These consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services (HTS) bring together existing and new guidance on HTS across different settings and populations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) first released consolidated guidelines on HTS in 2015, in response to requests from Member States, national pr...ogramme managers and health workers for support to achieve the United Nations (UN) 90–90–90 global HIV targets – and specifically the first target of diagnosing 90% of all people with HIV. In 2016, based on new evidence, WHO released a supplement to address important new HIV testing approaches – HIV self-testing (HIVST) and provider-assisted referral.
Since the release of 2015 and 2016 HTS guidelines, new issues and more evidence have emerged. To address this, WHO has updated guidance on HIV testing services. In this guideline, WHO updates recommendation on HIVST and provides new recommendations on social network-based HIV testing approaches and western blotting (see box, next page). This guideline seeks to provide support to Member States, programme managers, health workers and other stakeholders seeking to achieve national and international goals to end the HIV epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.
These guidelines also provide operational guidance on HTS demand creation and messaging; implementation considerations for priority populations; HIV testing strategies for diagnosis HIV; optimizing the use of dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests; and considerations for strategic planning and rationalizing resources such as optimal time points for maternal retesting
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Fact Book on WHO Level I and Level II monitoring indicators - To monitor the progress of efforts to improve the global medicines situation, WHO has developed a system of indicators that measure important aspects of a country’s pharmaceutical situation. Level 1 indicators measure the existence and ...performance of key national pharmaceutical structures and processes. Level II indicators measure key outcomes of these structures and processes in the areas of access, product quality and rational use. These indicators can be used to assess progress over time; to compare situations between countries; and to reassess and prioritize efforts based on the results.
This Fact Book gives the results of the assessment of Level I indicators conducted in 2003 and of Level II indicator surveys conducted between 2002 and 2004
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This strategic framework marries formerly separate mandates for HIV and TB management in to one, comprehensive collaboration. It provides a structure for how to: strengthen the health care system to respond effectively to both epidemics, reduce the burden of HIV/AIDS in TB patients, and establish a ...monitoring and evaluation system for the collaborative activities. Activities include: improving TB infection control in health care and other settings, enhancing TB/HIV diagnostic capacity, and harmonize data collection tools and local, national and international TB/HIV indicators.
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This report reviews the current situation in relation to national capacity to address NCDs and the progress made at country level over the past decade. It highlights that, while progress is being made, there is still much work to be done to create the infrastructure, policies, surveillance and healt...h systems response that will allow NCDs and their contributing risk factors to be successfully contained and reversed.
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The goal of this Global Action Plan is to articulate synergistic actions that will be required to prevent HIVDR from undermining efforts to achieve global targets on health and HIV, and to provide the most effective treatment to all people living with HIV including adults, key populations, pregnant ...and breastfeeding women, children and adolescents. The Global Action Plan has five strategic objectives: 1) prevention and response; 2) monitoring and surveillance; 3) research and innovation; 4) laboratory capacity; and 5) governance and enabling mechanisms.
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The consolidated guidelines are expected to provide the basis and rationale for the development of national guidelines for LTBI management, adapted to the national and local epidemiology of TB, the availability of resources, the health infrastructure and other national and local determinants. The gu...idelines are to be used primarily in national TB and HIV control programmes, or their equivalents in ministries of health, and for other policy-makers working on TB and HIV and infectious diseases. They are also appropriate for officials in other line ministries with work in the areas of health.
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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.
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October 2018
HIV testing services
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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13 May 2021
To avoid a reversal of progress from the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, new knowledge and lessons from successful programmatic innovations are urgently needed to improve TB prevention and care. Experience can provide evidence for innovative approaches and strategies to mainta...in and scale up high-quality TB services. WHO therefore called for case studies on programmatic innovations that address emerging challenges in TB prevention and care during the pandemic in order to collect and disseminate the findings to the TB community. Between November 2020 and February 2021, a total of 23 case studies relevant to the call were accepted from 19 countries in the six regions of WHO. The lessons learnt from these country activities to ensure the continuity of essential services like TB care in the face of the crippling crisis may also inform strategies for minimizing the impact of future emerging pathogens on health services.
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national programmes for occupational health and safety for health workers: lessons learned from countries: summary report of the WHO online workshop, 15 July 2020
The Updated guidelines on Management of tuberculosis in children and adolescents include new recommendations that cover diagnostic approaches for TB, shorter treatment for children with non-severe drug-susceptible TB, a new option for the treatment of TB meningitis, the use of bedaquiline and delama...nid in young children with multidrug- and rifampicin-resistant TB and decentralized and family-centred, integrated models of care for TB case detection and prevention in children and adolescents.
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Adolescence, defined as the period between 10 and 19 years of age, is a developmental stage during which many psychosocial and mental health challenges emerge. There is a well-established link between mental health and HIV outcomes. Adolescents and young adults living with HIV typically have additio...nal mental health needs linked to their experiences of living with and managing a chronic illness, along with prevailing stigma and discrimination. Mental health promotion and prevention is thus a critical priority for this group.
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This guideline provides updated, evidence-informed guidance on the percentage of total fat in the diet to reduce the risk of unhealthy weight gain.
This guideline is intended for a wide audience involved in the development, design and implementation of policies and programmes in nutrition and pub...lic health. This guideline includes a recommended level of total fat intake which can be used by policy-makers and programme managers to address various aspects of dietary fat in their populations through a range of policy actions and public health interventions.
The guidance in this guideline replaces previous WHO guidance on total fat intake, including that from the 1989 WHO Study Group on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases and the 2002 Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. The guidance in this guideline should be considered in the context of that from other WHO guidelines on healthy diets.
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Terminology used to describe the transmission of pathogens through the air varies across scientific disciplines, organizations and the general public. While this has been the case for decades, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the terms ‘airborne’, ‘airborne transmission’ a...nd ‘aerosol transmission’ were used in different ways by stakeholders in different scientific disciplines, which may have contributed to misleading information and confusion about how pathogens are transmitted in human populations.
This global technical consultation report brings together viewpoints from experts spanning a range of disciplines with the key objective of seeking consensus regarding the terminology used to describe the transmission of pathogens through the air that can potentially cause infection in humans.
This consultation aimed to identify terminology that could be understood and accepted by different technical disciplines. The agreed process was to develop a consensus document that could be endorsed by global agencies and entities. Despite the complex discussions and challenges, significant progress was made during the consultation process, particularly the consensus on a set of descriptors to describe how pathogens are transmitted through the air and the related modes of transmission. WHO recognizes the important areas where consensus was not achieved and will continue to address these areas in follow-up consultations.
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