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 collaboration with the Centre for Refugee and Disaster Response, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Ho...pkins 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.
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This document updates recommendations for HIV testing by laboratories in the United States and offers approaches for reporting test results to persons ordering HIV tests and to public health authorities. The recommended algorithm is a sequence of tests used in combination to improve the accuracy of ...the laboratory diagnosis of HIV based on testing of serum or plasma specimens. The updated recommendations also include tests for HIV antigens and HIV nucleic acid because studies from populations at high risk for HIV demonstrate that antibody testing alone might miss a considerable percentage of HIV infections detectable by virologic tests
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People living with HIV who have a low CD4 count are at a much higher risk of falling ill from TB infection than HIV negative people.
It is important to offer both HIV testing to TB patients and TB diagnosis in HIV patients. Early detection and effective treatment are essential to preventing TB...-associated deaths.
WHO and UNAIDS have strongly advised countries to ensure that HIV programmes integrate regular TB screening, preventive therapy and early treatment.
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The report reviews progress with the task of planning and implementing measures necessary to secure a completely polio-free world. It also examines actions aimed at ensuring successful transfer of polio assets, innovations developed and lessons learned to countries’ public health programmes and ot...her global health priorities
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In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) Member States adopted the revised International
Health Regulations (IHR) (2005). The Regulations provide a unique public health framework in the
form of obligations and recommendations that enable countries to better p...revent, prepare for and
respond to public health events and emergencies of potential international concern, including chemical events.
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This document provides the specifications for major pesticide application equipment used for control of vectors of diseases. The specification guidelines contained herein are intended to assist national authorities and other public health users in selecting equipment of assured quality for applicati...on of pesticides for vector control.
The test methods described herein are intended to assess whether the equipment will function for a minimum of three years with appropriate routine maintenance according to the manufacturer’s label instructions. Manufacturers shall be requested to provide warranty against manufacturing defects with guaranteed after-sales service on the equipment, any certification required by national authorities regarding materials used in the construction of the equipment, and results of tests that have been carried out for compliance with national or international specifications.
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Nationally, Senegal met the MDG target for water supply access. It did this by engaging the public and private sectors to effectively invest and report on investments. It focused on larger population centers, less on remote regions of the country. Its achievements set the stage for more equitable an...d widespread service provision as the country now works to achieve the SDGs, requiring sustainable management of universal access. This case study documents the progression of the sector between 1990 and 2015, and analyzes the impact of local systems created in Senegal to respond to the water and sanitation challenge.
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Activities during precautionary measures (age group 6-13).
During infectious disease outbreaks, children may experience distress for a variety of reasons. The collective anxiety and grief that a community experiences can impact heavily on children. Limited public knowledge of the disease may trigge...r misinformation, rumors and panic.
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This document updates the earlier version published in April 2020. In recent weeks, information on the potential use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of people with COVID-19 has been disseminated in academic journals and public media. Although there are now ongoing clinical tri...als testing the efficacy and safety of several medicines for COVID-19, as of the date of this document, there is a lack of quality evidence to demonstrate chloroquine and/or hydroxychloroquine are effective in the treatment of COVID-19. Evidence is recently emerging via small studies with sub-optimal methodologies that are conflicting.
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This document provides guidance to Member States in the WHO European Region that wish to conduct behavioural insights studies related to COVID-19. Studies can be used to monitor public knowledge, risk perceptions, behaviours and trust with the overall aim to inform national COVID-19 outbreak respons...e measures, including policies, interventions and communications.
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Taking the whole of Africa approach to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to require coordinated efforts from multiple stakeholders from across the continent. Africa CDC would like to acknowledge the deep partnership and continued support of AUDA-NEPAD, AVAREF, WHO AFRO, the Bill a...nd Melinda Gates Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation. These partners have helped to shape and drive the continent’s strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic and have offered support to ensure the continent receives a fair and equitable share of the COVID-19 vaccine without delay.
We look forward to continuing and deepening our partnership for the benefit of the public health of Africa.
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The objectives of pertussis surveillance are to:hmonitor disease burden and the impact of the pertussis vaccination programme, with a special focus on understanding the morbidity and mortality in children < 5 years of agehgenerate data to inform vaccine schedule and delivery strategy decisions to op...timize the impact of vaccinationhdetect and guide public health response to outbreaks of pertussis
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Internews’ Rooted In Trust (RiT) Project tracks COVID-19-related rumors circulating among social media users and vulnerable communities in Colombia, as well as other countries around the globe. The rumors are used to inform risk communication efforts by humanitarians and public health actors, and ...to support local media in disseminating more accurate and actionable information that responds to community questions and concerns.
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The Strategic Tool for Assessing Risks (STAR) offers a comprehensive, easy-to-use toolkit and approach to enable national and subnational governments to rapidly conduct a strategic and evidence-based assessment of public health risks for planning and prioritization of health emergency preparedness a...nd disaster risk management activities. This guidance describes the principles and methodology of STAR to enhance its adaptation and use at the national or subnational levels.
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3rd edition. In 2001, Uganda adapted the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) developed by World Health Organization (WHO) for member states in African region. The Ministry of Health has been implementing the IDSR strategy since then with success across the country. This strategy prov...ides the opportunity for rational use of resources and maximises investments in health surveillance systems. The 3rd edition IDSR guidelines incorporates lessons learnt from previous
epidemics, new frameworks like the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), One Health, Disaster Risk Management (DRM), the WHO regional strategy for health security and emergencies, and the rising non-communicable diseases, and aims to strengthen implementation of IHR (2005) core surveillance and response capacities. These guidelines have been adapted to reflect national priorities, policies and public health structures; and shall be used in conjunction with other similar
guidelines/strategies or initiatives.
Overall, the 3rd edition technical guidelines will incorporate the following:
• Strengthening Indicator Based Surveillance
• Strengthening Event Based Surveillance
• Improving community-based disease surveillance
• Improving Cross Border Surveillance and response
• Scaling up e-IDSR implementation
• Improving reporting and information sharing platforms
• Improved data sharing across sectors
• Tailoring IDSR to Emergency or Disaster contexts
The 3rd edition guidelines are intended for use as:
• A general reference for surveillance activities across all levels
• A set of definitions for thresholds that trigger some action for response
• A stand-alone reference for level-specific guidelines on surveillance and response
• A resource for developing training, supervision and evaluation of surveillance activities
• A guide for improving early detection and preparedness for outbreak response.
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Bioethics 519 (online) doi:10.1111/bioe.12145 Volume 29 Number 8 2015 pp. 488–596;
Pandemic plans recommend phases of response to an emergent infectious disease (EID) outbreak, and are primarily aimed at preventing and mitigating human-to-human transmission. These plans carry presumptive weight ...and are increasingly being operationalized at the national, regional and international level with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). The conventional focus of pandemic preparedness for EIDs of zoonotic origin has been on public health and human welfare. However, thisfocus on human populations has resulted in strategically important disciplinary silos. As the risks of zoonotic diseases have implications that reach across many domains outside traditional public health, including anthropological, environmental, and veterinary fora, a more inclusive ecological perspective is paramount for an effective response to future outbreaks.
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El presente documento contiene los requisitos mínimos necesarios para el trabajo seguro en la red de laboratorios de TB del país, de acuerdo a las directrices emanadas del Laboratorio de Referencia Nacional de TB, correspondiente a la Sección Micobacterias en el Instituto de Salud Pública.
La ...estructura de la red de laboratorios se muestra en la siguiente tabla, con distintas denominaciones de acuerdo al criterio empleado para categorizarlos.
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Cities are uniquely positioned to understand local needs and respond rapidly to changing conditions to safeguard health. These changes require strong city leadership to implement multisectoral, health-relevant policies and public services that engage communities. The response to malaria must be an i...ntegral part of such policies and processes.
This framework supports the control and elimination of malaria in urban environments. It provides guidance for city leaders, health programmes and urban planners as they respond to the challenges of rapid urbanization in a targeted way. For each urban context, the strategic use of data can inform effective, tailored responses and help build resilience against the threat of malaria and other vector-borne diseases.
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The purpose of this book is to provide an overview of Buruli ulcer (Mycobacterium ulcerans infection) for the medical and scientific communities and the general public alike.
Mpox continues to affect people around the world. A new framework released today by WHO will guide health authorities, communities and other stakeholders in preventing and controlling mpox outbreaks, eliminating human-to-human transmission of the disease, and reducing spillover of the virus from ani...mals to humans.
Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick. The virus transmits from person to person through close, including sexual, contact. It also has animal reservoirs in east, central and west Africa, where spillovers from animals to humans can occasionally occur, sparking further outbreaks.
There are two different clades of the virus: clade I and clade II. Clade I outbreaks are deadlier than clade II outbreaks.
A major emergence of mpox linked to clade II began in 2017, and since 2022, has spread to all regions of the world. Between July 2022 and May 2023, the outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. While that outbreak has largely subsided, cases and deaths continue to be reported today, illustrating that low-level transmission continues around the world.
Currently, there is also a major outbreak of clade I virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where cases have been on the rise for decades. Since the beginning of the year, over 6500 cases and 345 deaths have been reported in the DRC. Almost half of these are among children under the age of 15 years.
The Strategic framework for enhancing prevention and control of mpox (2024–2027) provides a roadmap for health authorities, communities, and stakeholders worldwide to control mpox outbreaks in every context, advance mpox research and access to countermeasures, and to minimize zoonotic transmission.
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