The Lancet Volume 390, Issue 10110p2397-2409November 25, 2017.
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also called sleeping sickness, is a parasitic infection that almost invariably progresses to death, unless treatment is provided. HAT caused devastating epidemics during the 20th century. Thanks to ...sustained and coordinated efforts during the past 15 years the number of reported cases has fallen to a historic low. Fewer than 3,000 cases were reported in 2015, and the disease is targeted for elimination by the World Health Organization. Despite recent success, HAT still poses a heavy burden on the rural communities where this highly focal disease occurs, most notably in Central Africa. Since patients are also reported from non-endemic countries outside Africa, HAT should be considered in differential diagnosis for all travellers, tourists, migrants and expatriates who have visited or lived in endemic areas. In the absence of a vaccine, disease control relies on case detection and treatment, and vector control. Available drugs are sub-optimal, but ongoing clinical trials give hope for safer and simpler treatments.
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The Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia (FMOH), the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) and other government actors together with UN agencies (UNICEF, UNHCR, WHO and WFP) and nutrition development partners call for all parties involved in the response to emergencies in Ethiopia t...o provide appropriate, prompt support for the feeding and care of infants, young children and their mothers. This is a critical for supporting child survival, growth and development and preventing malnutrition, illness and death. This joint statement has been issued to help secure immediate, coordinated, multi- sectoral action on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) in emergencies.
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This is the sixth of our 11-paper supplement entitled “Community Health Workers at the Dawn of New Era”. Expectations of community health workers (CHWs) have expanded in recent years to encompass a wider array
of services to numerous subpopulations, engage communities to collaborate with and to... assist health systems in responding to complex and sometimes intensive threats. In this paper, we explore a set of key considerations for training of CHWs in response to their enhanced and changing roles and provide actionable recommendations based on
current evidence and case examples for health systems leaders and other stakeholders to utilize.
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The aim of the WHO QualityRights tool kit is to support countries in assessing and
improving the quality and human rights of their mental health and social care facilities.
The tool kit is based on an extensive international review by people with mental disabilities
and their organizations. It ha...s been pilot-tested in low-, middle- and high-income
countries and is designed to be applied in all of these resource settings.
In this tool kit, the term ‘people with mental disabilities’ can include those with mental,
neurological or intellectual impairments and those with substance use disorders.
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The Kenyan Health Sector has been playing a critical role in
providing health care services in response to the population
needs in line with the Kenya Health Policy, 2014-2030’s goal
of attaining the highest possible health standards in a manner
responsive to the population needs.
Lancet 2022; 399: 1155–200 Published Online March 15, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/
S0140-6736(21)02488-0
Safe water, sanitation and hygiene (collectively known as WASH) are crucial for human health and well-being. Yet, millions of people globally lack adequate WASH services and consequently suffer from or are exposed to a multitude of preventable illnesses.
This fourth WHO report on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) reviews the progress made towards achieving the Roadmap targets for 2020, noting the remaining challenges, then looks beyond 2020 to evaluate the changing global health and development landscape, considering the implications of integrating... these diseases into the broader 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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This Training module on malaria elimination has been developed by WHO to support health professionals in planning, managing, monitoring and evaluating malaria elimination programmes.
Supporting exercises: These files are necessary for participants to complete a number of exercises listed in the man...ual. Please go to the website: http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/atoz/9789241549424/en/
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Lymphatic filariasis (LF) infection if untreated results in fluid accumulation in the limbs or breasts (lymphedema) or genitalia (hydrocele) that is painful and causes great discomfort. Morbidity management and disability prevention (MMDP) strategies such as surgery for hydrocele, treatment of acute... attacks and management of lymphedema are necessary for the management of the advanced stages of LF. However, very few countries including Zambia, have adequate information on the health beliefs and health seeking behavior of communities living in endemic areas towards MMDP services for LF. This study sought to explore community and health provider perspectives towards MMDP services for LF in a highly endemic region, Luangwa District, Zambia, between February and April 2019.
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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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Primary health care offers a cost–effective route to achieving universal health coverage (UHC). However, primary health-care systems are weak in many low- and middle-income countries and often fail to provide comprehensive, people-centred, integrated care. We analysed the primar...y health-care systems in 20 low- and middle-income countries using a semi-grounded approach. Options for strengthening primary health-care systems were identified by thematic content analysis. We found that: (i)despite the growing burden of noncommunicable disease, many low- and middle-income countries lacked funds for preventive services; (ii)community health workers were often under-resourced, poorly supported and lacked training; (iii)out-of-pocket expenditure exceeded 40% of total health expenditure in half the countries studied, which affected equity; and (iv)health insurance schemes were hampered by the fragmentation of public and private systems, underfunding, corruption and poor engagement of informal workers. In 14 countries, the private sector was largely unregulated. Moreover, community engagement in primary health care was weak in countries where services were largely privatized. In some countries, decentralization led to the fragmentation of primary health care. Performance improved when financial incentives were linked to regulation and quality improvement, and community involvement was strong. Policy-making should be supported by adequate resources for primary health-care implementation and government spending on primary health care should be increased by at least 1% of gross domestic product. Devising equity-enhancing financing schemes and improving the accountability of primary health-care management is also needed. Support from primary health-care systems is critical for progress towards UHC in the decade to 2030.
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Regional situation analysis, practices, experiences, lessons learned and ways forward.