The purpose of this document is to provide interim guidance to laboratories and stakeholders involved in laboratory testing of patients who meet the definition of suspected case of pneumonia associated with a novel coronavirus identified in Wuhan, China.
19 March 2020
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on the cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces in the context of COVID-19. This guidance is intended for health care professionals, public health professionals and health authorities that are developing and implementing policies and sta...ndard operating procedures (SOP) on the cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces in the context of COVID-19.
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Pandemics and outbreaks have differential impacts on women and men. From risk of exposure and biological susceptibility to infection to the social and economic implications, individuals’ experiences are likely to vary according to their biological and gender characteristics and... their interaction with other social determinants. Because of this, global and national strategic plans for COVID-19 preparedness and response must be grounded in strong gender analysis and must ensure meaningful participation of affected groups, including women and girls, in decision-making and implementation.
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Here you can download animations about COVID-19 for information, community organising, broadcast or whatsapp groups in multiple languages for Africa and Asia.
All about COVID-19: Advice for Communities. What is coronavirus? How does it spread? How does hand washing and physical distancing help? Wha...t are the symptoms? Who is most at risk of serious illness? This short animation answers these questions. There are versions for Asia and Africa.
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Monkeypox virus is an orthopoxvirus that causes human monkeypox, a viral disease with symptoms similar to smallpox, including fever and rash. Following the worldwide eradication of smallpox in 1980, monkeypox emerged as the most significant orthopoxvirus infection in humans. Cases are most often rep...orted from rural areas of Central and West African countries, particularly in regions close to tropical rainforest where people may have contact with infected animals. Someone can become infected through direct contact with respiratory droplets of another person who has monkeypox in the home or in a health facility, or with contaminated materials such as bedding. Although these are the main modes of person-to-person transmission, monkeypox outbreaks tend to occur in small clusters of a few cases without leading to widespread community transmission. For this reason, outbreaks can be easily controlled when responded to rapidly. On several occasions, monkeypox has been reported in other regions due to importation by travelers or infected animals. This course provides a general introduction to the disease through a video and accompanying downloadable presentation that can be reviewed at your own pace. It is intended for health personnel responsible for prevention and control of monkeypox, and for the general public.
The content and scope of this course on monkeypox have been tailored for outbreaks in African countries where the disease is endemic. The course material was last updated in 2020 and may not reflect most recent WHO guidance issued for the multi-country outbreak in 2022.
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Efficient triage of patients with COVID-19 at all health facility levels (primary, secondary and tertiary) will help the national response planning and case management system cope with patient influx, direct necessary medical resources to efficiently support the critically ill and protect the safety... of health-care workers. The objective of this algorithm is to give overall guidance for the triage and referral of symptomatic COVID-19 patients. Intended for use by ministries of health, hospital administrators and health workers involved in response planning for COVID-19 and/or patient triage, management and referral, this algorithm provides a general framework to be adapted to local health systems in countries.
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30 April 2020
| COVID-19: Essential health services
7 April 2020. This document and risk assessment tool provides practical guidance and recommendations to support the special role of religious leaders, faith-based organizations, and faith communities in COVID-19 education, preparedness, and response.
You can download the risk assessment tool here:...
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331772/WHO-2019-nCoV-Religious_Leaders_RAtool-2020.1-eng.xlsx
and the decision tree here:
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-2019-ncov-mg-decision-tree-religious.pdf?sfvrsn=f3433c0a_2
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As of 15 May 2020, more than 4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including more than 285,000 deaths have been reported to WHO. The risk of severe disease and death has been highest in older people and in persons with underlying noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as hypertension, cardiac diseas...e, chronic lung disease and cancer.
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Immunizations are an essential health service that protect susceptible individuals from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD).2 By providing timely immunizations, individuals and communities remain protected and the likelihood of a VPD outbreak decreases
This publication is available in Arabic, Chines...e, English, French, Russian and Spanish
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La vaccination est un service de santé essentiel qui protège les sujets sensibles contre les maladies à prévention vaccinale (MPV).2 La vaccination en temps voulu permet aux individus et aux communautés de rester protégés et diminue la probabilité d’une poussée épidémi...que de MPV.
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Prescriptions and Actionables for a Healthy and Green Recovery.
The practical steps outlined in this report aim at creating a healthier, fairer and greener world while investing to maintain and resuscitate the economy hit by the effects of COVID-19.
Policy makers, national and local decision-make...rs and a wide array of other actors wishing to contribute to a healthy recovery can now take decisive steps by shaping the way we live, work and consume. Effects on environmental degradation and pollution and climate change will be wide ranging. WHO and partner organizations have since long been developing substantive guidance and provide support for building healthier environments for healthier populations.
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This document updates the earlier version published in April 2020. In recent weeks, information on the potential use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of people with COVID-19 has been disseminated in academic journals and public media. Although there are now ongoing clinical tri...als testing the efficacy and safety of several medicines for COVID-19, as of the date of this document, there is a lack of quality evidence to demonstrate chloroquine and/or hydroxychloroquine are effective in the treatment of COVID-19. Evidence is recently emerging via small studies with sub-optimal methodologies that are conflicting.
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How does coronavirus (COVID-19) spread? What are the symptoms? Who is at risk? How can you protect yourself and your family? This short animation answers these questions. Local language versions are being prepared. To download for mobile phones and WhatsApp choose SD options. For laptop and desktop ...computers, choose HD options.
Available in different local languages: Versions: Africa (English) | Malawi (Chichewa) | Uganda (Runyankole) | Uganda (Luganda) | Uganda (Rutooro) | Zimbabwe (Shona) | Zambia (Icibemba)
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How does coronavirus (COVID-19) spread? What are the symptoms? Who is at risk? How can you protect yourself and your family? This short animation, designed for a range of settings and in different languages, answers these questions.
Versions: Asia (English) | Asia (Hindi) | Asia (Tamil)
WHO Academy has brought out a mobile learning app for health workers seeking COVID-19 information. The app with content available in Arabic Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish is available for both Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.who.WHOA ) and Apple (https://app...s.apple.com/us/app/who-academy/id1506019873) devices.
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4 April 2020
This interim guidance on oxygen sources and distribution strategies for COVID-19 treatment has been adapted from WHO and UNICEF’s technical specifications and guidance for oxygen therapy devices, which is part of the WHO medical device technical series. This guidance is intended for ...health facility administrators, clinical decision-makers, procurement officers, planning officers, biomedical engineers, infrastructure engineers and policy-makers. It describes how to quantify oxygen demand, identify oxygen sources that are available, and select appropriate surge sources to best respond to COVID-19 patients’ needs, especially in low-and-middle income countries.
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