Interim guidance. 12 May 2021. The Continuity of essential health services: Facility Assessment Tool can be used by countries to rapidly assess the capacity of health facilities to maintain the provision of essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can help to alert the authorities ...and other stakeholders about where service delivery and utilization may require modification and/or investment. This assessment tool covers the following aspects of essential health services:
health workforce (numbers, absences, COVID-19 infections, health workforce management, training and support);
financial management and barriers;
service delivery and utilization (facility closures, changes in service delivery, community communication campaigns, changes in service utilization and catch-up strategies);
IPC capacities (protocols, safety measures, guidelines and the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff);
availability of therapeutics, diagnostics and supplies, and vaccine readiness; and
provision of COVID-19 primary care services.
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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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As the Americas undergo profound demographic change and there are more persons aged 65 years or older than children younger than 5 years, it is crucial to recognize that national immunization programs must be redesigned to ensure comprehensive protection for individuals across the lifespan. By adopt...ing a life course approach (LCA) to immunization, vaccination programs can be tailored to close immunity gaps at different stages of life. The life course approach foresees the establishment of multiple strategies to reduce missed opportunities for vaccination according to age group. This technical document explains the key concepts of the LCA with a focus on immunization by vaccination, as well as the underlying biological mechanisms that require the application different vaccines at different life stages according to changes to the immune system and in the epidemiological situation of a community.
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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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The report – the first of its kind – shows how the pandemic has driven up food insecurity and increased vulnerability among migrants, families reliant on remittances and communities forced from their homes by conflict, violence and disasters.
The two UN agencies warn the social and economic ...toll of the pandemic could be devastating and call on the world to prevent it by stepping up support in response to immediate and rising humanitarian needs, addressing the socioeconomic impacts of the crisis and ensuring that the most vulnerable are not forgotten.
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Background paper 11
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response
May 2021
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes the challenges countries face for maintaining their COVID-19 response while addressing competing public health challenges, conflicts, climate change and economic crises. WHO continues to support countries in adjusting COVID-19 strategies to reflect succ...esses to date and leverage what has been learned through national responses.
To assist national and global efforts to end the COVID-19 emergency worldwide, WHO updated the COVID-19 (Global Preparedness, Readiness and Response plan) in 2022 and outlined two strategic objectives.
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USAID/KENYA Evaluation Services and Program Support (ESPS)
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has a solid track record of supporting health and development initiatives in Kenya. AIDS, Population, and Health Integrated Assistance (APHIA) is the agency’s flagship hea...lth initiative in the country. APHIA is currently in its third iteration, APHIAPlus, which began in January 2011 and is slated to end in December 2015. APHIAPlus was designed to contribute to Result 3 (“Increased use of quality health services, products, and information”) and Result 4 (“Social determinants of health”) of USAID/Kenya’s implementation framework. The main technical areas of focus are HIV/AIDS; malaria; family planning (FP); tuberculosis (TB); maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH); and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).
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Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide in 2018, with 570,000 new cases and 311,000 deaths occurring annually.T he highest incidence rates are in Southern Africa, Eastern Africa, SubSaharan Africa, Western Africa, Melanesia, and Middle Africa . It also ranks as the leadin...g cause of cancer-related death in most African countries. More than 85% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries . In addition, women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are six times as likely to have cervical cancer
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Unite for Children
First Edition
The Zimbabwe National Pharmacovigilance Policy Handbook, 2nd Edition updates the November 2013 version to indicate the Zimbabwe National Pharmacovigilance (PV) Centre’s compliance with the WHO Pharmacovigilance Indicators Handbook 2015.