These consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services (HTS) bring together existing and new guidance on HTS across different settings and populations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) first released consolidated guidelines on HTS in 2015, in response to requests from Member States, national pr...ogramme managers and health workers for support to achieve the United Nations (UN) 90–90–90 global HIV targets – and specifically the first target of diagnosing 90% of all people with HIV. In 2016, based on new evidence, WHO released a supplement to address important new HIV testing approaches – HIV self-testing (HIVST) and provider-assisted referral.
Since the release of 2015 and 2016 HTS guidelines, new issues and more evidence have emerged. To address this, WHO has updated guidance on HIV testing services. In this guideline, WHO updates recommendation on HIVST and provides new recommendations on social network-based HIV testing approaches and western blotting (see box, next page). This guideline seeks to provide support to Member States, programme managers, health workers and other stakeholders seeking to achieve national and international goals to end the HIV epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.
These guidelines also provide operational guidance on HTS demand creation and messaging; implementation considerations for priority populations; HIV testing strategies for diagnosis HIV; optimizing the use of dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests; and considerations for strategic planning and rationalizing resources such as optimal time points for maternal retesting
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Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) is an essential part of any disease outbreak response. Risk communication in the context of an Ebola outbreak refers to real time exchange of information, opinion and advice between frontline responders and people who are faced with the threat of Eb...ola to their survival, health, economic or social wellbeing. Community engagement refers to mutual partnership between Ebola response teams and individuals or communities in affected areas, whereby community stakeholders have ownership in controlling the spread of the outbreak.
It is intended to be used to guide RCCE work which is central to stopping the outbreak and preventing its further amplification. Unlike other areas of response, RCCE draws heavily on volunteers, frontline personnel and on people without prior training in this area. As such, the document provides basic background information, scopes the socio-economic and cultural aspects (that are known at the time of publication), and provides the latest evidence-based advice and approaches
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The ICOPE guidance for person-centred assessment and pathways in primary care (ICOPE Handbook) helps community health and care workers put the recommendations outlined in the ICOPE Guidelines into practice. The Handbook assists with setting person-centred goals, screening for loss in a range of doma...ins of intrinsic capacity and assessing health and social care needs to develop a personalised care plan. The care plan may include multiple interventions to manage declines in intrinsic capacity, provide social care and support, support self-management and support caregivers. The domains of intrinsic capacity include cognitive decline, limited mobility, malnutrition, visual impairment, hearing loss and depressive symptoms.
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Looking forward, the 2019-2020 Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) for the DRC situation aims at addressing the needs of new arrivals of Congolese refugees in the region, and those in protracted situations. By supporting livelihoods opportunities and through a resilience-based approach, refugees w...ill be able to contribute to the development of their host countries, and of their country of origin upon their return. Given the limited capacity of host communities to support the impact of massive numbers of refugees, the response strategy will also address the needs of local populations, strengthening peaceful co-existence and building social cohesion.
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Governments have dedicated a pivotal role to the private sector in the implementation and financing of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. This has pushed a turn towards the private sector, the promotion of multi-stakeholder partnerships between public and private actors. However, far too often there is a... considerable gap between the social and environmental commitments companies make publicly in political fora like the UN and the actual effects of their production patterns and investment strategies on people and the environment. A new working paper, published by Brot für die Welt, Global Policy Forum and MISEREOR provides an overview of the ways and means by which the UN involves business actors in the debates around the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It describes new initiatives and alliances of business actors around SDG implementation at the international level, and their main messages and policy proposals. With a few selected examples it contrasts the sustainability rhetoric of corporations with their business reality. And finally, the working paper draws conclusions and formulates recommendations for policymakers on how to increase the benefits of UN-business interactions in implementing the 2030 Agenda - and how to reduce associated risks and negative side effects.
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March - June 2018
Myanmar introduced Child Death Surveillance and Response (CDSR) in 2015 as an initiative to reduce child (under-5) mortality, an initiative that will contribute to the country’s efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Technical Guidelines for CDSR were devel...oped in 2015 followed by the development of Training Package in 2016. An Implementation Plan was made in 2016; and this led to all townships implementing CDSR in early 2017. After one year of implementation an assessment was carried out in early 2018.
The assessment was conducted in 3 region/states – Ayeyarwaddy, Magway, Shan South, with information gathered from the state/region, district, township and basic health unit levels. In addition a caretaker interview was conducted to see health-seeking behavior. In addition to these three regions/states, information was also gathered from three other regions/states but only at the region/state level – Mandalay, Yangon, Kachin.
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Policy Guidance Brief 2
• The potential health risks from climate change include: increase of waterborne and vector-borne diseases, heat-related illnesses, injuries and deaths, food insecurity and increased malnutrition. The poor, women, children and the elderly, as well as communities living... in remote high-risk areas are most vulnerable.
• The expected results to achieve this outcome are: (i) climate risk management system is well-established, robust and nationally integrated to respond efectively to increased intensity and impact of risks and hazards on people’s health and wellbeing; (ii) improved social protection, gender consideration and risk finance capacity to prepare for and recover from potential loss and damage resulting from climate change; (iii) Myanmar’s health system is improved and can deal with climate-induced health hazards and support climate-vulnerable communities to respond effectively to disaster and health hazards from climate change.
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Humanitarian emergencies and crises (Humanitarian emergencies and crises) are large-scale events that may result in the breakdown of health care systems and society, forced displacement, death, and physical, psychological, social and spiritual suffering on a massive scale. Current responses to Human...itarian emergencies and crises rightfully focus on saving lives, but for both ethical and medical reasons, the prevention and relief of pain, as well as other physical and psychological symptoms, social and spiritual distress, also are imperative. Therefore, palliative care, should be integrated into responses to Humanitarian emergencies and crises. The principles of humanitarianism and impartiality require that all patients receive care and should never be abandoned for any reason, even if they are dying. Thus, there is significant overlap in the principles and mission of palliative care and humanitarianism: relief of suffering; respect for the dignity of all people; support for basic needs; and accompaniment during the most difficult of times
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The Strategic plan aims to ensure alignment of preparedness and readiness actions in the nine countries focusing on eight technical areas: strengthening multisectoral coordination; surveillance for early detection; laboratory diagnostic capacity; points of entry; rapid response teams; risk communica...tion, social mobilization and community engagement; case management and infection prevention and control (IPC) capacities; and, operations support and logistics. The purpose of the WHO Regional Strategic Plan is to ensure that the countries bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo are prepared and ready to implement timely and effective risk mitigation, detection and response measures should there be any importation of EVD cases.
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The present National action plan on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) with component of antimicrobial consumption (AMC) covering both human and agriculture sectors was developed based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global plan on AMR dated 2015. With the purpose to develop this plan, in May 2...016 an intersectoral and interagency working group was established under coordination of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance Service (SSESS), the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Population (MoHSPP) of the Republic of Tajikistan. With technical as- sistance from the WHO a number of seminars, consultation meetings and workshops were conducted to identify country's priority areas and required actions for AMR con- tainment and AMC and control.
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Kenya reported its first case of COVID-19 on 12 March 2020 and, as at 7 April 2020, 172 cases had been confirmed and 6 deaths reported. The Government of Kenya has taken a number of measures to curb the spread of the virus, including implementing a curfew, restricting movement out and into four coun...ties, including Nairobi Metropolitan, and closing most of the urban and rural markets to enforce social distancing. However, these measures, along with the global economic shock caused by the pandemic, are expected to generate new needs, requiring an immediate and urgent response.
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This policy brief has been developed in response to the contemporary challenge of antibiotic resistance (ABR). ABR poses a formidable threat to global health and sustainable development. It is now increasingly recognized that the systematic neglect of cultural factors is one of the biggest obs...tacles to achieving better health outcomes and better standards of living worldwide. Using a cultural contexts of health approach, the policy brief explores the centrality of culture to the challenge of ABR. The brief examines how the prescription and use of antibacterial medicines, the transmission of resistance, and the regulation and funding of research are influenced by cultural, social and commercial, as well as biological and technological factors. The brief moves beyond the ready equation of culture with individual behaviours and demonstrates how culture serve as an enabler of health and provide new possibilities for change.
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Updated version – September 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting everyone. Globally, millions of people have been infected with the virus, while hundreds of thousands have lost their lives. In Moldova, the pandemic is placing an ever-increasing pressure on the health care and social protectio...n systems, causing major disruptions to economic processes and limitations to social life, deepening inequalities and proving how vulnerable we are.
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High salt consumption is an important determinant of high blood pressure and reducing it would improve health outcomes by lowering cardiovascular disease and therefore death rates. Reducing salt intake has been identified as one of the most effective public health measures and is one of the leading ...targets at global, regional and national levels to reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases. The purpose of the Dietary Salt Intake Survey in the Republic of Moldova was to establish current baseline average consumption of salt (sodium), potassium and iodine through 24-hour urinary excretion testing among a random sample of the adult population (aged 18–69 years), and to assess the knowledge, attitudes, practices and behaviour around dietary salt in order to enable more efficient planning and the implementation of an effective salt-reduction strategy in the Republic of Moldova.
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Orientations pour faire face à une infodémie mondiale et favoriser la demande de vaccination
Décembre 2020
La désinformation menace le succès des programmes de vaccination dans le monde entier. Ce guide vise à aider les organisations à faire face à l'infodémie mondiale par l'élaboration ...de plans d'action nationaux stratégiques et bien coordonnés pour contrer rapidement la désinformation sur les vaccins et créer une demande de vaccination qui soit fondée sur l'écoute sociale.
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The WHO Guidance on community mental health services: Promoting person-centred and rights-based approaches document is part of the WHO Guidance and technical packages on community mental health services set of publications. It provides a detailed description of person-centred and human rights-based ...approaches in mental health, and summary examples of good practice services around the world. It describes the linkages needed with housing, education, employment and social protection sectors, and presents examples of integrated regional and national networks of community-based mental health services. Specific recommendations and action steps are presented for developing community mental health services that respect human rights and focus on recovery. This comprehensive document is accompanied by a set of seven technical packages focused on specific categories of mental health services and guidance for setting up new services.
The WHO Guidance on community mental health services: Promoting person-centred and rights-based approaches is a set of publications that provides information and support to all stakeholders who wish to develop or transform their mental health system and services to align with international human rights standards including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
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The WHO Guidance on community mental health services: Promoting person-centred and rights-based approaches document is part of the WHO Guidance and technical packages on community mental health services set of publications. It provides a detailed description of person-centred and human rights-based ...approaches in mental health, and summary examples of good practice services around the world. It describes the linkages needed with housing, education, employment and social protection sectors, and presents examples of integrated regional and national networks of community-based mental health services. Specific recommendations and action steps are presented for developing community mental health services that respect human rights and focus on recovery. This comprehensive document is accompanied by a set of seven technical packages focused on specific categories of mental health services and guidance for setting up new services.
The WHO Guidance on community mental health services: Promoting person-centred and rights-based approaches is a set of publications that provides information and support to all stakeholders who wish to develop or transform their mental health system and services to align with international human rights standards including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
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Noma (cancrum oris) is a severe gangrenous disease of the mouth and face. It mostly affects children between the ages of 2 and 6 years living in extreme poverty. In addition to the known factors such as malnutrition, lack of vaccination in children and poor oral hygiene, several social and environme...ntal factors such as maternal malnutrition and close spacing of pregnancies that result in offspring with increasingly weakened immune systems are potentially related to the onset of the disease.
The aim of this guide is to assist the ministries of health (MoHs) to identify a general goal to be attained by the end of five years, with a view to sustainably reducing the incidence of noma as a public health problem through programmes that are fully integrated with national health planning, strengthening of primary health care (PHC) and attainment of UHC.
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Community health worker teams are potential game-changers in ensuring access to care in vulnerable communities. Who are they? What do they actually do? Can they help South Africa realize universal health coverage? As the proactive arm of the health services, community health workers teams provide ho...usehold and community education, early screening, tracing and referrals for a range of health and social services. There is little local or global evidence on the household services provided by such teams, beyond specific disease-oriented activities such as for HIV and TB. This paper seeks to address this gap.
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This document summarizes the findings of the STEPS survey in Ukraine and compares them with the results of STEPS surveys carried out in other countries in the WHO European Region, as well as with selected other surveys in Ukraine. The survey is designed to be repeated approximately every five years ...in each country to allow assessment of trends.
The study revealed very high prevalence of NCDs and their behavioural and biological risk factors in Ukraine. Data on behavioural risk factors include tobacco and alcohol use, diet, and physical activity. Data on biological risk factors include overweight and obesity, blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood lipid levels.
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