The Global vector control response 2017–2030 (GVCR) provides a new strategy to strengthen vector control worldwide through increased capacity, improved surveillance, better coordination and integrated action across sectors and diseases.
In May 2017, the World Health Assembly adopted resolutio...n WHA 70.16, which calls on Member States to develop or adapt national vector control strategies and operational plans to align with this strategy.
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This document focuses on making recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of Chagas disease, an infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan agent of a systemic parasitic disease. Methodology: These clinical practice guidelines were prepared following the WHO handbook for guideline dev...elopment (5). A multidisciplinary development group was formed, comprised of thematic experts, epidemiologists, methodologists, and users. Since there were no existing guidelines that could be adapted, the guidelines were developed from scratch.
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These Guidelines on prudent use of antimicrobials in human health are based on a technical report prepared by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) with input from EU Member States experts and stakeholders, which should be referred to for details of the methodology used in cr...eating the guidelines as well as for additional references
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This document provides additional guidance for the responsible and prudent use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals, and should be read in conjunction with the Recommended International Code of Practice for Control of the Use of Veterinary Drugs CAC/RCP 38-1993. Its obj...ectives are to minimize the potential adverse impact on public health resulting from the use of antimicrobial agents in food-producing animals, in particular the development of antimicrobial resistance. It is also important to provide for the safe and effective use of veterinary antimicrobial drugs in veterinary medicine by maintaining their efficacy. This document defines the respective responsibilities of authorities and groups involved in the authorization, production, control, distribution and use of veterinary antimicrobials such as the national regulatory authorities, the veterinary pharmaceutical industry, veterinarians, distributors and producers of food-producing animals.
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A guide for practical implementation in adult and pediatric emergency department and urgent care settings
Trachoma is an eye infection that for thousands of years caused many people to go blind across all continents. As the result of development and targeted interventions, trachoma is now limited to an estimated 57 countries, often affecting the poorest
populations of the world. Today, more than 2 mill...ion people are either blind or suffer from a very painful disability as the result of trachoma.
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The Practical manual on laboratory strengthening, 2022 update provides practical guidance on implementation of WHO recommendations and best practices for TB laboratory strengthening. It is an updated version of the GLI Practical Guide to Laboratory Strengthening published in 2017 and provides the la...test practical guidance on use of newly recommended diagnostics as well as guidance in key technical areas, including quality assurance and quality management systems, specimen collection and registration, procurement and supply-chain management, diagnostic connectivity, biosafety, data management, human resources, strategic planning, and model algorithms. The key changes are:
inclusion of recent or updated WHO recommendations for tests to diagnose TB and detect drug resistance;
alignment with the latest WHO critical concentrations for phenotypic drug-susceptibility testing (DST) and the new definitions of pre-XDR-TB and XDR-TB;
updated information on building quality-assured TB testing and management capacity using the Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation (SLIPTA) approach (Score-TB package1);
updated information on assessing, analysing and optimising TB diagnostic networks; and
updated information on the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect mutations associated with drug resistance for surveillance purposes.
The document also provides references to resources and tools relevant for work on laboratory strengthening.
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This strategy defines the World Health Organization (WHO) vision and framework for supporting Member States to accelerate the development, implementation and monitoring of their National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) from 2022 to 2026. The National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) ...are critical to ensure national capacities in health emergency prevention, preparedness, response and recovery are planned, built, strengthened and sustained in order to achieve national, regional and global health security and therefore keep the world safe, serve the vulnerable and promote health.
The strategy promotes, where existing, the use of existing national action plans for health security and not necessary the creation of an additional unique plan. This will avoid duplication and ensure maximum efficiency in domestic resourcing and operationalization efficiency while harnessing external buy-in to support national health priorities.
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This fourth annual report monitors global progress towards the 2023 target for global elimination of industrially produced trans-fatty acids (TFA), highlighting achievements during the past year (October 2021 – September 2022). Countries are responding to the World Health Organization (WHO) call t...o action by putting into place best-practice TFA policies. Mandatory TFA policies are currently in effect for 3.4 billion people in 60 countries (43% of the world population); of these, 43 countries have best-practice policies in effect, covering 2.8 billion people (36% of the world population).
Over the past year, several additional countries took action to eliminate industrially produced TFA: best-practice policies came into effect in India in January 2022, Uruguay in May 2022 and Oman in July 2022. Best-practice policies were passed in Bangladesh in November 2021 (to come into effect in December 2022) and in Ukraine in September 2020 (to come into effect in October 2023), best-practice TFA policies are projected to pass soon in Mexico, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
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WHO's 2020 milestones for Chagas disease include having all endemic Latin American countries certified with no intradomiciliary Trypanosoma cruzi transmission, and infected patients under care. Evaluating the variation in historical exposure to infection is crucial for assessing progress and for und...erstanding the priorities to achieve these milestones.
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Chagas is a complex, multidimensional phenomenon in which political, economic, environmental, biomedical, epidemiological, psychological, and sociocultural factors intersect. Nonetheless, the hegemonic conceptualisation has long envisioned Chagas as primarily a biomedical question, while ignoring or... downplaying the other dimensions, and this limited view has reinforced the disease’s long neglect. Integrating the multiple dimensions of the problem into a coherent approach adapted to field realities and needs represents an immense challenge, but the payoff is more effective and sustainable experiences, with higher social awareness, increased case detection and follow-up, improved adherence to care, and integrated participation of various actors from multiple action levels. Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) initiatives have great potential for impact in the implementation of multidimensional programs of prevention and control successfully customised to the diverse and complex contexts where Chagas disease persists.
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he Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) would like to thank the group that developed these guidelines for the tremendous work, quick response, and commitment they demonstrated in this process. We would like to especially recognize the following doctors: Roberto Chuit, Jaime Altcheh, Alejandro Luq...uetti, Faustino Torrico, and Juan Carlos Villar, for sharing their extensive expertise on the subject; Ariel Izcovich, Juan Criniti, Ana Marcela Torres, and Ludovic Reveiz, for methodological coordination; and Roberto Salvatella and Luis Castellanos for promoting this initiative.
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These guidelines have been compiled for education ministries or other educational leaders (including development partners, non-governmental or private organizations working with schools or directly with caregivers) who want to adapt and adopt resources to support the marginalized caregivers of child...ren with disabilities.
The guidance presented in this document was developed by a team of international and national experts following a proof-of-concept pilot4 of the resources in two countries. The work was carried out between February 2021 and January 2022. The pilots demonstrated that principles and activities described in the resources could be carried out, in practical terms, in line with existing government programmes supporting the implementation of disability-inclusive education.
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Issue Brief 31: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can occur when viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi change over time. There is no longer a response to medicines, and the infection treatment gets really difficult which increases the risk of a disesase spread, which can lead to severe health problems.... AMR is an increasing threat to global public health worldwide that requires cross-sectional and cross-disciplinary action. It is present in every country and is spurred by several human-made factors, including over- and/or inadequate use of antibiotics, poor hygiene and infection prevention control, and excessive usage of antibiotics outside the health care sector e.g. in life stock production.
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The equity focus set out by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development demands new ways to extend services to unserved populations. Successful water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and neglected tropical disease (NTD) partnerships have the potential to help achieve this ambition. However, working to...gether in new ways requires new ways of thinking
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Chagas disease (CD) is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, and it is endemic in Central, South America, Mexico and the
South of the United States. It is an important cause of early mortality and morbidity, and it is associated with poverty and stigma. A third of
the cases evolve into chronic... cardiomyopathy and gastrointestinal disease. The infection is transmitted vertically and by blood/organ
donation and can reactivate with immunosuppression. Case identification requires awareness and screening programmes targeting the
population at risk (women in reproductive age, donors, immunocompromised patients). Treatment with benznidazole or nifurtimox is most
effective in the acute phase and prevents progression to chronic phase when given to children. Treating women antenatally reduces but does
not eliminate vertical transmission. Treatment is poorly tolerated, contraindicated during pregnancy, and has little effect modifying the
disease in the chronic phase. Screening is easily performed with serology. Migration has brought the disease outside of the endemic
countries, where the transmission continues vertically and via blood and tissue/organ donations. There are more than 32 million migrants
from Latin America living in non-endemic countries. However, the infection is massively underdiagnosed in this setting due to the lack of
awareness by patients, health authorities and professionals. Blood and tissue donation screening policies have significantly reduced
transmission in endemic countries but are not universally established in the non-endemic setting. Antenatal screening is not commonly
done. Other challenges include difficulties accessing and retaining patients in the healthcare system and lack of specific funding for the
interventions. Any strategy must be accompanied by education and awareness campaigns directed to patients, professionals and policy
makers. The involvement of patients and their communities is central and key for success and must be sought early and actively. This review
proposes strategies to address challenges faced by non-endemic countries
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In the last decade, Timor-Leste has made remarkable progress in strengthening its health system and improving the health status of its population. This has resulted in an increased life expectancy, and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals such as a reduction in infant and under-five morta...lity, an improvement in maternal and child health outcomes, and an increase in immunization coverage. Further, the country has successfully eliminated infectious diseases such as polio, measles, and maternal and neonatal tetanus. There is full political commitment to reducing the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) by 80% and the number of deaths due to TB by 90% by 2030. The country has made great progress in the context of the pandemic, having established numerous quarantine facilities/isolation centres; trained health-care workers; streamlined the procurement and supply of medicines, consumables, personal protective equipment and other equipment; and strengthened the capacity in critical care across secondary and tertiary health care, to better respond to future pandemics and other disaster situations.
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Although the practice of communication is often called upon when intervening asn involgvingcommunties affected by NTD's, the disciplinary framewokr of healt communication research has been largely absent from NTD strategies. To illustrate how practices conceptualized and developed within the communi...cation field habe been applied in the context of NTD elimination, we conducted a scoping review focusing on two diseases currently targeted for elimination by the WHO: lymphatic filariasis and Chagas disease
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Today, patient harm due to unsafe care is a large and growing global public health challenge and is one of the
leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Most of this patient harm is avoidable. As countries strive to
achieve universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals, t...he beneficial effects of improved
access to health services can be undermined by unsafe care. Patient safety incidents can cause death and
disability, and suffering for victims and their families. The financial and economic costs of safety lapses are high.
There is often reduced public confidence and trust in local health systems when such incidents are publicized.
Health workers involved in serious incidents involving death or serious harm to a patient can also suffer lasting
psychological harm and deep-seated feelings of guilt and self-criticism.
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This regional action plan provides a broad framework for the regional level to assist governments in accelerating the implementation of existing international, regional and national commitments on ending FGM. Formulating the plan has provided an opportunity for the region to identify broad prioritie...s, initiate strategic actions and determine responsibilities among different actors. It also ensures that anti-FGM campaign activities are seen not as standalone efforts but rather as an integral part of the African Union’s discussions, in line with the African Union initiative on eliminating FGM (Saleema Initiative)
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