Breaking Barriers is an implementation research project focusing on social and behavioural change. It is conducted in conflict-affected communities in Cameroon. The project explores three innovative, community-based interventions designed to improve health behaviours. This presentation outlines the ...project's context, methodology and implementation process. It also shares qualitative insights and field perspectives, reflecting on key lessons learned for future SBC efforts in fragile settings.
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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 bring together the Organization’s most up-to-date recommendations for malaria in one user-frie...ndly and easy-to-navigate online platform. The Guidelines supersedes 2 previous WHO publications: the Guidelines for the treatment of malaria, 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 an updated recommendation for malaria vaccines, new recommendations on the use of near-patients qualitative and semiquantitative G6PD tests to guide anti-relapse treatment of P. vivax and P. ovale, updated recommendations on primaquine and the recommendation on the use of tafenoquine. It replaces the versions published on 16 February 2021, 13 July 2021, 18 February 2022, 31 March 2022, 3 June 2022, 25 November 2022, 14 March 2023 and 16 October 2023.
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Este manual ofrece directrices prácticas para el manejo adecuado de las pruebas de diagnóstico rápido (PDR) de la malaria, destinadas al personal que trabaja en almacenes centrales, regionales y periféricos del sistema de salud. Su propósito principal es garantizar la integridad y eficacia de e...stas pruebas desde su recepción hasta su uso final.
Se destacan aspectos clave como la correcta recepción e inspección visual de los envíos, la verificación de daños, caducidad y componentes faltantes. Se proporcionan recomendaciones detalladas para el almacenamiento, incluyendo el control riguroso de la temperatura (idealmente entre 2 °C y 30 °C), la ventilación de los espacios, y el apilamiento seguro de las cajas.
Además, el manual aborda la gestión de inventarios con el uso de tarjetas de control, la rotación de productos bajo el principio “primero en caducar, primero en salir” (PEPS), y la realización de inventarios físicos regulares. También se detallan las buenas prácticas para el transporte por tierra, aire y agua, subrayando la importancia de proteger las pruebas del calor y de planificar bien los envíos.
Por último, se abordan medidas para la correcta gestión de residuos generados por las PDR, diferenciando entre desechos peligrosos (como lancetas, dispositivos usados y guantes contaminados) y desechos generales. Se incluyen recomendaciones para su separación, almacenamiento temporal y eliminación segura, adaptadas a contextos con recursos limitados.
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Este manual está dirigido al personal de salud que trabaja en establecimientos periféricos y que utiliza pruebas de diagnóstico rápido (PDR) para la malaria. Proporciona instrucciones prácticas para garantizar el buen funcionamiento de estas pruebas en condiciones muchas veces difíciles, espec...ialmente en zonas remotas y de clima cálido.
Se explican procedimientos clave para la recepción de las pruebas (verificación de daños, caducidad, condiciones de transporte), el almacenamiento (selección del lugar más fresco, control de temperatura, ventilación, uso de métodos sencillos como depósitos en el suelo o contenedores que enfrían por evaporación) y el transporte seguro, ya sea por tierra o agua, con especial atención a evitar la exposición al calor.
Además, el manual incluye pautas para la gestión de inventarios, la rotación de existencias (usando primero las pruebas con vencimiento más próximo), y el registro del uso para evitar desperdicios y asegurar la disponibilidad continua.
Finalmente, se aborda la gestión de desechos peligrosos y generales generados por el uso de las pruebas, promoviendo su separación adecuada, almacenamiento seguro y eliminación apropiada (como fosas protegidas o incineración controlada), con el fin de proteger al personal y a la comunidad.
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Moçambique foi o primeiro país fora da região do Sahel a expandir com sucesso a quimioprevenção sazonal da malária (QSM). Neste documento de aprendizagem, descrevemos as lições decorrentes da aplicação em larga escala da QSM em Moçambique.
Lancet Glob Health 2020 Published Online October 22, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30325-9
WHO has updated it recommendations for 3 key malaria prevention strategies: seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC), perennial malaria chemoprevention (PMC – previously known as intermittent preventive treatment in infants, or IPTi) and intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPT...p). When given to the young children and pregnant women who are most vulnerable to malaria, preventive chemotherapy has been shown to be a safe, effective and cost-effective strategy for reducing the disease burden and saving lives.
The updated recommendations on SMC, PMC and IPTp, published today in the WHO Guidelines for malaria, will support the broader use of chemoprevention among young children at high risk of severe malaria in areas with both seasonal and year-round transmission and promote expanded access to preventive chemotherapy in pregnancy.
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WHO recommends artemisinin-based combination therapies for treating uncomplicated malaria, alongside studies to monitor treatment effectiveness. Given the threat of antimalarial resistance, including partial resistance in several African countries, molecular tools are vital for tracking resistance. ...In 2015, WHO launched the External Quality Assessment scheme for nucleic acid amplification testing to ensure reliable lab results. Coordinated by WHO and operated by the United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Service for Parasitology, the scheme provides quality-controlled specimens and reports to help improve testing accuracy. Experts recently discussed expanding the scheme to include antimalarial resistance markers.
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Meeting report, Kampala, Uganda,
7–8 November 2023
Launch of the WHO Report on antimalarial drug efficacy, resistance and response: 10 years of surveillance (2010–2019). Key findings
This study, conducted by Tudu et al. (2020), explores the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with concurrent malaria and HIV infection, a combination that is relatively understudied in India. The research was carried out at the Department of Medicine, VIMSAR, Odisha, over a one-year p...eriod and included patients who presented with fever lasting up to seven days. Out of 340 patients diagnosed with malaria, 52 (15.29%) were found to also be HIV-positive.
The patients were divided into three groups: Group A with malaria and HIV co-infection, Group B with HIV mono-infection, and Group C with malaria mono-infection. The clinical presentation in co-infected patients resembled that of HIV more closely than malaria. Common symptoms in the co-infected group included fever (82.7%), vomiting (72.3%), anemia (72.3%), headache (65.4%), and aspiration pneumonia (57.7%). Laboratory findings revealed that a significant number of co-infected patients had hemoglobin levels below 7 g/dL and CD4 cell counts under 200 cells/μL, indicating advanced immunosuppression.
All patients received antimalarial treatment with injectable artesunate and antiretroviral therapy (ART). Despite appropriate treatment, the outcome for co-infected patients was comparatively worse: while 48 out of 52 recovered, 6 patients died, mainly due to complications such as anemia, acute kidney injury, and aspiration pneumonia.
In conclusion, the study highlights that although malaria-HIV co-infection is not highly prevalent, it is associated with severe clinical outcomes. Routine screening for both infections in febrile patients is recommended to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment.
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El propósito de esta guía es brindar orientaciones clínicas actualizadas en TB/VIH con énfasis en aspectos de diagnóstico, incluidas nuevas técnicas, así como de tratamiento vigente, sin perder de vista un enfoque de salud pública. Al recopilar y consolidar en una sola guía las últimas rec...omendaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud en el tema, se busca elaborar un documento de referencia y consulta frecuente, que unifique y estandarice el manejo de la coinfección TB/VIH de manera integral en establecimientos de salud con base en el principio de “dos enfermedades, un solo paciente”. También busca sustentar la actualización de normas y guías nacionales sobre la coinfeccion y complementar el trabajo coordinado que debe existir entre los programas de prevencion y control de TB y VIH a todo nivel en el marco las doce actividades de colaboración TB/VIH recomendadas internacionalmente.
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The article introduces Pf-HaploAtlas, a new online tool developed by MalariaGEN to track genetic mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum parasite—the most deadly malaria-causing species. This app allows researchers and public health professionals to explore global data on drug resistance mutations ...and genetic variation across thousands of parasite genomes. The tool is designed to improve understanding of how malaria parasites evolve and spread, and to support efforts in monitoring antimalarial drug resistance. With an intuitive interface, Pf-HaploAtlas enables users to visualize haplotype patterns, compare regional differences, and access up-to-date data that can inform control strategies and research.
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Este documento es una nota técnica con propuestas de intervenciones para la atención, la prevención y la vigilancia de la malaria en poblaciones migrantes y en comunidades de acogida, especialmente en países de Centroamérica, considerando el reciente incremento del número de personas que se mo...vilizan a través de la subregión.
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4th edition, Reference Manual
Pillar 3 of the Global technical strategy for malaria 2016–2030 calls for the transformation of malaria surveillance into a core intervention in all malaria-endemic countries, as well as in countries which have eliminated malaria but remain susceptible to re-establishment of transmission. This ref...erence manual covers subjects that are relevant to both settings.
The target readership of this manual includes staff working in ministries of health, national malaria programmes and health information systems; partners involved in malaria surveillance; and WHO technical officers who advise countries on malaria surveillance.
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Implementation reference guide. This Malaria Surveillance Assessment Toolkit implementation reference guide is a comprehensive reference document, as well as a step by-step guide. It aligns and adapts available tools into a single set of standardized tools, which can be used to conduct malaria surve...illance assessments across all transmission settings. Use of these standardized tools allows comparison of results between countries and within the same country over time, enabling countries to track their progress towards surveillance system strengthening.
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Presentation Current WHO guidance, strategies and lessons learnt of pre- and post-validation surveillance of NTDs
Anopheles stephensi is an invasive mosquito species which has been found spreading across Africa. While this species presents a new challenge for malaria control on the continent, its surveillance and management have been ongoing in Asia for many years. This document aims to summarize key lessons fr...om 3 countries – India, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Sri Lanka – that have been working to control An. stephensi. It is hoped that their experiences and insights will be valuable for countries encountering An. stephensi for the first time.
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