded by fear, misinformation and limitations on movement that disrupt the delivery of health care for all conditions. Maintaining essential health services: operational guidance for the CO...VID-19 context recommends practical actions that countries can take at national, subregional and local levels to reorganize and safely maintain access to high-quality, essential health services in the pandemic context. It also outlines sample indicators for monitoring essential health services, and describes considerations on when to stop and restart services as COVID-19 transmission recedes and surges.
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Report of the WHO/Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Consultation. The Consultation was organized back-to-back with the first annual meeting of the International Coordinating Group of the BMGF-funded project for human and dog rabies elimination in developing countries, held at WHO headquarters, Geneva,... Switzerland, from 5 to 7 October 2009. This allowed the Consultation to benefit from the participation of the national coordinators and advisers of the BMGF-funded projects in the Philippines, South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal) and the United Republic of Tanzania
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Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease among school-going adolescents worldwide. However, the burden of severe asthma is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of asthma care across six African countries. We conducted focus group discussions... (FGDs) using a semi-structured interview guide. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. FGDs were conducted in Kumasi(Ghana), Blantyre (Malawi), Lagos (Nigeria), Durban (South Africa), Kampala (Uganda), and Harare (Zimbabwe) between 01 November 2020 and 30 June 2021. We identified two key themes related to asthma care; barriers to asthma care and suggestions to improve the care of adolescents with asthma. Barriers reported by teachers included a lack of knowledge and skills among themselves, adolescents, and caregivers. In addition, some traditional beliefs of teachers on asthma exacerbated challenges with asthma care in schools. Regarding suggestions, most teachers identified a need for all-inclusive asthma training programmes for teachers, adolescents and caregivers, focusing on acute episodes and mitigating triggers. Utilising teachers with personal experiences with asthma to advocate and support these initiatives was suggested. Further suggestions included the need for annual screening to enable early identification of adolescents with asthma and clarify restrictions on teachers administering asthma medications. Teachers across African schools identify multiple barriers to asthma care. Structured school education programs and annual asthma screening are key to addressing some barriers to care.
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This country cooperation strategy (CCS) outlines how the World Health Organization (WHO) will work with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic over the next five years (2024–2028), supporting the implementation of the five-year health sector development plans and the Health Sector Reform Strategy ...2021–2030 to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic experienced substantial economic growth in the 30 years prior to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, contributing to reduced poverty and significant progress toward the SDGs. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought this development to a halt. It was anticipated that the COVID-19 recovery and the tremendous population growth in recent years would provide opportunities for a shift toward more sustainable and inclusive development in the years ahead. In 2023, however, the contrary was the case. Rural residents, including many ethnic minorities, continued to face marginalization because of limited access to education, health care and economic opportunities.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks, the country has made significant improvements in health. Nonetheless, progress has been uneven and not everyone has benefited from these achievements. In the mountainous region, many people lack access to quality health care because of the unequal distribution of well-trained health-care workers. Preventable deaths due to poor-quality health care for children and newborns, infants and mothers remain a concern, as do communicable diseases such as sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis. The increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases and the health impact of worsening climate change further heighten the need for strengthened and resilient health systems, which are at risk due to an underfunded health sector and weak economy.
This CCS aims to address remaining and future challenges as well as health needs while creating an impact that is sustainable. It identifies three strategic priorities and nine deliverables (Table 1) to support the attainment of the national vision of Health for all by all, as articulated in the 9th Health Sector Development Plan 2021–2025. It contributes to the country’s goals to achieve universal health coverage, graduate from least developed country status by 2026 and attain SDGs by 2030.
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This guide has been produced by the International
Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) to introduce the
humanitarian advocacy agenda on the use of explosive
weapons in populated areas and to provide ideas for actions
at the national level. It is aimed primarily at NGOs and
campaigners worki...ng on humanitarian issues and issues
related to weapons and protection of civilians.
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This strategic framework marries formerly separate mandates for HIV and TB management in to one, comprehensive collaboration. It provides a structure for how to: strengthen the health care system to respond effectively to both epidemics, reduce the burden of HIV/AIDS in TB patients, and establish a ...monitoring and evaluation system for the collaborative activities. Activities include: improving TB infection control in health care and other settings, enhancing TB/HIV diagnostic capacity, and harmonize data collection tools and local, national and international TB/HIV indicators.
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Ces dernières années, la Guinée a accordé une attention particulière à l’amélioration de la santé reproductive, maternelle, néonatale, infantile et des adolescents (SRMNIA) – Objectif Stratégique 2 de la politique nationale santé (PNS), Orientation Stratégique 2 du Plan National de D...éveloppement Sanitaire (PNDS) 2015-2014 et le Plan Stratégique Santé de la Reproduction (PSSR) 2016-2010 - en
mettant l’accent sur un meilleur accès aux interventions à haut impact et le renforcement du système de santé.
L’objectif général du dossier d’investissement est de réaliser des progrès vers une couverture sanitaire universelle en matière de la SRMNIA auprès des populations-cibles grâce à un accès accru d’un paquet complet d’interventions à haut impact de qualité et à la protection contre le risque financier (en termes de mise en œuvre des politiques sur la gratuité des services).
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The GAP articulates five objectives for tackling AMR, and sets out the tasks required to achieve them, highlighting
roles and responsibilities for country governments, the One Health Tripartite organizations (FAO, OIE and WHO) and other national and international partners. To ensure that all stakeh...olders assume their roles and responsibilities, and to assess whether they are collectively effecting the necessary change in AMR, the implementation of the GAP needs to be routinely monitored and evaluated. To that end, the Tripartite organizations co-developed a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework for the GAP, as outlined in this document
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O Protocolo de Vigilância Epidemiológica e Sanitária de Eventos Adversos Pós-Vacinação (EAPV), é o documento de referência nacional para a vigilância das vacinas COVID-19. Além disso, complementará, com os demais protocolos definidos pelo Ministério da Saúde, as ações empreendidas par...a o enfretamento da pandemia de Covid-19 no país.
O desenvolvimento e a operacionalização do Protocolo obrigam à definição clara de uma estrutura de liderança, coordenação e harmonização, bem como à identificação das entidades com responsabilidades no planejamento, na execução e na avaliação das atividades estabelecidas nas três esferas de gestão do Sistem Unico de Saude. Para tanto, este Protocolo preconiza o fortalecimento da integração dos atores do SUS, bem como de segmentos da sociedade brasileira, envolvidos direta ou indiretamente com a minimização de riscos e monitoramento de EAPV.
Este documento apresenta orientações gerais estruturantes e procedimentos para o funcionamento eficiente do sistema de farmacovigilância/vigilância de eventos adversos pós-vacinação (VEAPV) nas diferentes esferas de gestão do Sistema Unico de Saude, especificamente quanto as questões de segurança e queixas técnicas de vacinas.
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Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, Vol.25 (2014) pp.72-81
This article highlights some lessons about the strategy of community-based inclusive education, drawn from different programmes in Latin America.
This Technical Brief reviews current practice and evidence on nutrition-specific preventive approaches to MAM, providing practical guidance for implementers and programme managers, and highlighting gaps in evidence and guidance.
This is the first global report on epilepsy summarizing the available evidence on the burden of epilepsy and the public health response required at global, regional and national levels.
The reports highlights major gaps in awareness, diagnosis, treatment, and health policies through a series of a...ppalling numbers. With around 50 million people affected worldwide, epilepsy is one of the most common and serious brain disorders. Nearly 80% of people with epilepsy live in low-income and middle-income countries
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Le gouvernement du Bénin a engagé le processus de mise en oeuvre du RAMU dans le but d’améliorer l’accessibilité fi nancière des populations à un paquet de base de soins de santé de qualité. Commencées en 2008, la réflexion, la préparation et la mise en oeuvre du RAMU au Bénin ont fa...it émerger des défi s et des questions divers au sein des acteurs impliqués dans le processus. Ces acteurs qui se retrouvent tant aux niveaux international, national et opérationnel, que dans les secteurs gouvernemental, non-gouvernemental et privé sont la cible principale de cette publication.
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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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The EAPC White Paper addresses the issue of spiritual care education for all palliative care
professionals. It is to guide health care professionals involved in teaching or training of palliative care and spiritual care; stakeholders, leaders and decision makers responsible for training and educati...on; as well as national and local curricula development groups.
The EAPC white paper points out the importance of spiritual care as an integral part of palliative care and suggests incorporating it accordingly into educational activities and training models in palliative care. The revised spiritual care education competencies for all palliative care providers are accompanied by the best practice models and research evidence, at the same time being sensitive towards different develop-ment stages of the palliative care services across the European region.
Conclusions: Better education can help the healthcare practitioner to avoid being distracted by their own fears, prejudices, and restraints and attend to the patient and his/her family. This EAPC white paper encourages and facilitates high quality, multi-disciplinary, academically and financially accessible spiritual care education to all
palliative care staff.
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Ces recommandations ont été élaborées dans le cadre de la mission de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé de fournir des orientations normatives à ses États-membres. L’objectif de ce document est de formuler des recommandations fondées sur des données factuelles afin de faciliter l’acc...ès universel aux interventions essentielles et efficaces en matière santé maternelle et néonatale, grâce à l’optimisation des rôles du personnel de santé.
Ces recommandations s’adressent aux décideurs de la santé, aux responsables et autres acteurs aux niveaux international, national et régional. En fournissant ces recommandations générales à l’échelle internationale, l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé part du principe que les pays les adapteront et qu’ils les mettront en œuvre en tenant compte du système politique et des systèmes de santé déjà en place.
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The Operational guide: use of referral laboratories for the analysis of foodborne hazards in the Pacific aims to strengthen the food analysis capacity of Pacific Island countries and areas by identifying national and reference laboratories capable of testing for priority foodborne hazards. The Pacif...ic Island countries and areas are often vulnerable to food safety incidents and emergencies due to their geographical distribution and dependence on food imports. The guide outlines key considerations for selecting referral laboratories and submitting samples to them, enabling continuous improvement of food safety systems and providing safe food for all. The target audiences are health and food safety authorities.
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In January 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a new road map to address the burden of disease and death imposed by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The end of the first year of the 2021-2030 NTD road map is an opportunity to take stock of where we stand and how we plan to move fo...rward.
Considerable progress has been made since 2012 when the first road map was adopted. As of 6 June 2022, forty-six countries have eliminated at least one NTD, while 600 million people no longer require treatment because they are no longer exposed to risks associated with the pathogens that previously harmed them. In some cases, diseases that have plagued humanity for centuries, such as sleeping sickness and Guinea worm disease, are at an all-time low. Less tangible, but also important, there has been significant progress in the way NTDs are viewed. Additionally, the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on NTD programmes is evident.
This brochure is the first in a series of advocacy briefs for the new NTD road map presenting highlights of success and challenges towards attaining the 2030 goals.
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