Viral hepatitis is defined as inflammation of the liver cells due to viral infection. The burden of liver disease in South Africa is mostly underestimated as viral hepatitis, in particular chronic infection, is a silent and neglected cause of morbidity and mortality. However, the burden of disease i...s likely substantial given the prevalence of chronic viral hepatitis. This burden is further compounded by the lack of screening and access to care and treatment as well as inadequate disease surveillance, human and financial resources.
The National Guidelines for the Management of Viral Hepatitis were developed, with the purpose to:
inform healthcare workers in the public and private sectors about the disease, its epidemiology in South Africa and current methods of diagnosis and therapy
strengthen the healthcare response to viral hepatitis
empower communicable diseases workers and stakeholders to make informed decisions regarding appropriate and cost effective interventions
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An information package for school staff
This publication provides a practical tool to support countries in strengthening surveillance of WASH in schools. The findings will inform the development of supportive regulations and improvement planning to safeguard children’s health, well-being, dignity and cognitive performance. The tool also... enables countries to use the data collected to facilitate policy dialogue and inform international reporting, including on progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal targets related to WASH in schools.
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Médecins sans Frontières access campaign
Issue Brief
Accessed: 28.11.2019
Internally displaced children are twice invisible in global and national data. First, because internally displaced people (IDPs) of all ages are often unaccounted for. Second, because age-disaggregation of any kind of data is limited, and even more so for IDPs.
Planning adequate responses to meet... the needs of internally displaced children, however, requires having at least a sense of how many there are and where they are. This report presents the first estimates of the number of children living in internal displacement triggered by conflict and violence at the global, regional and national levels.
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International Journal of Infectious Diseases 80 (2019) 10–15
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijid
Accountability for the global health sector strategies, 2016–2021
WHO/CDS/HIV/19.7
Overwhelming evidence shows that a range of health concerns—mental illness, substance dependence, HIV/AIDS, and noncommunicable diseases—affect prisoners disproportionately. But, while incarceration poses risks to health—including inadequate nutrition and exposure to violence—prisons also pr...esent important opportunities to promote health and risk reduction that need to be tapped.
Some recommended remedies:
Health ministries, not ministries of justice, should manage health care responsibilities
Ensure that testing is available, but not mandatory, for infectious diseases
Make prison health part of the broader public health agenda
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The report is geared towards mayors, local government officials and city policy planners.It highlights key areas where city leaders can tackle the drivers of NCDs, including tobacco use, air pollution, poor diets and lack of exercise, and improve road safety.
From anti-tobacco actions in Beijing a...nd Bogor, to road safety initiatives in Accra and Bangkok, a bike sharing scheme in Fortaleza, and actions to create walkable streets for seniors that have reduced elderly pedestrian deaths by 16% in New York City, the report aims to share knowledge between urban policy planners.
Of the 19 case studies cited, 15 are from developing countries, where 85% of premature adult deaths through NCDs take place, and over 90% of road traffic fatalities are recorded. You can download the case studieson the website https://www.who.int/ncds/publications/tackling-ncds-in-cities/en/.
Over 90% of future urban population growth will be in low or middle-income countries, and seven of the world’s 10 largest cities are in developing countries.
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Vision 2030
Accessed: 17.11.2019
This Guide provides practical guidance for governments regarding how to effectively communicate with communities during the recovery phase following an emergency. It explains how to identify communication needs, and presents “best fit” communication methods and strategies to deploy to support Di...saster Recovery Frameworks (DRF) and recovery strategies.
The Guide is divided into six sections, as follows:
SECTION 1 Good Practice Principles for Effective Communication
SECTION 2 Barriers to Effective Communication
SECTION 3 How to Identify Communication Needs during Recovery
SECTION 4 Communication Methods for Recovery Planning and Operations
SECTION 5 Developing a Communication Plan
SECTION 6 Key Take-away Messages
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The synthesis looked across the evaluations and reviews as mentioned above to draw lessons and conclusions across the different contexts. The synthesis aims to identify:
recurrent issues, patterns and trends, and promising initiatives and lessons learned from existing programming including main...streaming in how UNHCR prevents, mitigates and responds to the risks of SGBV;
institutional management and leadership for SGBV in UNHCR;
factors which are contributing to success, including sustainability of services, and those which are inhibiting it;
the extent to which questions on SGBV are part of UNHCR evaluations of emergency responses;
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Best Practices Guidelines
Accessed: 06.11.2019
Large-Scale UN Response Needed to Address Health and Food Crises
This report is based on interviews with more than 150 health care professionals, Venezuelans seeking or in need of medical care who recently arrived in Colombia and Brazil, representatives from international and nongovernmental humani...tarian organizations. In addition, researchers analyzed data on the situation inside Venezuela from official sources, hospitals, international and national organizations, and civil society organizations.
We found a health system in utter collapse with increased levels of maternal and infant mortality; the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and diphtheria; and increases in numbers of infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis (TB). Although the government stopped publishing official data on nutrition in 2007, research by Venezuelan organizations and universities documents high levels of food insecurity and child malnutrition, and available data shows high hospital admissions of malnourished children.
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PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210937
February 5, 2019