In many countries neonatal tetanus is responsible for half of all neonatal deaths due to vaccine-preventable diseases and for almost 14% of al¡ infant deaths. It is estimated that in the 1970s more than 10,000 newborns died annually from neonatal tetanus in the Americas. Neonatal tetanus is prevent...ed by immunization and/or assuring clean delivery and post-delivery practices.
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Cognizant of the need for standardization of the response for COVID-19, the Federal Ministry of Health prepared this national guideline in an effort to contain the epidemic before it overwhelms the health care facilities. This national guideline is expected to guide policy makers and h...ealth professionals at all level. A standardized approaches to will assist effective and efficient utilization of the limited resource of the country, minimizes dilemma and confusion on case management. To this effect, the FMOH has established National COVID-19 advisory committee. The committee members are from different specialties with very good experiences in disaster management and prevention and treatment of infectious disease epidemics. The input from the committee is used to make decisions at the national level about theepidemics in the weeks and months to come. The FMOH would like to acknowledge the members of the national advisory committee for their commitment and unreserved effort in finalizing the task in a very short period of time and advising the Ministry on various issues related to the epidemics at this critical time.
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is occurring everywhere in the world, compromising the ability to treat infectious diseases, as well as undermining many other advances in health and medicine. Underlying factors that drive AMR include; weak or absent surveillance and monitoring systems, inadequate sys...tems to ensure quality and uninterrupted supply of medicines, inappropriate and irrational use of medicines including in animal husbandry, poor infection prevention and control practices, and depleted arsenals of diagnostics, medicines and vaccines as well as insufficient research and development of new products.
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The LDHS provides an opportunity to inform policy and provide data for planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of national health programs. It is designed to provide up-to-date information on health indicators including fertility levels, sexual activity, fertility preferences, awaren...ess and use of family
planning methods, breastfeeding practices, nutritional status of children, early childhood and maternal mortality, maternal and child health, and awareness and behaviors regarding HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. The study also incorporated measurements of HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis Cprevalence along with seroprevalence of Ebola virus disease antibodies, the results of which will be included in future addendums. In addition to presenting national estimates, the report provides estimates of key indicators for both rural and urban areas, the country’s 15 counties, and the capital, Monrovia.
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This strategic framework marries formerly separate mandates for HIV and TB management in to one, comprehensive collaboration. It provides a structure for how to: strengthen the health care system to respond effectively to both epidemics, reduce the burden of HIV/AIDS in TB patients, and establish a ...monitoring and evaluation system for the collaborative activities. Activities include: improving TB infection control in health care and other settings, enhancing TB/HIV diagnostic capacity, and harmonize data collection tools and local, national and international TB/HIV indicators.
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This FY 2019 Malaria Operational Plan presents a detailed implementation plan for Burkina Faso, based on the strategies of PMI and the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP). It was developed in consultation with the NMCP and with the participation of national and international partners involved in... malaria prevention and control in the country. The activities that PMI is proposing to support fit in well with the national malaria control strategy and plan and build on investments made by PMI and other partners to improve and expand malaria-related services, including malaria grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. This document briefly reviews the current status of malaria control policies and interventions in Burkina Faso, describes progress to date, identifies challenges and unmet needs to achieving the targets of the NMCP and PMI, and provides a description of activities that are planned with FY 2019 funding.
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A WHO Guideline for Emergency Risk Communication (ERC) policy and practice.
Recent public health emergencies, such as the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa (2014–2015), the emergence of the Zika virus syndrome in 2015–2016 and multi-country yellow fever outbreaks in Africa in 2016, h...ave highlighted major challenges and gaps in how risk is communicated during epidemics and other health emergencies. The challenges include the rapid transformation in communications technology, including the near-universal penetration of mobile telephones, the widespread use and increasingly powerful influence of digital media which has had an impact on ‘traditional’ media (newspapers, radio and television), and major changes in how people access and trust health information. Important gaps include considerations of context – the social, economic, political and cultural factors influencing people’s perception of risk and their risk-reduction behaviours.
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This guide includes information relevant for tuberculosis (TB) program and laboratory managers, as well as Ministry of Health officials across disease programs interested in establishing integrated solutions for specimen referral. Though TB-focused in name, it offers integration-oriented assessment,... design, and monitoring guidance related to improving coordination and efficiency, and is relevant for other programs as well. Country case studies include viral load and early infant diagnosis (EID) in Uganda and EID in Ethiopia.
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This brief update on tuberculosis (TB) in the African region covers the state of TB in the WHO African region, strategic priorities and targets and the impact of COVID-19 on essential services. This is followed by key figures for the region, the role of WHO in country support and, recognizing the im...portance of diagnosis and drug susceptibility testing, a focus onstrengthening laboratory networks and the regional laboratory and diagnostic objectives. A brief update of the state of the science and how this is funded across the African region is provided, before closing with challenges and opportunities,strategic directions and a brief discussion of funding concerns. Discussions around the drivers of the disease, and issues of the poverty, inequality and stigma that continue to plague those living with TB are fully recognized, but are outside the scope of this report.
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N95 or equivalent respirators are single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) designed for use by health workers that provide direct care to patients with diseases transmitted by aerosols or during aerosol generating procedures (AGP) for patients with acute respiratory disease, as is the case of ...COVID-19. • Given the current shortage of N95 and equivalent respirators, the World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested the possibility of their extended use by the same individual for up to 6 hours or the reprocessing of respirators when necessary.
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Access to medical personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential for routine healthcare delivery, and a critical tool for containing outbreaks, as well as preventing and responding to pandemics. It is one of our most effective tools against COVID-19, and an undervalued tool more generally in infec...tion control.
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This brief summarizes current evidence and guidance for maintaining safe and effective care across the spectrum of maternal, newborn and infant care while protecting mother and child and health care providers during COVID-19. Furthermore, implications of the principle of “do no harm” are reviewe...d for maternal, newborn and infant care delivery during COVID-19, so that this information is conveniently and readily available to clinical and health system policy leaders and stakeholders in countries and communities. Additionally, considerations for safe oxygen delivery as well as key Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures at home and in healthcare facilities for pregnant women, newborns and children are described in detail in the brief.
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Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Vol.12 (2013) pp.234-248
In 2006, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) published an Expert Report entitled “Antimicrobial Resistance: Implications for the Food System” (IFT 2006). That report summarized current scientific knowledge pe...rtaining to the public-health impact of antimicrobial use in the food system and the development and control of antimicrobial resistance. Since that time, intense interest in this topic has continued within the regulatory and scientific communities as well as the general public. This IFT Scientific Status Summary serves to update that 2006 IFT Expert Report by briefly reviewing new scientific evidence relevant to the goals of the initial report and providing a number of key observations and conclusions.
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The strategic plan reflects shared commitments to enhance collaboration between environmental, animal (wildlife and domestic) and human health, and building new One Health workforce capacity through higher institutions of learning. The strategy also outlines interventions to be undertaken by governm...ent institutions and other partners to enhance existing structures and pool together additional resources to prevent and control zoonotic diseases and other events of public health importance. Successful implementation of the strategy will contribute to the realization of vision 2020 by improving public health, food safety and security, and hence significantly improve the socioeconomic status of the people of Rwanda. It is in this regard that we call upon implementing institutions, bilateral and multilateral partners, civil society and the private sector to join us in implementing the One Health strategy in Rwanda.
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About one fourth of the world’s population is estimated to have been infected with the tuberculosis (TB) bacilli, and about 5–10% of those infected develop TB disease in their lifetime. The risk for TB disease after infection depends on several factors, the most important being the person’s im...munological status. TB preventive treatment (TPT) given to people at highest risk of progressing from TB infection to disease remains a critical element to achieve the global targets of the End TB Strategy, as reiterated by the second UN High Level Meeting on TB in 2023. Delivering TPT effectively and safely necessitates a programmatic approach to implement a comprehensive package of interventions along a cascade of care: identifying individuals at highest risk, screening for TB and ruling out TB disease, testing for TB infection, and choosing the preventive treatment option that is best suited to an individual, managing adverse events, supporting medication adherence and monitoring programmatic performance
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The 2022 report reviews the global malaria diagnostics market and technological landscape to support Unitaid’s 2023–2027 strategy for quality malaria case management. The report highlights the stalled progress of malaria control efforts, the gaps in access to diagnostics and the public health im...plications of P. falciparum HRP2/3 gene deletions, which compromise the accuracy of the widely used HRP2-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). The report analyses the malaria RDT market, noting supplier diversification, price trends and production shifts resulting from the pandemic. It also addresses the emerging point-of-care G6PD testing market, which is required to ensure the safe radical cure of P. vivax infections. It surveys technological innovation, including digital microscopy, hemozoin tests, nucleic acid detection and biosensors, while emphasising that RDTs and microscopy will remain the mainstay of case management in the near term. The report identifies market shortcomings, access barriers and opportunities to improve malaria case management and diagnostic coverage.
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On 9 February 2021, a first webinar entitled “Expanding our understanding of Post COVID-19 condition” was held under the auspices of WHO and in consultation with the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium(ISARIC), Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Dis...ease Preparedness (GloPID-R), National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases(NIH/NIAID), Long Covid SOS and patient representatives.
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The article focuses on "The State of the World’s Children 2023" report published by UNICEF. It highlights the critical role of vaccines in saving lives and the challenges in global immunization efforts, especially for marginalized and underserved children. The report emphasizes the impact of COVID...-19 on routine immunization, leaving millions of children unprotected from preventable diseases. It calls for urgent measures to restore and improve vaccination coverage, ensure equity in vaccine access, strengthen primary healthcare systems, and build trust in vaccines. The report also advocates for innovations and sustainable funding to achieve immunization for every child.
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