This paper looks at the status of tuberculosis (TB) advocacy
communication and social mobilization (ACSM) activities in selected
national TB control programmes in the WHO African Region. The
findings are from an assessment of TB ACSM activities in Ghana, Kenya,
Lesotho, Malawi and South Africa.
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Disease control, issue 15
The African health monitor
Accessed November 2017
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Northern: Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand
Central: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh
Eastern: Andaman & Nicobar, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal
This technical document consists of epidemiological ...profiles (fact-sheets) for States and districts based on information available from multiple data sources including the HIV Sentinel Surveillance (HSS) and the Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance (IBBS). Given the need for focussed prevention efforts in low/high prevalence and vulnerable States/districts, the information presented will be useful for policy makers, program planners at national/State/ district level, researchers, and academicians in identification of areas for priority attention and also to derive meaningful conclusions for programme planning, implementation, monitoring and scale-up. This document will be a quick reference for the HIV/AIDS situation in a State/district, risk and safe behaviour of the high risk groups, their level of knowledge about STIs and HIV/AIDS, experience of violence, HIV testing and ART awareness and exposure to HIV/AIDS prevention.
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The uneven distribution of HIV risks and burdens across populations is a well-substantiated fact, though seldom publicly acknowledged. Gay men and other men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers, and transgender women are 24, 24, 13.5, and 49 times more likely to acquire HIV, ...respectively, than other reproductive aged adults (15 years old and older). Globally, new infections among these key populations account for 45% of all new HIV infections. This figure is likely to be an underestimate, given the intense stigma associated with disclosing and reporting acquisition risks for HIV among gay men, people who use drugs, sex workers, and transgender people. In addition, HIV epidemics in the majority of low- and middle-income countries (90 of 120) have concentrated epidemics among key populations. In countries with more broadly generalized epidemics, risks are still not evenly distributed and key populations still shoulder disease burden that is markedly disproportionate.
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[Preface]. For more than forty years Primary Health Care (PHC) has been recognized as the cornerstone of an effective and responsive health system. The Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978 reaffirmed the right to the highest attainable level of health, with equity, solidarity and the right to health as its ...core values. It stressed the need for comprehensive health services, not only curative but services that addressed needs in terms of health promotion, prevention, rehabilitation and treatment of common conditions. A strong resolutive first level of care is the basis for health system development [...] The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) has supported the countries in the establishment of interprofessional PHC teams, in the transformation of health education and in building capacity in the strategic planning, and management of human resources for health. Nursing can play a critical role in advancing PHC. New profiles such as the advanced practice nurses, as discussed in this document, can be fundamental in this effort, and in particular, in health promotion, disease prevention and care, especially in rural and underserved areas.
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Lignes directrices provisoires
17 janvier 2020
Le présent document a été rédigé en s’appuyant sur divers documents existants de l’OMS, y compris les lignes directrices de l’OMS relatives au dépistage en laboratoire du MERS-CoV (1-11). À mesure que de nouvelles informations seront r...ecueillies concernant l’étiologie, les manifestations cliniques et la transmission de la maladie dans le groupe de patients atteints de maladie respiratoire à Wuhan, l’OMS continuera de suivre l’évolution de la situation et révisera si nécessaire les présentes recommandations.
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Lessons from three African Countries.
Achieving Health for All, and in particular universal health coverage (UHC), will not happen without fully functioning basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in all health care facilities. Such services are needed to provide quality care, ensure ad...herence to infection prevention and control (IPC) norms and standards and guarantee that facilities are able to provide environments that respect the dignity and human rights of all care seekers, especially mothers, newborns and children. WHO undertook a series of national situational analyses in three countries (Ghana, Ethiopia and Rwanda) to understand current barriers to change, accountability structures and measures to strengthen WASH in health care facilities and more broadly, the quality of health service delivery.
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The right to adequate housing, despite having been recognized by multiple international instruments, continues to be a human right that is consistently violated. Around 2O% of the world's population do not have adequate housing . In Latin America, informal settlements generally lack the conditions r...equired to live a decent life, and local and national public policies fail to radically transform this situation.
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sobre la base de las orientaciones actuales de la OMS, 31 de mayo de 2021. Memorando
This aide-mémoire presents information on use and procurement of masks for community outreach interventions, with a focus on those for malaria, neglected tropical diseases, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and vaccine-preve...ntable diseases. It details requirements for the different types of professionals involved (e.g. health workers, social mobilizers, data collectors, logisticians, insecticide spraying personnel, etc.), based on their level of risk of potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
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This report, written by ATAA Humanitarian Relief Association, BINAA for Development, Children Of One world, Hand in Hand for Aid and Development, Horan Foundation, Hurras Network, MARAM Foundation, Orange Organization, Syrian American Medical Society, Save the Children and Shafak Organization, provi...des insights on the humanitarian situation on the ground in north west Syria.
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Young people living in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau are the most at risk of the impacts of climate change, threatening their health, education, and protection, and exposing them to deadly diseases. The report is the first comprehensive analysis of climate ri...sk from a child’s perspective. It ranks countries based on children’s exposure to climate and environmental shocks, such as cyclones and heatwaves, as well as their vulnerability to those shocks, based on their access to essential services.
Additional translations of the Executive Summary are available in the following languages, with thanks to Climate Cardinals: English, French, Arabic, Hausa, Portuguese, Spanish, Somali, Yoruba
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Se sabe desde hace tiempo que las mujeres con el VIH presentan un mayor riesgo de desarrollar cáncer cervicouterino; sin embargo, existen pocos datos e información sobre esta afección en la Región de las Américas. Este estudio, realizado entre el 2019 y el 2020, intenta brindar información y d...atos que puedan acelerar la aplicación de políticas de salud que atiendan la particular situación de las mujeres con el VIH respecto al cáncer cervicouterino.
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The Strategy provides a high-level unifying framework to leverage existing capacities, address barriers and strengthen the use of genomic surveillance in the detection, monitoring and response to public health threats. Genomic surveillance is part of the broader surveillance and laboratory system, a...nd its implementation should reinforce end-to-end capacities including sample collection, diagnostics, data sharing and analysis. The strategy aims to facilitate the connectivity between different disease control programs and surveillance networks. This interoperability will strengthen the cross-cutting essential public health laboratory functions underpinning genomics holistically. The strategy articulates the overarching goal, objectives and strategic actions needed. These are dependent on commitments from countries, partners and WHO for their implementation.
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In the event of an accident or medical emergency, First Aid saves lives. Keeping the patient alive and safe until the arrival of expert professional help is a vital part of the chain of care which leads to recovery. The principle of First Aid must be simple skills, clearly taught and capable of bein...g performed in a stressful situation by those with no medical training. This manual is intended to offer a basic level of First Aid for members of the general public.
The contents of this manual are offered as a first edition of European First Aid Guidelines for general use. As such they are compatible with current practise, with other specialist guidelines (for example regarding the management of burns) and with the evidence base where one exists. These guidelines will be updated on a regular basis by the JOIN Clinical Working Group.
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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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El desarrollo, desde 1991, de las Iniciativas Subregionales de Control de la Enfermedad de Chagas, y los avances de conocimiento en materia de diagnóstico y manejo de la infección/enfermedad de Chagas, llevan a la necesidad ética, y operativamente imperiosa, de estructurar el diagnóstico, atenci...ón y tratamiento de esta afección.
Una situación particularmente delicada, preocupante y alarmante, se constituye por la escasa einequitativa disponibilidad de los limitados recursos terapéuticos, actualmente disponibles, para el tratamiento etiológico de Chagas, en la mayor parte de los países endémicos de América.
En esta situación, se propone el desarrollo de la Consulta técnica regional OPS/MSF sobre organización y estructura de la atención médica del enfermo e infectado por Trypanosoma cruzi (enfermedad de Chagas), con los objetivos de:
- definir el alcance y estructura de la atención médica al paciente, tanto en diagnóstico, manejo como tratamiento;
- desarrollar modelos alternativos y optativos de atención, asimilables a las estructurassanitarias de los países;
- delinear la atención del chagásico, según su momento biológico-patológico evolutivo,dentro de los niveles de complejidad de la atención médica;
- establecer consideraciones sobre la atención pediátrica, materno-infantil, transfusional y mayor complejidad;
- definir las necesidades y alcances del diagnóstico de la enfermedad;
- establecer los alcances y facilidades que, dentro de los sistemas de atención, deben poseer estos pacientes;
- definir el panorama total de disponibilidad y accesibilidad de los pacientes al tratamiento etiológico de esta dolencia;
- proyectar conceptos y concepciones marco sobre el costo, impacto y efectividad del
desarrollo de este componente de morbilidad y atención en enfermedad de Chagas; y
- establecer las necesidades de investigación operativa y de gestión para avanzar en el
desarrollo de la atención médica a este grupo de pacientes.
Esta consulta, desarrollada en la ciudad de Montevideo, el 13 y 14 de octubre de 2005, pretende marcar la elaboración de una guía conceptual para comentarla y diseminarla en el año 2006, desde las cinco Iniciativas Intergubernamentales Subregionales de Control de Enfermedad de Chagas.
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La fiebre amarilla es una enfermedad endémica en varios países de América Latina. Con vistas a brindar apoyo a los responsables de la toma de decisiones para priorizar las acciones preventivas frente a esta afección, la Organización Panamericana de la Salud presenta estos perfiles nacionales co...n una selección de datos concisa y exhaustiva de los países con endemicidad. En cada perfil se brinda un análisis de la situación actual del país, los factores ecológicos y climáticos asociados a la enfermedad, la distribución e incidencia de los vectores, y las claves de la actividad arboviral. Asimismo, se incluye una perspectiva histórica de la epidemiología y un resumen del estado de la vacunación contra la enfermedad en el país.
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Benchmarking is a strategic process often used by businesses and institutes to standardize performance in relation to the best practices of their sector. The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners have developed a tool with a list of benchmarks and corresponding suggested actions that can be a...pplied to implement the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR) and strengthen health emergency prevention, preparedness, response and resilience capacities.
The first edition of the benchmarks was published in 2019 to support countries in developing, implementing and documenting progress of national IHR or health security plans (e.g. national action plan for health security (NAPHS), national action plan for emerging infectious diseases, public health emergencies and health security and other country level plans for health emergencies). The tool has been updated to incorporate lessons from COVID-19 and other health emergencies, to align with the updated IHR monitoring & evaluation framework (IHR MEF) tools and the health systems for health security framework, and to support strengthening health emergency prevention, preparedness, response and resilience (HEPR) capacities and the Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) initiative.
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Ahead of World Malaria Day, the WHO Global Malaria Programme published a new operational strategy outlining its priorities and key activities up to 2030 to help change the trajectory of malaria trends, with a view to achieving the global malaria targets. The strategy outlines 4 strategic objectives ...where WHO will focus its efforts, including developing norms and standards, introducing new tools and innovation, promoting strategic information for impact, and providing technical leadership of the global malaria response.
In recent years, progress towards critical targets of the WHO Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030 has stalled, particularly in countries that carry a high burden of the disease. In 2022 there were an estimated 608 000 malaria-related deaths and 249 million new malaria cases globally, with young children in Africa bearing the brunt of the disease.
Millions of people continue to miss out on the services they need to prevent, detect, and treat malaria. Additionally, progress in global malaria control has been hampered by resource constraints, humanitarian crises, climate change and biological threats such as drug and insecticide resistance.
“A shift in the global malaria response is urgently needed across the entire malaria ecosystem to prevent avoidable deaths and achieve the targets of the WHO global malaria strategy,” notes Dr Daniel Ngamije, Director of the Global Malaria Programme. “This shift should seek to address the root causes of the disease and be centred around accessibility, efficiency, sustainability, equity and integration.”
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Unmet mental health needs in the Region of the Americas are a leading source of morbidity and mortality, which result in tremendous health, social, and economic consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the mental health crisis in the Region, necessitating urgent action at the highest leve...ls of government and across sectors to build back better mental health now and for the future. This landmark report is the result of the PAHO High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19. It provides an analysis of the mental health situation in the Region, followed by a series of recommendations and corresponding actions to support countries in the Americas to prioritize and advance mental health using human rights- and equity-based approaches.
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El 23 de julio del 2022, el Director General de la OMS declaró el brote de viruela símica una emergencia de salud pública de importancia internacional. A raíz de esa declaración, se puso en marcha un dispositivo de respuesta coordinada con el objeto de interrumpir la transmisión y proteger a l...os grupos en situación de vulnerabilidad. En estas orientaciones se tratan diferentes aspectos relativos al uso de vacunas para respaldar las intervenciones primarias de salud púbica en la respuesta para detener la trasmisión de persona a persona. Tienen como propósito brindar información útil y accesible acerca de las vacunas contra la viruela símica a fin de facilitar el despliegue de estrategias de prevención adaptadas a la situación epidemiológica, con base en las recomendaciones de la VIII Reunión ad hoc del Grupo Técnico Asesor de la OPS sobre Enfermedades Prevenibles por Vacunación.
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