STGs are designed to assist health care professionals in making decisions about appropriate, effective patient care. However, health managers often have trouble setting and meeting the high standards required of modern, developed health care systems. With stakeholders expressing concern over issues ...such as strength of evidence, transparency, conflicts of interest, and effective implementation, it is clear that many health care professionals need further guidance in developing and making use of STGs.
This manual guides health professionals through the process of establishing and implementing STGs, placing special emphasis on the low- and middle-income country (LMIC) context. By including tools, templates, and success stories as well as hyperlinks to useful resources, the manual helps health practitioners understand not only important concepts of treatment guidelines, but also how they can best be used in practice.
more
A Communities Report on Progress Towards the UN Political Declaration on the Fight Against TB and a Call to Action to Close the Gaps in TB Targets
This report documents how - – two years on from the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB and the Political Declaration on the Fight Against Tubercu...losis – there is a major gap between the targets endorsed by heads of state and governments, and the results achieved. This is felt most acutely within communities, where it results in deaths and suffering. A Deadly Divide is informed by extensive inputs from TB-affected communities and civil society throughout the world. It presents evidence and experiences for six key Areas for Action.
Available in Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese
more
Regional Network for Equity in Health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET): Disussion Paper 110
This report compiles evidence from published, grey literature and key informants on the UNMHCP
since its introduction in Uganda’s health system, and findings were further validated during a oneda...y
national stakeholder meeting.
Three main factors motivated introduction of the UNMHCP. First, Uganda, along with other lowincome countries, was unable to implement holistically the primary healthcare (PHC) concepts as set out in the Alma Ata Declaration. Second, the macro-economic restructuring carried out in the 1990s, which was an international conditionality for low-income countries to access development financing, influenced the trend towards more stringent prioritisation of health interventions as a means of rationing and targeting use of resources. Third, the government sought to achieve equity with a service package that would be universally available for all people.
more
This report covers basic concepts, such as universal health coverage, and emphasises how vital it is to incorporate mental health into the UHC framework. It explains the pivotal commitments made by governments at the recent UN high-level meeting on UHC in 2023, outlining a roadmap for meaningful act...ion and progress.
Mental health emerged as a strong cross-cutting theme in the approved political declaration issued by the UNGA president during the high-level meeting on UHC that took place during the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2023.
more
5th revised edition.
This document provides a ranking of medically important antimicrobials for risk management of antimicrobial resistance due to non-human use. The current revision took place at the seventh meeting of the AGISAR held in Raleigh, United States of America in 2016.
Report of an intensive legal training and capacity-building workshop on law and noncommunicable diseases (Moscow, 30 May–3 June 2016)
The report summarizes important issues, themes and topics discussed during the meeting in Moscow, ranging from the design and implementation of legislation, reconc...iling public health objectives with international trade and investment law commitments, to examples of regional integration, such as the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union.
more
My COVID Pass
In October 2020, the African Union officially launched the Trusted Travel platform as part of the overall Trusted Travel Initiative during a joint ministerial meeting of the ministers of health, transport, and information and communication of African Union Member States.
Interim guidance, 26 October 2021
This interim guidance has been developed on the basis of the advice issued by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization at its meeting on 5 October 2021.
SAGE said moderately and severely immunocompromised persons should be offered an addition...al dose of all WHO approved vaccines “since these individuals are less likely to respond adequately to vaccination following a standard primary vaccine series and are at high risk of severe COVID-19 disease.”
People aged 60 and older who received the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines should get a third dose too, the experts added, though use of other vaccines may also be considered depending on supply and access.
“When implementing this recommendation, countries should initially aim at maximizing 2-dose coverage in that population, and thereafter administer the third dose, starting in the oldest age groups”, they said.
SAGE has also reviewed a vaccine developed by Indian company Bharat Biotech and will issue a policy recommendation after WHO greenlights it for emergency use.
more
- The goal of diagnostic testing for Ebola and Marburg virus diseases is to identify cases to provide timely and appropriate care and to stop disease transmission.
- All individuals meeting the case definition for Ebola or Marburg virus diseases should be tested.
- The recommended sample type ...for testing for orthoebolaviruses and orthomarburgviruses is whole blood or plasma for living patients, and oral swab for deceased individuals.
- Laboratory confirmation of Orthoebolavirus and Orthomarburgvirus infections and further species identification should be done using nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT).
- If a suspected case tests negative (living patient) and the blood was drawn less than 72 hours after symptom onset, a second test should be performed with blood drawn more than 72 hours after symptom onset.
- All manipulations in laboratory settings of samples originating from suspected, probable or confirmed cases of Ebola and Marburg virus diseases should be conducted with appropriate biosafety measures according to a risk-based approach.
- Whole or partial genome sequencing can be used to characterize viruses and complement epidemiologic investigations.
- Member States are strongly encouraged to share genetic sequence data (GSD) in publicly accessible databases.
- Member States are required to immediately notify the World Health Organization (WHO) under the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 of positive laboratory results.
more
SADC Communicable Disease Project
Component 5: Scaling-up Child and Adolescent HIV, TB and Malaria Continuum of Care and Support
DRAFT POST REGIONAL CONSENSUS AND VALIDATION MEETING Oct 2012
The document, "Progress on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases," reports on global efforts to reduce the impact of NCDs, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases, following the commitments made at high-level United Nations meetings. It highlights ...the inadequate progress in meeting the targets set under the Sustainable Development Goal 3.4 to reduce premature NCD mortality by one-third by 2030. Key challenges include insufficient funding, limited implementation of effective interventions, and political and economic barriers, especially in low-income countries. The report calls for strengthened international cooperation, policy reform, and innovative approaches to meet global health targets.
more
The UK government hosted the Global Vaccine Summit on June 4, 2020 under the patronage of the Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The meeting was held by videoconference in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 2. The Summit brought... together more than 300 people, including 42 Heads of State and Government. 62 countries were represented, notably 14 Gavi implementing countries, all of the G7 nations and 19 governments of the G20. Eminent participants also included H.E. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission; H.E. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General; H.E. Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director; Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Ministers from implementing and donor countries; CEOs of vaccine manufacturing companies and private sector partners; leaders of UN and other international agencies; senior civil society representatives; and Gavi champions. A full list of the participants can be found in Annex.
more
The immediate objective of the country visit to Cameroon was to ensure that the country is as operationally ready as possible to effectively and safely detect, investigate and report potential Ebola virus disease cases and to mount an effective response that will prevent a larger outbreak. After te...chnical working group meetings, field visits, a “table-top” exercise and a hospital-based simulation exercises were undertaken.
Key strengths and weaknesses were identified, and the following areas for improvement were proposed to the Ministry of Health: coordination, surveillance, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, rapid response teams, case management, social mobilization, laboratory, points of entry, budget, logistics.
more
The WHO Pharmaceuticals Newsletter provides you with the latest information on the safety of medicinal products and regulatory actions taken by authorities around the world.
In addition, this edition includes summary and recommendations from the virtual meeting of the members of the WHO Programme f...or International Drug Monitoring (PIDM) and other partners, which was held on 20 October 2022.
more
Report of the 23rd WHO Expert Committee on the selection and use of essential medicines
This executive summary reports the recommendations made by the Expert Committee for the 2021 update of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (EML) and the Model List of Essential Medicine for Children (EMLc)....
The 23rd meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines was coordinated from Geneva, Switzerland, and held virtually from 21 June to 2 July 2021. The Committee considered 88 applications proposing additions, changes and deletions of medicines, medicine classes and formulation on the Model Lists of Essential Medicines. The Committee evaluated the scientific evidence for comparative effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of the medicines in question. The Committee also considered a review of the therapeutic alternatives for medicines on the Model Lists, and update to the AWaRe classification of antibiotics, and reviews and reports relevant to the selection and use of essential medicines.
more
This Global Plan builds on the previous edition, which laid out priority actions for 2018-2022, informed by global commitments member states endorsed at the 2018 United Nations High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) on TB. The resource needs estimates from this Global Plan include resources needed for implement...ing TB care and prevention and R&D into new tools. This Global Plan has already informed the Global Fund Investment Case and the 2022 G20 deliberations on TB. It will serve as a key document for inspiring and aligning global advocacy efforts, such as for the upcoming UNHLM on TB in 2023.
more
Monitoring is a crucial element in any successful programme. It is important to
know if health care facilities – and ultimately countries – are meeting the agreed
goals and objectives for preventing and managing cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
Monitoring is the on-going collection, management ...and use of information to
assess whether an activity or programme is proceeding according to plan and/
or achieving defined targets. Not all outcomes of interest can be monitored. Clear
outcomes must be identified that relate to the most important changes expected to result from the project and to what is realistic and measurable within the timescale of the project. Once these outcomes have been articulated, indicators can be chosen that best measure whether the desired outcomes are being met.
To allow progress to be monitored, this module provides a set of indicators on
CVD management. Agreeing on a set of indicators allows countries to compare
progress in CVD management and treatment across different districts or
subnational jurisdictions, as well as at a facility level, identify where performance
can be improved, and track trends in implementation over time. Monitoring
these indicators also helps identify problems that may be encountered so that
implementation efforts can be redirected.
This module starts from the collection of data at facility level, which is then
“transferred up” the system: facility-level data are aggregated at subnational level
to produce reports that allow tracking of facility and subnational performance over time and allow for comparison among facilities. National-level data are obtained through population-based surveys.
Implementing a monitoring system requires action at many levels. At national and
subnational levels, staff can determine how best to integrate data elements into
existing data collection systems – such as the routine service-delivery data that are collected through facility-level Health Management Information Systems (HMIS).
In the facility setting, personnel must be aware of what data are needed. Sample
data-collection tools are included, recognizing that countries use different datamanagement systems for HMIS, so the CVD monitoring tools will be adapted to work with the HMIS system being used by the country, such that the indicators can be collected with minimal disruption/work to existing systems and tools
more
Copenhagen, Denmark, 7–8 March 2017. Meeting report
Health systems strengthening (HSS) and health security are two pillars of universal health coverage (UHC). Investments in these areas are essential for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and are of heightened relevance given the emergence of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This... study aims to generate information on development assistance for health (DAH) for these areas, including how to track it and how funding levels align with country needs.
more
Previous advocacy efforts have achieved tangible goals in terms garnering political commitments
to increase financing for TB—as seen at the 2018 UN High-Level Meeting on TB. The challenge
now is to ensure that these commitments are actually met within a global biomedical research
ecosystem that... is designed and incentivized to prioritize the health needs of wealthy populations
more