WHO's Health in the Green Economy sector briefings examine the health impacts of climate change mitigation strategies considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in their Fourth Assessment Report.
In 2015, 5.9 million children under age five died (1). The major causes of child deaths globally are pneumonia, prematurity, intrapartum-related complications, neonatal sepsis, congenital anomalies, diarrhoea, injuries and malaria (2). Most of these diseases and conditions are at least partially cau...sed by the environment. It was estimated in 2012 that 26% of childhood deaths and 25% of the total disease burden in children under five could be prevented through the reduction of environmental risks such as air pollution, unsafe water, sanitation and inadequate hygiene or chemicals.
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Objective: To review the effectiveness of antibiotic stewardship interventions in hospitals in low- and middle-income countries.
The global burden of disease associated with air pollution exposure exacts a massive toll on human health worldwide: exposure to air pollution is estimated to cause millions of deaths and lost years of healthy life annually. The burden of disease attributable to air pollution is now estimated to be ...on a par with other major global health risks such as unhealthy diet and tobacco smoking, and air pollution is now recognized as the single biggest environmental threat to human health.
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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.
The WHO Global strategy on human resources for health: workforce 2030 encourages development partners and global health initiatives to leverage their support to health systems in countries to sustainably strengthen the health workforce. To assess the impact of these investments, a methodology was de...veloped and pilot tested by WHO.
The impact assessment tool (consisting of an MS Excel calculator with two subsets) supports users to:
• assess and quantify the health impact of HRH investments made in the context of HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria programmes through their modelled effect on health service coverage of these three diseases; and
• provide aggregate indicative estimates of the range of health workers required to attain high coverage of selected health services.
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The report reveals that good IPC programmes can reduce health care infections by 70 %. oday, out of every 100 patients in acute-care hospitals, seven patients in high-income countries and 15 patients in low- and middle-income countries will acquire at least one health care-associated infection (HAI)... during their hospital stay. On average, 1 in every 10 affected patients will die from their HAI.
People in intensive care and newborns are particularly at risk. And the report reveals that approximately one in four hospital-treated sepsis cases and almost half of all cases of sepsis with organ dysfunction treated in adult intensive-care units are health care-associated.
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This report has been prepared in response to informal requests by SIDS Member States and territories for WHO assistance in confronting the stark and dire situation which climate change has created in their countries and the impact it is having on their peoples
Human activities are driving fundamental changes to the biosphere and disrupting many of our planet’s natural systems. There is increasing scientific evidence that the unfolding climate crisis, global pollution, unprecedented levels of biodiversity loss, and pervasive changes in land use and cover... threaten nearly every dimension of human health and wellbeing
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Self-care interventions are among the most promising and exciting new approaches to improve health and well-being, both from a health systems perspective and for people who use these interventions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) uses the following working definition of self-care: Self-care i...s the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker. The scope of self-care as described in this definition includes health promotion; disease prevention and control; self-medication; providing care to dependent persons; seeking hospital/specialist/primary care if necessary; and rehabilitation, including palliative care. It includes a range of self-care modes and approaches. While this is a broad definition that includes many activities, it is important for health policy to recognize the importance of self-care, especially where it intersects with health systems and health professionals.
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A global shortage of an estimated 18 million health workers is anticipated by 2030, a record 130 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and there is the global threat of pandemics such as COVID-19. At least 400 million people worldwide lack access to the most essential health service...s, and every year 100 million people are plunged into poverty because they have to pay for healthcare out of their own pockets. There is, therefore, an urgent need to find innovative strategies that go beyond the conventional health-sector response.
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The mhGAP community toolkit: field test version is an integral part of WHO's Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), and aims at scaling up services for people with mental health conditions to achieve universal health coverage.
The toolkit provides guidance for programme managers on how to i...dentify local mental health needs and tailor community services to match these needs. It offers practical information and necessary tools for community providers to promote mental health, prevent mental health conditions and expand access to mental health services.
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Despite the continuing war in Ukraine, the Government is preparing for the country’s recovery and reconstruction. Given the magnitude of the attacks on the health infrastructure and consequent disruption to health system functioning, reconstruction of the health system is integral to the country...s recovery. The immediate priorities are to restore essential services, respond to new physical and mental health needs, protect public health, and provide a secure and attractive environment for the return of both health professionals and the general population. This policy note identifies strategic directions for post-war health system recovery in the short and longer terms, while sustaining essential health services during the ongoing invasion
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Fact Sheet Global Atlas of medical devices
This document sets out, therefore, to explain the socioeconomic value of investing in the fight against NTDs and highlights priorities for global investment attention. Our work was guided by the need not only for
additional funding and funders but also for the need to understand the current funding... climate, in which value for money and the efficient use of resources to fill the most critical of gaps are more relevant than ever.
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This policy brief aims to provide a review of the current progress on implementing the Malawi national action plan on AMR, identifies critical gaps, and highlights findings to accelerate further progress in the human health sector. The target audience includes all those concerned with implementing a...ctions to combat antimicrobial resistance in Malawi.
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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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To improve the quality of care during labour and childbirth, facilitate effective implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations: Intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience, published in 2018, and promote a shift towards improving the experience of childbirth, WHO d...eveloped the WHO Labour Care Guide (LCG) and an accompanying WHO labour care guide: user's manual. The WHO LCG is a tool to facilitate implementation of quality, evidence-based, woman-centred care for a positive childbirth experience within the context of a broader, rights-based approach.
The goal of this policy brief is to provide maternal and newborn health stakeholders and decision-makers with an overview of the WHO LCG and its guiding principles, key advantages of making the shift from the WHO partograph to the WHO LCG, and what is required to ensure an enabling environment that will facilitate a sustainable introduction of the WHO LCG.
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This collection of case studies on risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) from 18 different country/area level public health partners in the WHO European Region provides evidence of numerous results achieved and lessons learned since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. RCCE has not... traditionally been an area where evidence of challenges and solutions was documented. With this compendium, we wanted to collect and share this evidence to support decision-making in this area of work.
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