Maintaining proper storage conditions for health commodities is vital to ensuring their quality. Product expiration dates are based on ideal storage conditions and protecting product quality until their expiration date is important for serving customers and conserving resources. Guidelines for the S...torage of Essential Medicines and Other Health Commodities is a practical reference for those managing or involved in setting up a storeroom or warehouse. The guide contains written directions and clear illustrations on receiving and arranging commodities; special storage conditions; tracking commodities; maintaining the quality of the products; constructing and designing a medical store; waste management; and resources. It was written to meet the needs of district-level facilities; however, the guidelines and information it contains apply to any storage facility, of any size, in any type of environment.
more
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.
more
STGs are designed to assist health care professionals in making decisions about appropriate, effective patient care. However, health managers often have trouble setting and meeting the high standards required of modern, developed health care systems. With stakeholders expressing concern over issues ...such as strength of evidence, transparency, conflicts of interest, and effective implementation, it is clear that many health care professionals need further guidance in developing and making use of STGs.
This manual guides health professionals through the process of establishing and implementing STGs, placing special emphasis on the low- and middle-income country (LMIC) context. By including tools, templates, and success stories as well as hyperlinks to useful resources, the manual helps health practitioners understand not only important concepts of treatment guidelines, but also how they can best be used in practice.
more
The guide is presented in two parts:
Part 1. Principles of Operational Monitoring: Describes the key principles of operational monitoring, alongside the types of operational monitoring that may be performed and the information required within an OMP.
Part 2. Operational Monitorin...g Plan Development: Describes the stepwise development of an OMP for a water supply system, including the source, water treatment, intermediate storage, distribution and household. For illustration purposes, practical guidance is provided using a specimen water supply system considered to be representative of a conventional small- to medium-sized supply in a lower resource setting. This template may be used to develop system-specific OMPs for individual water supply systems.
more
The goal of this Global Action Plan is to articulate synergistic actions that will be required to prevent HIVDR from undermining efforts to achieve global targets on health and HIV, and to provide the most effective treatment to all people living with HIV including adults, key populations, pregnant ...and breastfeeding women, children and adolescents. The Global Action Plan has five strategic objectives: 1) prevention and response; 2) monitoring and surveillance; 3) research and innovation; 4) laboratory capacity; and 5) governance and enabling mechanisms.
more
A guidance document in simple language for health personnel, setting out their rights and responsibilities in conflict and other situations of violence. It explains how responsibilities and rights for health personnel can be derived from international humanitarian law, human rights law and medical e...thics.The document gives practical guidance on:
- The protection of health personnel, the sick and the wounded; - Standards of practice; - The health needs of particularly vulnerable people; - Health records and transmission of medical records; - "Imported" health care (including military health care);
- Data gathering and health personnel as witnesses to violations of international law; - Working with the media
more
Policy Research Working Paper 6100 | Impact Evaluation Series No. 60 | This study examines the effect of performance incentives for health care providers to provide more and higher quality care in Rwanda on child health outcomes. The authors find that the incentives had a large and significant effec...t on the weight-for-age of children 0–11 months and on the height-for-age of children 24–49 months. They attribute this improvement to increases in the use and quality of prenatal and postnatal care. Consistent with theory, They find larger effects of incentives on services where monetary rewards and the marginal return to effort are higher. The also find that incentives reduced the gap between provider knowledge and practice of appropriate clinical procedures by 20 percent, implying a large gain in efficiency. Finally, they find evidence of a strong complementarity between performance incentives and provider skill .
more
The framework is to be used as a reference guide, applied according to local priorities and needs, and targeted at academic institutions, educators, accreditation bodies, regulatory agencies and other users. The ultimate aim is to ensure that all health workers are equipped with the requisite compet...encies at pre-service education and in-service training levels to address AMR in policy and practice settings.
more
Successful detonation of an improvised nuclear device (IND) would be a catastrophic event, causing an unprecedented number of injuries and lives lost, as well as economic, political, and social disruption. However, an effective medical response and an infrastructure prepared to protect itself from f...allout could save tens of thousands of lives. Since 2001, all levels of government, academic institutions, and professional organizations have done significant work to enhance our ability to prepare for and respond to a nuclear detonation. The following manual is intended to simplify and translate the necessary protective actions and medical response modalities in order to make them more accessible and easier to translate into practice. The approach of this manual is to provide a common baseline application for various allied response disciplines (to include senior operational responders, emergency managers, public health advisors, and municipal, State, and Federal executives and elected officials). This manual will enhance mutual understanding of the basics of nuclear response.
more
This guide is intended for people involved in the management and operation of small- to mediumsized organized water supply systems. The content has been developed with particular consideration for operational-level personnel with responsibility for chlorination (for example, water treatment plant op...erators and technicians). The material presented within this guide may also be relevant for engineers and representatives from public health, local government, non-governmental organizations, as well as any other individuals supporting water safety planning activities for the supply of safe drinking-water.
Part 1. Chlorination principles: Describes key chlorination concepts, providing a knowledge foundation for the implementation of effective chlorination practices.
Part 2. Chlorination practices: Describes the practical application of the concepts presented in Part 1, including calculations and procedures for safe and effective chlorination of drinking-water supplies.
more
The intent of these guidelines is to develop a holistic, coordinated, proactive and technology driven strategy for management of biological disasters through a culture of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to generate a prompt and effective response in the event of an emergency. Th...e document contains comprehensive guidelines for preparedness activities, biosafety and biosecurity measures, capacity development, specialised health care and laboratory facilities, strengthening of the existing legislative/
regulatory framework, mental health support, response, rehabilitation and recovery, etc. It specifically lays down the approach for implementation of the guidelines by the central ministries/departments, states, districts and other stakeholders, in a time bound manner.
more
This manual will contribute directly to the fourth focus area of the FAO Action Plan by promoting the prevention of infections and the prudent use of antibiotics in the pig and poultry sectors. The pig and poultry sectors are addressed together, as these sectors generally have the highest use of ant...ibiotics. This manual is jointly applicable to veterinarians, other health professionals and farmers; a key to success in using antibiotics effectively and prudently is good dialogue among these professions.
more
In recognition of the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), its increasing threat to human, animal and plant health, and the need for a One Health approach to address this issue, the 39th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) agreed it was important for the food safety comm...unity to play its part and re-established the ad hoc Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance (TFAMR) ). The objectives of the Task Force were
to revise the current Codex Code of Practice to Minimise and Contain Antimicrobial Resistance and to develop new guidance on surveillance programmes relevant to foodborne AMR.
more
In 1998 the Swedish Veterinary Association decided to adopt a general policy for the use of antibiotics in animals. Since then specifi c policies for the use of antibiotics in dogs and cats have been adopted and in 2011 Guidelines for the use of Antibiotics in Production animals – Cattle and Pigs,... were accepted. By decision of the board of the Swedish Veterinary Society (SVS) these guidelines have been updated. Th e over-arching goal of SVS is to achieve a low and controlled use of antibiotics in Swedish animal production so that the fi rst-hand choices of treatment remain effi cient and that the spread of antimicrobial resistance – among animals and herds as well as in the food chain – is kept at a minimum. Keeping antimicrobial resistance in animals low is important also for human health, since we are all part of the same ecosystem. Th e authors of these guidelines hope that they may be useful for veteri-narians in clinical practice when deciding on treatments for common diseases and ailments caused by bacteria. Sometimes the decision may even be to refrain from use of antibiotics and chose other ways of improving herd health.
more
1 June 2020
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 guidan...ce for the COVID-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. This document expands on the content of pillar 9 of the COVID-19 strategic preparedness and response plan, supersedes the earlier Operational guidance for maintaining essential health services during an outbreak, and complements the recently-released Community-based health care, including outreach and campaigns, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is intended for decision-makers and managers at the national and subnational levels.
This is an update to COVID-19: Operational guidance for maintaining essential health services during an outbreak: Interim guidance, 25 March 2020
more
This document aims to provide global guidance on poliomyelitis (polio) surveillance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It comes as a technical complement to Polio eradication programme continuity, Immunization in the context of COVID-19 pandemic frequently asked questions, and is aligned with ...the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) commitment to support the COVID-19 pandemic response.
It highlights the decision making framework to guide the level of polio surveillance activities at country level including; the measures to put in place to ensure a minimum level of polio surveillance in the field and in the laboratory, and the trigger to return to normal polio function.
more
The 2020 recommendations for the programmatic management of TB preventive treatment are the first to be released under the rubric of WHO consolidated TB guidelines (Module 1 – Prevention). The WHO consolidated TB guidelines will gradually group all TB recommendations and will be complemented by ma...tching modules of a consolidated operational handbook. [1] The handbook will provide practical advice on how to put in place the recommendations at the scale needed to achieve national and global impact. The first handbook module in the series will be on the programmatic management of TB preventive treatment and will accompany the 2020 guidelines.
more
The WHO operational handbook on tuberculosis: tuberculosis preventive treatment is the companion, implementation guide to the 2020 WHO guidelines on TB preventive treatment.[1] Just as these guidelines are the first to be released under the rubric of the WHO consolidated TB guidelines, this handbook... will be the first in a modular series of practical guides meant for the implementers of various aspects of the programmatic management TB.
more
Almost 25% of deaths worldwide could be prevented if the actions in the compendium were fully implemented
This compendium provides a systematic compilation of published guidance from WHO and other UN organizations on health and environment. Guidance on policies and actions as well as awareness rais...ing 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.
more
The African Development Bank has launched a consultation process with health ministers and other partners as it develops a strategy to drive enhanced access to health services across Africa through 2030.
Input from ministers in the Bank’s 54 regional member countries, development partners and c...ivil society is expected to strengthen the Bank’s Strategy for Quality Health Infrastructure in Africa (2021-2030). A robust scoping study titled “Good Health and Well-being” underpins the strategy.
more