In 2016, PAHO's Directing Council, through Resolution CD55.R9, approved the “Plan of Action for Elimination of Neglected Infectious Diseases (NID) and Post-Elimination Actions, 2016-2022.” This Resolution urges Member States to implement a set of interventions to reduce the burden of disease by ...NID in the Americas by 2022, including “…support promotion of treatment, rehabilitation, and related support services through an approach focused on integrated morbidity management and disability prevention for individuals and families afflicted by those neglected infectious diseases that cause disability and generate stigma.” NIDs can have devastating chronic sequelae for patients, such as disability, visible change or loss in body structure, loss of tissue, and impairment of proper tissue and organ function, among others. All of these can in turn lead to unjustified discrimination, stigmatization, mental health problems, and partial or total incapacity to work, perpetuating the vicious cycle of neglected diseases as both a consequence and a cause of poverty. Patients with chronic conditions caused by NIDs require proper health care in order to prevent further damage and improve their living and social conditions. This should be provided at the primary health care level, as patients suffering from NIDs are often unable to travel to or afford to pay for specialized care services. Care for patients suffering from chronic morbidity caused by NID should be integrated into care for other chronic conditions caused by non-communicable diseases. This manual provides a framework for morbidity management and disability prevention of patients affected by NIDs and gives specific guidance for the proper care of patients suffering from chronic conditions caused by lymphatic filariasis, leprosy, trachoma, and Chagas disease. It is intended to be used mainly by health care workers at the primary health care level, but health workers at more complex and specialized levels may also find it useful.
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The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) provides comprehensive information on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases. The website emphasizes that NCDs are the leading cause of death and disability globally, accounti...ng for 71% of all deaths worldwide, with 5.5 million annual deaths in the Americas. It highlights key risk factors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, harmful alcohol consumption, and unhealthy diets. PAHO advocates for preventive measures, early detection, and integrated healthcare strategies to address the NCD burden in the Americas.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the SAFER initiative in 2018 to address the global health and societal challenges posed by alcohol-related harm. The initiative outlines five key strategies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption and its associated consequences. These include strengthening... restrictions on alcohol availability by implementing and enforcing policies to limit its accessibility and advancing drink-driving countermeasures, such as low blood alcohol concentration limits and random breath testing, to reduce alcohol-impaired driving incidents.
Additionally, SAFER emphasizes facilitating access to screening, brief interventions, and treatment for individuals with alcohol use disorders, ensuring that healthcare systems are equipped to provide effective support. Another core strategy is enforcing comprehensive bans or restrictions on alcohol advertising, sponsorship, and promotion to minimize its influence, particularly on vulnerable populations such as youth. Finally, the initiative advocates raising alcohol prices through excise taxes and pricing policies to make it less affordable and thereby reduce consumption.
By implementing these evidence-based, cost-effective measures, the SAFER initiative aims to reduce the global burden of alcohol-related deaths and disabilities, fostering healthier societies worldwide.
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The WHO Training Resource on Primary Ear and Hearing Care is a new set of four training manuals aimed at equipping primary health care workers in
developing countries with simple and effective methods to reduce the burden of ear and hearing disorders.
October 2009 | Volume 6 | Issue 10 | e1000162
BMC International Health and Human Rights 2012, 12 :12
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-698X/12/12
The mounting burden of type 2 diabetes is a major concern in healthcare systems worldwide. The purpose of this study is to investigate the trend of type 2 diabetes from 1990 to 2019 in Asia.
Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2019 Jun; 222(5): 765–777. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.05.004;
To develop updated estimates in response to new exposure and exposure-response data of the
burden of diarrhoea, respiratory infections, malnutrition, schistosomiasis, malaria, soil-transmitted helminth
infec...tions and trachoma from exposure to inadequate drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene behaviours
(WASH) with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.
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The Lancet. 13 March 2022. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02868-3. Previous Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) studies have reported
national health estimates for Ethiopia. Substantial regional variations in socioeconomic status, population, demography, and access to hea...lth care within Ethiopia require comparable estimates at the subnational level. The GBD 2019 Ethiopia subnational analysis aimed to measure the progress and disparities in health across nine regions and two chartered cities.
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Lancet Glob Health 2018 Published Online September 12, 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30409-1
AN ANALYSIS OF UNICEF MICS 3 SURVEY DATA FROM BANGLADESH, LAO PDR, MONGOLIA AND THAILAND
Asthma is one of the neglected diseases in Africa with a high prevalence. Allergic fungal diseases have been reported to complicate asthma progression and treatment outcomes. However, data about fungal asthma and its associated complications are limited in Africa. We aimed to estimate the burden of ...fungal asthma among adults and children in Africa using a systematic review.
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The report summarizes the estimates of the burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene for the year 2019 for four health outcomes - diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, soil-transmitted helminthiases, and undernutrition - which are included in the reporting o...f the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.9.2. The report includes estimates at global, regional and country level for 183 WHO Member States.
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Lancet Global Health Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2019, Pages e81-e95
Lancet Oncol 2018 Published Online September 12, 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(18)30447-9
Stats SA has released an in-depth report on persons with disabilities. The report, written using Census 2011 data, is the first in a series of in-depth analyses of various Census 2011 variables, such as ageing and education.
The report provides statistical evidence relating to the prevalence of dis...ability and characteristics of persons with disabilities at both individual and household levels. Two methods were used to profile disability prevalence and patterns based on the six functional domains, namely seeing, hearing, communication, remembering/concentrating, walking and self-care. These two methods were:
- the level/degree of difficulty in a specific functional domain and;
- the disability index.
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