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1
The webpage “Accountability to affected people in WHO Health Emergencies” on the OpenWHO platform presents an online learning channel developed by the World
...
Health Organization (WHO). It provides training materials and courses designed to strengthen the ability of humanitarian and public-health professionals to ensure accountability to affected populations during health emergencies. The content focuses on principles and practical approaches for engaging communities, ensuring transparent communication, and incorporating the needs, feedback and rights of people affected by crises into emergency response activities. Overall, the webpage aims to build knowledge and skills among responders and partners so that health emergency interventions are more inclusive, ethical and responsive to the populations they serve.
more
The purpose of the WHO Manual for the Public Health Management of Chemical Incidents is to provide a comprehensive overview of the principles and roles of
...
public health in the management of chemical incidents and emergencies. While this information is provided for each phase of the emergency cycle, including prevention, planning and preparedness, detection and alert, response and recovery, it is recognized that the management of chemical incidents and emergencies requires a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach and that the health sector may play an influencing, complementary or a leadership role at various stages of the management process. The target audience includes public health and environmental professionals, as well as any other person involved in the management of chemical incidents.
WHO and all those involved in the development of the publication hope that the publication will have wide application, especially in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and that in the future the health sector will be better prepared to acknowledge and fulfill its roles and responsibilities in the management of chemical incidents and emergencies, thereby contributing to the prevention and mitigation of their health consequences.
The publication is also available in French: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/246117/9789242598148-fre.pdf?sequence=1 and in Spanish: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/246118/9789243598147-spa.pdf?sequence=1
more
This manual was developed based on the recommendations of a global technical consultation on child health in humanitarian emergencies co-organized by WHO and UNICEF at the end of 2003. WHO in collab
...
oration with the Centre for Refugee and Disaster Response, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University undertook a systematic review in 2004. It demonstrated that existing guidelines, including The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), do not cover all priority conditions in emergencies. The objective of this manual is to provide comprehensive guidance on child care in emergencies.
more
The document “Guidance on Law and Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response” provides recommendations for governments on how laws and policies can support effective preparation for and r
...
esponse to public health emergencies such as epidemics or pandemics. It explains the role of legal frameworks in enabling governments and institutions to prevent, detect and manage health crises while protecting human rights and supporting coordinated action across sectors. The guidance highlights lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and examines how national laws, policies and emergency powers were used in many countries. It also identifies common gaps in legal preparedness and proposes key elements that should be included in national legislation, such as clear roles and responsibilities, early warning systems, protection of vulnerable groups and cooperation with humanitarian actors. Overall, the document serves as a practical tool to help countries review and strengthen their legal and policy frameworks for managing public health emergencies.
more
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 te
...
chnical product aims to guide national, subnational, and global health actors to operationalize the concept 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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The document provides guidance from the CDC on conducting an Operational Readiness Review (ORR) within the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement. It outlines the purpose,
...
structure, and evaluation criteria used to assess whether public health systems are prepared to respond effectively to emergencies. The guidance describes required capabilities, review processes, and documentation expectations, helping jurisdictions demonstrate their readiness and identify areas for improvement in emergency preparedness and response.
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In Control: A Practical Handbook for Professionals Working in Health Emergencies Internationally RKI
The greatest risk to persons engaging in international medical emergency response is poor preparation.
The In Control handbook hopes to provide a remedy.
At the time of writing, we are living through the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a health
...
emergency that disregards physical borders, brings into focus social inequalities and affects people on every continent. This shared challenge requires unprecedented measures and the collaboration of the brightest minds to support global health protection through this crisis and beyond. Healthcare infrastructures have to be strengthened, public health capacities and processes upgraded, medical countermeasures and vaccinations found and psychosocial side-effects treated.
Solidarity is the normative order of the day and the human species has to collaborate to face this invisible threat. Hiding and living in fear is not an option in this interconnected world. We have both a responsibility and an opportunity to make substantial contributions to a safer, healthier and more sustainable future for us all.
The existence of this handbook is an impressive example of solidarity. Over 50 authors from more than 15 institutes and organisations have come together voluntarily within a very short time to make their expertise available and enable cross-sectoral thinking. Knowledge is bundled, resources are combined, information gaps are filled. The In Control handbook is not a theoretical treatise of possible dangers, but a collection of subject-matter expertise, written by experts and practitioners who have shaped health topics over the past 20 years in the most diverse corners of the world.
The Centre for International Health Protection at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is collaborating with its partners and investing heavily in the build-up of operational know-how and capacity to support health crisis response abroad. This is done by preparing and enabling professionals to deploy safely across the world to assist those in need. In Control addresses the multi-faceted challenges of an international deployment. Readers will find not only technical medical information, but also insights into, for example, the fragility of our environment, the cultural differences that influence risk communication or the dilemmas arising from social distancing. Legal principles are highlighted, along with ethical guidance to ensure that our actions and decisions correspond to the highest moral standards.
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The Western Pacific Region, being the most diverse region in the World, is beset by unique public health challenges and is considered a hotspot for outbreaks and emerging and re-emerging infectious
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diseases, such as SARS, MERS, avian influenza, Zika and dengue. Currently there are 3 global emergencies affecting the Region:
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The purpose of this booklet is to assist WHO and other
Public Health workers in the field when an emergency
occurs. The booklet provides technical hints on how to
carry out a rapid
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health assessment, how to facilitate
coordination, how departments in WHO can assist, etc.
Standard formats for reporting and reference indicators
are provided
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The WHO “Surveillance” page on the Emergencies section explains how the World Health Organization supports disease surveillance in the context of heal
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th emergencies. It highlights that effective surveillance systems are essential to detect disease outbreaks quickly in emergency settings, such as during conflicts, natural disasters, or humanitarian crises, so that outbreaks can be identified before they spread widely and cause many deaths. The page also describes WHO’s approaches and tools for surveillance, including standardized data collection on attacks on health care, early warning, alert and response systems, and guidance materials that help countries monitor and analyse health threats, share information, and improve their early detection and response capacities during public health emergencies.
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Populations affected by emergencies are continually at risk of outbreaks of epidemic-prone diseases and other public health hazards. This operation
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al guidance aims to guide decision-making on when and how to implement and strengthen Early Warning Alert and Response (EWAR) in preparation for and response to emergencies. Each module aims to provide updated operational guidance for EWAR practices, which may be more easily understood and applied during emergencies. Through its application, this operational guidance aims to contribute to:
- earlier detection of acute public health events
- earlier and more effective response
- reduced impact of emergencies on health
- increased trust of the population in the (public) health system
- fulfilling our collective commitments to the International Health Regulations (IHR,
2005).
This guidance was developed jointly by 69 experts from more than 20 organizations from global level to country level.
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Responses to epidemics, emergencies and disasters raise many ethical issues for the people involved, including public health specialists and polic
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y makers. This training manual provides material on ethical issues in research, surveillance and patient care in these difficult contexts.
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Humanitarian emergencies, regardless of type and cause, have a number of common risk factors for communicable diseases inextricably linked to excess risk of morbidity and mortality which can come from vaccine–preventable diseases (VPDs). The reduc
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tion of VPDs is a significant aim of public-health interventions during crises.
The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization carried out a comprehensive review of evidence on vaccination decision-making processes and considerations in humanitarian emergencies.
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The document provides a standardized protocol for evaluating the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN), a surveillance system used during humanitarian emergencies when regular national health
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surveillance may be disrupted. The purpose of EWARN is to detect outbreaks of communicable diseases early and enable rapid public health response. The guidance explains how the system should be assessed in terms of its structure, implementation, effectiveness, and usefulness. It outlines the key steps of evaluation: preparation, system description, data collection, and post-evaluation reporting. The protocol highlights common challenges observed in previous EWARN implementations, such as delays in establishing the system, limited data quality, weak outbreak response, and lack of clear transition plans back to routine surveillance systems. It emphasizes the need to evaluate both weekly disease reporting and alert verification processes, and to review attributes such as simplicity, data quality, timeliness, sensitivity, and stability. The document also provides templates for interviews, data review forms, and laboratory assessment, as well as guidance on conducting remote evaluations when access is limited. The overall goal of the protocol is to ensure that EWARN functions effectively to detect and respond to outbreaks and that practical recommendations are developed to improve the system’s performance and sustainability in emergency settings.
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The document provides comprehensive guidelines on cholera outbreak management, including prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. It emphasizes rapid response measures, the importance of rehydration therapy (oral and intravenous), and public
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health interventions such as water sanitation, hygiene promotion, and disease surveillance to control the spread of cholera in affected communities. It is designed as a resource for healthcare providers and public health officials.
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“Preferred product characteristics” (PPCs) are key tools to incentivize and guide the development of urgently needed health products. Some of the vector control interventions deployed in complex emerge
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ncies and in response to natural disasters – namely insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) – have already met identified public health needs in more stable settings; other tools such as insecticide-treated tarpaulins have been specifically designed for this use case. Given the diverse mix of existing and potential new interventions and the considerable gaps in the associated evidence base, this PPC aims to clearly articulate the unmet public health needs for tools designed to control malaria transmission in complex emergencies and in response to natural disasters.
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These guidelines provide a recommendation on iodine thyroid blocking (ITB), via oral administration of stable iodine, as an urgent protective action in responding to a nuclear accident. This recommendation aims to support emergency planners, policy makers,
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public health specialists, clinicians and other relevant stakeholders, in order to strengthen public health preparedness for radiation emergencies in WHO Member States as required by the International Health Regulations (IHR) and in line with the international safety standards (GSR Part 7). The scope of the guidelines is confined to public health aspects of planning and implementation of ITB before and during a radiation emergency, such as dosage and timing of ITB administration, adverse effects of stable iodine, its packaging, storage, and distribution.
These guidelines supersede the 1999 WHO Guidelines for Iodine Prophylaxis following Nuclear Accidents.
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The WHO handbook “Epidemiological Data Analysis for the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) in Humanitarian Emergencies” explains how to collect, analyse, interpret, and share health
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data during crises such as conflicts or natural disasters. It is a practical guide for health and surveillance officers to detect disease outbreaks early and guide quick public health responses. The document outlines steps for managing data at different levels (local, regional, national), analysing disease trends by time, place, and person, and using indicators to monitor outbreak risks. It also provides methods for interpreting and communicating results clearly to decision-makers to support effective health interventions in emergencies.
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Public health emergencies, including pandemics, highlight the need for health systems and servic
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es that are prepared, resilient and ready to respond to health security threats. Endorsed by Member States in 2023, the Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework (APHSAF) is designed to engage multisectoral actors in health security, and to reflect the complex nature of current and future public health emergencies. The Framework presents six interconnected, multisectoral domains of work that together form a comprehensive, multi-hazard health security system — emphasizing the One Health approach. The Framework also supports progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and universal health coverage while meeting the responsibilities and obligations of the International Health Regulations (2005).
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Lessons learned from recent public health events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola virus disease, Zika virus disease outbreaks, and other public
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health threats, including earthquakes and floods, have highlighted the need for countries to continuously develop, strengthen, and maintain capacities required under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR (2005)).
Developing capacities for health security in a country requires the engagement of public and private entities across a broad range of sectors, including human and animal health, agriculture, environment, finance, security, emergency management, education, and transportation. The World Health Organization (WHO) is mandated through various resolutions, decisions, and reports of the World Health Assembly, and through the IHR (2005), to provide technical guidance and support to its Member States in developing, strengthening, and maintaining their health systems, including capacities required under the IHR (2005).
For countries to better prevent, prepare for, detect, notify, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies, they must build and maintain IHR core capacities and support the strengthening of health emergency prevention, preparedness, response, and resilience (HEPR) capacities. National Action Plans for Health Security (NAPHS), as capacity development plans, provide the tasks and resources needed to ensure adequate capacities are in place to prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from public health events in a sustainable manner. Investing in the resilience of these capacities within national health systems at national and local levels not only improves national health security but also helps safeguard economic, social, and political developments.
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