Following an overview of maternal and neonatal child health in Nepal and in the districts covered by the project, the briefing outlines the background to the Strengthening Approaches for Maximizing Maternal, Neonatal and Reproductive Health (SAMMAN) project. It then describes the key aspects of the ...two main project approaches: one focused on the community level, and the other on health systems
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HEARTS provides a set of locally adaptable tools for strengthening the
management of CVD in primary health care.
HEARTS is designed to enhance implementation of WHO PEN by providing:
• operational guidance on further integrating CVD management
• technical guidance on evaluating the impact of... CVD care on patient outcomes.
For countries not using WHO PEN, CVD management can still be integrated into
primary health care. The process of implementing HEARTS will vary, depending
on country context, and may require a significant reorienting and strengthening
of the health system. At some sites, existing CVD management services may be
reoriented toward a risk-based approach, while other sites may adopt a public
health approach, strengthening management of particular risk factors such as
hypertension. Whether or not introducing CVD management into primary care is a
new intervention, successful implementation will require engagement with national and local health planners, managers, service providers, and other stakeholders.
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The guide is presented in two parts:
Part 1. Principles of Operational Monitoring: Describes the key principles of operational monitoring, alongside the types of operational monitoring that may be performed and the information required within an OMP.
Part 2. Operational Monitorin...g Plan Development: Describes the stepwise development of an OMP for a water supply system, including the source, water treatment, intermediate storage, distribution and household. For illustration purposes, practical guidance is provided using a specimen water supply system considered to be representative of a conventional small- to medium-sized supply in a lower resource setting. This template may be used to develop system-specific OMPs for individual water supply systems.
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A guide to promote health systems strengthening to achieve universal health coverage.
Areas for action include: increasing prioritisation and awareness of dementia; reducing the risk of dementia; diagnosis, treatment and care; support for dementia carers; strengthening information systems for dementia; and research and innovation.
For the Fiscal Year 2015-2016, the Health Sector continued to implement actions meant to improve the availability, and access to quality healthcare. The following report highlights achievements registered by the health sector for the fiscal 2015-2016 in different health programs, as well as in the a...rea of health system strengthening.
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Policy Note #1: Myanmar Health Systems in Transition Policy Notes Series
The Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar is committed to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030. In practice, this means that over the next 15 years the aim is to progressively ensure that all peop...le in all parts of the country have access to the health-care services they need – both preventive and curative – without suffering financial hardship when paying for them.
This policy note is the first in a set of four. It provides an overview of the challenges to be overcome in making progress toward UHC and sets out recommendations for how they can be tackled. The other notes look in more detail at three specific issues: how UHC can improve equity, and how strengthening the township health system and expanding financial risk protection contribute to UHC.
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This handbook follows a comprehensive approach to health system strengthening at borders in order to support IHR national focal points and other national agencies in developing and implementing evidence-based action plans for IHR capacity development at ground crossings. The approach includes the mo...vement of travellers and baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, goods and postal parcels across ground crossings, as well as the interaction with adjacent border communities. Other factors can be considered, if needed, throughout the risk assessment.
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Health sector reforms not only require attention to specific components but also a supportive environment. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), there is still much to be done on ensuring that people receive prioritized healthcare services. Despite LIMCs spending an average of 6% of their GDP... on health, there have been minimal impacts compared to high-income countries. Health sector reform is a gradual process with complex systems; hence, the need for a vision and long-term strategies to realize the desired goals. In this chapter, we present our proposal to advance universal health coverage (UHC) in LMICs. Overall, our main aim is to provide strategies for achieving actual UHC and not aspirational UHC in LMICs by strengthening health systems, improving health insurance coverage and financial protection, and reducing disparities in healthcare coverage especially on prioritized health problems, and enhancing a primary care-oriented healthcare system.
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The frequency of infectious disease epidemics is increasing, and the role of the health sector in the management of epidemics is crucial in terms of response. In the context of infectious disease epidemics, the use of climate-informed early warning systems (EWS) has the potential to increase the eff...ectiveness of disease control by intervening before or at the beginning of the epidemic curve, instead of during the downward slope.
Currently, the initiation of interventions is heavily reliant on routine disease surveillance systems – data that often arrive too late for preventative response. However, forecasting of disease outbreaks using surveillance and weather information shows promising potential – there also remains further scope to examine seasonal climate forecasts. By combining these elements in new EWS based on computational models, it will be possible to improve both the timeliness and impact of disease control. The World Health Organization (WHO) is strengthening existing surveillance systems for infectious diseases to enable the development of more robust and timely EWS, which has resulted in the rapid development and innovation of EWS for disease outbreaks.
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The One Health approach can help achieve progress and promotes synergies on national and global priorities by generating synergies at the human-animal-environmental interface. While evidence is still scare, it is likely that the approach is highly cost-effective and improves effectiveness of core pu...blic health systems, through reducing morbidity, mortality, and economic costs of disease outbreaks. It also contributes to economic development through strengthening public health systems at the human-animal-environment interface protects health, agricultural production, and
ecosystem services
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The brief concludes that sustaining the continuity of EHS requires policies that ensure a whole-society and systems strengthening approach. This involves increased health care investment, community engagement, disease control regulations, and multisector approaches to improve resilience, EHS quality..., and equity.
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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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Breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide and the leading cause of cancer deaths among women, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. The Global Breast Cancer Initiative strives to reduce breast cancer mortality by 2.5 percent per year, which over a 20-year period can ...save 2.5 million lives. The purpose of this core technical package is to outline a pathway for incremental, sustainable improvements tailored to country-specific needs based on three key strategies and objectives: health promotion for early detection; timely diagnosis; and comprehensive breast cancer management. This document provides a common framework linking policy makers, stakeholders, the clinical community, program managers and civil society to evidence-based systematic approaches that can facilitate health systems strengthening and reduce inequities in women’s health throughout their life cycles
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Violence against women and girls is widespread in the Region of the Americas, resulting in enormous consequences for the health and wellbeing of women and girls, their families and communities. These costs are unacceptable and they can be prevented through evidence-based action, including the health... sector through its policies and protocols, as well as in collaboration with other sectors. This report remains the first of its kind and is a major milestone for the Region. It is specifically informed by the commitments of Member States in the regional Strategy and Plan of Action on Strengthening the Health System to Address Violence against Women. The report provides an analysis of efforts to advance the prevention of violence against women through health policies, clinical protocols, multisectoral plans and related approaches across the Americas. Attention to this topic is timely, as the COVID-19 pandemic has created new visibility for this area of work. This report offers critical information on efforts in the Region that can be learned from and used to build upon in the future to prevent and respond to violence against all women and girls everywhere.
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Background: Primary health care (PHC) is a driving force for advancing towards universal health coverage (UHC). PHC-oriented health systems bring enormous benefits but require substantial financial investments. Here, we aim to present measures for PHC investments and project the associated resource ...needs. Methods: This modelling study analysed data from 67 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Recognising the variation in PHC services among countries, we propose three measures for PHC, with different scope for included interventions and system strengthening. Measure 1 is centred on public health interventions and outpatient care; measure 2 adds general inpatient care; and measure 3 further adds cross-sectoral activities. Cost components included in each measure were based on the Declaration of Astana, informed by work delineating PHC within health accounts, and finalised through an expert and country validation meeting. We extracted the subset of PHC costs for each measure from WHO’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) price tag for the 67 LMICs, and projected the associated health impact. Estimates of financial resource need, health workforce, and outpatient visits are presented as PHC investment guide posts for LMICs.
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Jointly developed by WHO’s Regulatory System Strengthening, Regulation and Safety Unit and the Health Ethics & Governance Unit, it is intended to assist countries in evaluating their capacity to provide appropriate ethical oversight of health-related research. In addition to assisting in capacity-...building efforts, the tool is intended to promote policy convergence and best practices in research ethics oversight, to enhance public trust in health research, and to ensure that the rights and safety of humans involved in health-related research are adequately protected, both in ordinary times and during public health emergencies.
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The new Consolidated guidelines on person-centred HIV strategic information: strengthening routine data for impact 1 aim to help countries improve how routine patient data are collected, analysed and used. They propose a minimum dataset that captures key events in an individual’s interaction with ...the health system, put forward priority indicators for monitoring a person’s health, and make key recommendations for data systems and data use.
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This resource presents a comprehensive framework designed to enhance and streamline telemedicine services within health-care systems. It addresses the critical need for accessible and effective telemedicine solutions, especially in the face of global health challenges and the evolving demands on hea...lth-care infrastructures. It outlines a multidimensional strategy that includes an assessment of the current health-care ecosystem, strategic visioning for telemedicine integration, organizational change management, development of telemedicine services, and continuous monitoring, evaluation, and optimization. It emphasizes the importance of considering the unique needs of diverse populations and ensuring equitable access to telemedicine technologies. By leveraging global best practices and empirical evidence, the document aims to guide stakeholders through the lifecycle of telemedicine service implementation—from conceptualization to maturity. Intended for health-care decision-makers, policy-makers, and telemedicine practitioners, the framework supports the development of high-quality telemedicine services at various levels of the health system. It facilitates a collaborative approach, encouraging alignment and coordination among different stakeholders to achieve a common goal: building a resilient, patient-centred, and technologically advanced health-care system.
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