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Publication Years
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Toolboxes
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This special issue on Newborn Health in Global Health Action is being launched to share the experience of how to scale up a cost-effective package
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of newborn care that involves families, community health workers and health facilities. The results of this community randomized trial, the Uganda Newborn Study (UNEST), show that home visits in pregnancy and soon after delivery resulted in improved breastfeeding practices, skin-to-skin care immediately after birth, delaying a baby’s first bath, and hygienic care of the baby’s umbilical cord among the poorest households with lowest access to care.
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These guidelines provide a recommendation on iodine thyroid blocking (ITB), via oral administration of stable iodine, as an urgent protective action in responding to a nuclear accident. This recommendation aims to support emergency planners, policy
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makers, public health specialists, clinicians and other relevant stakeholders, in order to strengthen public health preparedness for radiation emergencies in WHO Member States as required by the International Health Regulations (IHR) and in line with the international safety standards (GSR Part 7). The scope of the guidelines is confined to public health aspects of planning and implementation of ITB before and during a radiation emergency, such as dosage and timing of ITB administration, adverse effects of stable iodine, its packaging, storage, and distribution.
These guidelines supersede the 1999 WHO Guidelines for Iodine Prophylaxis following Nuclear Accidents.
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A companion to the Child Friendly Schools Manual
WASH in Schools aims to improve the health and learning performance of school-aged chi ... ldren – and, by extension, that of their families – by reducing the incidence of water and sanitation-related diseases. Every child friendly school requires appropriate WASH initiatives that keep the school environment clean and free of smells and inhibit the transmission of harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites. more
WASH in Schools aims to improve the health and learning performance of school-aged chi ... ldren – and, by extension, that of their families – by reducing the incidence of water and sanitation-related diseases. Every child friendly school requires appropriate WASH initiatives that keep the school environment clean and free of smells and inhibit the transmission of harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites. more
Ebola disease and Marburg disease outbreaks continue to occur in Africa, with increased frequency. In addition to resulting in high mortality and morbidity, the outbreaks generate fear
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and mistrust about the response activities within the communities affected.
Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a key pillar in the outbreak response; adherence to IPC practices can prevent and control transmission of infections to health and care workers, patients and their family members.
During the 2014-2016 West African Ebola disease outbreak, there was an urgent need for rapid IPC guidance to help support ministries of health, health-care providers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In response, WHO produced several documents related to the outbreak based on expert opinion, including IPC-specific documents and documents on clinical management that also referenced key IPC principles and practices. Since that time, many practices in the field have become institutionalized.
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WHO updated recommendations on HIV clinical management: recommendations for a public health approach
recommended
This document provides an overview of the updated World Health Organization recommendations for HIV clinical management, which focus on optimizing antiretroviral therapy, preventing vertical transmi
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ssion, and enhancing tuberculosis prevention among individuals with HIV. These updates are intended to support global initiatives aimed at ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Key changes include the introduction of new antiretroviral drugs and regimens, revised postnatal prophylaxis and breastfeeding guidelines for managing infants at risk of vertical transmission, and the endorsement of shorter tuberculosis preventive treatments to improve efficacy and adherence.
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The purpose of this document is to guide clinicians in the care of patients with or at risk of severe illness from influenza virus infection, inclu
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ding those caused by seasonal influenza viruses, pandemic influenza viruses and zoonotic (novel influenza A) viruses.
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Adolescents and young adults aged 10-24 remain underserved in the global response against HIV. Combination prevention, treatment and care programmes use a mix
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of evidence-based interventions to meet the current HIV prevention needs of adolescents and young adults. However, there needs to be a focus on priority interventions that are evidence-based, practical, contextual and sustainable. This document highlights interventions and recommendations that have passed through the evidence-based lens of the WHO.
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The purpose of adding the books to the website of MCAI for download, is to make this life-saving, up-to-date information available to all who need it. Fill in a short registration field
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and you can download the pdf-files.
If you work in a hospital in a low income country - providing free care - you are probably intitled to FREE copies of these books. MCAI will send them to you, all you have to do is to read our Flyer and fill in the request form.
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These WHO guidelines which were updated in 2018, are valid for any country and suitable to local adaptations, and take account of the strength
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of available scientific evidence, the cost and resource implications, and patient values and preferences.
The 2018 edition of the guidelines includes the revision of the recommendation regarding the use of 80% fraction of inspired oxygen (high FiO2) in surgical patients under general anaesthesia with tracheal intubation and the update of the section on implementation. Between 2017 and 2018, WHO re-assessed the evidence on the use of high FiO2 by updating the systematic review related to the effectiveness of this intervention to reduce SSI and commissioning an independent systematic review on adverse events potentially associated with it. Based on the updated evidence, the GDG decided to revise the strength of the recommendation from strong to conditional.
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The Health Systems in Transition (HiT) series consists of country-based reviews that provide a detailed description of a
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health system and of reform and policy initiatives in progress or under development in a specific country.
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WHO today released its first roadmap to tackle postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) – defined as excessive bleeding after childbirth - which affects millions of women annually and is the world’s leading
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cause of maternal deaths.
Despite being preventable and treatable, PPH results in around 70 000 deaths every year. For those who survive, it can cause disabilities and psychological trauma that last for years.
“Severe bleeding in childbirth is one of the most common causes of maternal mortality, yet it is highly preventable and treatable,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “This new roadmap charts a path forward to a world in which more women have a safe birth and a healthy future with their families.”
The Roadmap aims to help countries address stark differences in survival outcomes from PPH, which reflect major inequities in access to essential health services. Over 85% of deaths from PPH happen in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Risk factors include anaemia, placental abnormalities, and other complications in pregnancy such as infections and pre-eclampsia.
Many risk factors can be managed if there is quality antenatal care, including access to ultrasound, alongside effective monitoring in the hours after birth. If bleeding starts, it also needs to be detected and treated extremely quickly. Too often, however, health facilities lack necessary healthcare workers or resources, including lifesaving commodities such as oxytocin, tranexamic acid or blood for transfusions.
“Addressing postpartum haemorrhage needs a multipronged approach focusing on both prevention and response - preventing risk factors and providing immediate access to treatments when needed - alongside broader efforts to strengthen women’s rights,” said Dr Pascale Allotey, WHO Director for Sexual and Reproductive Health and HRP, the UN’s special programme on research development and training in human reproduction. “Every woman, no matter where she lives, should have access to timely, high quality maternity care, with trained health workers, essential equipment and shelves stocked with appropriate and effective commodities – this is crucial for treating postpartum bleeding and reducing maternal deaths.”
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Refugee Health
recommended
An approach to emergency situations. Relief workers face rapidly changing and complex environments, new disease patterns, enormous humanitarian needs and relatively limited resources. The authors
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of this book use their experience in the area to produce an operational manual of the issues involved in refugee health programs. This book is aimed at professionals involved in public health assistance to refugees and displaced persons. It deals with a variety of specific refugee health issues at the decisional level, and discusses the priorities of intervention during the different phases of a refugee crisis, from emergency to repatriation.
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Irresponsible pharmaceutical companies fuel the proliferation of superbugs through supply chain pollution, the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) reports. The advocacy group uncovered lapses suc
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h as dirty production and inadequate waste disposal in the production of antimicrobials in China and India, which supplies most of the antimicrobials consumed in Europe. In a briefing detailing the pollution, the EPHA urges major purchasers of antibiotics to blacklist irresponsible pharmaceutical companies, demand that the industry clean up its supply chain, introduce greater transparency on the origin of antibiotics, and review and revise procurement policies from an ethics perspective.
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The two-year impact report for the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator details impact, case studies and timelines of key milestones for the Diagnostics, Therapeutics
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and Vaccines pillars, as well as the Health Systems and Response Connector.
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The Director’s guide contains all the information that the course director needs in order to plan and prepare for the course, to decide which modules and sessions will be included in the training,
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and to select trainers and participants, starting several months before the actual training. It contains lists of the materials and equipment needed, and sample timetables. Copies of the forms to be photocopied and used during the course can be found in the Course handouts. The Director’s guide also describes the director’s role during the course itself.
more
These 2025 guidelines respond to the need for better approaches to identify advanced HIV disease, improve the poor outcomes of people living with HIV being discharged from hospital and provide updat
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ed guidance for treatment for Kaposi’s sarcoma through evidence-informed recommendations. The publication contains recommendations that are from previously published WHO guidelines documents on advanced HIV disease and introduces new recommendations that were developed in 2025.
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The document “Guidelines for the Investigation and Control of Disease Outbreaks” provides practical guidance for public health professionals on
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how to detect, investigate, and manage outbreaks of communicable diseases. It describes the key steps of outbreak investigation, including confirming the outbreak, establishing a case definition, collecting epidemiological and laboratory data, identifying the source and mode of transmission, and implementing control measures. The guidelines also explain how to organize outbreak response teams, communicate findings, and document results in outbreak reports. Overall, the document aims to support systematic and effective outbreak investigations in order to control disease spread and protect public health.
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Good primary care may lead to fewer avoidable hospitalizations, but unsafe primary care can cause avoidable illness and injury, leading to unnecessary hospitalizations, and in some cases, disability
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and even death.Implementing system changes and practices are crucial to improve safety at all levels of health care. Recognizing the paucity of accessible information on primary care, World Health Organization (WHO) set up a Safer Primary Care Expert Working Group. The Working Group reviewed the literature, prioritized areas in need of further research and compiled a set of nine monographs which cover selected priority technical topics. WHO is publishing this technical series to make the work of these distinguished experts available to everyone with an interest in Safer Primary Care.The aim of this technical series is to provide a compendium of information on key issues that can impact safety in the provision of primary health care.
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2nd edition - Published in 2003, the first WHO/HAI medicine prices manual Medicine Prices – A
New Approach to Measurement Draft for field-testing provides a draft methodology and tools to conduct national medicine prices
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and availability surveys. This second edition of the survey manual has been updated to reflect the wealth of practical
experience in conducting medicine prices and availability surveys garnered in the project’s first two phases.
more
Communication Risk in Public Health Emergencies
recommended
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
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of the Zika virus syndrome in 2015–2016 and multi-country yellow fever outbreaks in Africa in 2016, have 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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