A lot has happened this year. While we continued to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, we were hit by disease outbreaks and
humanitarian crises. Yet, despite these challenges, we marched on, resolute in resolving critical health systems issues to increase
access to quality healthcare services. To furth...er our vision and bring concrete actions to reality, under
the leadership of the Government of South Sudan, we developed the Health Sector Strategic Plan to define the strategic
approaches, key interventions, mapping resource needs, and the implementation framework to strengthen the health system
to deliver essential quality health services equitably for 2023 to 2027. For WHO, this Plan will usher in a new reality -- access
to lifesaving or health-promoting interventions is doable and possible, making the health sector fairer, especially for those
unable to pay
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Known avoidable environmental risks to health cause at least 12.6 million deaths every year, and account for about one quarter of the global burden of disease (2016 data) (1). Air pollution alone causes about 7 million
deaths a year, placing it among the top global risks to health (2). Global envir...onmental challenges are on the rise, including climate change, rapid urbanization and increased resistance to drugs.
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The development of this draft Proposed programme budget 2022–2023 comes at a unique moment for WHO. The world is in the grip of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and faces health, social and economic consequences on an unprecedented scale. Although it is not known when the COVID-19 pande...mic will end, recent encouraging vaccine results, in addition to the examples of countries that have achieved good results through public health measures, hold out the prospect of better days ahead. The full impact of the pandemic cannot yet be determined. But whatever its implications, the Secretariat will rise to the challenge and is ready to adapt so that it is fully equipped to support Member States for any eventuality in the future – to make sure that the world will never again have to face this kind of crisis.
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The technical note by the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) discusses the use of Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCVs) for international workers and travelers in cholera-affected areas. It reviews the effectiveness of WHO-prequalified vaccines (Dukoral®, Shanchol™, and Euvichol®), emphasizing ...their role in preventing infection and reducing transmission risks.
The document highlights concerns about travelers contracting cholera in endemic regions and potentially spreading the disease upon returning home. While the overall risk is considered low, certain groups, such as humanitarian workers and travelers to high-risk areas like South Asia, face a higher exposure.
Recommendations include vaccination for emergency and relief workers who may come into direct contact with cholera patients or contaminated environments. However, routine vaccination for general travelers is not widely recommended. The note also calls for better surveillance and studies to assess the potential of vaccines in preventing international transmission.
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The context of the Ebola epidemic presented extreme challenges for Oxfam, as it did for many organisations. At the onset of the epidemic, there was a general lack of understanding of the disease and how to respond to it effectively and safely. A pervasive and persistent climate of fear, coupled with... changing predictions about the likely evolution of the epidemic, influenced analysis and response at all levels. There was strong pressure to treat the epidemic as a medical emergency requiring a medical response – organised through topdown processes – rather than standard humanitarian coordination
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The World Health Organization (WHO) and United NationsHuman Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) joint globalreport, Hidden cities: unmasking and overcoming healthinequities in urban settings, exposes the extent to whichcertain city dwellers suffer disproportionately from a wide range of diseases and ...health problems. This report provides information and tools to helpgovernments and local leaders reduce health inequities in their cities. The objective of the report is not tocompare rural and urban health inequities. Urban healthinequities need to be addressed specifically for they aredifferent in their magnitude and in their distribution.
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Little is known about the patterns of development assistance (DA) for each component of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) in conflict-affected countries nor about the DA allocation in relation to the burden of disease
Pneumonia kills more children than any other illness – more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Over 2 million children die from pneumonia each year, accounting for almost 1 in 5 under five deaths worldwide. Yet, little attention is paid to this disease. This joint UNICEF/WHO report examines ...the epidemiological evidence on the burden and distribution of pneumonia and assesses current levels of treatment and prevention. It is a call to action to reduce pneumonia mortality, a key step towards the achievement of the millennium development goal on child mortality.
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The report focuses on several key areas where health outcomes are falling short, and provides insight into ways in which countries can improve the situation for their children and adolescents. Areas in focus include mental health, overweight/obesity and adolescent risk-taking behaviour.
The report ...shows, for example, that:
- mental health remains a neglected subject – only one quarter of countries are collecting data on the number of children treated by a mental health professional;
- half of countries do not regulate the marketing of food to children, despite the fact that childhood obesity rates are high across the Region and physical activity rates are low;
- almost half of countries have no policy that affects the availability of unhealthy foods at school;
- 2 in 5 girls and 1 in 3 boys who are having sex do not protect themselves; and
one third of countries do not offer legal access to contraception without parental consent for those under 18 years of age.
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Developmental disabilities are common. Yet, children with developmental disabilities have been neglected in health systems planning and policy provisions for health and continue to experience stigmatization, institutionalization, barriers to access health care and inequalities in health and educatio...n outcomes.
Using findings from research and practice and guided by the tenets of international human rights conventions, this WHO-UNICEF Global Report on children with developmental disabilities provides principles and approaches to intentionally include the needs and aspirations of children and young people with developmental disabilities in policy, programming and public health monitoring. It makes the case for greater accountability and proposes 10 priority actions to accelerate changes towards inclusive environments and responsive multisectoral care systems for children with developmental disabilities.
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The Atlas of health and climate is a product of this unique collaboration between the meteorological and public health communities. It provides sound scientific information on the connections between weather and climate and major health challenges. These range from diseases of poverty to emergencies... arising from extreme weather events and disease outbreaks. They also include environmental degradation, the increasing prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and the universal trend of demographic ageing.
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- The Role of Plant Nutrition in Supporting Food Security
- Micronutrient Malnutrition: Causes, Prevalence, Consequences and Interventions
- Fertilizer Application and Nutraceutical Content in
Health-Functional Foods
- Plant Nutrition and Health Risks Associated with Plant Diseases
- Human Heal...th Issues Associated with Nutrient Use in Organic
and Conventional Crop Production
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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has launched a new Compendium of forgotten foods in Africa which is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive collection of 100 African forgotten food crops.
Also referred to as neglected, underutilized or orphan crops, these species offer valua...ble benefits, including nutrition and diet diversification, while supporting resilient, climate-smart agriculture but they are at risk of being lost as foods such as maize, rice and wheat dominate African diets.
The compendium list includes details on each crop's botanical classification, agroecological suitability, agronomic requirements, traditional and medicinal uses, value-added prospects and nutritional content. Among the entries are: African locust beans, African nightshade, baobab, Bambara nut, bush mango, cassava, fonio, marula, moringa, teff and tigernut.
Produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)'s Regional Office for Africa with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the Compendium is a direct response to the UN Food Systems Summit and the Call for Collective Action in the Global Manifesto on Forgotten Foods.
Embracing both agricultural heritage and innovation can transform agrifood systems across Africa. By cataloguing these forgotten or underutilized crops, traditional knowledge is being honoured in the push to unlock the potential for better nutrition, sustainable agriculture, and resilience against the climate crisis.
In a joint foreword to the publication, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa Abebe Haile-Gabriel and FARA Executive Director Aggrey Agumya urged the mainstreaming of forgotten foods into African agrifood systems.
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Mental disorders impose an enormous burden on society, accounting for almost one in three years lived with disability globally. •In addition to their health impact, mental disorders cause a significant economic burden due to lost economic output and the link between mental disorders and costly, po...tentially fatal conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV, and obesity.•80% of the people likely to experience an episode of a mental disorder in their lifetime come from low- and middle-income countries.• Two of the most common forms of mental disorders, anxiety and depression, are prevalent, disabling, and respond to a range of treatments that are safe and effective. Yet, owing to stigma and inadequate funding, these disorders are not being treated in most primary care and community settings.
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In India, in response to the above and guided by our counterparts in the government of India, the UN agencies have developed the Novel Coronavirus Disease Joint Health Response Plan by UN Agencies and Partners, led by WHO-India, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, ...and with the support of other development partners. The UN in India is also preparing a COVID-19 Socio-economic Response and Recovery Plan, in partnership with the government.
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The manual is written for clinicians working at the district hospital (first-level referral care) who diagnose and manage sick adolescents and adults in resource constrained settings. It aims to support clinical reasoning, and to provide an effective clinical approach and protocols for the managemen...t of common and serious or potentially life-threatening conditions at district hospitals. The target audience thus includes doctors, clinical officers, health officers, and senior nurse practitioners. It has been designed to be applicable in both high and low HIV prevalence settings.
Volume 2 provides a symptom-based approach to clinical care for acute and subacute conditions (including mental health). It provides short summaries of the management of diseases that affect multiple systems of the body, focusing on communicable diseases. It also includes the chronic or long-term management of HIV, TB, alcohol, and substance use disorders.
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The paper sets out the specific communication challenge posed by Ebola and why it was so difficult to get to grips with this in the early months of the outbreak. It thendocuments when the health communication response became more useful and explores what that tells us about effective media and commu...nication. Finally, it offers recommendations to ensure that media and communication are used to their full potential during other disease outbreaks and humanitarian crisis
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An approach to emergency situations. Relief workers face rapidly changing and complex environments, new disease patterns, enormous humanitarian needs and relatively limited resources. The authors of this book use their experience in the area to produce an operational manual of the issues involved in... refugee health programs. This book is aimed at professionals involved in public health assistance to refugees and displaced persons. It deals with a variety of specific refugee health issues at the decisional level, and discusses the priorities of intervention during the different phases of a refugee crisis, from emergency to repatriation.
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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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