Evaluating the Return on Investment of Scaling Up Treatment for Depression, Anxiety, and Psychosis
This technical note contains indicators and minimum standards necessary for emergency response in the following topics: quantity of water, access to water, quality of water, sanitation, hygiene, solid waste, cleaning and disinfection, as well as dosages for the preparation of solutions disinfectants... using sodium hypochlorite.
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28 Dec 2020. The main objective of these guidelines is to provide tools for staff working in the field of immunization to support effective communication between health personnel and the general population, with the aim of strengthening, maintaining or recovering trust in vaccines and the immunizati...on programs in the Region of the Americas.
Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese
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The purpose of this guide is to offer recommendations for improving the implementation of non‑pharmacological public health measures during the COVID-19 response and compliance with these measures by population groups in situations of vulnerability. This requires determining the main barriers to i...mplementing these measures so that we can identify the groups and territories most affected during the different phases of the pandemic. With this objective in mind––and within the framework of an equity, human rights, and diversity approach––, policies, strategies, and interventions to accompany the implementation and flexibilization of the measures are recommended to ensure that no one is left behind.
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This document outlines PAHO’s regional priorities for the year 2023 to sustain and scale up health emergency and humanitarian assistance in the Americas, with a focus on five priority countries currently facing a prolonged humanitarian crisis and recovering from recent acute emergencies: Colombia,... El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of). These goals align with and build on the World Health Organization’s Global Health Emergency Appeal for 2023, its principles, priorities, and strategies.
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This report includes analysis from informal regional consultations in the African Region, the Caribbean and North America, Latin America, South-East Asia Region, European Region, Eastern Mediterranean Region, alongside three forums in the Western Pacific Region. It analyses the overarching similarit...ies, regional nuances and priorities raised across the six WHO regions for the meaningful engagement of individuals with lived experience.
It is the second publication in the WHO Intention to action series, which aims to enhance the limited evidence base on the impact of meaningful engagement and address the lack of standardized approaches on how to operationalise meaningful engagement. The Intention to action series aims to do this by providing a platform from which individuals with lived experience, and organizational and institutional champions, can share solutions, challenges and promising practices related to this cross-cutting agenda. The Intention to action series also aims to provide powerful narratives, inspiration and evidence towards the Fourth United Nations High Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025 and achieving the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Taeniasis and cysticercosis caused by the parasite T. solium affect vulnerable populations,
mainly in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, where pigs (the intermediate host) roam
free and poor sanitation allows pigs access to human faeces.
Recovery from COVID-19 has been challenging in Guatemala. As a result of the prolonged socio-economic impact of the pandemic, the average poverty rate nationwide has increased by almost 5%. This rise in the poverty level further exacerbates preexisting vulnerabilities and erodes the limited safety n...ets available to vulnerable populations. Year after year, recurrent disasters and humanitarian crises aggravate the historic social gaps that result in high levels of vulnerability, multidimensional poverty, and overall deprivation of essential services among hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans. According to the World Risk Report 2020, Guatemala is the tenth country with the highest level of exposure to disaster worldwide. Globally, it ranks 28th regarding vulnerability according to the 2021 INFORM’s risk index and 62nd in the Global Climate Risk Index 2021.
In 2020, Guatemala faced a record-breaking and devastating hurricane season with extreme rainfall, catastrophic winds, and deadly landslides, from which the country has not yet recovered. Unfortunately, recurrent extreme weather events, such as Hurricane Julia that hit Central America in early October 2022, progressively but deeply eroded a weak health infrastructure and local health systems.
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The chapter Fostering Health Systems’ Monitoring to Better Serve Older Populations is part of the publication series entitled Decade of Healthy Aging: Situation and Challenges. The publications are designed to favor the prioritization of effective actions at the local level as well as the monitori...ng of data and public health policies, and providing evidence-based information. Along with the objective of presenting the available updated knowledge about the situation of health and aging at the beginning of the Decade of Healthy Aging in the Americas, this publication gives information about health systems’ monitoring to better serve the needs of older adults and emphasizes the need for societies and health systems to better adapt to an aging population. It introduces the 360-tool as a guide to adapt health systems through monitoring tracers/indicators and highlighting the data and information that is readily available, disaggregated by age. This information can aid in decision-making and resource allocation to support older adults’ needs. Concerning the 360-tool development, a consensus has been reached on seven tracer indicators with high relevance to informing policy, and case studies in selected countries have assessed the feasibility of this approach. The list of indicators and the process related to the development of the tool are presented in this publication. The Decade of Healthy Aging 2021-2030 is a period to guide action towards the transformation of societies by fostering the inclusion of older people in every decision. This publication intends to contribute to this strategy and highlight the upcoming challenges and opportunities on healthy aging.
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This report includes analysis from informal regional consultations in the African Region, the Caribbean and North America, Latin America, South-East Asia Region, European Region, Eastern Mediterranean Region, alongside three forums in the Western Pacific Region. It analyses the overarching similarit...ies, regional nuances and priorities raised across the six WHO regions for the meaningful engagement of individuals with lived experience.
It is the second publication in the WHO Intention to action series, which aims to enhance the limited evidence base on the impact of meaningful engagement and address the lack of standardized approaches on how to operationalise meaningful engagement. The Intention to action series aims to do this by providing a platform from which individuals with lived experience, and organizational and institutional champions, can share solutions, challenges and promising practices related to this cross-cutting agenda. The Intention to action series also aims to provide powerful narratives, inspiration and evidence towards the Fourth United Nations High Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025 and achieving the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Small island developing states (SIDS) are a set of islands and coastal states that share similar sustainable development challenges, as a result of their size, geography and vulnerability to climate change. Thirty-nine WHO member states in four regions – the African Region, the Region of the Ameri...cas, the South-East Asian Region, and the Western Pacific region – are classified as SIDS. Whilst the individual countries differ in many respects, collectively they face unique social, economic and environmental challenges.
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La violencia contra las mujeres y las niñas es generalizada en la Región de las Américas, y tiene enormes consecuencias para su salud y bienestar, así como el de sus familias y sus comunidades. Se trata de un costo inaceptable que puede ser prevenido mediante acciones basadas en la evidencia, pr...omovidas por las políticas y los protocolos del sector de la salud, y la colaboración con otros sectores. El presente informe es el primero de su tipo y representa un hito importante para la Región. Se basa específicamente en los compromisos asumidos por los Estados Miembros en la Estrategia y plan de acción sobre el fortalecimiento del sistema de salud para abordar la violencia contra la mujer. El informe ofrece un análisis de los esfuerzos para avanzar en la prevención de la violencia contra las mujeres en la Región por medio de políticas de salud, protocolos clínicos, planes multisectoriales y otros enfoques relevantes. La atención a este tema es oportuna, ya que la pandemia de COVID-19 ha dado más visibilidad a esta esfera de trabajo. En este informe se ofrece información crucial sobre los esfuerzos llevados a cabo en la Región, de los cuales se puede aprender y utilizar el conocimiento extraído en el futuro para prevenir y responder a la violencia contra las mujeres y las niñas en todo el mundo.
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The chapter Dementia in Latin America and the Caribbean: Prevalence, Incidence, Impact, and Trends over Time, is part of the publication series titled “Decade of Healthy Aging: situation and challenges”. This document aims to provide an outline of the current situation in Latin America and the C...aribbean in respect of the prevalence and incidence of dementia and its impact on the health status of older people. As dementia is a significant global health problem which also has social and economic impacts this document highlights the importance of monitoring dementia in the region. The document evidences that dementia is one of the main contributors to dependence and disability in older people in Latin America and the Caribbean and, although its prevalence and incidence increase exponentially with age, it is not part of normal aging. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common dementia, and there is no cure for this condition, but with timely diagnosis is possible to ameliorate symptoms. It is important to assess what are the needs of people leaving with dementia and their families and to integrate dementia risk reduction strategies in pre-existing strategies for other non-communicable diseases. As shown in the report, despite the huge burden dementia is still underdiagnosed, and it is fundamental to better monitor its prevalence, incidence and the different societal impact that dementia can have. For that, it is crucial to promote the use of harmonized methodologies to address this information in a broader number of studies and countries in the region. This can contribute to the generation of direct actions to decrease dementia risk and lead to healthier lives for people with dementia and their families.
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This technical report has been developed within the framework of the WHO Global Initiative for
Childhood Cancer. Its goal is to improve the situation of children and adolescents with cancer worldwide,
giving them the best chances of survival, living a full life and, above all, enjoying quality of ...life and dying
without suffering
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2nd edition. These guidelines include several notable changes from the first edition. For cutaneous leishmaniasis, ketoconazole has been removed from the list of treatment options; the number of Leishmania species for which there is strong evidence for the efficacy of miltefosine has increased from ...two to four; and the recommendation for intralesional antimonials is now strong. For mucosal leishmaniasis there is now a strong recommendation for use of pentavalent antimonials with or without oral pentoxifylline. For visceral leishmaniasis, the strong recommendations for use of pentavalent antimonials and amphotericin B deoxycholate are now conditional.
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May 9, 2022.Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of clinical trials have been planned and developed to assess the effectiveness and safety of various interventions that could prevent hospitalizations and progression to severe disease in people infected with SARS-CoV-2. Currently,... the WHO and the PAHO recommend the use of corticosteroids, tocilizumab, baricitinib, and casirivimab e imdevimab (the latter in seronegative COVID-19 patients) and propose the use of sotrovimab, casirivimab/imdevimab, and molnupiravir in patients with non-severe illness who are at high risk for complications
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Diabetes is a major public health problem in the Americas and worldwide, demanding special attention and integrated response. It is estimated that more than 62 million adults are living with diabetes in the Americas. The projections show that diabetes prevalence will continue to increase to at least... 2025. Its steady rise has been mainly due to the high prevalence of risk factors, especially overweight/obesity and physical inactivity. Diabetes also is one of the leading causes of mortality and disability worldwide and across our Region.
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Diabetes is a major public health problem in the Americas and worldwide, demanding special attention and integrated response. It is estimated that more than 62 million adults are living with diabetes in the Americas. The projections show that diabetes prevalence will continue to increase to at least... 2025. Its steady rise has been mainly due to the high prevalence of risk factors, especially overweight/obesity and physical inactivity.
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