The immediate objective of the country visit to Senegal was to build upon the public health preparedness already in place and to ensure that systems are available to investigate and report potential EVD cases and to mount an effective response to prevent a larger outbreak. The joint team for strengt...hening preparedness for EVD was composed of representatives of Senegal’s Ministry of Health, WHO, CDC, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the European Centres for Disease Prevention and Control, the Erasmus Medical Centre, Netherlands, and John Hopkins University, USA.
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A training manual for identifying, assessing, preventing and controlling the risks of pandemics in the workplace. This training manual has been developed for both medical and non-medical personnel who may be called upon to lead emergency response, (eg epidemic outbreak, etc), ensure effective conta...inment whiles work continues and essential goods and services continue to be supplied.
The manual provides insight into some of the local epidemics experienced in Ghana such as Cholera, Cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) and Influenza(s), the causes, signs and symptoms and preventive measures with a view to increasing knowledge among management, staff and their families as well as immediate communities within which they work.
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The Policy Guidelines and Service Standards for National Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme document outlines the steps on how to offer and deliver services. Improving quality of care is critical to improving clients' health status as well as increasing access to, and utilization of Sexual and... Reproductive Health services. Service Standards and Guidelines are intended to be used by programme managers, implementers, trainers, surpervisors, and service providers as a tool for delivering quality care measures.
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Antibiotics have been a critical public health tool since the discovery of Penicillin in 1928, saving the lives of millions of people around the world. In developing country like ours, where the burden of treatable disease is very high and access to health facilities and laboratories is difficult, a...ntibiotics have long acted as miracle drugs. Today, however, the emergence of drug
resistance in bacteria is reversing the miracles of the past eighty years, with drug choices for the treatment of many bacterial infections becoming increasingly limited, expensive, and in some cases, nonexistent. Diseases previously regarded as relatively easy to manage are much harder to treat as doctors must use “last-resort” drugs that are more costly, take longer to work
and are often unavailable or unaffordable in developing countries. Moreover, regular prescription of antibiotics, random treatment, over the counter sales, inadequate dosage, inclusion of antibiotics in animal feeds and agriculture has contributed equally to emergence of antibiotics resistance as silent epidemic within the country.
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Antimicrobial resistance has become a serious public health threat for effective treatment of an ever increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. When infections can no longer be treated by first-line antibiotics, other antibiotics must be used, which are both mo...re expensive and more toxic. Treatment and hospitalization is prolonged, and patients undergoing operations and other medical procedures are more vulnerable to infections. All this imposes a huge burden on health care systems and on the economy of countries. This is a major challenge to the health system in Mauritius which provides health care free of user cost to the whole population.
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This situation analysis has gathered information about the current state of AMR, contributing factors and antimicrobial use in Zimbabwe from the human, animal, agricultural and environmental sectors. Data has been gathered from different sectors such as the general public, academia, the Ministry of ...Health and Child Care, the Ministry of Agriculture Mechanization and Irrigation Development and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate. It shows that AMR is a real concern in Zimbabwe and a threat to the health outcomes of humans, to the economic productivity of the livestock industry and a risk to the environment.
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As part of our commitment to the fight against NCDs, Nigeria was signatory to the political declaration at the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on NCDs in September 2011. Thus, the purpose of this document is to develop and ensure the implementation of policies and p...rogrammes that will engender and guarantee a healthy lifestyle and quality health for all Nigerians. The core sections include background, scope of the policy, policy goal, strategic thrusts for implementation, programme management and coordination, roles of stakeholders and partnership coordination. It is expected that with the adoption of this policy, the control and prevention of NCDs and their associated risk factors will be well integrated at all levels of government and health care delivery system in Nigeria. This policy document is therefore a stepping stone towards the development of guidelines for the prevention and management of NCDs.
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Cholera is a transmissible diarrhoeal infection caused by Vibrio cholerae. Endemic and/or epidemic in over 40 countries (mainly in Africa and Asia), cholera continues to be a major global public health issue.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the number of cases reported worldwid...e represents in reality only 5 to 10% of actual cases.
This guide is intended for medical and non-medical staff responding to a cholera outbreak. It attempts to provide concrete answers to the questions and problems faced by staff, based on the recommendations of reference organisations, such as WHO and UNICEF, as well as Médecins Sans Frontières’ experience in the field.
It is divided into 8 chapters. Chapter 1, Cholera overview, outlines the epidemiological and clinical features of cholera. Chapter 2, Outbreak investigation, explains the method and stages of a field investigation, from the alert to implementation of initial activities. Chapter 3, Cholera control measures, details measures and tools to prevent and/or control cholera transmission and mortality in populations affected, or at risk of being affected, by an epidemic (curative care, prevention means and health promotion activities). Chapter 4, Strategies for epidemic response, addresses the roll-out strategies of the measures described in Chapter 3 which depend on context (e.g. urban, rural, endemic, non-endemic setting, etc.), resources and particular constraints. Chapter 5, Cholera case management, details the different stages of cholera treatment, from diagnosis through to cure.
Chapter 6, Setting up cholera treatment facilities, focuses on the installation of treatment facilities that vary in size and complexity according to operational requirements (treatment centres and units and oral rehydration points). Chapter 7, Organisation of cholera treatment facilities, describes the organisation of these specialized facilities in terms of human resources, supply, water, hygiene and sanitation, etc. Chapter 8, Monitoring and evaluation, presents the key data to be collected and analysed during an epidemic to facilitate a tailored response and evaluate its quality and effectiveness.
The guide includes various practical tools in the appendices to facilitate activities (e.g. water quality tests, job descriptions, documents, etc.). Moreover, the toolbox also contains additional tools in editable formats (individual patient file, cholera case register, pictograms).
Despite all efforts, it is possible that certain errors may have been overlooked in this guide. Please inform the authors of any errors detected.
To ensure that this guide continues to evolve while remaining adapted to field realities, please send any comments or suggestions.
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Ethiopia has been repeatedly affected by conflict, flooding, drought, and disease outbreaks in the past years. As of January 2024, the country is actively responding to the longest recorded cholera outbreak which started in August 2022, recurrent measles outbreaks which started in August 2021, and t...he highest number of malaria cases reported since 2017. The El Niño phenomenon is expected to cause further havoc up to July 2024, by causing drought in some parts of the country, and flooding in others. Food insecurity due to lost harvest and livestock is aggravating already high malnutrition rates, negatively impacting morbidity and mortality.
The Health Cluster is closely collaborating with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to prepare for, prevent, and respond to public health emergencies by mobilizing resources to enable health partners to provide life-saving health services to vulnerable populations.
In an environment with ever-increasing needs and decreased funding, the below priorities for 2024 and 2025 have been identified: 1 Strengthen advocacy for longer-term, development funding to address root causes of recurrent disease outbreaks, including through the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus 2 Advocate for increased access to quality health services, with a strong focus on:
sexual and reproductive health services (including for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence)
inclusion of people with disabilities, older people, and people living with HIV
remote populations through inclusion of Mobile Health Teams (MHT) as part of the health system 3 Standardize health services provided by Health Cluster partners through the implementation of Essential Health Care packages, aligned with existing MOH guidance, aimed at ensuring quality service delivery for affected populations, especially at community level 4 Strengthen quality of, and access to data for needs analysis and informed decision-making 5 Strengthen subnational coordination, with increased focus on zones and local health partners
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