Viral hepatitis is defined as inflammation of the liver cells due to viral infection. The burden of liver disease in South Africa is mostly underestimated as viral hepatitis, in particular chronic infection, is a silent and neglected cause of morbidity and mortality. However, the burden of disease i...s likely substantial given the prevalence of chronic viral hepatitis. This burden is further compounded by the lack of screening and access to care and treatment as well as inadequate disease surveillance, human and financial resources.
The National Guidelines for the Management of Viral Hepatitis were developed, with the purpose to:
inform healthcare workers in the public and private sectors about the disease, its epidemiology in South Africa and current methods of diagnosis and therapy
strengthen the healthcare response to viral hepatitis
empower communicable diseases workers and stakeholders to make informed decisions regarding appropriate and cost effective interventions
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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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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is described as a situation when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites
change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder or impossible to treat,
and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.1 AMR in recent years has... become
a global priority in public health due to its widespread consequences and increasing occurrence from
time to time. AMR has a formidable impact where the existing antibiotics and other antimicrobial
medicines become ineffective, and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat.
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Peru celebrates 200 years of independence in 2021. Over this period of independent life, and despite the turbulent socio-political scenarios, from internal armed conflict to economic crisis to political instability over the last 40 years, Peru has experienced major changes on its epidemiological and... population health profile. Major advancements in maternal and child health as well as in communicable diseases have been achieved in recent decades, and today
Peru faces an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases including mental health conditions. In terms of the configuration of the public health system, Peru has also strived to secure country-wide optimal health care, struggling in particular to improve primary health care and intercultural services.
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During the pandemic, Brazil has provided its citizens with support in the areas of long-term care and disability, the labor market, social assistance, education, and pensions. This report focuses on two social policy areas, health-care and family benefits (including labor policies), as these were th...e most crucial social policies implemented in Brazil during the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of the resources allocated and the magnitude of social impact. Brazil’s relatively generous social policies were uncoordinated with public health interventions, which contributed to poor compliance with these public health interventions. This suggests that social policy initiatives alone are insufficient in mitigating the social consequences of the pandemic. They need to be accompanied by and coordinated with public health measures, including regulations on testing, social distancing and mask wearing.
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L'objectif de cette publication est de fournir une approche pratique et progressive pour la mise en œuvre des plans d'action nationaux sur la RAM dans le secteur de la santé humaine ; et de fournir un processus et une compilation des outils existants de l'OMS pour prioriser, chiffrer, mettre en œ...uvre, suivre et évaluer les activités des plans d'action nationaux. Le public cible de cette publication est constitué des parties prenantes nationales/subnationales travaillant sur la RAM dans le secteur de la santé humaine. Il s'agit notamment des autorités sanitaires nationales, des groupes nationaux de coordination multisectorielle, des experts techniques de haut niveau et des décideurs impliqués dans la mise en œuvre des activités liées à la RAM à tous les niveaux du système de santé, ainsi que des partenaires de mise en œuvre afin d'accélérer la mise en œuvre, le suivi et l'évaluation durables des plans d'action nationaux sur la RAM.
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The results of the report clearly show that in 2020, a year dominated by the emergence of COVID-19 and its associated health and economic crises, governments around the world rose to the challenge. Sharp increases in government spending on health at all country income levels underpinned the rise in ...health spending to a new high of US $9 trillion (approximately 11% of global GDP). Government health spending generally increased and offset declines in out-of-pocket spending. Importantly, the rise in government health spending was part of a much broader fiscal response to the pandemic. In high income and upper-middle income countries social protection spending also increased sharply in as governments attempted to cushion populations from the economic impacts of COVID-19. In contrast to health and social protection, growth in education spending was relatively subdued. Countries face the further challenge of sustaining increased public spending on health and other social sectors in the face of deteriorating macroeconomic conditions and rising debt servicing. This also includes the challenge of sustaining external support for low income countries, which is essential for reducing ensuring poverty, ensuring access to health services and strengthening pandemic preparedness.
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On November 9, the Russian military announced a full retreat of all their forces from the right bank of Dnipro River; by November 11, 41 settlements, including Kherson city, were de-occupied by Ukrainian forces. Civilians who live in these areas have endured months of combat and occupation. Services... have been interrupted or severely disrupted due to damage or destruction of facilities and infrastructure through combat actions, looting of the majority of the valuable assets by the retreating Russian troops, and dispersion of the people rendering said services.
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A qualitative assessment of knowledge gaps about female genital schistosomiasis among communities living in Schistosoma haematobium endemic districts of Zanzibar and Northwestern Tanzania.
PloS Neglected Tropical Diseases September 30, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009789
Schistosoma... haematobium causes urogenital schistosomiasis and is widely distributed in Tanzania. In girls and women, the parasite can cause Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS), a gynecological manifestation of schistosomiasis that is highly neglected and overlooked by public health professionals and policy makers. This study explored community members’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions (KAP) on and health seeking behavior for FGS.
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Communicable diseases are a major cause of suffering, disability and death in the world. The World Health
Organization’s Programme on Communicable Diseases provides technical guidance and support to national governments to organize and implement programmes aimed at setting up or strengthening ong...oing control of common diseases, reducing transmission, mortality, morbidity and human suffering, and gradually eliminating these diseases so that they cease to be a public health problem. In some cases, the aim may also be to eradicate selected communicable diseases
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The development of this target product profile (TPP) was led by the WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) following standard WHO guidance for TPP development. In order to identify and prioritize diagnostic needs, a WHO NTD Diagnostics Technical Advisory Group (DTAG) was form...ed, and different subgroups were created to advise on specific NTDs, including a subgroup working on the human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) diagnostic innovation needs. This group of independent experts included leading scientists, public health officials and endemic-country end-user representatives. Standard WHO Declaration of Interest procedures were followed. A landscape analysis of the available products and of the development pipeline was conducted, and the salient areas with unmet needs were identified.
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This handbook is intended primarily for front-line health care providers who are likely to see children (among other clients) in their day-to-day practice. These may include general practitioners, nurses, midwives, gynaecologists,
paediatricians, mental health professionals, first responders and st...aff in emergency care.
Other professionals who may find it useful include social workers, those working in social welfare institutions, providers of psychosocial support, and those working in child care facilities and the education system.
Further, the content will benefit the work of policy-makers and managers to enable and support provision of clinical care to children experiencing, or who have experienced, child maltreatment.
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This technical report presents the epidemiology of human and animal leishmaniases in the EU and its neighbouring countries and concludes that the disease remains widespread and underreported in many countries of southern Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East and that there is a need to improv...e leishmaniasis prevention and control based on robust surveillance in humans, animals, and vectors, and to increase public awareness following a one health approach.
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Nigeria reported its first case of COVID-19 at the end of February 2020 and subsequently experienced
four waves, with peaks in June 2020 and January, August and December 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic
severely impacted the economy of Nigeria and caused disruption of health services nationwide. During... the crisis, many Nigerians failed to access routine health
services due to decreased income and lockdown
restrictions. The most significant service disruptions
were in maternal and newborn health, vaccination,
sick childcare, family planning and noncommunicable
disease treatment services (1). Pregnant women
were anxious about contracting COVID-19 during
2020, and as a result, many avoided attending health
facilities for antenatal (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC).
Disruptions in the medical supply chain and diversion
of resources to COVID-19 management impacted on
essential health services. Health workers were often
unable to go to work because of transport disruptions
or illness
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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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To enhance health co-benefits across urban policies which tackle air pollution and climate change, WHO, in cooperation with various international, national, and local partners, implemented the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) pilot project in Accra, Ghana. The Initiative prompted the health sector to u...se its influential position to demonstrate to decision-makers and the public the full range of health, environmental and economic benefits that can be achieved from implementing local emission reduction and energy access policies and strategies. Policy tracking, although not always considered, is a fundamental component of this procedure. It assesses the planning, implementation and progress of a policy to refine or adjust policies with the final objective of increasing the likelihood of the policy being successful. This report is an outcome of the last component of the UHI model process, Policy tracking and monitoring outcomes. The report proposes a framework for tracking urban health policies, with a special focus on the impacts of air quality and energy access on human health and well-being in African countries, giving some examples from the pilot project in Accra. The report also provides resources to survey air quality in cities and other tools to assess public health and the environmental impacts of urban policies and monitor or track their effects.
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The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused a deterioration in the level of access to health-care services and medicines in the country, particularly for people living in regions close to the front line and areas that are not partially or fully controlled by the Government of Ukraine, and for peop...le who have been internally displaced. Cost and time constraints involved in getting to and from health facilities, as well as limited transportation options were the main barriers to accessing essential health-care services. At the same time, the findings show that the country’s health system remains resilient and that overall access to health services is fairly high.This report is based on data collected through a quantitative cross-sectional survey of self-reported health needs of the general population in Ukraine. It presents results of the first round survey conducted in September 2022 and could help to address the specific health-care needs of the population groups concerned.
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Traditional food markets play important economic, cultural, and social role and are sources of livelihood for millions of people in urban and rural areas. The manual Five keys for safer traditional food markets: risk mitigation in traditional food markets in the Asia-Pacific Region aims to support a...nd guide local authorities, market community, and consumers to transform these markets into safer and healthier places through practical risk mitigation measures and community engagement strategies. The manual provides guidance on the implementation of five keys to promote public health and safety, particularly, in the context of food safety, zoonoses diseases, and infectious respiratory diseases.
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To assess national-level responses to NCDs, WHO has implemented NCD country capacity surveys periodically since 2001. This report is the latest in that series. Since the first survey round, the NCD Country Capacity Survey (NCD CCS) has been conducted a further seven times, most recently in 2021. In ...the survey, completed by the NCD focal point within each country’s ministry of health or similar agency, countries are asked to report on the following topics relating to NCDs: (i) public health infrastructure, partnerships and multisectoral collaboration; (ii) policies, strategies and action plans; (iii) health information systems and surveillance; (iv) health system capacity for detection, treatment and care; and, added for 2021, (v) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on NCD-related resources and activities. The questionnaire is web-based and requires supporting documentation wherever possible. In the 2021 round, data were collected from May onwards, with the last survey responses arriving in September. Validation was carried out by WHO regional offices and WHO headquarters. Country responses to previous rounds of the survey were incorporated into the analysis to assess progress since 2010. Although all 194 Member States responded to the survey, data comparisons were restricted to the 160 countries that had responded to all rounds of the survey since 2010.
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This policy brief describes key HIV viral load thresholds and the available viral load testing approaches for monitoring how well antiretroviral therapy is working for people living with HIV. It provides clarification for and elaborates upon the current treatment monitoring algorithm from the Consol...idated guidelines on HIV prevention, testing, treatment, service delivery and monitoring: recommendations for a public health approach.
This information can help people living with HIV to live healthy lives, ensure that HIV is not transmitted to other people and support policy-makers in determining the optimal allocation of resources for viral load testing and communicating the results.
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