Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) represent the highest burden of disease globally. Medicines are a critical intervention used to prevent and treat CVD. This review describes access to medication for CVD from a health system perspective and strategies that have been used to promote access, including pro...viding medicines at lower cost, improving medication supply, ensuring medicine quality, promoting appropriate use, and managing intellectual property issues. Using key evidence in published and gray literature and systematic reviews, we summarize advances in access to cardiovascular medicines using the 5 health system dimensions of access: availability, affordability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of medicines. There are multiple barriers to access of CVD medicines, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Low availability of CVD medicines has been reported in public and private healthcare facilities. When patients lack insurance and pay out of pocket to purchase medicines, medicines can be unaffordable. Accessibility and acceptability are low for medicines used in secondary prevention; increasing use is positively related to country income. Fixed-dose combinations have shown a positive effect on adherence and intermediate outcome measures such as blood pressure and cholesterol. We have a new opportunity to improve access to CVD medicines by using strategies such as efficient procurement of low-cost, quality-assured generic medicines, development of fixed-dose combination medicines, and promotion of adherence through insurance schemes that waive copayment for long-term medications. Monitoring progress at all levels, institutional, regional, national, and international, is vital to identifying gaps in access and implementing adequate policies.
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All countries in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region are expected to report on these indicators for the year 2020.
interim guidance, 14 June 2021
This document is intended for national authorities and decision makers in countries that have introduced large scale public health and social measures. It offers guidance for adjusting public health and social measures, while managing the risk of a resurgence of cases....
Available in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish
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This report offers a summary of the provided support and recommendations on priority activities for IPC improvement at national and facility levels. The COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted areas for improvement in the IPC programme at national and facility levels. Improvements in the IPC programme were ac...hieved during the acute phase of the pandemic response. WHO will continue to support the Ministry Health of Ukraine and the Public Health Centre, as well as health facility managers and health-care providers, on the next steps to ensure the sustainability of progress achieved and to further enhance IPC in health-care settings.
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These WHO guidelines which were updated in 2018, are valid for any country and suitable to local adaptations, and take account of the strength of available scientific evidence, the cost and resource implications, and patient values and preferences.
The 2018 edition of the guidelines includes the re...vision of the recommendation regarding the use of 80% fraction of inspired oxygen (high FiO2) in surgical patients under general anaesthesia with tracheal intubation and the update of the section on implementation. Between 2017 and 2018, WHO re-assessed the evidence on the use of high FiO2 by updating the systematic review related to the effectiveness of this intervention to reduce SSI and commissioning an independent systematic review on adverse events potentially associated with it. Based on the updated evidence, the GDG decided to revise the strength of the recommendation from strong to conditional.
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Climate change also affects human health by increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events. Increases in
the overall temperature of the atmosphere and oceans associated with climate change cause changes in wind, moisture, and heat circulation patterns. These changes contribute to shi...fts in extreme weather events, including extreme heat events.
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MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 4 December 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6949e2
This document provides guidance for African Union Member States on actions to be taken to ensure they continue to meet all the health
needs of their citizens in accordance with achieving the objectives of the Africa Health Strategy 2016 – 2030.
Arabic Version of Guidance for the continuation of essential health services during COVID-19 pandemic
O presente documento fornece orientações aos Estados-Membros da União Africana sobre as acções a empreender para garantir que continuam a satisfazer todos os requisitos em matéria de saúde
necessidades dos seus cidadãos, de acordo com a realização dos objectivos da Estratégia de Saúde p...ara África 2016 - 2030.
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The GEHM series is an evidence-informed normative product of the WHO
Health and Migration Programme to inform policy-makers on migrationrelated public health priorities. These reviews aim to respond to policy questions identified as priorities by summarizing the best available evidence worldwide an...d proposing policy considerations. By addressing data gaps on the health status of refugees and migrants, the GEHM series aims to support evidenceinformed policy-making and targeted interventions that are impactful and make a difference in the lives of these populations.
This Report, the fourth in the GEHM series reviews the available evidence on barriers to antibiotic access and appropriate use in refugees and migrants. It finds that the available evidence on refugees’ and migrants’ access to and use of antibiotics is scarce and is largely constrained to high-income contexts.
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This document is an evidence-based policy for the implementation of sound tuberculosis (TB) infection control by all stake- holders. It recommends a combination of measures aimed at reducing the risk of TB transmission within populations. The emphasis is on early and rapid diagnosis, and proper mana...gement of TB patients.
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This document aims to encourage countries to develop and implement policies to maintain and strengthen IPC programmes and measures in health care facilities in the context of the current ongoing transmission of the SARS-CoV-2, with recognition that epidemiological trends may vary and the risk of tra...nsmission of other pathogens.
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In this guideline, natural ventilation is considered
among one the effective measures to control infections in health care. This guideline provides
a design and operation guide for hospital planners, engineers, architects and infection control
personnel. The recommendations in this guidelin...e followed a systematic
review of the literature on the association of ventilation and disease transmission, as well
as effective natural ventilation solutions for infection control.
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The purpose of this handbook is to bring together in summarized form the issues, recommended strategies and political measures involved in addressing each of the components of the STOP TB Strategy. It outlines the range of activities to be addressed by national TB control programmes and the recommen...ded approaches to implementation of the Strategy. An adequate strategy for the control of TB globally requires a comprehensive approach to address all the main constraints to control the disease, including emerging challenges, in addition to the main factors influencing the TB incidence such as socioeconomic and environmental factors.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the SAFER initiative in 2018 to address the global health and societal challenges posed by alcohol-related harm. The initiative outlines five key strategies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption and its associated consequences. These include strengthening... restrictions on alcohol availability by implementing and enforcing policies to limit its accessibility and advancing drink-driving countermeasures, such as low blood alcohol concentration limits and random breath testing, to reduce alcohol-impaired driving incidents.
Additionally, SAFER emphasizes facilitating access to screening, brief interventions, and treatment for individuals with alcohol use disorders, ensuring that healthcare systems are equipped to provide effective support. Another core strategy is enforcing comprehensive bans or restrictions on alcohol advertising, sponsorship, and promotion to minimize its influence, particularly on vulnerable populations such as youth. Finally, the initiative advocates raising alcohol prices through excise taxes and pricing policies to make it less affordable and thereby reduce consumption.
By implementing these evidence-based, cost-effective measures, the SAFER initiative aims to reduce the global burden of alcohol-related deaths and disabilities, fostering healthier societies worldwide.
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