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Mexico: a primary health care case study in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2024) C_WHO

The Mexican Constitution sets out the basis for access to health care services and the right to social protection in health for all citizens. The General Health Law establishes that the MoH, together with state governments, is responsibl for the control and eradication of transmissible diseases and ... more

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Africa’s Health Financing in a New Era

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) (2025) CC

Africa’s health sector is facing an unprecedented financing crisis, driven by a sharp decline of 70% in Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 2021 to 2025 and deep-rooted structural vulnerabilities. This collapse is placing immense pressure on Africa’s already fragile health systems as ODA ...is seen as the backbone of critical health programs: pandemic preparedness, maternal and child health services, disease control programs are all at risk, threatening Sustainable Development Goal 3 and Universal Health Coverage. Compounding this is Africa’s spiraling debt, with countries expected to service USD 81 billion by 2025—surpassing anticipated external financing inflows—further eroding fiscal space for health investments. Level of domestic resources is low. TThe Abuja Declaration of 2001, a pivotal commitment made by African Union (AU) member states, aimed to reverse this trend by pledging to allocate at least 15% of national budgets to the health sector. However, more than two decades later, only three countries—Rwanda, Botswana, and Cabo Verde—have consistently met or exceeded this target (WHO, 2023). In contrast, over 30 AU member states remain well below the 10% benchmark, with some allocating as little as 5–7% of their national budgets to health. In addition, only 16 (29%) of African countries currently have updated versions of National Health Development Plan (NHDP) supported by a National Health Financing Plan (NHFP). These two documents play a critical role in driving internal resource mobilisation. At the same time, public health emergencies are surging, rising 41%—from 152 in 2022 to 213 in 2024—exposing severe under-resourcing of health infrastructure and workforce. Recurring outbreaks (Mpox, Ebola, cholera, measles, Marburg…) alongside effects of climate change and humanitarian crises in Eastern DRC, the Sahel, and Sudan, are overwhelming systems stretched by chronic underfunding. The situation is worsened by Africa’s heavy dependency with over 90% of vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics being externally sourced—leaving countries vulnerable to global supply chain shocks. Health worker shortages persist, with only 2.3 professionals per 1,000 people (below the WHO’s recommended 4.45), and fewer than 30% of systems are digitized, undermining disease surveillance and early warning. Without decisive action, Africa CDC projects the continent could reverse two decades of health progress, face 2 to 4 million additional preventable deaths annually, and a heightened risk of a pandemic emerging from within. Furthermore, 39 million more Africans could be pushed into poverty by 2030 due to intertwined health and economic shocks. This is not just a sectoral crisis—it is an existential threat to Africa’s political, social, and economic resilience, and global stability. In response, African leaders, under Africa CDC’s stewardship, are advancing a comprehensive three-pillar strategy centered on domestic resource mobilization, innovative financing, and blended finance. more

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Antimicrobial resistance and primary health care

World Health Organization WHO (2018) C_WHO

Despite the considerable improvement in global health, millions of people still lack access to quality health services, including access to effective antimicrobial medicines, or are impoverished as a result of health spending. At the same time, antimicrobial resistance – a consequence of overuse a... more

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Multilateral organizations and global health initiatives

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) (2009) CC

A variety of international organizations are involved in mobilizing resources from both public and private sources and using them to extend development assistance to low-and middle-income countries around the world. They provide country-focused financial and technical assistance to developing count... more

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Buruli ulcer : diagnosis of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease : a manual for health care providers

F. Portaels; Johnson, P.; Meyers, W. World Health Organization WHO (2001) CC

This manual is to assist health care providers and laboratory scientists to diagnose mycobacterium ulcerans disease (Buruli ulcer). The manual aims to achieve a better understanding of the clinical presentation and its diagnosis. The methods described are tailored to various levels of care and avail... more

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Strategic framework for the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis as a public health problem in eastern Africa 2023–2030

World Health Organization WHO (2024) C_WHO

During the Programme Managers’ Review Meeting of Central and East Africa and South-East Asia (online meeting, June 2022), experts proposed additional regional and national subtargets related to VL incidence, as defined below. These targets can be revisited as progress is reviewed and access to dia... more

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HEPSA - health emergency preparedness self-assessment tool: User Guide

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) (2018) C1

ECDC launched the HEPSA (Health Emergency Preparedness Self-Assessment) tool, in order to support countries in improving their level of public health emergency preparedness. The tool is worksheet-based and is targeted at professionals in public health organisations responsible for emergency planning... more

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COVID-19 Managment: Curriculum for Community Health Workers
recommended

African Union; Africa CDC Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2020) C1

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sub-Saharan Africa has only 3% of the world’s health workers to cater for 11% of the world population, bearing over 25% of the global disease burden (WHO, 2014). With a steady increase in reported cases on the African Continent, the current COVID-1... more

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Integrated Family Planning and Immunization Service Delivery at Health Facility and Community Sites in Dowa and Ntchisi Districts of Malawi: A Mixed Methods Process Evaluation

Cooper, C. M.; Wille, J.; Shire, S.; et al. (2020) CC2

The Government of Malawi’s Health Sector Strategic Plan II highlights the importance of service integration; however, in practice, this has not been fully realized. We conducted a mixed methods evaluation of efforts to systematically implement integrated family planning and immunization services i... more

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The Critical Role of Community Health Workers in COVID-19 Vaccine Roll Out
recommended

African Union; Africa CDC Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) CC

Since the emergence of COVID 19 in December 2019, various public health responses measures have been implemented to control the pandemic. Among measures taken by the Africa CDC was the launch of PACT initiative to accelerate COVID 19 testing. Key to the initiative is the engagement of Community Heal... more

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Evolution of Ebola Virus Disease from Exotic Infection to Global Health Priority, Liberia

M. Allison Arwady, Luke Bawo, Jennifer C. Hunter et al Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC (2015)

Emerg Infect Dis. April 2015 Read online at: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/21/4/14-1940_article Over the span of a few weeks during July and August 2014, events in West Africa changed perceptions of Ebola virus disease (EVD) from an exotic tropical disease to a priority for global health securi... more