Mental health problems are common and cause great suffering to individuals and communities around the world. They have a significant impact not only on the physical and mental health of those affected but also on their families and the communities they live in. At the same time, all communities have... their own traditional mechanisms for support and contain a range wide of resources that can be helpful in preventing mental health conditions from developing, promoting positive mental health and supporting the recovery of people that are struggling with a mental health condition.
In the wider context, people living with a mental health condition are often excluded from their communities and experience various violations to their basic human rights (discrimination, violence, exclusion from employment opportunities). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the mean prevalence of global mental health disorders is 10.8% while the prevalence in emergency settings is 22.1% in any conflict-affected population.
During emergencies and crisis, the stigma, exclusion and discrimination towards people living with mental health conditions is often higher, which can cause isolation and protection issues. Communities can play a crucial role in promoting mental health as well as enhancing primary care and access. Their role is to help reduce mental health inequalities by providing community resources that connect people to community-based resources and by providing mental health education. This also helps to reduce the massive mental health treatment gap.
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The Zambia Population Based HIV impact assessment of 2016, reported the prevalence of viral hepatitis in Zambia as ranging between 5.6% among adults aged 15 to 59% in the general population, and 7.1% among HIV infected individuals. It is estimated that the majority of persons with chronic hepatitis ...B and/ or hepatitis C are unware of their infection and do not benefit from promotive, preventive and curative services designed to reduce onward transmission. Zambia introduced hepatitis B virus vaccine to the routine Under 5 vaccination schedule in 2005. Preliminary results from the ZAMPHIA indicate that hundreds of infections have been abated in children since then. However, its also clear that we continue to miss key opportunities to prevent transmission, diagnose and treat infections, prevent serious disease, and in many cases cure people. In addition, high risk groups inter alia health care workers still have limited access to the vaccine.
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The article is a scoping review that explores the challenges in diagnosing asthma in children in three sub-Saharan African countries: Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. It identifies key barriers, such as a lack of community awareness, inadequate healthcare access, limited diagnostic tools like spir...ometry, and insufficient knowledge among healthcare workers. The review also highlights the stigma associated with asthma and the absence of relevant diagnostic guidelines. Solutions proposed include community education, development and adherence to diagnostic guidelines, and strengthening healthcare systems. The study aims to inform policymakers and healthcare providers to improve asthma diagnosis and care for children in these regions.
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The Comprehensive Rural Health Project, Jamkhed (CRHP), has been working among the rural poor and marginalized for the past 45 years. Founded in 1970 by Drs. Raj and Mabelle Arole to bring healthcare to the poorest of the poor, CRHP has become an organization that empowers people and communities to ...eliminate injustices through integrated efforts in health and development. CRHP works by mobilizing and building the capacity of communities to achieve access to comprehensive development and freedom from stigma, poverty, and disease. Pioneering a comprehensive approach to community-based primary healthcare (also known as the Jamkhed Model), CRHP has been a leader in public health and development in rural communities in India and around the world. At the core of this comprehensive community-based approach is its embrace of equity for all, utilizing healthcare as a means to break the cycle of poverty. The work of CRHP has been recognized by the WHO and UNICEF, and has been introduced to communities around the world.
accessed 23.07.2021
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Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) refers to “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”1 FGM/C is a violation of girls’ and women’s human rights and is condemned by many int...ernational treaties and conventions, as well as by national legislation in many countries. Yet, where it is practised FGM/C is performed in line with tradition and social norms to ensure that girls are socially accepted and marriageable, and to uphold their status and honour and that of the entire family. UNICEF works with government and civil society partners towards the elimination of FGM/C in countries where it is still practised.
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The CHGN Ebola toolkit is a collection of resources that we hope will be of use to many of the organisations, agencies and individuals working to address the Ebola outbreak in English-speaking West Africa, particularly those engaged at the community-level.
The focus of the toolkit is on community... awareness raising and on prevention rather than treatment, reflecting CHGN’s aim of promoting community-based health initiatives. We have however, also included some resources on caring for people with Ebola, contact tracing and safe burial practices that are aimed primarily at health professionals. We have included guides on psychosocial support that are relevant to both health professionals and community members.
This toolkit is available in USB format. To order, please email to ebolaresponse@CHGN.org with your name, location, organisation and the number of USB sticks you would like. They will respond as soon as possible.
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Our aim is to review current asthma epidemiology, achievements from the last 10 years, and persistent challenges of asthma man- agement and control in low-middle income countries (LMICs). Despite global efforts, asthma continues to be an important public health problem worldwide, particularly in poo...rly resourced settings. Several epidemiological studies in the last decades have shown significant variability in the prevalence of asthma globally, but generally a marked increase in LMICs resulting in significant mor- bidity and mortality. Poverty, air pollution, climate change, exposure to indoor allergens, urbanization and diet are some of the factors that contribute to inadequate control and poor outcomes in developing countries. Although asthma guidelines have been developed to raise awareness and improve asthma diagnosis and treatment, problems with underdiagnosis and undertreatment are still common. In addition, important social, financial, cultural and healthcare barriers are common obstacles in LMICs in achieving control. Given the high burden of asthma in these countries, adaptation and implementation of national asthma guidelines tailored to local needs should be a public health priority. Governmental commitment, education, better health system infrastructure, access to care and effective asthma medications are the cornerstone of achieving success.
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The Framework provides a roadmap for creating a stable environment that is sensitive to children’s
health and nutritional needs, with protection from threats, opportunities for early learning, and interactions that are responsive, emotionally supportive and developmentally stimulating
The community-BFCI (c-BFCI) manual has been developed to facilitate training of CHVs and stakeholders providing nutrition sensitive services at community level. The manual covers a wide range of topics: basic nutrition, exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding, Breast Milk Substitutes Act, gro...wth monitoring and promotion, early childhood development and stimulation, household food and nutrition security and establishment of baby friendly communities.
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Contains data from World Health Organization's data portal covering the following categories:
Mortality and global health estimates, Sustainable development goals, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Health systems, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Child health, Infectious diseases, Neglected Tropical Disea...ses, World Health Statistics, Health financing, Tobacco, Substance use and mental health, Injuries and violence, HIV/AIDS and other STIs, Public health and environment, Nutrition, Urban health, Noncommunicable diseases, Noncommunicable diseases CCS, Negelected tropical diseases, Infrastructure, Essential health technologies, Medical equipment, Demographic and socioeconomic statistics, Health inequality monitor, Health Equity Monitor, Child malnutrition, TOBACCO, Neglected tropical diseases, International Health Regulations (2005) monitoring framework, 0, Insecticide resistance, Oral health, Universal Health Coverage, Global Observatory for eHealth (GOe)
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Microorganisms . 2022 Jul 14;10(7):1427.
Chagas disease (CD) is endemic in about 21 countries of the Americas. The disease has spread to recently Chagas-free regions, mainly due to migration, and can now also be diagnosed in countries such as the USA, Canada, many European and some African, eastern... Mediterranean and western Pacific countries. About 6 million people are infected and 70 million live with a daily risk of infection. Although many efforts have been made to control the disease, and some improvements were achieved, still, less than about 1% of the infected have access to diagnosis and treatment. This causes high morbidity and mortality rates with more than 12,000 deaths per year
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March 2020
The number of African Union Member States reporting COVID-
19 cases is increasing and there is a likelihood of community transmission. The WHO recently modified the COVID-19 suspect case definition to include severe acute respiratory infection and advises testing of all severe acute r...espiratory illness (SARI) cases.1 However, many Member States have not yet started implementing these changes, they are still focussing surveillance efforts on individuals with travel history to an area with local COVID-19 transmission. This means patients with similar symptoms, but no apparent contact, may not
be investigated.
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To help parents keep their children healthy and fit, WHO has developed the Child Nutrition and Physical Activity Guide. In addition to parents, the guide may prove to be a useful tool for other adults (such as grandparents or caregivers) working with primary school-aged children.
The Child Nutrit...ion and Physical Activity Guide is published only in the Russian language with support from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation for use in Russian-speaking countries. It addresses the urgent need in some countries to improve child nutrition, particularly in areas that face a double health burden characterized by coexistence of undernutrition and overweight, obesity or noncommunicable diseases. Many children in those countries never eat breakfast, and their diet consists of large quantities of sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages with almost no vegetables and fruit.
The WHO guide also offers ideas on how to stimulate children’s interest in physical activity, such as active play, exercise or sports. This is especially relevant for countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), where, according to the latest findings, schoolchildren have a low participation in organized sports and exercise. On the other hand, a high proportion of schoolchildren walk to school every day. This could be a good starting point for CIS countries to make physical activity a daily habit that not only improves children’s physical health, but also promotes better mental health and well-being.
The guide aims to ensure that children obtain the knowledge and skills to make healthy food choices, critically evaluate their diet and integrate physical activity into daily life.
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The paper presents interview data from Malawian government representatives, trade unionists, employers and people with disabilities from the country's largest cities Lilongwe and Blantyre. Findings relate to the gap between the discourse of employers and government officials and that of workers with... disabilities. Firstly, we find a policy-based assumption of a formalised workforce that is not representative of the predominantly informal disabled workforce. Secondly, the disruptive, intermittent and often reactive nature of non-governmental organisation (NGO) interventions can limit long-term inclusivity agendas and undermine the work of disabled activists in Malawi. Lastly, we present findings on the stigmatised nature of disability in these urban centres. We find that stigma is economic: Urban workers with disabilities are discriminated against locally by employers, landlords and banks on assumptions they will not produce or earn enough to meet productivity demands, rent or repayment costs.
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A practical manual to good prescription of medicines in Romanian language. - Summary: Aceasta carte se adreseaza in primul rând studentilor la medicina. Ea ofera un ghid în procesul de prescriere rationala a medicamentelor, împreuna cu numeroase exemple ilustrative. Cartea îl ajuta pe cititor sa... dobândeasca abilitati pentru prescrierea medicamentelor. Absolventii sau rezidentii, ca si medicii practicieni pot gasi în aceasta lucrare o sursa de idei noi si, poate, un stimulent pentru schimbare.
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Around the world, approximately 1 in 45 children are on the move – nearly 50 million boys and girls that have migrated across borders or been forcibly displaced within their own countries.1 Climate-related events
and their impacts are already contributing significantly to these staggering numbers...,with 14.7 million people facing new internal displacement as a result of weather-related disasters in 2015 alone. The annual average
since 2008 is higher still, at 21.5 million, equivalent to almost 2,500 people being displaced every single day.2
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Published 24 January 2021
The term “Long COVID-19” covers a wide spectrum of symptoms that can occur or persist weeks and even months after an acute infection, not only after severe but also after initially mild courses. Primary symptoms are exhaustion and fatigue, but also dyspnea on exertion,... headache and arthralgia, palpitations, concentration disorders and depressive symptoms in previously healthy individuals. The symptoms may fluctuate within hours or days. This chapter summarizes current knowledge (which is still limited, as of the end of January 2021).
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Our spiritual health profoundly impacts our physical health, well-being, and quality of life. Just as medical professionals care for our bodies and minds, spiritual care practitioners care for our spirits. The increasing need for spiritual care makes these practitioners even more crucial. However, m...any of us have limited access to quality, professional spiritual care. At times of struggle, this lack of spiritual care can have a negative impact on our health and well-being.Investigators and researchers are creating a growing body of evidence for the innumerable benefits of professional spiritual care, yet many people still do not have a lot of accurate information about these practitioners. To create this publication, the six largest healthcare chaplaincy organizations in North America collaborated to share the facts about spiritual care and practitioners’ roles, training, and standards.By providing evidence and dispelling myths, the thousands of spiritual care practitioners represented by these organizations hope to increase access to spiritual care for the benefit of all.
accessed July 2020
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Indicators for monitoring the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS
UNAIDS supports countries to collect information on their national HIV responses through the Global AIDS Monitoring (GAM) framework—an annual collection of 72 indicators on the response to HIV in a country.... These data form part of the data set used to report back to the General Assembly.
Different from the HIV epidemiological estimates that countries produce for data on the state of the epidemic in a country—that is, data for making estimates on the number of people living with HIV, AIDS-related deaths, etc.—GAM collects information on HIV programmes, including the number of people living with HIV who know their HIV status and people on HIV treatment, and on stigma and discrimination. A full list of the indicators is given in the GAM guidelines.
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Since the introduction of penicillin in the early twentieth century, antimicrobial treatments have been utilized not only in human medicine but also in veterinary care – initially to ward off diseases, prevent post-surgery infections, and treat sick farm animals.Global food production... has intensified over the past 50 years due to economic expansion and popu-lation growth. The use of antimicrobials in agriculture – in livestock, fish farming, and even on crops – has grown as well. Antimicrobials are not only used as medicines, but are sometimes also added in low concentrations to animal feed as a way of stimulating growth.
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