This global status report on prevention and control of NCDs (2014), is framed around the nine voluntary global targets. The report provides data on the current situation, identifying bottlenecks as well as opportunities and priority actions for attaining the targets. The 2010 baseline estimates on N...CD mortality and risk factors are provided so that countries can report on progress, starting in 2015. In addition, the report also provides the latest available estimates on NCD mortality (2012) and risk factors, 2010-2012.All ministries of health need to set national NCD targets and lead the development and implementation of policies and interventions to attain them. There is no single pathway to attain NCD targets that fits all countries, as they are at different points in their progress in the prevention and control of NCDs and at different levels of socioeconomic development. However all countries can benefit from the comprehensive response to attaining the voluntary global targets presented in this report.
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In where under-five mortality is high and vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem, two high-dose supplements of vitamin A per year, spaced four to six months apart, can strengthen children’s immune systems and improve their chances of survival.
During much of early childhood – from... 6 months to 5years of age – two high doses of vitamin A every year can prevent blindness and hearing loss, boost children’s immunity against diseases like measles and diarrhoea and provide critical protection against death. Like all forms of malnutrition, vitamin A deficiency is a marker of inequality. In countries where diets are lacking in vitamin A and infections and deaths are prevalent, supplementation programmes give vulnerable children a better chance to survive, develop and thrive.
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Trachoma causes more vision loss and blindness than any other infection in the world. This disease is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. Other variants or strains of these bacteria can cause a sexually transmitted infection (chlamydia) and disease in lymph nodes.
This is photomicrograph ...of a conjunctival smear that revealed the presence of what are known as, intracytoplasmic inclusions Trachoma is easily spread through direct personal contact such as from fingers, through shared towels and clothes, and through flies that have been in contact with the eyes or nose of an infected person. When left untreated, repeated Chlamydia trachomatis infections in the eye can cause severe scarring on the inside of the eyelid. This can cause the eyelashes to scratch the cornea (trichiasis). In addition to causing pain, trichiasis permanently damages the cornea and can lead to irreversible blindness.
Chlamydia trachomatis infections spread in areas that lack access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation systems. Trachoma affects the most resource-limited communities in the world. Globally, almost 1.9 million people have vision loss because of trachoma, and it causes 1.4% of all blindness worldwide.1 In 2021, 136 million people lived in trachoma-endemic areas and were at risk of trachoma blindness.
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One of the principles underpinning the delivery of all essential services and coordination of those services is the “survivor-centered approach”, which places the human rights, needs, and wishes of women and girl survivors at the centre of service delivery.
A key challenge faced by many entit...ies working to end violence against women is ensuring that survivors’ voices and inputs are incorporated into policies, practices, and procedures on response. Survivors have diverse needs and face different risks. Not all women and girls experience violence in the same way. An effective intervention takes into account the realities of their unique circumstances, addresses individual needs, and reduces the risk for further harm and suffering.
UN Women, together with Global Rights for Women, have developed “Safe consultations with survivors of violence against women and girls”, which is designed to provide practical steps, safety measures, and actions that government agencies, civil society and survivor organizations, and United Nations’ entities can take to incorporate survivors' voices into systemic reform efforts, through safe and meaningful consultations.
This guidance is intended to help policymakers develop survivor-centered programming on ending violence against women and girls that meets the needs of diverse groups of women and girls, including those who are at higher risk of experiencing violence and discrimination. It is applicable to programming across the health, justice and policing, and social services sectors, as well as coordination of these sectors, and will help improve the standard and delivery of essential services for women and girls who have experienced violence.
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This document provides the Humanitarian Country Team’s shared understanding of the crisis, including the most pressing
humanitarian needs and the estimated number of people who need assistance. It represents a consolidated evidence base and
helps inform joint strategic response planning.
As ...the conflict in South Sudan enters its fifth year in 2018, the humanitarian crisis has continued to intensify and expand, on a costly trajectory for the country’s people and their outlook on the future. The compounding effects of widespread violence and sustained economic decline have further diminished the capacity of people to face threats to their health, safety and livelihoods. People in need of assistance and protection number 7 million, even as more than 2 million have fled to neighbouring countries.
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Annals of Global Health,Vol.81,No.2, 239-247
At the 2008 inaugural meeting of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH),participants discussed the rapid expansion of global health programs and the lack of standardized competencies and curricula to guide these programs. In 2013, CUGH a...ppointed a Global Health Competency Subcommittee and charged this subcommittee with identifying broad global health core competencies applicable across disciplines
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This practical guideline establishes definitions for “contact”, “contact person”, “contact tracing” and other associated concepts. It allows for improvement of contact tracing strategies and provides recommendations attempting to answer some, though not all, questions that arose during t...he 2019 coronavirus pandemic and other outbreaks. The use of this guideline begins once people have been diagnosed and the potential for transmission exists. It is not, however, intended to assist with case investigation. The guideline empowers health workers, governments, and public health officials with the tools to implement effective contact tracing strategies.
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Although the COVID-19 crisis is, in the first instance, a physical health crisis, it has the seeds of a major mental health crisis as well, if action is not taken. Good mental health is critical to the functioning of society at the best of times. It must be front and centre of every country’s resp...onse to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health and wellbeing of whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis and are a priority to be addressed urgently.
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2nd edition, July 2021. This WHO and HRP guideline is designed to help countries make faster progress, more equitably, on the screening and treatment of cervical cancer. It includes some important shifts in WHO’s recommended approaches to cervical screening, and includes a total of 23 recommendati...ons and 7 good practice statements.
Among the 23 recommendations, 6 are identical for both the general population of women and for women living with HIV and 12 are different and specific for each population.
Among the 7 good practice statements, 3 are identical for both the general population of women and for women living with HIV and 2 are different and specific for each population
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This report outlines the Ministry of Health’s National Health Research Agenda in which it identifies research priorities in health. It will be implemented in the same time frame as the Health Sector Strategic Plain 2012-2018. The Ministry of Health being the implementing agency of this document, i...s calling upon all partners, relevant ministries, higher learning institutions, students, development partners, etc to embrace this research agenda and ensure that researches conducted in Rwanda address priority areas identifies.
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Findings from a cross-sectional qualitative study of HIV vulnerabilities among People Who Inject Drugs and their sex partners in Bihar and Manipur, India. The study is one of the first qualitative comparative studies to seek an in-depth understanding of the vulnerabilities to HIV acquisition among P...WID in the states of Manipur and Bihar
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This report situates disability and inclusion within the broader context of sustainable development, with a particular focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The paper provides background on the historical role of the UN in promoting inclusion and outlines the current trends and challeng...es facing people with disabilities globally. The following section presents these challenges within the context of the SDGs, showing that disability needs to be tackled if the SDGs are to be achieved. It concludes with a number of recommendations for a disability-inclusive 2030 agenda for sustainable development
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WHO has updated its guidelines for COVID-19 therapeutics, with revised recommendations for patients with non-severe COVID-19. This is the 13th update to these guidelines.
Updated risk rates for hospital admission in patients with non-severe COVID-19
The guidance includes updated risk rates for... hospital admission in patients with non-severe COVID-19.
The current COVID-19 virus variants tend to cause less severe disease while immunity levels are higher due to vaccination, leading to lower risks of severe illness and death for most patients.
This update includes new baseline risk estimates for hospital admission in patients with non-severe COVID-19. The new ‘moderate risk’ category now includes people previously considered to be high risk including older people and/or those with chronic conditions, disabilities, and comorbidities of chronic disease. The updated risk estimates will assist healthcare professionals to identify individuals at high, moderate or low risk of hospital admission, and to tailor treatment according to WHO guidelines:
**High: **People who are immunosuppressed remain at higher risk if they contract COVID-19, with an estimated hospitalization rate of 6%.
**Moderate: **People over 65 years old, those with conditions like obesity, diabetes and/or chronic conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney or liver disease, cancer, people with disabilities and those with comorbidities of chronic disease are at moderate risk, with an estimated hospitalization rate of 3%.
Low: Those who are not in the high or moderate risk categories are at low risk of hospitalization (0.5%). Most people are low risk.
Review of COVID-19 treatments for people with non-severe COVID-19
WHO continues to strongly recommend nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (also known by its brand name ‘Paxlovid’) for people at high-risk and moderate risk of hospitalization. The recommendations state that nirmatrelvir-ritonavir is considered the best choice for most eligible patients, given its therapeutic benefits, ease of administration and fewer concerns about potential harms. Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir was first recommended by WHO in April 2022.
If nirmatrelvir-ritonavir is not available to patients at high-risk of hospitalization, WHO suggests the use of molnupiravir or remdesivir instead.
WHO suggests against the use of molnupiravir and remdesivir for patients at moderate risk, judging the potential harms to outweigh the limited benefits in patients at moderate risk of hospital admission.
For people at low risk of hospitalization, WHO does not recommend any antiviral therapy. Symptoms like fever and pain can continue to be managed with analgesics like paracetamol.
WHO also recommends against use of a new antiviral (VV116) for patients, except in clinical trials.
The update also includes a strong recommendation against the use of ivermectin for patients with non-severe COVID-19. WHO continues to advise that in patients with severe or critical COVID-19, ivermectin should only be used in clinical trials.
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Over half a billion children are living in areas with extremely high levels of floods and nearly 160 million children live in areas of high or extremely high droughts. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 26% of the annual 6.6 million deaths of children under five are linked to environ...ment-related causes and conditions. Children are also disproportionately affected by pollution, not only in terms of death rates, but also in terms of cognitive and physical development. This report illustrates that environmental causes also have an impact on whether children are pushed to work and on the kind of work they engage in, the conditions of work, exposure to dangerous toxicants and the risk of exploitation. However, the report raises more questions than it answers as it is one of the first reports addressing the question, how environmental degradation and climate change affect the vulnerability of children towards exploitation.
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Almost eight years of active fighting have had profound consequences on the lives of millions of people in the conflict-affected Donetska and Luhanska oblasts of eastern Ukraine. An estimated 2.9 million people are projected to need humanitarian assistance in 2022, with some 55 per cent living in th...e non-Government controlled area (NGCA).1 1 According to the national Ukrainian legislation, such areas have been defined as the temporarily occupied territories of Donetska and Luhanska oblasts.
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This guide provides an overview of the major elements that must be considered before, during and after the implementation of antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for SARS-CoV-2. This guide is complementary to policy guidance issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). The guide may ...appeal to a range of audiences including Ministries of Health, donors, public and private organizations/agencies acting as implementing partners and community based and civil society organizations with experience working on health, especially organizations familiar with similar testing campaigns for other disease programmes like HIV and malaria
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Through technical consultations with countries and partners, WHO has led the development of Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats Module 1: Planning for respiratory pathogen pandemics. Version 1.0. The Module, currently available as an advanced draft, builds on previous pandemic lessons a...nd guidance, and has the following new elements:
It presents an integrated and efficient respiratory pathogen pandemic planning approach covering both novel pathogens and those known to have pandemic potential;
It enables coherence in addressing pathogen-agnostic and pathogen-specific elements for better preparedness;
It gives an organizing framework including operational stages and triggers for escalation and de-escalation between pandemic preparedness and response periods;
It contextualizes 12 IHR (2005) core capacities within the five components of health emergency preparedness, response and resilience (HEPR), from the respiratory threats perspective; and
It describes the critical sectors for respiratory pathogen pandemic preparedness to trigger multisectoral collaboration.
WHO will finalize and publish this Module after a global technical meeting that will be held on 24-26 April 2023.
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This timely report comes at a decisive moment in history where
we can reshape urban environments and health systems for the
majority of the world’s population that live in cities. Enabling
this transformation are the SDGs, which have reconfigured how
governments and the international community... need to plan and
implement actions to eradicate poverty and inequality, create
inclusive economic growth, preserve the planet and improve
population health. Central to this quest is to create equitable,
healthier cities for sustainable development.
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There is an urgent need for safer, simpler, more efficacious and accessible treatment regimens for all forms of TB. The development of Target Product Profiles for TB treatment regimens (referred to as Target Regimen Profiles or TRPs) seeks to guide the drug development process towards important regi...men characteristics corresponding to the needs of end-users.
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The 10 recommendations in the COP26 Special Report on Climate Change and Health propose a set of priority actions from the global health community to governments and policy makers, calling on them to act with urgency on the current climate and health crises.
The recommendations were developed in ...consultation with over 150 organizations and 400 experts and health professionals. They are intended to inform governments and other stakeholders ahead of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to highlight various opportunities for governments to prioritize health and equity in the international climate movement and sustainable development agenda. Each recommendation comes with a selection of resources and case studies to help inspire and guide policymakers and practitioners in implementing the suggested solutions
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