The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as ‘a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community’. Mental illn...ess refers to all of the diagnosable mental disorders, which are characterised by abnormalities in thinking, feelings or behaviours. Mental illness is closely related to vulnerability, both in its causes and in its effects. Globally, 14 per cent of the global burden of disease is attributed to mental illness – with 75 per cent of those affected being found in low-income countries – which includes a broad spectrum of diagnoses, from common mental illnesses such as anxiety and
substance abuse, to severe illnesses like psychosis.
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Myanmar is one of the world’s 22 high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries, and supporting TB control in Myanmar is a global priority. This report reflects the findings, discussions, conclusions and recommendations of the fourth international review mission of the Myanmar National TB Programme (NTP)..., which brought together international and national partners to review progress in TB control and to offer guidance on future TB control directions and efforts.
A high-quality national disease prevalence survey completed in 2010 demonstrated a TB disease burden two to three times higher than anticipated on the basis of previous surveys. In 2011 about 200 000 adults and children will have developed TB, including 20 000 HIV infected and 9000 suffering from MDR-TB, both of which will require additional care and costly treatment. TB remains among the top killers of adults, and more women die of TB than from maternal causes.
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25 Nov 2022
The WHO Guidelines for malaria bring together the Organization’s most up-to-date recommendations for malaria in one user-friendly and easy-to-navigate online platform.
The WHO Guidelines for malaria supersedes 2 previous WHO publications: the Guidelines for the treatment of mala...ria, third edition and the Guidelines for malaria vector control. Recommendations on malaria will continue to be reviewed and, where appropriate, updated based on the latest available evidence. Any updated recommendations will always display the date of the most recent revision in the MAGICapp platform. With each update, a new PDF version of the consolidated guidelines will also be available for download on the WHO website.
This version of the Guidelines includes updates to the case management of malaria, specifically the addition of new molecules for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria and optimization of the dosage regimen for anti-relapse treatment, along with updates on the use of antimalarial medicines in special risk populations including pregnant women.
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The Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) 2011-2020, endorsed by Member States during the May 2012 World Health Assembly, has set ambitious targets to improve access to immunization and tackle vaccine-preventable diseases. This responsibility has been translated into firm commitments in February 2016, t...hrough the signature of the Addis Declaration on Immunization (ADI) by African Ministers and subsequently endorsed by the Heads of States from across Africa at the 28th African Union Summit held in January 2017. This commitment from the highest level of government comes as a catalyst to immunization efforts on the continent to deliver on the promise of universal immunization
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This report presents, for the first time, a global assessment of the extent to which health care facilities provide essential water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. Drawing on data from 54 low- and middle-income countries, the report concludes that 38% lack access to even rudimentary levels ...of water, 19% lack sanitation and 35% do not have water and soap for handwashing. When a higher level of service is factored in, the situation deteriorates significantly. A number of areas require urgent action and WHO will work with UNICEF, Governments and other partners to develop a global plan to address the most pressing needs and ensure that all health care facilities have WASH services.
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The micronutrient powders will be distributed at the health facilities where instructions on use will be provided by Health Care Providers. Community Health Volunteers will educate, counsel, and mobilize caregivers at the community level to visit health facilities for nutrition assessment and provis...ion of the micronutrient powders.
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To improve survival and quality of life among the 2.5 million children living with HIV, a comprehensive package of prevention, care and treatment is required. This package should include management of infections such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and ear infections, as well as common opportunisti...c infections and HIV-related co-morbidities. WHO is developing a series of guidelines on each of these conditions, following the GRADE approach. The document on the management of pneumonia and diarrhoea in HIV-infected infants and children is the first of this series. The recommendations are similar to those for non infected children, but they cover specific aspects related to HIV infection.
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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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These Blended Learning Modules cover the full range of health promotion, disease prevention, basic management and essential treatment protocols to improve and protect the health of rural communities in Ethiopia. A strong focus is on enabling Ethiopia to meet the Millennium Development Goals to reduc...e maternal mortality by three-quarters and under-5 child mortality by two-thirds by the year 2015. The Modules cover antenatal care, labour and delivery, postnatal care, the integrated management of newborn and childhood illness, communicable diseases (including HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, leprosy and other common infectious diseases), family planning, adolescent and youth reproductive health, nutrition and food safety, hygiene and environmental health, non-communicable diseases, health education and community mobilisation, and health planning and professional ethics.
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The WHO document "Integrating the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and sexual and reproductive health programmes: implementation guidance" provides a framework for integrating noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) into existing health programs for HIV/AIDS, tub...erculosis (TB), and sexual and reproductive health (SRH). It emphasizes the importance of a people-centered approach to enhance healthcare accessibility and efficiency, especially in low-resource settings. The document outlines strategies for strengthening policy, financing, capacity building, and health system infrastructure. It offers actionable steps, tools, and case studies to support countries in reducing the burden of NCDs through integrated, holistic care within primary health services.
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This Rapid Gender Analysis provides preliminary information and observations on the different needs, capacities and coping strategies of Venezuelan migrant and refugee women, men, boys, and girls in Colombia. It seeks to understand how gender roles and relations have changed as a result of the crisi...s and share recommendations for how the humanitarian community can more effectively consider these changing dynamics to better meet the different needs of women, men, boys and girls of different ages, abilities and other contextually relevant forms of diversity. The refugee and migrant crisis in Colombia is characterized by gendered dynamics and has taken a significant toll on the health and welfare on all those affected, but particularly on women and girls. Refugee and migrant women and girls face profound vulnerabilities as they leave Venezuela and either cross Colombia or stay in various locations across the country; this is even more the case for those at increased risk, such as indigenous populations, adolescent girls, etc.
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Civil Society Organisations’ contribution towards community engagement to access and demand health services and encourage communities to practice appropriate health-seeking behaviour in Mon and Chin States
The following report is a study of 14 villages under the Collective Voices project (Nov...ember 2015-December 2017) in the states of Mon and Chin. The objectives of the study were:
(1) to explore Village Health Committee (VHC) members, Basic Health Staff (BHS), and community members’ perceptions on community engagement in seeking and demanding health care and
(2) to describe health-seeking behaviours relating to Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and hygiene practices among target beneficiaries.
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As part of our commitment to the fight against NCDs, Nigeria was signatory to the political declaration at the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on NCDs in September 2011. Thus, the purpose of this document is to develop and ensure the implementation of policies and p...rogrammes that will engender and guarantee a healthy lifestyle and quality health for all Nigerians. The core sections include background, scope of the policy, policy goal, strategic thrusts for implementation, programme management and coordination, roles of stakeholders and partnership coordination. It is expected that with the adoption of this policy, the control and prevention of NCDs and their associated risk factors will be well integrated at all levels of government and health care delivery system in Nigeria. This policy document is therefore a stepping stone towards the development of guidelines for the prevention and management of NCDs.
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Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) is advancing the global fight against acute malnutrition in children under 5 with the launch of its new guideline on the prevention and management of wasting and nutritional oedema (acute malnutrition). This milestone is a crucial response to the persistent... global issue of acute malnutrition, which affects millions of children worldwide.
In 2015, the world committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the ambitious target of eliminating malnutrition in all of its forms by 2030. However, despite these commitments, the proportion of children with acute malnutrition has persisted at a worrying level, affecting an estimated 45 million children under five worldwide in 2022.
In 2022, approximately 7.3 million children received treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Although treatment coverage has increased, children with SAM in many of the worst affected countries are still unable to access the full necessary care for them to recover.
The Global Action Plan (GAP) on child wasting recognized the need for updated normative guidance to support governments in the prevention and management of acute malnutrition. WHO answered this call to action and developed a comprehensive guideline that provides evidence-based recommendations and good practice statements and will be followed by guidance and tools for implementation.
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Background: A recent report by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) highlights that mental health receives little attention despite being a major cause of disease burden. This paper extends previous assessments of development assistance for mental health (DAMH) in two significant w...ays; first by contrasting DAMH against that for other disease categories, and second by benchmarking allocated development assistance against the core disease burden metric (disability-adjusted life year) as estimated by the Global Burden of Disease Studies. Methods: In order to track DAH, IHME collates information from audited financial records, project level data, and budget information from the primary global health channels. The diverse set of data were standardised and put into a single inflation adjusted currency (2015 US dollars) and each dollar disbursed was assigned up to one health focus areas from 1990 through 2015. We tied these health financing estimates to disease burden estimates (DALYs) produced by the Global Burden of Disease 2015 Study to calculated a standardised measure across health focus areas—development assistance for health (in US Dollars) per DALY.
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Maternal and child malnutrition is a significant public health problem in South Sudan. Among children aged 6-59 months, 31% are stunted, 28% are underweight, and nearly 23% are acutely malnourished of which 13% are estimated to suffer from moderate acute malnutrition and 10% from severe acute malnut...rition.
Overall, South Sudan’s nutrition situation is worrisome, with GAM persistently above the emergency threshold in the Greater Upper Nile, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap states. Though data on micronutrient deficiencies is scanty, Vitamin A Supplementation (VAS) among children 6-59 months stood at only 2.6% in 2010, showing low uptake (SHHS, 2010). This is against a backdrop of high morbidity levels and a negligible proportion of children 6 to 23 months receiving at least the recommended minimum acceptable diet. In order to ensure optimal child growth, it is essential to ensure good nutrition and basic health care from pregnancy through two years of age (the first 1000 days).
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Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders globally. The WHO epilepsy technical brief aims to strengthen action for epilepsy and complements the Intersectoral global action plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders 2022–2031.
The technical bri...ef presents the key information on epilepsy and recommends actions to policy makers and other stakeholders. Using the concept of levers for change introduced by the Operational Framework for Primary Health Care, it identifies actions on the policy and operational levels that stakeholders should take to strengthen services for people with epilepsy using a person-centered approach based on human rights and universal health coverage.
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This publication is based on the list of clinical interventions selected from clinical guidelines on prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, palliative care, monitoring and end of life care. This publication addresses medical devices for six types of cancer: breast, cervical, colorectal, leukem...ia, lung and prostate. The first section defines the global increase in cancer cases, the global goals to manage NCDs and the WHO activities related to these goals. The second section presents the methodology used for the selection of medical devices that support clinical interventions required to screen, diagnose, treat and monitor cancer stages, as well as the provision of palliative care, based on evidence-based information. The third section lists the priority medical devices required to manage cancer in seven different units of health care services: 1. Vaccination, clinical assessment and endoscopy, 2. Medical imaging and nuclear medicine, 3. Surgery, 4. Laboratory and pathology, 5. Radiotherapy, 6. Systemic therapy and 7. Palliative and end of life care
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The objective of this concept note and the framework it outlines is the elimination of a group of CDs and the negative health effects they generate, which together create a tangible burden on affected individuals, their families and communities, and on health care systems throughout the Region. Thou...gh there is no unified consensus on the best measures to use for the public’s health and a nation’s epidemiologic situation, it is common for the disease burden to be measured by disease rates (incidence, prevalence, etc.), disease-specific death rates, comparative morbidity and mortality rates, geographic distribution, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The current epidemiological situation, including data on disease rates or geographic distribution for the diseases in Table 1, is discussed below in Section 4. Hotez et al. (2008) were the first to review and compare the burden of DALYs in Latin America and the Caribbean—for NTDs, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB—as it existed about 10 years ago. Though the regional burden of TB, malaria, and neglected infectious diseases (NIDs) is somewhat less than it was 10 years ago, work (and schooling) continue to be lost to illness and premature death or disability, and the need for stepping up disease elimination efforts is evident in all communities living in vulnerable conditions....
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The harmonized training package for Point-of-use-fortification using micronutrient powders has been developed to guide in training frontline health workers. The micronutrient powders will be distributed at the health facilities where instructions on use will be provided by Health Care Providers. Com...munity Health Volunteers will educate, counsel, and mobilize caregivers at the community level to visit health facilities for nutrition assessment and provision of the micronutrient powders.
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