A WHO-UNICEF joint statement encouraging greater health commodity supply chain integration for temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals where appropriate, 19 November 2020
COVID-19 Vaccines: 1 Safety Surveillance 2 Manual
While there is no indication that pregnant women have an increased susceptibility to infection with SARS-CoV-2, there is evidence that pregnancy may increase the risk of severe illness and mortality from COVID-19 disease in comparison with non-pregn...ant women of reproductive age. As seen with non-pregnant women, a high proportion of pregnant women have asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe disease is associated with recognized medical (e.g., high body-mass index (BMI), diabetes, pre-existing pulmonary or cardiac conditions) and social (e.g., social deprivation, ethnicity) risk factors. Pregnant women with symptomatic COVID-19 appear to have an increased risk of intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation and death in comparison with non-pregnant women of reproductive age, although the absolute risks remain low. COVID-19 may increase the risk of preterm birth, compared with pregnant women without COVID-19, although the evidence is inconclusive.
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n light of the potential risk posed by SARS-CoV-2 variants, in January 2021 WHO organized an ad hoc consultation to discuss the development of an R&D agenda in response to existing and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.
The key objectives were to identify the critical research questions related to var...iants and agree on a research approach to address them. Six breakout groups covered a range of specific issues related to COVID-19 variants: Epidemiology and mathematical modelling; evolutionary biology; animal models; assays and diagnostics; clinical management and therapeutics; and vaccines.
This report is a summary of presentations and panel discussions.
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Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs, though it can affect any organ in the body. It can develop when bacteria spread through droplets in the air. TB can be fatal, but in many cases, TB is preventable and treatable. This report examines the human rights impact of... the prevalence of Tuberculosis (TB) and Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) among the Indigenous San peoples of Namibia. Combining political economy and root-cause methodology, the report explores the socioeconomic factors that make the San vulnerable to TB and limit their access to adequate health services.
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Executive summary On 27th and 28th April 2021, the division of Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with Public Health England, organized a virtual consultative meeting as part of the consultations with Member States and partners for the development of the Africa CDC five years strategic ...plan for the prevention and control of Non-communicable Diseases … Report: Expert and stakeholder virtual consultation meeting to develop the Africa CDC Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health Strategy
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The guide is suitable and can be used for the following audiences:
1. nurses and other trained healthcare workers who can use this manual as a self-study tool and then incorporate its guidance into their practice;
2. governmental and non-governmental employers of lay and professional TB treatment ...adherence workers, who can provide training and guidance to their staff using the guidance in this manual;
3. TB clinicians, programme managers, policy makers and other leaders, to make them aware of the full range of interventions required by a person on TB treatment to complete his or her treatment and thus understand the gap that often exists in the support provided to patients;
4. people who, with enhanced capacity and support, can act as peer counsellors and supporters for people affected by TB. This can include family members who, in most contexts, play an important role in offering support to people with TB.
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Hendra virus (HeV) continues to pose a serious public health concern as spillover events occur sporadically. Terminally ill horses can exhibit a range of clinical signs including frothy nasal discharge, ataxia or forebrain signs. Early signs, if detected, can include depression, inappetence, colic o...r mild respiratory signs. All unvaccinated ill horses in areas where flying foxes exist, may potentially be infected with HeV, posing a significant risk to the veterinary community. Equivac® HeV vaccine has been fully registered in Australia since 2015 (and under an Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority special permit since 2012) for immunization of horses against HeV and is the most effective and direct solution to prevent disease transmission to horses and protect humans. No HeV vaccinated horse has tested positive for HeV infection. There is no registered vaccine to prevent, or therapeutics to treat, HeV infection in humans. Previous equine HeV outbreaks tended to cluster in winter overlapping with the foaling season (August to December), when veterinarians and horse owners have frequent close contact with horses and their bodily fluids, increasing the chance of zoonotic disease transmission. The most southerly case was detected in 2019 in the Upper Hunter region in New South Wales, which is Australia's Thoroughbred horse breeding capital. Future spillover events are predicted to move further south and inland in Queensland and New South Wales, aligning with the moving distribution of the main reservoir hosts. Here we (1) review HeV epidemiology and climate change predicted infection dynamics, (2) present a biosecurity protocol for veterinary clinics and hospitals to adopt, and (3) describe diagnostic tests currently available and those under development. Major knowledge and research gaps have been identified, including evaluation of vaccine efficacy in foals to assess current vaccination protocol recommendations.
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abridged version, March 2021
he study highlights the impacts of COVID-19 on women and men as gleaned from research conducted during 2020, as well as the Computer Assisted Telephonic Interviews (CATI) Rapid Gender Assessments (RGAs) executed by UN Women, UNFPA and partners in seven countries in the ...East and Southern Africa region.
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5 May 2021
This Information Note is intended to assist national TB programmes and health personnel worldwide to maintain essential tuberculosis (TB) services during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the recovery phase. It is important that recent progress made in TB prevention and care is not reversed b...y COVID-19. The WHO Global TB Programme, along with WHO regional and country offices, developed this note in response to questions received from Member States and other partners since the start of the pandemic. The note includes references to other published WHO information products relevant to TB practitioners. WHO continues to monitor the situation closely for any changes that may influence this note and will issue updates should any factors change.
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This policy brief explores the challenges faced in disaster risk governance in relation to the climate emergency.
English Analysis on World about Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Drought, Flood and more; published on 27 Oct 2021 by GCA
The growing understanding of how sequence information can contribute to improved public health is driving global investments in sequencing facilities and programmes. The falling cost and complexity of generating GSD provides opportunities for expanding sequencing capacity; however, challenges to wid...espread implementation remain. This document provides policy-makers and stakeholders with guidance on how to maximize the public health benefit of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing activities in the short and long term as the pandemic continues to unfold. Practical considerations for the implementation of a virus genomic sequencing programme and an overview of the public health objectives of genomic sequencing are covered. This guidance focuses on SARS-CoV-2 but is applicable to other pathogens of public health concern.
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ASLM in collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and in partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Amref and Last Mile Health present the Quality Assurance Framework for SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Testing for Diagnosis of COVID-19. This framework aims to pr...ovide general technical guidance to African Union Members States on the rollout, establishment, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 Ag RDT interventions so as to effectively and efficiently detect, control and minimise errors in the performance of COVID-19 laboratory testing processes. It describes the core components for quality assurance, resources mobilisation and advocacy for scale up, monitoring, evaluation, learning and accountability for SARS-CoV-2 implementation.
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This resource will help learners to:
discuss their thoughts and feelings about COVID-19
investigate some of the incredible ways in which people have been responding to this crisis
understand the difference between information, disinformation and misinformation
consider their own ...responses to the pandemic and possible actions that they might take to manage their own wellbeing and support others
consider their own responses to the pandemic and possible actions that they might take to manage their own wellbeing and support others
You can download a resource pack and slide show
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Prepared by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response for the WHO Executive Board, January 2021
“The world was not as prepared as it should have been, and it must do better,” concludes a WHO panel reviewing the pandemic response "
This publication is a companion document to the NDVP National Deployment and Vaccination Plans guidance, which provides a framework for countries to develop their national strategies. As countries face challenges with erratic vaccine supplies, use of multiple vaccine products with different charact...eristics, and the size of populations and their diversity, this document provides operational guidance and information to support planners and immunization programme managers at the national and sub-national levels on microplanning for COVID-19 vaccination implementation.
This Guide is available in English, French, Arabic, chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian
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Journal of Cancer Education
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01935-7
Community health workers (CHWs) enable marginalised communities, often experiencing structural poverty, to access healthcare. Trust, important in all patient–provider relationships, is difficult to build in such
communities, particularly when stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and now ...COVID-19, is widespread.
CHWs, responsible for bringing people back into care, must repair trust. In South Africa, where a national CHW programme is being rolled out, marginalised communities have high levels of unemployment, domestic violence and injury. In this complex social environment, we explored CHW workplace trust, interpersonal trust between the patient and CHW, and the institutional trust patients place in the health system
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