The World Heart Federation (WHF) is a leading global advocate for stronger legislation and policies regarding cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors, including raised cholesterol. The present Cholesterol Advocacy Toolkit 2022 provides WHF member organizations with information as well as p...ractical tools to
support cholesterol advocacy at the local and regional levels.
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The key actions, activities, and approaches in this document are organized within each of the 5Cs (see Table 1 in the PDF) and those of the Strategic preparedness and response plan (SPRP) pillars as follows:
National action plan key activities, prioritized for the current context and the current ...understanding of the threat of SARS-CoV-2
A. Transition from emergency response to longer term COVID-19 disease management.
B. Integrate activities into routine systems.
C. Strengthen global health security.
Special considerations for fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable (including humanitarian) settings
WHO global and regional support to Member States to implement their national action plans
Key guidance documents for reference
This is a living document that will be updated to incorporate new technical guidance in response to the evolving epidemiological situation. National plans should be implemented in accordance with the principles of inclusiveness, respect for human rights, and equity.
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Health facilities in the Region of the Americas frequently suffer the effects of health emergencies and disasters, which jeopardize their ability to provide services to the population. The STAR-H methodology helps staff responsible for health emergency and disaster risk management to identify and as...sess risks as part of strategic planning to improve facility preparedness. It is intended to help them develop, with a multi-hazard approach, a response framework with operating procedures to deal with hazards of any type, scale, or frequency; determine roles and responsibilities; facilitate the effective use of resources; undertake strategic planning exercises, and improve the preparedness of facilities to effectively respond to and recover from impacts. This methodology is designed for use in health facilities of any size and capacity, and makes it possible to generate historical reports and national or subnational risk profiles. This information can be used to develop an effective health emergency and disaster risk management program.
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Global progress against cardiovascular disease (CVD) is flatlining.
Though rates of CVD deaths globally have fallen in the last three
decades, this trend has begun to stall and, without concerted
efforts, is at risk of reversing.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of global deaths, with the majority occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The primary and secondary prevention of CVD is suboptimal throughout the world, but the evidence-practice gaps are much more pronounced in LMIC. Barriers at the... patient, health-care provider, and health system level prevent the implementation of optimal primary and secondary prevention. Identification of the particular barriers that exist in resource-constrained settings is necessary to inform effective strategies to reduce the identified evidence-practice gaps. Furthermore, targeting modifiable factors that contribute most significantly to the global burden of CVD, including tobacco use, hypertension, and secondary prevention for CVD will lead to the biggest gains in mortality reduction. We review a select number of novel, resource-efficient strategies to reduce premature mortality from CVD, including: (1) effective measures for tobacco control; (2) implementation of simplified screening and management algorithms for those with or at risk of CVD, (3) increasing the availability and affordability of simplified and cost-effective treatment regimens including combination CVD preventive drug therapy, and (4) simplified delivery of health care through task-sharing (non-physician health workers) and optimizing self-management (treatment supporters). Developing and deploying systems of care that address barriers related to the above, will lead to substantial reductions in CVD and related mortality.
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The World Heart Federation (WHF) has been advocating globally for stronger
legislation and policy regarding cardiovascular disease (CVD) for many years. Now, as focus shifts from global to national progress, we call on members and colleagues to advocate for greater action on CVD in your local setti...ngs. This ‘Road to 2018 Toolkit’ provides World Heart Federation members with information
and specific, practical tools to support national CVD advocacy, especially around the United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2018.
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Thefirst report on Latin America and the Carribean presents key indicators on health and health systems in 33 Latin America and the Caribbean countries. . Analysis is based on the latest comparable data across almost 100 indicators including equity, health status, determinants of health, health car...e resources and utilisation, health expenditure and financing, and quality of care. The editorial discusses the main challenges for the region brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as managing the outbreak as well as mobilising adequate resources and using them efficiently to ensure an effective response to the epidemic.
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Diabetes is a significant public health issue that affects approximately one in 10 adults globally, with type 2 diabetes accounting for 90–95% of cases. This chronic condition causes considerable morbidity and mortality and is growing in impact, with cases projected to rise from 537 million in 202...1 to 784 million by 2045. As cases rise, it is imperative to ensure the healthcare workforce is prepared to care for affected individuals. However, there is a growing global shortage of healthcare workers, which was estimated, pre pandemic, to reach 15 million by 2030. Therefore, all of the healthcare workforce will need to be utilised to their fullest potential in order to address the growing global burden of diabetes. Pharmacists will continue to be essential in this endeavour.
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This report provides an overview of the operations and activities of the WHO Country Office in Ukraine in 2023. Despite the acute health impacts of the war in Ukraine, the Country Office continued its work according to its core mandate. WHO supported the Government of Ukraine in managing the health ...emergency and pursued existing priorities set out in WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work 2019–2023, the European Programme of Work 2020–2025, and the Biennial Collaborative Agreement 2022–2023 signed with the Government of Ukraine. The report presents the achievements of the WHO Country Office in Ukraine in 2023 in the context of the war’s impact on the lives, health, and well-being of Ukrainians.
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The guidance document provides a set of indicators for assessing the status of development, implementation and monitoring of key policy interventions for prevention and control of NCDs and injuries. It promotes city-level evidence based decision-making processes to identify gaps and take appropriate...s actions to strengthen responses. Additionally, using the standardized indicators can facilitate cross-city learning, sharing best practices and lessons learnt in implementing various policy interventions.
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Bonchial asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease in the world. In Kenya, it has been estimated that about 7.5% of the Kenyan population, nearly 4 million people, are currently living with asthma. Many cases tend to be underdiagnosed and undertreated which leads to high levels of morbid...ity and avoidable deaths. The consequences of poorly controlled asthma, including physical, mental, social, and economic impacts, are magnified in the poor on account of poor access to asthma services and sub-optimal quality of those services. With these guidelines, Kenya's Ministry of Health aims to work towards embedding asthma care in Universal Health Care (UHC) to ensure that quality asthma services are available in primary care settings with
referral networks strengthened for those who may require secondary and tertiary care. These national asthma guidelines will also ensure that treatment for asthma is standardized in both the public and the non-state health care sector.
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Asthma is the commonest chronic childhood disease and encompasses a spectrum of airway diseases with similar symptoms. Inaccurate diagnosis remains common, especially in younger children, with failure to characterize the different “asthmas.” Children worldwide repeatedly suffer symptoms which se...verely affect their everyday lives. Children die from asthma, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). In many countries, asthma prevalence is rising. Access to effective care and changing environments are hugely variable and may explain the higher morbidity in inner-city children, in LMICs, and in deprived populations in high-income countries. Despite the disease being eminently controllable, morbidity and mortality persist.
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Chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kill more than
four million people every year and affect hundreds
of millions more. These diseases erode the health
and well-being of the patients and have a negative
impact on families and societies. Women ...and
children are particularly vulnerable, especially those
in low and middle income countries, where they are
exposed on a daily basis to indoor air pollution from
solid fuels for cooking and heating. In high income
countries, tobacco is the most important risk factor
for chronic respiratory diseases, and in some of
these countries, tobacco use among women and
young people is still increasing.
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Childhood Respiratory Diseases & the Environment learning objectives
•To understand how the respiratory tract is affected by the environment
•To describe respiratory diseases linked to the environment
•To list one population-level intervention and one personal-level intervention for d...ecreasing risk of respiratory diseases
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At the end of 2023, WHO convened our first-ever annual WHO Stakeholder Review Conference for Prevention and Response to Sexual Misconduct. Aimed at joint learning and frank discussion on challenges faced in the achieving zero tolerance for all forms of sexual misconduct by aid workers, the Conferenc...e brought together Member States, Civil Society Organizations, United Nations Agencies and Programmes, academia and media joined by WHO personnel. A set of recommendations to support all agencies are documented in the Conference Report. In addition, WHO’s Director-General hosted a social engagement segment on the evening of Day 1 to further underscore the centrality of a victim and survivor-centred approach, to celebrate progress however small, and to reaffirm commitment and renew energy for the journey ahead. The Conference took place on 30 November and 1 December 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland
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Asthma is a serious global health problem affecting all age groups. Its prevalence is increasing in many countries, espacially among children. Although some countries have seen a decline in hospitalizations and deaths from asthma, asthma still imposes an unacceptable burden on health care systems, a...nd on society through loss of productivity in the workplace and, espacially for pediatric asthma, disruption to the family.
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To give you a better idea of when and how psychotherapy can help you, we have written this brochure titled Paths to Psychotherapy. While it is therefore primarily intended for people who have never been treated by a psychotherapist, the brochure can also enable those who have previously had psychoth...erapy to find out about the range of psychotherapeutic care and assistance that is currently available. Regardless of your previous experience with psychotherapy, this brochure offers you clear information about what a mental illness is, whether scheduling an initial appointment is advisable, and the circumstances in which psychotherapeutic treatment is necessary.
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Die Broschüre wendet sich deshalb in erster Linie an Menschen, die noch
nicht bei einer Psychotherapeut*in waren. Aber auch Menschen, die bereits bei einer Psychotherapeut*in gewesen sind, können sich hier noch einmal über die aktuellen psychotherapeutischen Angebote und Hilfen informieren. Die ...Broschüre bietet verständliche Informationen darüber, was eine psychische Erkrankung ist, wann ein erster Termin bei einer Psychotherapeut*in ratsam ist und wann eine Behandlung notwendig ist.
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Chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kill more than
four million people every year and affect hundreds
of millions more. These diseases erode the health
and well-being of the patients and have a negative
impact on families and societies. Women ...and
children are particularly vulnerable, especially those
in low and middle income countries, where they are
exposed on a daily basis to indoor air pollution from
solid fuels for cooking and heating. In high income
countries, tobacco is the most important risk factor
for chronic respiratory diseases, and in some of
these countries, tobacco use among women and
young people is still increasing.
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Research globally has shown that metered dose inhaler (MDI) technique is poor,
with patient education and regular demonstration critical in maintaining correct use of
inhalers. Patient information containing pictorial aids improves understanding of medicine
usage; however, manufacturer leaflets i...llustrating MDI use may not be easily understood by
low-literacy asthma patients.
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