These guidelines deal specifically with water, sanitation and hygiene, and are designed to be used in schools in low-cost settings in low- and medium-resource countries to:
• assess prevailing situations and plan for required improvements;
• develop and reach essential safety standards as a f...irst goal; and
• support the development and application of national policies.
more
The compendium provides guidance on low-cost handwashing facilities that can be widely used in low and middle-income countries. We hope that this can be shared extensively as governments and agencies tackle the crisis in low and middle-income countries where handwashing facilities are urgently neede...d in households, communities, schools and healthcare facilities.
The compendium includes information and further reading on: handwashing facilities – including facilities that are accessible for all, environmental cues to reinforce handwashing behaviours, physical distancing hygiene promotion.
more
The purpose of this document is to present and promote the minimum requirements for IPC programmes at the national and health care facility level, identified by expert consensus according to available evidence and in the context of the WHO core components.
The minimum requirements are defined as: I...PC standards that should be in place at the national and facility level to provide minimum protection and safety to patients, HCWs and visitors, based on the WHO core components for IPC programmes.
more
Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar – wird dieses Gebot auch bei der gesundheitlichen Versorgung von Geflüchteten eingehalten? Die gesundheitliche Versorgung von Asylsuchenden in Deutschland ist geregelt durch das bundesdeutsche Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz (AsylbLG). Die Bundesregierung sieht... allein die Länder in der Verantwortung für die Umsetzung des AsylbLG. Dabei kommt sie bei der Frage der Gesundheitsversorgung von Asylsuchenden jedoch ihren eigenen Hausaufgaben nicht nach: Seit 2015 ist in Deutschland zwingend die EU-Aufnahmerichtlinie von 2013 umzusetzen. Jedoch sind im AsylbLG weder die Leistungsansprüche besonders schutzbedürftiger Asylsuchender nach Definition der EU-Aufnahmerichtlinie geregelt, noch gibt es Hinweise zum Umgang mit erkrankten besonders schutzbedürftigen Asylsuchenden, die leistungsrechtlichen Sanktionen unterliegen. Das Policy Paper gibt einen Überblick über die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen auf nationaler und supranationaler Ebene und leitet unter Einbeziehung von wissenschaftlichen Forschungsbefunden Handlungsempfehlungen ab.
more
Die durch den Klimawandel verursachte globale Erwärmung hat in vielen Regionen der Welt,
so auch in Deutschland, eine vermehrte Häufigkeit und Dauer von Hitzeereignissen zur Folge.
Hitze kann den menschlichen Organismus gesundheitlich stark belasten und auch für das
Gesundheitswesen können Hi...tzeperioden ein Problem darstellen. Abhilfe können hier - ne-
ben Klimaschutzmaßnahmen - gemeinsame Anstrengungen zur Prävention von Hitzeauswir-
kungen auf die Bevölkerung schaffen
more
La tendencia al calentamiento en América Latina y el Caribe continuó en 2021. La tasa media de aumento de las temperaturas fue de aproximadamente 0,2 °C por década entre 1991 y 2021, en comparación con los 0,1 °C por década registrados entre 1961 y 1990.En 2021, la temperatura se situó por e...ncima de la media de 1981-2010 en todas las subregiones, habiéndose registrado la anomalía máxima de +0,59 (±0,1 °C) en la región de México y América Central, lo que corresponde a +0,97 (±0,1 °C) por encima del período de referencia de 1961-1990 de la OMM para el cambio climático.
more
The recommendations cover the level of blood pressure to start medication, what type of medicine or combination of medicines to use, the target blood pressure level, and how often to have follow-up checks on blood pressure. In addition, the guideline provides the basis for how physicians and other h...ealth workers can contribute to improving hypertension detection and management.
more
Analysis of microfilaria prevalence data from 430 communities
Herausforderungen und Handlungsempfehlungen
Obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have been steadily increasing globally, and with them, a pressing need to implement effective responses to address the contributing factors. Among the available evidence-based policy options that enable healthier choices and improved diets is ...the implementation of taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs).
This tax manual is a practical guide for policy-makers and others involved in SSB tax policy development to promote healthy diets and populations. It features summaries and case studies of SSB global taxation evidence, and provides support on the policy-cycle development process to implement SSB taxation — from problem identification and situation analysis through policy design, development and implementation to the monitoring and evaluation phase. Additionally, the manual identifies and debunks industry tactics designed to dissuade policy-makers from implementing these taxes.
SSB taxes can be a win-win-win strategy: a win for public health (and averted health-care costs), a win for government revenue, and a win for health equity.
more
Verstädterung, Flächennutzung, globaler Handel und Industrialisierung haben auf der ganzen Welt tiefgreifende negative Folgen für Natur, Biodiversität und Ökosysteme. Der fortwährende Abbau natürlicher Ressourcen wirkt sich nicht nur auf den Zustand der Umwelt aus, sondern hat auch enorme Aus...wirkungen für Wohlergehen und Sicherheit der Gesellschaften. Dieser Bericht bietet eine Übersicht der vielfältigen Einwirkung der natürlichen Umwelt auf die menschliche Gesundheit. Er legt dar, wie Natur und Ökosysteme Gesundheit und Wohlbefinden unterstützen und schützen können und wie zugleich die Zerstörung der Natur und der Verlust an Biodiversität die menschliche Gesundheit bedrohen. Er ist an ein Publikum gerichtet, das nicht über umfassende Erfahrung mit den Verbindungen zwischen Natur und Gesundheit verfügt. Diese Übersicht richtet sich in erster Linie an Personen, die sich beruflich oder politisch mit Umwelt und Gesundheit beschäftigen, kann aber auch für andere Bereiche relevant sein, die mit dem Schutz, der Handhabung und der Nutzung von Natur und Biodiversität befasst sind.
more
La schistosomiase humaine est une maladie parasitaire chronique et aigüe causée par une infection par des douves du sang (vers trématodes) du genre Schistosoma. Cette maladie est un problème de santé publique dans les zones tropicales et
subtropicales d’Afrique, d’Asie, des Caraïbes et d...Amérique du Sud. Environ 779 millions de personnes sont exposées au risque de contracter l’infection (1). Quelque 236,6 millions de personnes avaient besoin d’une chimiothérapie préventive en 2019
(2).La schistosomiase est une maladie tropicale négligée (MTN), un groupe de diverses maladies et affections qui touchent principalement les populations à faible revenu dansle monde entier
more
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown that public financial management (PFM) should be an integral part of the response. Effectiveness in financing the health response depends not only on the level of funding but also on the way public funds are allocated and spent, this is determined by the PFM r...ules, and how money flows to health service providers. So far, early assessments have shown that PFM systems ranged from being a fundamental enabler to acting as a roadblock in the COVID-19 health response. While service delivery mechanisms have been extensively documented throughout the pandemic, the underlying PFM mechanisms of the response also merit attention. To highlight the importance of PFM in health emergency contexts, this rapid review analyses various country PFM experiences and identifies early lessons emerging from the financing of the health response to COVID-19. The assessment is done by stages of the budget cycle: budget allocation, budget execution, and budget oversight. Identifying lessons from the varying PFM modalities used to finance the response to COVID-19 is fundamental both for health policy-makers and for finance authorities to prepare for future health emergencies.
more
This report seeks to uncover the extent to which global goals crowd in international financing, inform domestic policy priorities, and navigate progress toward development outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LICs and MICs). Our report:
Provides a historical perspective on how ODA financin...g was aligned with the MDGs, and the perceived influence of global goals in shaping domestic priorities
Offers a baseline of ODA financing to the SDGs and a forward-looking perspective in translating past lessons learned from the MDGs era into actionable insights
Using a pilot methodology developed by AidData, we analyze ODA flows during the MDGs era (2000-2013) and approximate baseline financing for each goal prior to the adoption of Agenda 2030 in September 2015. The dataset used in the report, Financing to the SDGs, Version 1.0, provides project-level data on estimated Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from 2000 to 2013. In this report, we also draw upon the responses of nearly 7,000 public, private, and civil society leaders from AidData’s novel 2014 Reform Efforts Survey to assess how national-level policymakers perceive the MDGs in light of their domestic reform priorities, and what this may mean for the SDGs.
more
It is widely understood that the food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing and most neglected crises. It lacks sufficient global focus, resources and urgency. As in so many crises, women and girls are disproportionately affected and shoulder t...he consequences of protracted neglect, with unconscionable impacts on their safety, life chances and agency.
Gaining a holistic view of the gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is difficult. This is due to a lack of data and prioritization, and the large geographical and socioeconomic terrain covered by both regions. However, what we do know about this crisis is more than enough to urgently address the needs of women and girls.
An OCHA discussion paper on this topic (which will be published imminently, and from which this policy brief is drawn) found that there is:
A strong risk of profound regression in gender equality gains made to date in the countries of concern, including on education, sexual and reproductive health, and the economic independence of women and girls (with knock-on effects on broader humanitarian and development outcomes).
An increasing challenge to reverse what must be recognized as a protracted and growing gender-based violence (GBV) emergency in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.
The food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is protracted, multidimensional and highly gendered, with spiralling impacts on gender equality and food security outcomes. It is driven by interwoven and overlapping factors, including climate change, political instability, conflict, socioeconomic conditions, migration and displacement and, more recently, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Interlinked with these factors are gendered structural drivers of food insecurity, including deeply entrenched gender inequalities and harmful social norms. Gendered risks and impacts of food insecurity include alarming limitations on access to education, sexual and reproductive health rights, women’s agency and participation, and dramatic increases in different existing forms of GBV and the emergence of new ones. Recognition of such gendered dimensions of food insecurity and of the need for a multisectoral approach in the response is key to addressing the crisis, along-side sustained commitment and adequate allocation of resources. This policy brief draws out key findings from the OCHA discussion paper on this topic, which includes a desk review of studies, assessments and reports, and interviews with local women’s organizations on the front lines of the food insecurity crisis in communities across both regions.
Below are the most pressing gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity (not in order of priority), as well as key gaps in the current humanitarian response to food insecurity, and recommendations to take forward.
more
Financing Global Health 2015 is the seventh edition of IHME’s annual series on global health financing. This report captures trends in development assistance for health (DAH) and government health expenditure as source (GHE-S) in low- and middle-income countries. Annually updated GHE-S and DAH est...imates are produced to aid decision-makers and other global health stakeholders in identifying funding gaps and invesment opportunities vital to improving population health. This year, IHME made a number of improvements to the data collection and methods implemented to generate Financing Global Health estimates.
more
Cardiovascular diseases, principally ischemic heart disease (IHD), are the most important cause of death and disability in the majority of low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs). In these countries, IHD mortality rates are significantly greater in individuals of a low socioeconomic status (...SES).
Three important focus areas for decreasing IHD mortality among those of low SES in LLMICs are (1) acute coronary care; (2) cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention; and (3) primary prevention. Greater mortality in low SES patients with acute coronary syndrome is due to lack of awareness of symptoms in patients and primary care physicians, delay in reaching healthcare facilities, non-availability of thrombolysis and coronary revascularization, and the non-affordability of expensive medicines (statins, dual anti-platelets, renin-angiotensin system blockers). Facilities for rapid diagnosis and accessible and affordable long-term care at secondary and tertiary care hospitals for IHD care are needed. A strong focus on the social determinants of health (low education, poverty, working and living conditions), greater healthcare financing, and efficient primary care is required. The quality of primary prevention needs to be improved with initiatives to eliminate tobacco and trans-fats and to reduce the consumption of alcohol, refined carbohydrates, and salt along with the promotion of healthy foods and physical activity. Efficient primary care with a focus on management of blood pressure, lipids and diabetes is needed. Task sharing with community health workers, electronic decision support systems, and use of fixed-dose combinations of blood pressure-lowering drugs and statins can substantially reduce risk factors and potentially lead to large reductions in IHD. Finally, training of physicians, nurses, and health workers in IHD prevention should be strengthened.
more
In 2012, all Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed a historical target to reduce premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases
(NCD). This commitment was echoed in 2015 by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which included a target to reduce premature morta...lity (the
measure of unfulfilled life expectancy and deaths between the ages of 30 and 70 years) from NCD by 30% by the year 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals are especially relevant to cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death globally, with increasing prevalence in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
more
Toolkit regarding Zika Virus
This purpose of this guide is to inform robust evaluations of the WHO training package – a package aimed at personnel whose primary role in health-care facilities is environmental cleaning, hereafter referred to as cleaners.
The WHO training package – Environmental cleaning and infection prev...ention and control in health-care facilities in low- and middle-income countries – was designed to improve the competencies of cleaners through a practical, educational approach for adult learners in low- and middle-income countries and comprises two volumes: trainer’s guide and modules and resources (1,2). An associated OpenWHO online course describes the essential preparations for trainers to deliver the WHO training package.
more