Although the COVID-19 crisis is, in the first instance, a physical health crisis, it has the seeds of a major mental health crisis as well, if action is not taken. Good mental health is critical to the functioning of society at the best of times. It must be front and centre of every country’s resp...onse to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health and wellbeing of whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis and are a priority to be addressed urgently.
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Snakebite envenoming affects millions of people worldwide annually and is a significant source of mortality. Preventing and treating the problem is complex and requires collaboration among the fields of public health, medicine, ecology, and laboratory science. After being removed from the category A... neglected tropical disease (NTD) list in 2013, snakebite envenoming was reinstated in 2017 in response to antivenom shortages and advocacy from researchers and international NGOs. In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) set a target to halve the number of deaths and cases of snakebite envenoming by 2030.
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To understand the national situation, Ethiopia did a situation assessment, launched its first strategy in 2011, and took action to contain AMR, as detailed in the blue boxes found throughout this strategy. This updated version of the strategy was in response to the revised health and medicines polic...ies, health sector transformation plan, and the resolutions of the 68th World Health Assembly
of May 2015 and so that Ethiopia’s efforts could be coordinated with global initiatives in the prevention and containment of AMR.
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The WHO continuously reviews available data on SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. For this version, the global epidemiological
situation of the COVID-19 pandemic as of 21 January 2022 – at a time when the Omicron VOC had been identified in 171
countries across all six WHO Regions and was rapidly re...placing Delta worldwide – was considered Omicron has a substantial growth advantage, higher secondary attack rates and a higher observed reproduction number than Delta.
There is now significant evidence that immune evasion contributes to the rapid spread of Omicron. Other factors may be a shorter
serial interval (by about 0.8 to 1.2 days compared to Delta) and potential increased intrinsic transmission fitness . There is
growing evidence that with Omicron, there is lower vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection and symptomatic disease soon after vaccination compared to Delta. There is also evidence of accelerated waning of VE over time of the primary series against infection and symptomatic disease for the studied vaccines. Further studies are required to better understand the drivers of transmission and declining incidence in various settings. These factors include the intrinsic transmission fitness properties of the virus, degree of immune evasion, vaccination coverage and level of vaccine-derived and post-infection immunity, levels of social mixing and degree of application of public health and social measures (PHSM).
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Travailler avec les dirigeants communautaires pour lutter contre la VBG est une très bonne et prometteuse approche, car les dirigeants communautaires sont les gardiens de toutes nos croyances et coutumes. Étant donné que la VBG est enracinée dans les croyances et les coutumes, essayer de s...attaquer à la VBG sans impliquer les dirigeants communautaires peut mener à un grand conflit, et vous n’aurez aucun résultat. Les dirigeants communautaires ont également des rôles à jouer dans la réponse aux survivantes de la VBG. Les survivantes s’adressent aux chefs de villages pour faire part de leurs préoccupations et de leurs expériences, et les dirigeants ont des pratiques pour traiter les préoccupations et une approche de la justice qui se base d’abord sur le maintien de la cohésion sociale, mais la VBG ne peut pas être résolue comme n’importe quel autre conflit. D’après mon expérience des programmes de VBG dans mon propre pays et ailleurs, j’ai appris qu’il est plus difficile d’impliquer les dirigeants communautaires dans certains endroits que dans d’autres. Parfois, les aspects religieux rendent les choses plus difficiles. Mais si vous demandez à n’importe quel dirigeant de décrire ce qu’est un dirigeant, ce qu’un dirigeant fait, il parlera de la protection de la communauté. Et c’est aussi ce que nous voulons — protéger les femmes et les filles dans la communauté.
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One of the principles underpinning the delivery of all essential services and coordination of those services is the “survivor-centered approach”, which places the human rights, needs, and wishes of women and girl survivors at the centre of service delivery.
A key challenge faced by many entit...ies working to end violence against women is ensuring that survivors’ voices and inputs are incorporated into policies, practices, and procedures on response. Survivors have diverse needs and face different risks. Not all women and girls experience violence in the same way. An effective intervention takes into account the realities of their unique circumstances, addresses individual needs, and reduces the risk for further harm and suffering.
UN Women, together with Global Rights for Women, have developed “Safe consultations with survivors of violence against women and girls”, which is designed to provide practical steps, safety measures, and actions that government agencies, civil society and survivor organizations, and United Nations’ entities can take to incorporate survivors' voices into systemic reform efforts, through safe and meaningful consultations.
This guidance is intended to help policymakers develop survivor-centered programming on ending violence against women and girls that meets the needs of diverse groups of women and girls, including those who are at higher risk of experiencing violence and discrimination. It is applicable to programming across the health, justice and policing, and social services sectors, as well as coordination of these sectors, and will help improve the standard and delivery of essential services for women and girls who have experienced violence.
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Loss and damage is an urgent concern, driven by the increasingly harmful effects of climate change. Communities are experiencing new types and forms of climate impact, of higher frequency and intensity, which they are not equipped to handle. These impacts compel vulnerable communities to migrate to ...find alternative livelihoods and ways to survive. But migration generates grave socioeconomic consequences. Through case study analysis from 12 regions in Asia, Africa and the Pacific, this paper explores how climate change-induced migration is creating physical health, mental health and wellbeing issues — both for migrants and the families they leave behind. It then provides recommendations to policymakers on how to strengthen policy, planning and response frameworks to support communities manage health and wellbeing risks created by climate impacts.
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Since late August 2022, cases of severe acute watery diarrhoea have been increasingly reported across Syria, concentrated
particularly along the Euphrates river. These were later confirmed to be cholera cases.3 Cholera is a disease caused by
bacteria that can be found in faeces, and spreads throug...h people consuming contaminated water or food. It causes severe
watery diarrhoea and vomiting which lead to dehydration. If treated immediately, less than 1% of cases result in patients
dying. However, if timely treatment is not available, cholera can lead to death within hours in 25 to 50% of cases. The
situation is critical in Syria as the local population is facing a severe water crisis due to drought, falling groundwater levels,
reduced flow in the Euphrates River, and reduced functionality of Alouk water station. REACH has been monitoring
developments in Northeast Syria through regular data collection cycles, remote sensing data, and rapid needs assessments
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The Strategy to respond to antimalarial drug resistance in Africa is a technical and advocacy document, grounded in the best available evidence to date and aimed at minimizing the threat and impact of antimalarial drug resistance of Plasmodium falciparum parasites in Africa. Its objectives are to: i...) improve the detection of resistance to ensure a timely response; ii) delay the emergence of resistance to artemisinin and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) partner drugs; and iii) limit the selection and spread of resistant parasites where resistance has been confirmed.
WHO Team
Global Malaria Programme
Editors
World Health Organization
Number of pages
87
Reference numbers
ISBN: 978 92 4 006026 5
Copyright
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Following the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on antimicrobial resistance held in September 2016 which called for national, regional and international political commitment to address the issue, member countries agreed on the importance of moving forward to develop national action plans... by May 2017.
Iraq; represented by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Agriculture (MOA); responded by developing a comprehensive plan to control AMR by analysing the current situation of health, veterinary and environment and determining the strategic priorities for Iraq, which are in accordance with the WHO Global Action Plan objectives
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Responding to Outbreaks of Antimicrobial-resistant Pathogens in Health-care Facilities: Guidance for the Western Pacific Region is developed following requests from Member States in the Western Pacific Region for additional information and support in managing AMR outbreaks. It aims to provide: a ste...p-by-step guide for health-care facilities to respond to AMR outbreaks; a practical resource for health-care workers to support AMR outbreak response in low- and middle-income countries; and practical guidance to implement effective AMR outbreak response policies and procedures in clinical settings.
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Le Groupe spécial mondial de lutte contre le choléra (GTFCC) a lancé Mettre fin au choléra :
Une feuille de route mondiale pour 2030 (la Feuille de route mondiale) (1). Cette stratégie vise
à réduire de 90 % le nombre de décès dus au choléra dans le monde et à mettre fin à la
malad...ie dans au moins 20 pays d’ici 2030. Elle est organisée selon trois axes principaux :
• assurer une détection et une réponse précoces pour contenir les épidémies(2) ;
• adopter une approche multisectorielle pour prévenir et contrôler le choléra dans les
points chauds ; et
• mettre en place un mécanisme de coordination efficace de l’appui technique, la
mobilisation des ressources et des partenariats aux niveaux local et mondial.
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The Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) launched Ending Cholera: A Global
Roadmap to 2030 (Global Roadmap) (1), a strategy that aims to reduce global cholera
deaths by 90% and eliminate the disease in at least 20 countries by 2030. It is
organized according to three main axes:
• E...nsuring early detection and response to contain outbreaks; (2)
• Adopting a multisectoral approach to prevent and control cholera in hotspots; and
• Establishing an effective coordination mechanism for technical support, resource
mobilization and partnership at local and global levels.
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English version - This handbook sets out a the new paradigm for pharmacy practice. Its aim is to guide pharmacy educators in pharmacy practice, to educate pharmacy students and to guide pharmacists in practice to update their skills. The handbook, which brings together practical tools and knowledge,... has been written in response to a need to define, develop and generate global understanding of pharmaceutical care at all levels.
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Getting on track to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. This new Road Map charts a way forward for country-level actions to achieve an ambitious set of HIV prevention targets by 2025. Those targets emerged from the 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, which the United Nations General ...Assembly adopted in June 2021 and they are underpinned by the Global AIDS Strategy (2021–2026). The Strategy sets out the principles, approaches, priority action area and programmatic targets for the global HIV response
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This document is the third iteration of the Flash Appeal for Ukraine, which was originally published on 1 March 2022 and revised once in mid-April. This updated Flash Appeal covers the period of 10 months following the onset of the war in Ukraine that started on 24 February 2022 (i.e., from March to... December 2022). The financial requirement of this Flash Appeal reflects the humanitarian needs from March until the end of 2022, taking into account the funding status and the response achievements to date, as well as the realistic projection of response capacity in the second half of the year.
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Following a long recovery from the economic crisis (2007–2013), young people in the EU proved to be more vulnerable to the effects of the restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Young people were more likely than older groups to experience job loss, financial insecur...ity and mental health problems. They reported reduced life satisfaction and mental well-being associated with the stay-at-home requirements and school closures. While governments responded quickly to the pandemic, most efforts to mitigate the effects of restrictions were temporary measures aimed at preventing job loss and keeping young people in education. This report explores the effects of the pandemic on young people, particularly in terms of their employment, well-being and trust in institutions, and assesses the various policy measures introduced to alleviate these effects.
Summary available in 22 languages
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Cryptococcal disease is one of the most common opportunistic infections among people living with advanced HIV disease and is a major contributor to severe illness, morbidity, and mortality, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
These guidelines update the recommendations that were first released i...n 2018 on diagnosing, preventing, and managing cryptococcal disease. In response to important new evidence that became available in 2021, these new guidelines strongly recommend a single high dose of liposomal amphotericin B as part of the preferred induction regimen for the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis in people living with HIV. This simplified regimen - a single high dose of liposomal amphotericin B paired with other standard medicines (flucytosine and fluconazole) - is as effective as the previous WHO standard of care, with the benefits of lower toxicity and fewer monitoring demands.
The objective of these guidelines is to provide updated, evidence-informed recommendations for treating adults, adolescents and children living with HIV who have cryptococcal disease. These guidelines are aimed at HIV programme managers, policymakers, national treatment advisory boards, implementing partners and health-care professionals providing care for people living with HIV in resource-limited settings with a high burden of cryptococcal disease.
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Evidence shows that FGM can cause several physical, mental and sexual health complications in girls and women, and in newborns. Health-care providers play an important role in supporting girls and women living with FGM, and improving their health and well-being. They are in a unique position to infl...uence and change the attitudes of their patients about FGM.
WHO is committed to scaling up the health-sector response to address FGM prevention and care. One aspect is to strengthen the quality of FGM prevention and care services by building the capacity of health-care providers. Several guidance materials have been produced to target health-care providers. These include FGM content for training curricula, clinical guidelines and a clinical handbook.
This training manual complements previous publications by building person-centred communication skills specifically for FGM prevention.
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For humanitarian organisations to respond effectively to complex crises, they require access to up-to-date evidence-based guidance. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of updating global guidance to context-specific and evolving needs in humanitarian settings. Our study aimed to under...stand the use of evidence-based guidance in humanitarian responses during COVID-19. Primary data collected during the rapidly evolving pandemic sheds new light on evidence-use processes in humanitarian response.
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