Course information
Yaws is targeted for eradication by WHO in the 2021-2030 NTD Roadmap. It is therefore crucial to know how to identify cases, design and implement activities to eradicate the disease at the community level.
In the context of integration of skin NTDs it is vital to learn to recogn...ize a disease targeted for eradication. At the individual level yaws lesions may mimic other skin diseases. At the community level, it is key to know how to design and implement the total community treatment strategy and monitor its impact. This course aims at providing health workers with the basic knowledge to understand the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, impact, eradication strategy and reporting of yaws.
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Leishmaniasis is a major vector-borne disease caused by obligate intramacrophage protozoa of the genus Leishmania, and transmitted by the bite of phlebotomine female sand flies of the genera Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia, in the old and new worlds, respectively. Among 20 well-recognized Leishmania speci...es known to infect humans, 18 have zoonotic nature, which include agents of visceral, cutaneous, and mucocutaneous forms of the disease, in both the old and new worlds. Currently, leishmaniasis show a wider geographic distribution and increased global incidence. Environmental, demographic and human behaviors contribute to the changing landscape for zoonotic cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. The primary reservoir hosts of Leishmania are sylvatic mammals such as forest rodents, hyraxes and wild canids, and dogs are the most important species among domesticated animals in the epidemiology of this disease. These parasites have two basic life cycle stages: one extracellular stage within the invertebrate host (phlebotomine sand fly), and one intracellular stage within a vertebrate host. Co-infection with HIV intensifies the burden of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis by causing severe forms and more difficult to manage. The disease is endemic to Ethiopia, and the clinical signs are not pathognomic. The visceral form (Kala-azar) may be confused with other similar conditions such as malaria, tropical splenomegaly, schistosomiasis, milliary tuberculosis, and brucellosis. Similarly, cutaneous leishmaniasis should be differentiated from disease like tropical ulcers, impetigo and leprosy. There are several methods of laboratory diagnosis of leishmaniasis, including parasitological, immunological and molecular. Different forms of treatments are available including oral, parenteral, and topical medications such as pentavalent antimonials, liposomal amphotericin B, miltefosine and paromomycin. Methods of control are largely limited to destruction of animal reservoirs, treatment of infected humans, and management of sand fly populations. Development of an effective vaccine against leishmaniasis has been largely unsuccessful and hinders its prevention.
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Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) is endemic in 21 countries of the Americas, where control is largely focused on elimination of the domestic insect vectors (Triatominae) coupled with measures to extend and improve the screening of blood donors in order to avoid tranfusional transmission. Th...rough national programmes and multinational initiatives coordinated by WHO-PAHO, much has been accomplished in these domains in terms of reducing transmission. Attention now turns to consolidating the successes in interrupting transmission, and improved treatment for those already infected and those who may become affected in the future. This article, based on technical discussions at the "Epidemiological and Sociological Determinants of Chagas Disease, Basic Information to Establish a Surveillance and Control Policy " meeting in Rio de Janeiro, is designed to open the debate on appropriate strategies for continuation of the successful initiatives against Chagas disease.
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Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is a painful disease that exerts a serious toll on societies around the world that are afflicted by it. Although not life-threatening, the skin ulcers and scars it causes can lead to isolation and psychosocial pathologies due to social stigma, and its occurrence is often... associated with regional conflicts. The Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Research Meeting was held on December 7, 2020, with participation by basic researchers, clinical researchers, and drug discovery experts involved in research and development related to CL under the auspices of the Joint Usage/Research Center on Tropical Disease, Institute of Tropical Medicine. In addition, the CL Webinar was held on March 5, 2021, hosted by the Graduate School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, co-hosted by the Institute of Tropical Medicine, and supported by Médecins Sans Frontières and DNDi.
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Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is a painful disease that exerts a serious toll on societies around the world that are afflicted by it. Although not life-threatening, the skin ulcers and scars it causes can lead to isolation and psychosocial pathologies due to social stigma, and its occurrence is often... associated with regional conflicts. The Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Research Meeting was held on December 7, 2020, with participation by basic researchers, clinical researchers, and drug discovery experts involved in research and development related to CL under the auspices of the Joint Usage/Research Center on Tropical Disease, Institute of Tropical Medicine. In addition, the CL Webinar was held on March 5, 2021, hosted by the Graduate School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, co-hosted by the Institute of Tropical Medicine, and supported by Médecins Sans Frontières and DNDi.
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Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is a painful disease that exerts a serious toll on societies around the world that are afflicted by it. Although not life-threatening, the skin ulcers and scars it causes can lead to isolation and psychosocial pathologies due to social stigma, and its occurrence is often... associated with regional conflicts. The Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Research Meeting was held on December 7, 2020, with participation by basic researchers, clinical researchers, and drug discovery experts involved in research and development related to CL under the auspices of the Joint Usage/Research Center on Tropical Disease, Institute of Tropical Medicine. In addition, the CL Webinar was held on March 5, 2021, hosted by the Graduate School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, co-hosted by the Institute of Tropical Medicine, and supported by Médecins Sans Frontières and DNDi.
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Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is a painful disease that exerts a serious toll on societies around the world that are afflicted by it. Although not life-threatening, the skin ulcers and scars it causes can lead to isolation and psychosocial pathologies due to social stigma, and its occurrence is often... associated with regional conflicts. The Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Research Meeting was held on December 7, 2020, with participation by basic researchers, clinical researchers, and drug discovery experts involved in research and development related to CL under the auspices of the Joint Usage/Research Center on Tropical Disease, Institute of Tropical Medicine. In addition, the CL Webinar was held on March 5, 2021, hosted by the Graduate School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, co-hosted by the Institute of Tropical Medicine, and supported by Médecins Sans Frontières and DNDi.
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This facilitator’s manual is designed to support the implementation of the Dengue Clinical Management training course. The guide contains specific instructions for the facilitator and provides:
- a detailed description of the clinical course of dengue illness, which reflects the dynamic and sys...temic nature of dengue that has crucial bearing on the patient’s management;
- a detailed description of the basic pathophysiological changes of severe dengue (i.e. plasma leakage and hypovolaemia/shock) and guidance on the recognition of these changes and appropriate action of management;
- a brief discussion on WHO classification (1997) and its limitations;
- guidance on the differential diagnoses that can be confused with dengue or vice versa; they were described according to the stage of disease;
- a more focused guide on the disease monitoring in accordance with the dynamic changes as the disease progresses;
- emphasis on the importance of monitoring the plasma leakage (haemodynamic status of the patient, clinical signs of plasma leakage and haematocrit);
- a clearer algorithm for fluid management in cases of severe dengue; and
- emphasis on the importance of recognizing or suspecting significant occult bleed. Keep the facilitator’s manual with you each day as you prepare and deliver the information. Use it as a reference when delivering classroom presentations, but avoid reading directly from it during sessions.
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Despite the increasing uptake of information and communication technologies (ICT) within healthcare services across developing countries, community healthcare workers (CHWs) have limited knowledge to fully utilise computerised clinical systems and mobile apps. The ‘Introduction to Information and ...Communication Technology and eHealth’ course was developed with the aim to provide CHWs in Malawi, Africa, with basic knowledge and computer skills to use digital solutions in healthcare delivery. The course was delivered using a traditional and a blended learning approach.
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Globally, over two million women live with obstetric fistula with the majority of the cases
being from Africa. In low-resource settings such as Zambia, obstetric fistula (OF) is a visible indicator of
gaps in maternal health care resulting in failure to provide adequate, accessible and quality m...aternal health
care, including family planning, skilled birth attendance, basic and emergency obstetric and neonatal care,
and affordable treatment of fistula. OF is preventable and treatable, and no woman in Zambia should continue to endure the condition. It is therefore necessary that Zambia intensifies national scale up of OF management centers including
community based interventions, train more surgeons and other health workers to provide quality and
affordable care closer to the women who are silently suffering from obstetric fistula.
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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for major societal transformations that will require significant fiscal outlays as well as private investments. The fiscal outlays cover public investments, the public provision of social services, and social protection for vulnerable populations. The ke...y message of this paper, building on recent reports by the IMF and SDSN (IMF, 2019b; SDSN, 2018) is that the governments of Low-Income Developing Countries (LIDCs) will require a substantial increase in fiscal (budget) revenues, far beyond what they can achieve by their own fiscal reforms. For this reason, SDG financing will require substantial international cooperation to enable the LIDCs to finance their SDG fiscal outlays. One important source of increased revenues should be the globally coordinated taxation of ultra-high-net worth assets. Today’s ultra-rich should help to pay for the survival and basic needs of the world’s poorest people.
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While there has been real progress in addressing the burden of disease in the WHO African region, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the link between health, economics and security, as the region saw decades of progress threatened, including positive trends in decreasing inequality. In the Africa...n Region the momentum towards achieving the 2030 SDG disease burden reduction targets (SDG targets 3.3, 3.4 and 3B) has stalled.
The COVID-19 pandemic was also a major threat to gains made, such as the eradication of polio in the region, declared in 2020; reduced numbers of new HIV infections in 2021 compared to 2010; and passing the 2020 milestone of the End TB Strategy, with a 22% reduction in new cases compared with 2015. However, the pandemic also disrupted essential health services in 92% of countries globally, 22.7 million children missed basic immunization, there was an increase in malaria and TB, and global deaths from TB rose for the first time since 2015.
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This is the fifth report of the Global Evidence Review on Health and Migration (GEHM) series. The publication focuses on the mental health needs of refugees and migrants by providing an overview of the available evidence on patterns of risk and protective factors and of facilitators and barriers to ...care at all levels (individual, family, community and national government). It identifies five high-level themes, each of which has implications for research and policy and is relevant across refugee and migrant groups, contexts and stages of the migration process: self-identity and community support; basic needs and security; cultural concepts of mental health as well as stigma; exposure to adversity and potentially traumatic events; navigating mental health and other systems and services.
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Fully functioning water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and health care waste management services are a critical aspect of infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, and ensuring patient safety and quality of care. Such services are also essential for creating an environment that supports the dig...nity and human rights of all care seekers, especially mothers, newborns, children and care providers.
WASH and waste services are also critical for preventing and effectively responding to disease outbreaks. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in these basic services (Box 1). These gaps threaten the safety of patients and caregivers, and have environmental consequences, especially as a result of large increases in plastic health care waste. In short, WASH is a critical foundation for improving quality across the health system (1).
Many facilities lack plans and budgets for WASH, which has impacts on IPC. This lack of services, and of systems to improve them, compromises the ability to provide safe and quality care, and places health care providers and those seeking care at substantial risk of infection and loss of dignity. Unhygienic health care facilities without drinking water or functional toilets are also a disincentive to seeking care and undermine staff morale – these factors can have a critical impact on controlling infectious disease outbreaks.
Climate change and its impacts on WASH and health services, gender-specific needs, and equity in service provision and management all require rigorous attention, adaptable tools and regular monitoring.
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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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This report describes the results of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LAO PDR) National WASH Survey 2021. The survey examined water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and waste management services, as well as climate resilience, in Lao PDR health-care facilities. The survey reveals that while... most facilities (70%) have basic water services, there are significant gaps in the delivery of sanitation, hygiene and health-care waste services, and few facilities are climate resilient, despite a majority being impacted by extreme weather events. Based on these results, the report presents a monitoring framework and national- and HCF-level measures to further enhance WASH services and climate resilience in the country.
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Mental health problems are common and cause great suffering to individuals and communities around the world. They have a significant impact not only on the physical and mental health of those affected but also on their families and the communities they live in. At the same time, all communities have... their own traditional mechanisms for support and contain a range wide of resources that can be helpful in preventing mental health conditions from developing, promoting positive mental health and supporting the recovery of people that are struggling with a mental health condition.
In the wider context, people living with a mental health condition are often excluded from their communities and experience various violations to their basic human rights (discrimination, violence, exclusion from employment opportunities). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the mean prevalence of global mental health disorders is 10.8% while the prevalence in emergency settings is 22.1% in any conflict-affected population.
During emergencies and crisis, the stigma, exclusion and discrimination towards people living with mental health conditions is often higher, which can cause isolation and protection issues. Communities can play a crucial role in promoting mental health as well as enhancing primary care and access. Their role is to help reduce mental health inequalities by providing community resources that connect people to community-based resources and by providing mental health education. This also helps to reduce the massive mental health treatment gap.
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The aim of this guidance manual is to introduce the user to project/programme plan- ning in a Red Cross Red Crescent environment. It describes the different stages of the planning phase of the “project/programme cycle” within the context of Results-Based Management (RBM). It also gives an overvi...ew of the various components of RBM and explains how to integrate and apply this approach in practice. In addition, the manual summarizes briefly the other key phases of the cycle (assessment, imple- mentation and monitoring, evaluation) and provides references to the key Federation manuals on these phases.
The manual has been developed primarily for use by people managing projects and programmes either in a National Society or the secretariat of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (International Federation). Although it is mainly designed for use at the country level, the basic principles can be applied to project and programme planning at any level. The manual draws on two International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement publications – the International Federation’s Project Planning Process (2002) and the ICRC Economic Security Unit’s Programme/ Project Management: The Results-Based Approach (2008) – reflecting the significant similarity of approach. The International Federation has developed the manual internally to suit the particular needs and uses of project/programme management within the organization.
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Todos los países de la Región de las Américas en los que la malaria es endémica han asumido el reto de eliminar la enfermedad y de poner en marcha intervenciones para orientar sus programas y estrategias de salud en esa dirección. Esta versión simplificada y más operativa del Manual para la e...stratificación según el riesgo de malaria y la eliminación de focos de transmisión, dirigida al personal de campo, orienta sobre cómo implementar las acciones básicas de eliminación de la malaria. Se propone orientar un cambio en la operación de malaria con la atención centrada en abordar los focos y la organización de la operación en el nivel más local. El documento parte de la necesidad de identificar y definir un ámbito operativo (el foco o microárea) en donde se pone en práctica una intervención programática concreta (DTI-R) que, si bien es estandarizada a nivel nacional, debe ser ante todo guiada por la comprensión de la dinámica de la transmisión a nivel local
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