An estimated 59 000 people die from rabies each year. That’s one person every nine minutes of every day, 40% of whom are children living in Asia and Africa. As dog bites cause almost all human cases, we can prevent rabies deaths by increasing awareness, vaccinating dogs to prevent the disease at i...ts source and administering life-saving treatment after people have been bitten. We have the vaccines, medicines, tools and technologies to prevent people from dying from dog-mediated rabies. For a relatively low cost it is possible to break the disease cycle and save lives
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When setting national drinking-water quality regulations and standards, many countries consider the WHO Guidelines for drinking-water quality (GDWQ). To better understand the extent to which the GDWQ are used and reflected in these standards, this global review summarizes information from 104... countries and territories on values specified in national drinking-water quality standards for aesthetic, chemical, microbiological and radiological parameters.
The information provided will support regulatory agencies and other key stakeholders to access and compare data when setting or revising national drinking-water quality regulations and standards.
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Drinking-water quality regulations and standards developed or revised in accordance with this guidance will reflect the best practices identified in the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality to most effectively protect public health. Moreover, the regulations and standards will consider local ne...eds, priorities and capacities to ensure that they are realistic and appropriate. Topics covered include:
- Guiding principles
- Getting started
- Selecting parameters and parameter limits
- Setting out compliance monitoring requirements
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All personnel responding to Ebola outbreaks need to have basic knowledge and skills in order to mount an effective response. The GO training package was developed for WHO deployees so they can work safely and effectively as part of the teams bringing outbreaks under control. The learning package con...sists of 7 modules, which include video lectures and downloadable presentations that have been updated with the latest information and developments. It begins with an introduction to Ebola virus disease before moving to the response strategy and essential information related to working for WHO. The GO materials are designed to complement the ePROTECT training, which is available here: https://openwho.org/courses/e-protect.
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Poor quality health services are holding back progress on improving health in countries at all income levels.
Today, inaccurate diagnosis, medication errors, inappropriate or unnecessary treatment, inadequate or unsafe clinical facilities or practices, or providers who lack adequate training an...d expertise prevail in all countries.
The situation is worst in low and middle-income countries where 10 percent of hospitalized patients can expect to acquire an infection during their stay, as compared to seven percent in high income countries. This is despite hospital acquired infections being easily avoided through better hygiene, improved infection control practices and appropriate use of antimicrobials.. At the same time, one in ten patients is harmed during medical treatment in high income countries.
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Disinfection of drinking-water supplies has been one of the most significant public health advancements of the last century with respect to reducing waterborne disease.
Although chlorine has been used as the disinfectant of choice for public drinking-water supplies for the past century, a numbe...r of emerging or alternative compounds are used or are being considered for the disinfection of drinking-water.
This series reviews the state of the knowledge on the application, efficacy and toxicity of bromine, iodine and silver as drinking-water disinfectants.
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Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LNs) constitute a core vector control intervention against malaria. A number of new LN products are under development and will require assessment of risks to humans. This document provides an updated generic model that can be used for the risk assessment of exposure t...o insecticides of individuals sleeping under LNs and during the washing of nets.
In an Annex, exposures and health risks are described for the conventional treatment or retreatment of nets (ITNs) with an insecticide considering that such practices may still be used in evaluation of ITNs and their use. The generic model does not include the risks associated with the manufacturing of LNs in a factory environment.
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This document provides a generic model that can be used for risk assessment of exposure to insecticide products applied as indoor residual sprays. It aims to harmonize the risk assessment of such insecticides for public health use in order to generate comparable data for their registering and labell...ing by national regulatory authorities. The assessment considers both adults and children (all age groups) as well as people in the following specific categories:
- those preparing the spray;
- those applying the spray;
- residents living in the treated houses;
- residents who participate in preparing and applying insecticides.
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This publication outlines public health aspects of alcohol use and harm in WHO South East Asia Region Countries. It summarizes Global Regional and country specific data and also discusses aspects of alcohol control that are important in the context of the Region. The possible future trend of alcohol... use in the Region is also analysed and current and future barriers to effective alcohol control in countries of the Region are discussed.
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The current SEARVAP (South-East Asia regional vaccine action plan) describes a set of regional goals and objectives for immunization and control of vaccine-preventable diseases for 2016 – 2020 and highlights priority actions, targets and indicators that address the specific needs and challenges of... countries in the Region.
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