WHO has updated its guidelines for COVID-19 therapeutics, with revised recommendations for patients with non-severe COVID-19. This is the 13th update to these guidelines.
Updated risk rates for hospital admission in patients with non-severe COVID-19
The guidance includes updated risk rates for... hospital admission in patients with non-severe COVID-19.
The current COVID-19 virus variants tend to cause less severe disease while immunity levels are higher due to vaccination, leading to lower risks of severe illness and death for most patients.
This update includes new baseline risk estimates for hospital admission in patients with non-severe COVID-19. The new ‘moderate risk’ category now includes people previously considered to be high risk including older people and/or those with chronic conditions, disabilities, and comorbidities of chronic disease. The updated risk estimates will assist healthcare professionals to identify individuals at high, moderate or low risk of hospital admission, and to tailor treatment according to WHO guidelines:
**High: **People who are immunosuppressed remain at higher risk if they contract COVID-19, with an estimated hospitalization rate of 6%.
**Moderate: **People over 65 years old, those with conditions like obesity, diabetes and/or chronic conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney or liver disease, cancer, people with disabilities and those with comorbidities of chronic disease are at moderate risk, with an estimated hospitalization rate of 3%.
Low: Those who are not in the high or moderate risk categories are at low risk of hospitalization (0.5%). Most people are low risk.
Review of COVID-19 treatments for people with non-severe COVID-19
WHO continues to strongly recommend nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (also known by its brand name ‘Paxlovid’) for people at high-risk and moderate risk of hospitalization. The recommendations state that nirmatrelvir-ritonavir is considered the best choice for most eligible patients, given its therapeutic benefits, ease of administration and fewer concerns about potential harms. Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir was first recommended by WHO in April 2022.
If nirmatrelvir-ritonavir is not available to patients at high-risk of hospitalization, WHO suggests the use of molnupiravir or remdesivir instead.
WHO suggests against the use of molnupiravir and remdesivir for patients at moderate risk, judging the potential harms to outweigh the limited benefits in patients at moderate risk of hospital admission.
For people at low risk of hospitalization, WHO does not recommend any antiviral therapy. Symptoms like fever and pain can continue to be managed with analgesics like paracetamol.
WHO also recommends against use of a new antiviral (VV116) for patients, except in clinical trials.
The update also includes a strong recommendation against the use of ivermectin for patients with non-severe COVID-19. WHO continues to advise that in patients with severe or critical COVID-19, ivermectin should only be used in clinical trials.
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Guidelines for WHO Representatives and Country
Offices in the Western Pacific Region
The 2010-2011 National Annual Report on HIV program presents the progress in implementing the strategies and activities articulated in the National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS 2009-2012 commonly referred to as the HIV NSP. The report presents consolidated information regarding the outputs in the ...second year of implementing the four year strategy. This report will serve to inform the Mid Term Review of the HIV NSP 2009-2012.
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The World Health Organization's Model Disability Survey (MDS) Manual is a tool to help implement the MDS in countries and to improve the quality of the interview process. This manual is intended to provide practical information about the survey instruments and their use during interviews. This manua...l is to be used as a training tool for interviewers when administering the questionnaire.
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The new guidelines provide public health guidance on pharmacological agents for managing hyperglycaemia in type 1 and type 2 diabetes for use in primary health-care in low-resource settings. These guidelines update the recommendations for managing hyperglycaemia in the WHO Package of Essential NCD I...nterventions (WHO PEN) for primary care in low-resources settings, reviewing several newer oral agents as second- and third-line treatment: dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and thiazolidinediones. The guidelines also present recommendations on the selection of type of insulin (analogue versus human insulin) for adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
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22nd edition
The purpose of the SAHR has always been to analyse and assess progress and challenges in key areas of the health system, and to propose recommendations for improvement. We are pleased to continue this tradition in the 2019 edition, which presents a unique collection of perspectives on ...the key challenges in implementing universal health coverage (UHC) in South Africa, as analysed by experts in various fields.
Each of the 20 chapters deals with aspects of the UHC journey, dedicated towards an equitable and inclusive national health system that leaves no-one behind. While some authors describe the fundamental changes and practical considerations required to reconfigure the country's health system, others have reflected on specific programmatic areas and have made recommendations from a National Health Insurance (NHI)/UHC lens.
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Commissioned by Plan International the report draws on data from research conducted in Bangladesh in April 2018. It explores how adolescent girls within two age brackets (10-14 and 15-19) understand the unique impact the crisis has upon them, and how they have responded to the challenges they face.<...br>
Despite the numbers of adolescent girls affected so profoundly by the ongoing Rohingya crisis, and of course, by many crises around the world, it is rare that either their own communities or the humanitarian sector at large pay much attention to them. This research is an attempt to rectify that: to acknowledge that girls and young women do have rights and that their ideas are worth listening to and acting upon.
Among the many learnings, we discovered that girls feel isolated. They have settled among strangers, and parents worry about their safety, keeping them even more trapped inside their new, makeshift homes.
75% of girls interviewed said they have no ability to make decisions about their own lives.
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Esta publicação apresenta a Agenda para as Américas sobre Saúde, Meio Ambiente e Mudança Climática 2021–2030 (a Agenda). Esta Agenda é um apelo ao setor da saúde para que se posicione na vanguarda da abordagem aos determinantes ambientais da saúde nas Américas. A Organização Pan-Americ...ana da Saúde (OPAS) trabalhará com os Estados Membros para alcançar a meta e objetivo desta agenda: assegurar uma vida saudável e promover o bem-estar para todos, em todas as idades, usando um enfoque sustentável e equitativo que priorize a redução das iniquidades em saúde. A Agenda foi desenvolvido sob a égide da Estratégia Mundial da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) sobre a Saúde, o Meio Ambiente e a Mudança Climática e se baseia nos compromissos estabelecidos na Agenda de Saúde Sustentável para as Américas 2018–2030 e no Plano Estratégico da OPAS 2020–2025. A Agenda foi desenvolvida em consulta com o Grupo Técnico Assessor (GTA), por meio de um processo decisório consensual com os Estados Membros, durante os anos de 2019 e 2020. Para alcançar o Objetivo de Desenvolvimento Sustentável 3, a Agenda enfoca: melhoria do desempenho dos programas e instituições de saúde pública ambiental; promoção de sistemas de saúde ambientalmente resilientes e sustentáveis; e promoção de cidades e comunidades ambientalmente saudáveis e resilientes. A implementação da Agenda deverá ser contextual, com base nas necessidades e realidades de cada país. Ela beneficiará países e territórios ao promover boas práticas de governança; fortalecer as funções de liderança e coordenação do setor da saúde; favorecer ações intersetoriais; focar na prevenção primária; e melhorar as evidências e a comunicação. Facilitará o acesso aos recursos humanos, técnicos e financeiros necessários para abordar os determinantes ambientais da saúde e garantir que a Região esteja totalmente engajada nos processos e acordos globais de saúde, meio ambiente e mudança climática. O objetivo desta Agenda é fortalecer a capacidade dos atores da saúde, tanto no setor da saúde quanto em outros setores, para abordarem e se adaptarem aos determinantes ambientais da saúde (DAS), priorizando as populações que vivem em condições de vulnerabilidade, a fim de atingir o Resultado Intermediário 18 do Plano Estratégico da OPAS 2020–2025, diretamente, e vários outros resultados do Plano, indiretamente. Para enfrentar e se adaptar aos desafios dos DEA na Região, será necessária uma abordagem integrada e baseada em evidências dentro do setor da saúde e entre os setores, possibilitada e favorecida por boas práticas de governança, mecanismos de gestão adequados, vontade política de alto nível e dotação adequada de recursos humanos, técnicos, tecnológicos e financeiros.
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WHO has a unique combination of technical public health and scientific expertise, and a global operational footprint, with field offices in more than 150 countries. In 2020, this global, technical, and operational reach meant WHO was able to support countries around the world in every aspect of COVI...D-19 public health response, from surveillance and laboratory testing to maintaining essential health services in the most vulnerable and fragile contexts.
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Chapter in: Reformed theology today: Practical-theological, missiological and ethical perspectives