Millennium Development Goal 8E aims for affordable access to essential medicines. Essential medicines, as defined by WHO, are those that “satisfy the health-care needs of the majority of the population” and that should therefore “be available at all times in adequate amounts”. However, there... is a category of medicines that faces a unique challenge in terms of availability. These are the medicines governed by the international conventions on narcotic and psychotropic substances. “Controlled medicines” is the common definition for pharmaceuticals whose active principles are listed under the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as amended by the 1972 Protocol, such as morphine and methadone; the 1971 United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances, such as diazepam and buprenorphine; and the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, such as ergometrine and ephedrine. The conventions list substances in “Schedules” according to their different levels of potential for abuse and harm, and the commensurate severity of control measures to be applied by countries.
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Declarations of interests were collected from all external contributors and assessed for any conflicts of interest. Summaries of the reported interests can be found on the SAGE meeting website and SAGE Covid-19 Working Group webpage. This guidance should be considered along with the broader COVID-...19 policy advice to WHO member states and in particular the advice on how to reach the COVID-19 vaccination targets.
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A survey was conducted in countries in all six WHO regions and focused on the building blocks that are considered prerequisites to combat antimicrobial resistance: a comprehensive national plan, laboratory capacity to undertake surveillance for resistant microorganisms, access to safe, effective ant...imicrobial medicines, control of the misuse of these medicines, awareness and understanding among the general public and effective infection prevention and control programmes.
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This Clinic Supervisor’s Manual is helpful for focusing managers on the key elements of integrated primary health care as they simultaneously integrate new interventions for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. This tool contains 12 sections. Section 1 explains how to use the manual. Section 2 hel...ps the clinic supervisors organize their supervisory visit. The remainder of the sections focus on a number of key areas during a clinic supervision visit.
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Many low-resource settings have a shortage of physicians and health workers. (1) In order to provide patient-centred continuous care more effectively, primary care systems can include team-based care strategies in their clinic workflows and protocols. Team-based care uses multidisciplinary teams (wh...ich may involve new staff, or the shifting of tasks among existing staff). Teams can include patients themselves, primary care physicians, and other allied health professionals, such as nurses, pharmacists, counsellors, social workers, nutritionists, community health workers, or others. Teams reduce the burden on physicians by utilizing the skills of trained health workers. Strong evidence shows that team-based care is effective in improving hypertension control among patients in a cost-effective way. (2) Some amount of task shifting/team-based care is already taking place in many settings; this module provides further guidance on how to maximize this approach for greater impact.
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This Guide provides practical guidance for governments regarding how to effectively communicate with communities during the recovery phase following an emergency. It explains how to identify communication needs, and presents “best fit” communication methods and strategies to deploy to support Di...saster Recovery Frameworks (DRF) and recovery strategies.
The Guide is divided into six sections, as follows:
SECTION 1 Good Practice Principles for Effective Communication
SECTION 2 Barriers to Effective Communication
SECTION 3 How to Identify Communication Needs during Recovery
SECTION 4 Communication Methods for Recovery Planning and Operations
SECTION 5 Developing a Communication Plan
SECTION 6 Key Take-away Messages
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A systematic review of randomized controlled efficacy trials | REPORT -
DEPARTMENT OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
This paper brings together lessons from interviews with humanitarians and local responders, as well as existing literature, about the use of quarantine in urban environments during the humanitarian response to the Ebola Crisis
The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) is a global federation of national associations of pharmacists and
pharmaceutical scientists. In order to support these associations in their fight against AMR, FIP has prepared this
briefing document. It is an overview of the different activities ...that community and hospital pharmacists are involved
into prevent AMR and to reverse AMR rates.
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This working paper was conceived to offer practical tips and suggestions on how to establish and sustain the multisectoral coordination needed to develop and implement National Action Plans on AMR (NAPs). It is intended for anyone with responsibility for addressing AMR at country level. Drawing on b...oth the published literature and the operational experience of four ‘focal countries’ (Ethiopia, Kenya, Philippines and Thailand), it summarizes lessons learned and the latest thinking on multisectoral working to achieve effective AMR action. The experience in focal countries points to a number of tools and tactics that can be used to help establish and enhance sustainable multisectoral collaboration for AMR action. These can be grouped into four categories: political commitment, resources, governance mechanisms, and practical management.
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The second edition of the WHPCA Global Atlas of Palliative Care was launched during World Hospice & Palliative Care Day 10 October. The Atlas is an update of the original WHPCA/WHO Global Atlas of Palliative care at the end of life published in 2014. It is full of useful facts and figures to support... palliative care advocacy and development. In this edition we have switched from using the WHO methodology for need for palliative care to the evolving Lancet Commission on Palliative Care and Pain Relief methodology. As a result the number of people needing palliative care has gone from 40 million per year to almost 57 million and more accurately reflects the need for palliative care globally models of palliative care worldwide? What resources are devoted to palliative care? What is the way forward?
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The Need for a Regional Response to an Unprecedented Migration Crisis.
This report provides an overview of where the more than 2 million Venezuelans who have left the country since 2014, at least half of them in the past year and a half alone, are now living, the conditions they face, their prospe...cts of obtaining legal status in the host countries, and applicable international standards that should guide host governments’ responses.
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Severe bacterial infections are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among people with advanced HIV disease, after tuberculosis and cryptococcal disease. For countries to reach the end-AIDS targets for 2030, there is a need to establish a roadmap for managing severe bacterial infections and re...duce mortality. The purpose of the meeting was to
Review the current research and implementation data on the use of prophylactic antibiotics (specifically azithromycin/macrolides) as part of the AHD package of care; To review options for preventing SBIs that are in line with goals of reducing AMR; Present the current evidence on diagnostics for SBI; Discuss research gaps and implementation challenges.
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Objectives Our study aimed to systematically review the literature and synthesise findings on potential associations of built environment characteristics with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Asia.
The purpose of this document is to provide interim guidance to laboratories and stakeholders involved in laboratory testing of patients who meet the definition of suspected case of pneumonia associated with a novel coronavirus identified in Wuhan, China.
19 March 2020
Early breast cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) has significantly helped in early diagnosis and commencement of specific interventions for diseases control. It also plays a critical role in understanding the disease epidemiology and unraveling the transmission dynamics of the disease. This manual intends to p...rovide primary guidelines to assist health lab personnel in developing countries to establish a PCR diagnostic facility for efficient support to patient care as well as public health actions.
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23rd February 2017, Protea Hotel Thuringerhof, Windhoek | 2017 Namibia ART Guidelines: Summary of New and Old Recommendations
This paper summarizes the evidence about the health effects of air pollution from particulate matter and their implications for policy-makers, with the aim of stimulating the development of more effective strategies to reduce
air pollution and its health effects in the countries of eastern Europe,... the Caucasus and central Asia.
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