This third booklet of the World Drug Report 2022 has a dual focus: opioids and cannabis.
The first chapter of the booklet provides an overview of opioids as a group of substances and their patterns of non-medical use at the global level. It also reviews the latest trends in the global supply of opi...ates and synthetic opioids and the availability of pharmaceutical opioids for medical consumption. Issues specific to regional patterns and trends in opioid markets are also analysed, including the opioid crisis in North America and in Africa and the Middle East. The chapter also includes a discussion of the potential impact, in the region and worldwide, of changes in opium poppy cultivation and opium production in Afghanistan. reireg
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An IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems
As more frequent droughts and floods threaten the global food supply, humans are increasing their demands on water and land,... The New York Times reports.
Data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report:
• 500 million people are living in areas that are becoming desert.
• Soil is depleted at 10X-100X the rate it’s being formed.
• More than 10% of the global population is undernourished.
Major threats include the risk of “multi-breadbasket failure”—simultaneous food crises on several continents—and migration triggered by food shortages.
Good News/Bad News: Catastrophe can be avoided, but it would require massive changes to agriculture, food systems and behavior.
A Key Action: Eat less meat. Cattle production is driving deforestation, consuming huge amounts of water, generating methane and causing other impacts, notes Nature.
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Constituting the fourth part of the World Drug Report 2022, this booklet focuses on the market dynamics of various stimulants – cocaine, amphetamines and “ecstasy” – and of NPS.
The first chapter contains an analysis of the global market for cocaine, starting with a review of cocaine supply..., including trends in the cultivation of coca bush and in the manufacture of and trafficking in cocaine at the global level and in the various regions. An analysis of different eradication strategies is included, as well as of the role of women in the cocaine supply chain. The chapter also presents the latest estimates of and trends in cocaine use, including a brief introduction to the various cocaine consumer products. Finally, it reviews the trends in the use of cocaine and the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in different regions
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Cholera is a diarrhoeal disease that is usually contracted when drinking water contaminated with Vibrio cholerae bacteria. The fight against this disease requires a multidisciplinary approach that combines a water, hygiene and sanitation (WaSH) response with a monitoring system, improved water suppl...y and quality, sanitation and hygiene, and a health response with the treatment of the disease itself.
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This water safety plan (WSP) template was developed to support the integration of climate risks into the WSP approach in rural areas of the United Rep. of Tanzania. Examples are presented on how to complete the template, and the information should be considered and customized to the local context....r>
This resource was developed as part of the Department for International Development (DFID, UK)-funded project on “Building adaptation to climate change in health in least developed countries through resilient WASH” which was implemented from 2013-2018 in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal and Tanzania.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) and United NationsHuman Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) joint globalreport, Hidden cities: unmasking and overcoming healthinequities in urban settings, exposes the extent to whichcertain city dwellers suffer disproportionately from a wide range of diseases and ...health problems. This report provides information and tools to helpgovernments and local leaders reduce health inequities in their cities. The objective of the report is not tocompare rural and urban health inequities. Urban healthinequities need to be addressed specifically for they aredifferent in their magnitude and in their distribution.
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A nationwide survey of a representative sample of health facilities across public health services in all states and regions of Myanmar has been undertaken since 2014 to track Reproductive Health Commodity Security (RHCS) indicators, such as the availability of reproductive health (RH) commodities; t...he supply chain (including cold chain systems); staff training and supervision; availability of guidelines and protocols; information and communication technologies; methods of waste disposal; and user fees. The surveys have also obtained the views of clients about the quality and cost of services through exit interviews. This is the third report for Myanmar, which is an assessment of the situation in 2016.
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A cross-sectional descriptive study design covering all states and regions was undertaken to:
1) To assess availability, utilization and supply chain management system for RH commodities at different levels of health facilities,
2) To assess quality of RH services with emphasis on family ...planning in terms of training, supervision, use of guidelines and ICT, and
3) To determine clients’ accessibility to RH services provided at different level of facilities.
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The development of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in schools guidelines for TimorLeste is a landmark moment in our quest to make every school child-friendly – a place where every child can learn, play and grow with pride and dignity. The overarching goal is to improve health, boost education... achievement and promote gender equity in our schools.
The guidelines set clear levels of acceptable standards for water supply, provision of sanitation facilities and hygiene promotion in schools and provide a common framework and policy direction for all sub-sector actors. Therefore, all implementing agencies, managers, planners, architects, water and sanitation technicians, teaching staff, school directors, school boards, district WASH committees, local authorities and other relevant bodies should consult these guidelines, when making implementation plans.
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This second edition of the “living paper” contributes to the global knowledge on how countries are responding to the pandemic by documenting real-time actions in a key area of response – that is, social protection measures planned or implemented by governments.
For the purpose of this revie...w, we organized interventions by social assistance, social insurance and labor market programs. For the latter measures, we deliberately focused on supply-side programs (e.g., mostly wage subsidies and other activation programs). In most cases, data sources include official information published in government websites, while in many cases we reported information from global and national news outlets. In some cases, information was provided directly by country-based experts, while the full database was validated and integrated by regional and country social protection teams at the World Bank. Overall, findings should be considered preliminary and interpreted with caution.
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Many countries are taking strict measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 with lockdowns, curfews, and closure of public spaces and services. As a result of stress and uncertainty caused by these strict measures, women and girls are at even greater risk of violence at a time when their access to s...ervices is further reduced. With many people’s livelihoods and incomes significantly affected, together with movement restrictions, basic hygiene and menstruation items are unlikely to be prioritised.
10 April, 2020
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The recommendation in this document thus supersedes the previous WHO recommendation for the prevention of PPH as published in the 2012 guideline, WHO recommendations for the prevention and treatment of postpartum haemorrhage.
The WHO SAGE values framework for the allocation and prioritization of COVID-19 vaccination is intended to offer guidance on the prioritization of groups for vaccination when vaccine supply is limited. It provides a values foundation for the objectives of COVID-19 vaccination programmes and links t...hose to target groups for vaccination. This information is valuable to countries and globally while specific policies will be developed once vaccines become available.
This document it available in Arabic, Chinese and Russian
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Many African countries were amongst the most rapid to respond to the emerging threat of COVID-19, implementing large-scale interventions at very early stages of their epidemic. As demonstrated in this document using very simple models, this rapid mobilization and timeliness of implementing control m...easures is likely to be an important determinant of their success. Indeed, as these measures were relaxed, subsequent waves of disease have been observed in many countries including South Africa, Kenya, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where such waves have severely impacted the health system by straining the supply of oxygen and ICU beds and inflicting a heavy toll on healthcare workers, often necessitating the re-imposition of control measures.
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In the face of rapid increases in the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean, coupled with shortages of human and material resources, including medical equipment and gases, there is a need to redesign models of care in the Region to optimize available resources... and ensure that more patients receive the quantity and quality of oxygen they need. Oxygen is included in the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines and is used to care for patients at all levels of integrated health services networks. The efficacy of oxygen use in the treatment of patients with respiratory conditions caused by COVID-19 has been demonstrated, but there is great opportunity to improve the effectiveness of its use if it is used in a rational, sustainable, and safe way. Bearing in mind that the efficacy of a health technology is measured by its benefit under actual conditions of use, practical actions can be taken to improve the use of medical oxygen and avoid oxygen shortages. A drug is considered to be used rationally when patients receive it according to their clinical needs, in doses appropriate to their individual needs, for an appropriate period, and at a low cost to them and their community. By providing instruction on the rational use of oxygen and promoting it, negative repercussions can be avoided, such as loss of efficacy as a result of activities related to oxygen storage, distribution, and administration. Rational use of oxygen also involves controlling waste due to leaks in storage and distribution systems, use of gas at incorrect pressures, use of incorrectly adjusted flowmeters, and disconnections, among other problems. Another aspect to consider is the provision of adequate technical support for all oxygen production systems, in terms of maintenance and calibration, availability of electrical energy, and specific knowledge about these systems. For these reasons, a set of guidelines has been put together for the development of an efficient management system to deal with situations of oxygen scarcity, both now and in the future.
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During the COVID-19 health crisis, community pharmacists had an enhanced role in supporting health-care systems that were overburdened by managing seriously ill patients. This study was undertaken to determine the patterns of community supply of antiviral and antibacterial agents from community phar...macies during the COVID-19 pandemic in selected countries in eastern Europe and central Asia. Nine countries – Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, North Macedonia, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – participated in this cross-sectional study.
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The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated preexisting structural economic inequalities, and had a disproportionate impact on informal workers, especially on women and young people, who lost jobs and income. The situation was even more difficult for single-parent households led by women,... who also had to endure more housework and care tasks. As shown by various research studies, the asymmetric distribution of care tasks, taken up by women, is an inequality factor.
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Lymphatic filariasis is a neglected tropical disease that can cause permanent disability through disruption of the lymphatic system. This disease is caused by parasitic filarial worms that are transmitted by mosquitos. Mass drug administration (MDA) of antihelmintics is recommended by WHO to elimina...te lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. This study aims to produce the first geospatial estimates of the global prevalence of lymphatic filariasis infection over time, to quantify progress towards elimination, and to identify geographical variation in distribution of infection.
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Chagas disease is currently endemic and also predicted to be at increased transmission risk under future climate change scenarios. Similarly, an expansion of areas in the United States at increased risk for Chagas disease transmission is also expected over the next several decades under climate chan...ge scenarios. Of particular interest is the predicted northern shift of triatomine species to central regions of the United States with historically unsuitable climates for T. cruzi vectors. The weight of evidence regarding the influences climate change may pose on T. cruzi vector species distributions demonstrates the sensitivity of Chagas disease transmission to future climate variability. In order to advance forecasts for the impact climate change may have on Chagas disease transmission in the Americas, it is imperative to
further develop, utilize, and perhaps combine predictive species distribution modeling approaches that integrate accurate, long term data on climate variables, vector species distributions, Chagas disease incidence, as well as other socio-ecological variables.
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The 2030 health-related Sustainable Development Goals call on countries to end AIDS as a public health threat and also to achieve universal health coverage. The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes primary health care (PHC) as the key mechanism for achieving universal health coverage, and the PH...C approach is also essential for ending AIDS and reaching other Sustainable Development Goal targets.
The PHC approach is defined as a whole-of-society approach to health that aims to maximize the level and distribution of health and well-being through three components: (1) primary care and essential public health functions as the core of integrated health services; (2) multisectoral policy and action; and (3) empowered people and communities.
This publication helps decision-makers to consider and optimize the synergies between existing and future assets and investments intended for both PHC and disease-specific responses, including HIV. Specifically, it aims to:
• provide guidance to policy-makers, health system managers and programmatic leads from both PHC and HIV backgrounds regarding opportunities to jointly advance their respective efforts to strengthen PHC and end AIDS as a public health threat; and
• provide a resource for all stakeholders who seek to contribute to strengthening PHC and ending AIDS as a public health threat in a synergistic manner, including people living with HIV, members of key and vulnerable populations, community and civil society representatives, people working in all areas of health systems, researchers, funders and private-sector decision-makers.
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