How to address the global crisis in antibiotic research and development.
The report includes a comprehensive summary and critical evaluation of recent initiatives to overcome the barriers to achieve sustainable access to antibiotics. As antibiotic resistance will continue to develop as long as we ...depend on these medicines to treat bacterial infections, a continuous supply of new effective antibiotics is needed. The report identifies five key challenges that must be solved in order to achieve sustainable access for all, and charts out options for governmental action in response to each of them.
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A Training Curriculum for Providers
Rabies is a devastating and societally important zoonotic disease, which is transmitted principally to humans through the bite of infected dogs. This acute, progressive viral encephalitis has the highest case fatality of any infectious disease and kills tens of thousands of people annually, with chi...ldren and impoverished communities being affected disproportionately.
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Summary of key informant interviews with representatives of organizations providing, funding, or supporting WASH services to refugee populations
The overall goal of the programme, to reduce the malaria morbidity and mortality by 75% (using 2012 as baseline) by the year 2020, continued to be pursued in 2014. The following areas were identified as some of the priorities for the year: Malaria Case Management under which we have Malaria in Pregn...ancy (MIP), Home Based Care and Diagnostics.
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In recognition that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is not only a harmful practice but a violation of human rights, Kenya has adopted a robust legal framework. The country has ratified several international legal instruments that have become part of the Kenyan law as provided for in Article 2 of the... constitution.
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Summary of research into the consequences of the Ebola outbreak for children and communities in Liberia and Sierra Leone
This study describes the range of impacts that Ebola has had on children and families in Liberia and Sierra Leone, looking beyond the immediate health effects
Antibiotic resistance has been recognized as a major global health threat and optimizing prescribing is one of the most effective measures to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics. The quality of prescribing depends mostly on those prescribers belonging to clinical medical specialties... having direct contact with patients. These doctors, who comprise the majority of antibiotic prescribers,undergo long-term undergraduate and postgraduate training that shapes their professional knowledge and behaviour
J Antimicrob Chemother2019;74: 3611–3618doi:10.1093/jac/dkz375 Advance Access publication 3 September 2019
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Fully functioning water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and health care waste management services are a critical aspect of infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, and ensuring patient safety and quality of care. Such services are also essential for creating an environment that supports the dig...nity and human rights of all care seekers, especially mothers, newborns, children and care providers.
WASH and waste services are also critical for preventing and effectively responding to disease outbreaks. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in these basic services (Box 1). These gaps threaten the safety of patients and caregivers, and have environmental consequences, especially as a result of large increases in plastic health care waste. In short, WASH is a critical foundation for improving quality across the health system (1).
Many facilities lack plans and budgets for WASH, which has impacts on IPC. This lack of services, and of systems to improve them, compromises the ability to provide safe and quality care, and places health care providers and those seeking care at substantial risk of infection and loss of dignity. Unhygienic health care facilities without drinking water or functional toilets are also a disincentive to seeking care and undermine staff morale – these factors can have a critical impact on controlling infectious disease outbreaks.
Climate change and its impacts on WASH and health services, gender-specific needs, and equity in service provision and management all require rigorous attention, adaptable tools and regular monitoring.
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This document highlights landmarks and key milestones in the development and implementation of the global agenda for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) over the last two decades. It summarizes where the world was in 2000, where it is in 2022, and where the world wants to be in terms of NCD prevention a...nd control by 2030. It recalls the commitments made by heads of state and governments, and outlines the technical guidance provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) in support of national efforts to achieve the internationally agreed NCD targets for 2025 and 2030.
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Sudan recorded the first COVID-19 case on 13 March 2020 and, at the beginning of July, the Federal Ministry of Health had confirmed that nearly 10,000 people had contracted the virus, including over 600 who died from the disease across the country. Although more than 70 per cent of the confirmed cas...es are in the Khartoum area, COVID-19 has spread throughout the country, with the highest numbers recorded in the central and eastern states. With extremely low testing capacity — around 800 samples per day, the lowest in the region — the official figures of confirmed cases likely underestimate the extent of the pandemic and the actual situation is unknown.
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A practical handbook. This Health Cluster Guide (2nd edition, 2020) provides practical advice on how WHO, Health Cluster Coordinators and partners can work together during a humanitarian crisis to achieve the aims of reducing avoidable mortality, morbidity and disability, and restoring the delivery ...of and equitable access to preventive and curative health care.
It highlights key principles of humanitarian health action and how coordination and joint efforts among health and other sector actors can increase the effectiveness and efficiency of health interventions and promote better health outcomes. It draws on Inter-Agency Standing Committee and other expert guidance and includes lessons from field experience in acute and protracted crises.
The coordination principles and practice presented in Health Cluster Guide are equally valid for coordinators and members of health sector groups that seek to achieve effective health action in countries where the cluster approach has not been formally adopted.
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After more than three years without cases, Haiti reported on 2 October 2022 a cluster of cholera cases in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, just as the country was on the verge of being declared cholera- free.
This cholera resurgence in Haiti is happening in a complex operational context, am...id a volatile socio- political environment marked by blockades, fuel shortages, criminal gang activity and rampant insecurity. Civil unrest and lack of access to the affected communities are deepening the complex humanitarian crisis and hindering emergency response efforts.
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