This report describes the work done by WHO from January 2015 up to the end of December 2016 to address the long-term issues of survivor care, health-systems strengthening and research.
Child sex trafficking is a severe form of trauma exposure that has significant immediate and long-term consequences for survivors. According to the United Nations International Labor Organization, in 2016 more than 1 million children worldwide were victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Currentl...y, no reliable estimate of the prevalence of child sex trafficking in the US exists, in part due to its hidden nature, disparities in definitions, and methodological challenges.
more
The EYE strategy is a comprehensive and long-term strategy built on lessons learned that aims at ending yellow fever epidemics by 2026, and consists of three strategic objectives:
protect at-risk populations;
prevent international spread; and
contain outbreaks rapidly.
Malnutrition in childhood and pregnancy has many adverse consequences for child survival and long-term well-being. It
also has far-reaching consequences for human capital, economic productivity, and national development overall. The
consequences of malnutrition should be a significant concern for ...policy makers in Burkina Faso, since around 672,000
children under 5 years (21 percent) suffer from chronic malnutrition (stunting or low height-for-age) and 10 percent
suffer from acute malnutrition (wasting or low weight-for-height) (Ministère de la Santé [MOH] et al. 2018).
more
This guidance covers diagnosis and care of patients with long-term effects of COVID-19. It makes recommendations for the care of adults and children who have new or ongoing symptoms 4 weeks or more after the start of acute COVID-19. It is meant for health and care practitioners. This interim documen...t has been developed by the Africa Taskforce on Coronavirus Case Management Technical Working Group and will be continuously reviewed and updated in response to emerging evidence
more
Within an Australian context, the medium to long-term health impacts of climate change are likely to be wide, varied and amplify many existing disorders and health inequities. How the health system responds to these challenges will be best considered in the context of existing health facilities and ...services. This paper provides a snapshot of the understanding that Australian health planners have of the potential health impacts of climate change.
more
According to the previous NHSSP 2014 - 2020, the long-term health sector objective is “the provision of adequate, effective and affordable health care for all Gambians.” The overall ob-jective for the previous plan 2014-20 was “to reduce inequalities in health care services and reverse the dow...nward trend in health-related outcome indicators.”
more
Following a long recovery from the economic crisis (2007–2013), young people in the EU proved to be more vulnerable to the effects of the restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Young people were more likely than older groups to experience job loss, financial insecur...ity and mental health problems. They reported reduced life satisfaction and mental well-being associated with the stay-at-home requirements and school closures. While governments responded quickly to the pandemic, most efforts to mitigate the effects of restrictions were temporary measures aimed at preventing job loss and keeping young people in education. This report explores the effects of the pandemic on young people, particularly in terms of their employment, well-being and trust in institutions, and assesses the various policy measures introduced to alleviate these effects.
Summary available in 22 languages
more
During the pandemic, Brazil has provided its citizens with support in the areas of long-term care and disability, the labor market, social assistance, education, and pensions. This report focuses on two social policy areas, health-care and family benefits (including labor policies), as these were th...e most crucial social policies implemented in Brazil during the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of the resources allocated and the magnitude of social impact. Brazil’s relatively generous social policies were uncoordinated with public health interventions, which contributed to poor compliance with these public health interventions. This suggests that social policy initiatives alone are insufficient in mitigating the social consequences of the pandemic. They need to be accompanied by and coordinated with public health measures, including regulations on testing, social distancing and mask wearing.
more
31 Oct 2022 his plan outlines how the ACT-Accelerator will support countries as the world transitions to long-term COVID-19 control.
Recognizing the evolving nature of the COVID-19 virus and pandemic, the plan outlines changes to ACT-A’s set-up and ways of working, to ensure countries co...ntinue to have access to COVID-19 tools in the longer term, while maintaining the coalition’s readiness to help address future disease surges.
Developed through a consultative process with ACT-A agencies, donors, industry partners, civil society organizations (CSOs) and Facilitation Council members, the plan summarizes priority areas of focus for the partnership’s pillars, coordination mechanisms and other core functions, and highlights the work to be maintained, transitioned, sunset, or kept on standby.
more
One of the 16 Pledge commitments asked CEOs to “[r]ecognize the immediate and long-term effects sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment have on [NGO] staff and the people [they] serve, and [to] … ensure [their] organizations have robust policies and funded mechanisms to provide the necessary ...support.”
However, there has been no standard to date in the provision of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH) survivor support across organizations. In practice, this means that a survivor may receive a different level and standard of care depending on which organization employed the perpetrator. Additionally, the lack of clear standards has resulted in confusion among humanitarian and development organizations regarding an organization’s responsibility to a survivor of SEAH.
more
The report brings a new dimension to long-term thinking about the future approach to these diseases. For the fi rst time, it sets out financing needs, options, and targets for meeting WHO Roadmap goals by 2020, but also for reaching universal coverage of all people in need by 2030. Th e report makes... one investment case for cost-eff ectiveness and a second investment case where equity is the focus. It sets targets for ending catastrophic health expenditures and, as part of the drive to strengthen health systems, for getting services closer to where people live.
more
Annual and medium-term budget preparation processes are the platforms through which specific plans are transformed into actual resource allocation decisions. The aim of this Process Guide is to support key stakeholders involved in these processes (such as the Cabinet, Ministries of Finance and Healt...h, the Parliament, citizens, media, and civil society organizations) to reorient budgetary arrangements in order to facilitate the ability of national governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering, therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccine services to their populations. Reorienting budgetary arrangements positions governments to sustain the capacity to mitigate and respond to COVID-19 while concurrently delivering other essential health services and working towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The reorientation process is an opportunity to better align budgetary arrangements to sustain systemic capacity to prevent emerging health threats over the short, medium, and long terms.
more
Background
Access to medicines is important for long‐term care of cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. This study provides a cross‐country assessment of availability, prices, and affordability of cardiovascular disease and hypertension medicines to identify areas for improvement in access ...to medication treatment.
Methods and Results
We used the World Health Organization online repository of national essential medicines lists (EMLs) for 53 countries to transcribe the information on the inclusion of 12 cardiovascular disease/hypertension medications within each country's essential medicines list. Data on availability, price, and affordability were obtained from 84 surveys in 59 countries that used the World Health Organization's Health Action International survey methodology. We summarized and compared the indicators across lowest‐price generic and originator brand medicines in the public and private sectors and by country income groups. The average availability of the select medications was 54% in low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries and 60% in high‐ and upper‐middle‐income countries, and was higher for generic (61%) than brand medicines (41%). The average patient median price ratio was 80.3 for brand and 16.7 for generic medicines and was higher for patients in low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries compared with high‐ and upper‐middle‐income countries across all medicine categories. The costs of 1 month's antihypertensive medications were, on average, 6.0 days’ wage for brand medicine and 1.8 days’ wage for generics. Affordability was lower in low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries than high‐ and upper‐middle‐income countries for both brand and generic medications.
Conclusions
The availability and accessibility of pharmaceuticals is an ongoing challenge for health systems. Low availability and high costs are major barriers to the use of and adherence to essential cardiovascular disease and antihypertensive medications worldwide, particularly in low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries.
more
The term NCDs refers to a group of conditions that are not mainly caused by an acute infection, result in long-term health consequences and often create a need for long-term treatment and care. These conditions include cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic lung illnesses.
Prevention offers the greatest public health potential and the most cost-effective long-term cancer control strategy. However, with today’s multiple media streams, the general public is often overwhelmed by an abundance of confusing or ambiguous messages and misinformation on disease prevention. T...herefore, authoritative, clear, and evidence-based recommendations on how to actively contribute to cancer prevention are extremely valuable for the general public and equally valuable for health professionals and policy-makers worldwide.
Under the overall umbrella of a World Code Against Cancer Framework, using the methodology established by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the experience of developing and promoting the European Code Against Cancer 4th edition, Regional Codes Against Cancer are being developed to promote cancer prevention globally.
more
Long Acting Muscarinic Antagonists (LAMA) such as tiotropium and glycopyrronium are used in the management of COPD1. They have been shown to improve lung function, quality of life and exercise tolerance. They have also been associated with reduced COPD-related exacerbations, associated hospitalisati...ons and duration of hospital stay. Both the South African Thoracic Society (SATS) and Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), guidelines recommend the use of long acting anticholinergic drugs (or long acting beta agonists) in moderate to very severe disease as defined by lung function (FEV1). The most up to date guideline, utilizing the GRADE methodology (European Respiratory Society guidelines of 2017), confirms their superiority over long acting β agonists (LABA) as monotherapy for COPD in that LAMA's have demonstrated greater efficacy in terms of exacerbation reduction, with similar safety profile.2 These recommnedations are supported by published peer-reviewed
evidence including individual papers and Cochrane reviews.
more
Chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the number one cause of death and disability in the world.
The term NCDs refers to a group of conditions that are not mainly caused by an acute infection, result in long-term health consequences and often create a need for long-term treatment and care. ...These conditions include cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic lung illnesses.
Many NCDs can be prevented by reducing common risk factors such as tobacco use, harmful alcohol use, physical inactivity and eating unhealthy diets. Many other important conditions are also considered NCDs, including injuries and mental health disorders.
more
The article "A 20-year follow-up study on chronic respiratory effects of exposure to cotton dust" evaluates the long-term impact of cotton dust exposure on respiratory health. It followed a cohort of Chinese cotton and silk workers from 1981 to 2001, comparing lung function and symptoms. Results sho...wed that cotton workers experienced greater declines in lung function and persistent respiratory symptoms compared to silk workers. The study found that exposure to airborne endotoxins in cotton dust was strongly linked to chronic respiratory impairment. It highlighted that stopping exposure helped improve lung function, particularly in non-smoking men, while smokers continued to show negative effects.
more
Background
Asthma education, a key component of long-term asthma management, is challenging in resource-limited settings with shortages of clinical staff. Task-shifting educational roles to lay (non-clinical) staff is a potential solution. We conducted a randomised controlled trial of an enhanced a...sthma care intervention for children in Malawi, which included reallocation of asthma education tasks to lay-educators. In this qualitative sub-study, we explored the experiences of asthmatic children, their families and lay-educators, to assess the acceptability, facilitators and barriers, and perceived value of the task-shifting asthma education intervention.
Methods
We conducted six focus group discussions, including 15 children and 28 carers, and individual interviews with four lay-educators and a senior nurse. Translated transcripts were coded independently by three researchers and key themes identified.
Results
Prior to the intervention, participants reported challenges in asthma care including the busy and sometimes hostile clinical environment, lack of access to information and the erratic supply of medication. The education sessions were well received: participants reported greater understanding of asthma and their treatment and confidence to manage symptoms. The lay-educators appreciated pre-intervention training, written guidelines, and access to clinical support. Low education levels among carers presented challenges, requiring an open, non-critical and individualised approach.
Discussion
Asthma education can be successfully delivered by lay-educators with adequate training, supervision and support, with benefits to the patients, their families and the community. Wider implementation could help address human resource shortages and support progress towards Universal Health Coverage.
more