Promoting and protecting health is essential to human welfare and sustained economic and social development. This was recognized more than 30 years ago by the Alma-Ata Declaration signatories, who noted that Health for All would contribute
both to a better quality of life and also to global peace a...nd security
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WHO has launched an online course on tobacco product regulation in response to the need for clear, practical advice on building laboratory testing capacity. This course is based on the Tobacco Product Regulation: Building Laboratory Testing Capacity handbook, launched during the 2018 World Conferenc...e on Tobacco or Health in Cape Town.
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Transformer les managers en leaders donne aux responsables de la santé à tous les niveaux d'une organisation les moyens de diriger des équipes pour relever des défis et obtenir des résultats. Il répond à des questions telles que : Comment puis-je diriger et gérer plus efficacement ? Comment ...créer une vision partagée et une voie claire pour y parvenir ? Que puis-je faire pour améliorer le climat de travail ? Comment puis-je me préparer et préparer les autres à des niveaux de responsabilité plus élevés ? Comment conduire le changement à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur de mon organisation ?
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Access to health workers who are fit for purpose, motivated and protected is a fundamental force of health service delivery and the achievement of universal health coverage and the health and health-related Sustainable Development Goals. Data and knowledge of the distribution, skill mix and future d...evelopment needs of the health workforce can mean the difference between enabling or impeding health systems performance, inclusive economic growth and global health security preparedness and response
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Chagas disease affects approximately 6 million people, mainly in Latin America. Less than 1% of affected individuals receive proper antiparasitic treatment, and current drugs are inadequate to fight the entire spectrum of the disease. Against this background, Novartis is pursuing an end-to-end appro...ach, with activity on three fronts: drug discovery, clinical research and health system strengthening.
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Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by intracellular protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania (Trypanosomatidae family); it is endemic in more than 98 countries worldwide [1]. Visceral (VL) and cutaneous (CL) leishmaniasis are the most common forms of the disease. VL causes a systemic dis...ease characterised by fever, hepatosplenomegaly, anaemia and lymph node enlargement and may be fatal without appropriate treatment, while CL mainly causes skin ulcers and is considered a less severe form of the disease [2]. The incubation period for VL varies from 10 days up to nearly 3 years and for CL from 2 weeks to 3 years [3]. The natural route of transmission is a bite of blood-feeding phlebotomine sandflies; it may be zoonotic or anthroponotic, depending on the parasite species and the geographical location
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An interregional meeting on leishmaniasis among neighbouring endemic
countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, African and European regions was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern
Mediterranean in Amman, Jordan, from 23 to 25 September 2018. The meeting w...as attended by representatives from the health ministries of Albania, Georgia, Greece, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Tunisia. Representatives from Afghanistan, Algeria and Libya were unable to attend. The Secretariat comprised staff from WHO headquarters, WHO regional offices in the Eastern Mediterranean, Africa and Europe, WHO country offices in Iraq, Pakistan, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, and WHO temporary advisors from Spain and Tunisia.
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Promoting and protecting health is essential to human welfare and sustained economic and social development. This was recognized more than 30 years ago by the Alma-Ata Declaration signatories, who noted that Health for All would contribute
both to a better quality of life and also to global peace a...nd security
more
Comprehensive and comparable estimates of health spending in each country are a key input for health
policy and planning, and are necessary to support the achievement of national and international health goals. Previous
studies have tracked past and projected future health spending until 2040 and ...shown that, with economic development,
countries tend to spend more on health per capita, with a decreasing share of spending from development assistance
and out-of-pocket sources. We aimed to characterise the past, p
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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.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) is releasing the second edition of its Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!) guidance. The document aims to equip governments to respond to the health and well-being challenges, opportunities and needs of adolescents.
The guidance pro...vides the latest available data on adolescent health and well-being. It also outlines an updated list of core indicators that data should be collected on. Globally, road injury was the top cause of death for adolescent males in 2019. Among female adolescents, the leading causes of death were diarrhoeal diseases among the younger group (10-14 years) and tuberculosis (TB) in the older group (15-19 years).
Over the last 20 years, mortality rates have declined among adolescents globally, with the largest decline in older (15–19 years) adolescent girls. For non-fatal diseases, the burden has not improved over the past two decades, with the main causes of ill health in this category being: mental health conditions (depressive and anxiety disorders, childhood behavioural disorders), iron deficiency anaemia, skin diseases and migraine.
Adolescent well-being depends on a range of factors, including healthy food, education, life skills and employability, connectedness, feeling valued by society, safe and supportive environments, resilience, and the freedom to make choices. To take an appropriately holistic approach, the guidance outlines how to take crosscutting action to support adolescent health and well-being, with mutually reinforcing interventions across sectors, such as health, education, social protection, and telecommunications. Targeted efforts are also required to engage adolescents, as they trust health systems less than adults do and are especially vulnerable to modern-day trends, like online bullying and gaming.
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People affected by impairments and disabilities associated with TB are even more likely to belong to marginalized segments of society and are more likely to have their human rights unprotected. The challenges faced by people affected by TB include the consequences of impairment and disability associ...ated with the disease, its treatment as well as with the stigma and discrimination applied to people affected by TB. There is now compelling evidence that the disease and its treatment affect quality of life and life expectancy even after successful treatment.
The WHO Global Tuberculosis Programme has produced the first policy brief on TB-associated disability, building on the increasing evidence in recent years on the unaddressed needs of people with TB who experience impairment and disability while on TB treatment and after completing TB treatment.
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Epidemics and pandemics of infectious diseases are occurring more often, and spreading faster and further than ever, in many different regions of the world. The background factors of this threat are biological, environmental and lifestyle changes, among others. A potentially fatal combination of new...ly-discovered diseases, and the re-emergence of many long-established ones, demands urgent responses in all countries. Planning and preparation for epidemic prevention and control are essential. The purpose of the Managing epidemics handbook is to provide expert guidance on those responses. Building on the first edition, the second edition provides concise and basic up-to-date knowledge with which public health officials can respond effectively and rapidly at the very start of an outbreak. Part I of the handbook provides insights on epidemics of the 21st century and offers context on the upsurge of recent epidemics. Part II has been updated and offers 10 key facts about 19 deadly diseases including tips on the interventions required to respond. Part III presents various Tool boxes that summarize guidance on several important topics. The handbook focuses on practical and indispensable things to know about infectious diseases that are most important for national, political and operational decision-makers; it also links readers to more exhaustive WHO guidan
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Epidemics and pandemics of infectious diseases are occurring more often, and spreading faster and further than ever, in many different regions of the world. The background factors of this threat are biological, environmental and lifestyle changes, among others. A potentially fatal combination of new...ly-discovered diseases, and the re-emergence of many long-established ones, demands urgent responses in all countries. Planning and preparation for epidemic prevention and control are essential. The purpose of the Managing epidemics handbook is to provide expert guidance on those responses. Building on the first edition, the second edition provides concise and basic up-to-date knowledge with which public health officials can respond effectively and rapidly at the very start of an outbreak. Part I of the handbook provides insights on epidemics of the 21st century and offers context on the upsurge of recent epidemics. Part II has been updated and offers 10 key facts about 19 deadly diseases including tips on the interventions required to respond. Part III presents various Tool boxes that summarize guidance on several important topics. The handbook focuses on practical and indispensable things to know about infectious diseases that are most important for national, political and operational decision-makers; it also links readers to more exhaustive WHO guidan
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In this version of the compendium, each guidance is coded using the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI).
The compendium provides a systematic compilation of published guidance from WHO and other UN organizations on health and environment. Guidance on policies and actions a...s well as awareness raising and capacity building interventions is presented for all major areas of health and environment. Guidance referring to priority settings for action such as cities and other urban settlements, housing, workplaces and health care facilities is also listed. For greater practical relevance, each guidance is classified according to principally involved sectors, level of implementation and instruments for implementation.
The compilation of guidance for each area of health and environment or priority setting for action is accompanied, as available, by information on main sources, exposure assessment and existing guideline values. Important tools and further resources are presented alongside.
This compilation of published guidance on health and environment highlights that a large number of actions across main topics of health and environment, concerning various sectors, and applicable to various levels are available to improve health and reduce environmental risks. This compendium is intended to serve as a repository and easy-to-use and useful resource for decision and policy makers in health and environment at various levels.
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Evidence-based psychological interventions are an important part of health, social, protection and education services and can help increase access to effective mental health treatments and progression towards universal health coverage.
This manual provides managers and others responsible for plan...ning and delivering services with practical guidance on how to implement manualized psychological interventions for adults, adolescents and children. It covers the five key implementation steps: make an implementation plan; adapt for context; prepare the workforce; identify, assess and support potential beneficiaries; and monitor and evaluate the service.
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Terminology used to describe the transmission of pathogens through the air varies across scientific disciplines, organizations and the general public. While this has been the case for decades, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the terms ‘airborne’, ‘airborne transmission’ a...nd ‘aerosol transmission’ were used in different ways by stakeholders in different scientific disciplines, which may have contributed to misleading information and confusion about how pathogens are transmitted in human populations.
This global technical consultation report brings together viewpoints from experts spanning a range of disciplines with the key objective of seeking consensus regarding the terminology used to describe the transmission of pathogens through the air that can potentially cause infection in humans.
This consultation aimed to identify terminology that could be understood and accepted by different technical disciplines. The agreed process was to develop a consensus document that could be endorsed by global agencies and entities. Despite the complex discussions and challenges, significant progress was made during the consultation process, particularly the consensus on a set of descriptors to describe how pathogens are transmitted through the air and the related modes of transmission. WHO recognizes the important areas where consensus was not achieved and will continue to address these areas in follow-up consultations.
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Health system resilience is not an inevitable byproduct of any investment in health but must be intentionally programmed and developed with necessary input, investment and contextualization. This technical product aims to guide national, subnational, and global health actors to operationalize the co...ncept of health system resilience for advancement of universal health coverage, health security and ultimately better health for all. It supports the translation of relevant conceptual guidance and high-level recommendations into practical actions.
The specific objectives are to:
present a concise overview of the concept of health system resilience;
provide a roadmap outlining practical and foundational steps for building health system resilience to be adapted to different contexts;
share examples of actions and tools, including stakeholder roles, to support country application of the roadmap.
The target audience for this work is the various stakeholders involved in strengthening health systems and public health including management of emergencies (from prevention and preparedness to response and recovery) and other public health challenges in countries. This ranges from the donors, policy-makers and decision-makers at global, national and subnational levels to the implementing institutions and line managers of health system functions and services across the health system building blocks.
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Language influences the way we think, how we perceive reality, and how we behave. With respect to HIV, language can embody stigma and discrimination, which impacts access to testing, acquisition of HIV, and engagement with treatment. Language plays a role in supporting respect and empowerment of ind...ividuals, as communities shape how they are referred to and the labels they wish to use. Consideration and use of appropriate language can strengthen the global response to the HIV pandemic by diminishing stigma and discrimination and increasing support and understanding for individuals and communities living with HIV. Comments and suggestions for modifications should be sent to
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