The report covers: drivers of humanitarian crises in the region, particularly the intensification of violence in the DRC; manifestations of humanitarian needs, including record levels of displacement and food insecurity; and constraints to meeting humanitarian needs, including obstacles to humanitar...ian access and inadequate funding
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Mothers and healthcare workers who support them have many questions and concerns about whether it is safe for mothers with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 to be close to and breastfeed their babies during the pandemic.
To address their questions, WHO has released a list of Frequently asked question...s: Breastfeeding and COVID-19. The FAQ complements the WHO interim guidance: Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection when COVID-19 is suspected and draws upon other WHO recommendations on infant and young child feeding.
The FAQs aim to provide information to healthcare workers supporting mothers and families in maternity services and community settings, and communicate how the interim guidance should be implemented. Additionally, the FAQs provide information about the protective effects of breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact, and the harmful effects of inappropriate use of infant formula milk.
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Updated with information on Ebola virus disease and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
A wide variety of health events ranging in severity may occur related to air transport, requiring different responses or, perhaps, no response at all. The target audience for this guidance document incl...udes the national focal points (NFP) for the IHR and public health authorities at PoE, as well as national aviation regulatory authorities, airport operators and personnel, aircraft operators, air crew and other stakeholders involved in air transport and emergency preparedness and response to public health events
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Eur Respir J 2014; 43: 24–35 | DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00113413
Update, 2023. En 2021, les résultats préliminaires des études d’observation du projet CARAMAL (Community Access to Rectal Artesunate for Malaria) n’ont pas confirmé l’impact sur la mortalité observé dans l’essai contrôlé de 2009. Par conséquent, en janvier 2022, l’OMS a publié un...e note d’information sur l’artésunate rectal, dans laquelle elle suggérait des mesures immédiates d’atténuation des risques.
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with special reference to prevention and control of avian influenza
The scale of West Africa’s Ebola epidemic has been attributed to the weak health systems of affected countries,
their lack of resources, the mobility of communities and their inexperience in dealing with Ebola. This briefing for African Affairs argues that these explanations lack important contex...t. The briefing examines responses to the outbreak and offers a different set of explanations, rooted in the history of the region and the political economy of global health and development. To move past technical discussions of “weak” health systems, it highlights how structural violence has contributed to the epidemic. As part of this, local people – their beliefs, concerns and priorities – have been marginalised. Both the crisis response and post-Ebola ‘reconstruction’ will be strengthened by acknowledgment of its long term structural underpinnings and from a more collaborative inclusion of local people.
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Chapter 21 from "Where there is no doctor"
Pakistan Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP) was formed in the wake of international and national efforts for AMR curtailment. A group of experts from microbiology, infectious diseases and veterinary medicine formed a core group at the organizational meet...ing of GARP in Kathmandu, Nepal in July 2016. In the meeting, this core group was expanded to include other members from different sectors with the selection of the Chair and co-chairs. These were asked to serve on a voluntary basis, in their own individual capacities, with no personal gains, or gains to the institutions to which they are affiliated. The first phase of GARP took place from 2009 to 2011 and involved four countries: India, Kenya, South Africa and Vietnam. Phase one culminated in the 1st Global Forum on Bacterial Infections, held in October 2011 in New Delhi, India. In 2012, phase two of GARP was initiated with the addition of working groups in Mozambique, Tanzania, Nepal and Uganda. Phase three has added Bangladesh, Lao PDR, Nigeria, Pakistan and Zimbabwe to the network to date.
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Infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics are increasing in frequency, scale and impact. Health care facilities can amplify the transmission of emerging infectious diseases or multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) within their settings and communities. Therefore, evidence-based infection prevention ...and control (IPC) measures in health care facilities are critical for preventing and containing outbreaks, while still delivering safe, effective and quality health care. This toolkit is intended to support IPC improvements for outbreak management in all such facilities, both public and private throughout the health system. Specifically, this document systematically describes a framework of overarching principles to approach the preparedness, readiness and response outbreak management phases. The document also provides a toolkit of resource links to guide specific actions for each infectious disease and/or MDRO outbreak management phase at any health facility. This document is specifically tailored to an audience of stakeholders who establish and monitor health care facility-level IPC programs including: IPC focal points, epidemiologists, public health experts, outbreak response incident managers, facility-level IPC committee(s), safety and quality leads and managers, and other facility level IPC stakeholders.
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This is the first guidance note in a four-part series of notes produced by InterAction to support management,
program and M&E staff in international NGOs to plan, design, manage, conduct and use impact evaluations. This first guidance note, Introduction to Impact Evaluation, provides an overview of... impact evaluation, explaining how impact evaluation differs from – and complements – other types of evaluation, why impact evaluation should be
done, when and by whom. It describes different methods, approaches and designs that can be used for the different aspects of impact evaluation. The guidance note is also available in French, Arabic and Spanish on https://www.interaction.org/impact-evaluation-notes.
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This document provides interim guidance for effective risk communication around Zika virus transmission and potential complications. A causal relationship between Zika virus infection and these potential complications has not yet been proven. In this uncertainty, effective communication strategies s...hould be implemented to enable people to take the best informed decisions about protecting themselves, their families and communities. This interim guidance is intended to be used by risk and health communication managers, staff and volunteers at global, regional or country level; communications professionals; anthropologists; sociologists; healthcare providers;hospital administrators; community leaders; programme managers;
and policymakers.
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This study aimed to analyze the geographical distribution of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to identify high-risk areas in space and time for the occurrence of cases and deaths in the indigenous population of Brazil. This is an ecological study carried out between 24 March and 26 October 20...20 whose units of analysis were the Special Indigenous Sanitary Districts. The Getis-Ord General G and Getis-Ord Gi* techniques were used to verify the spatial association of the phenomena and a retrospective space–time scan was performed. There were 32 041 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 471 deaths. The non-randomness of cases (z score = 5.40; P < 0.001) and deaths (z score = 3.83; P < 0.001) were confirmed. Hotspots were identified for cases and deaths in the north and midwest regions of Brazil. Sixteen high-risk space–time clusters were identified for the occurrence of cases with a higher RR = 21.23 (P < 0.001) and four risk clusters for deaths with a higher RR = 80.33 (P < 0.001). These clusters were identified from 22 May and were active until 10 October 2020. The results indicate critical areas in the indigenous territories of Brazil and contribute to better directing the actions of control of COVID-19 in this population.
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Trop Med Int Health. 2015 Apr; 20(4): 448–454. Open Access
This document provides guidance on how to implement contact screening and chemoprophylaxis with single-dose rifampicin. The contents are logically ordered: counselling and obtaining consent, identification and listing of index case, listing of contacts, tracing of contacts, screening of contacts, ad...ministration of prophylactic drugs. Managerial aspects to undertake contact screeninig and chemoprophylaxis are also elaborated, including planning , training , supervision and drug management.
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