The frequency of infectious disease epidemics is increasing, and the role of the health sector in the management of epidemics is crucial in terms of response. In the context of infectious disease epidemics, the use of climate-informed early warning systems (EWS) has the potential to increase the eff...ectiveness of disease control by intervening before or at the beginning of the epidemic curve, instead of during the downward slope.
Currently, the initiation of interventions is heavily reliant on routine disease surveillance systems – data that often arrive too late for preventative response. However, forecasting of disease outbreaks using surveillance and weather information shows promising potential – there also remains further scope to examine seasonal climate forecasts. By combining these elements in new EWS based on computational models, it will be possible to improve both the timeliness and impact of disease control. The World Health Organization (WHO) is strengthening existing surveillance systems for infectious diseases to enable the development of more robust and timely EWS, which has resulted in the rapid development and innovation of EWS for disease outbreaks.
more
Previous advocacy efforts have achieved tangible goals in terms garnering political commitments
to increase financing for TB—as seen at the 2018 UN High-Level Meeting on TB. The challenge
now is to ensure that these commitments are actually met within a global biomedical research
ecosystem that... is designed and incentivized to prioritize the health needs of wealthy populations
more
19 February 2021
The overall objective of this prospective meta-analyses (PMA) is to estimate the effect of anti-IL-6 therapy compared with usual care in hospitalized patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. The primary comparison is of the class effect of anti-IL-6 therapies. It will also es...timate the effects of specific anti-IL-6 therapies.
more
Evidence- and rights-based national policies, guidelines and legislation play a key role in improving sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (SRMNCAH), framing the enabling environment for equitable provision and accessibility of quality services. The SRMNCAH policy sur...vey monitors the existence of national SRMNCAH laws, policies, strategies and guidelines and the extent to which they are aligned with WHO recommendations on SRMNCAH. This publication reports on the findings from the 2023 WHO SRMNCAH policy survey.
more
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health crisis that resulted in 1.14 million deaths in 2021. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates, 96 416 of these deaths occurred in the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region. All 22 countr...ies/territories in the Eastern Mediterranean Region are enrolled in the global AMR
surveillance system, and 17 countries/territories reported data in 2024 (for the year 2023). The total number of isolates reported to the system increased sixfold between 2017 and 2022, but the proportion of blood isolates is relatively very low. Most of the data come from public sector laboratories or hospitals, although the private sector has increased its participation in some countries/territories recently. Three pathogens account for three quarters of all the reported pathogens – Escherichia coli
(26%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (23%), and Staphylococcus aureus (22%).
more
Workshop on PHC Revitalisation in Nepal, April 5-6, 2010
The Epidemic Preparedness and Response Plan for Cholera in Syria (November 2015) outlines strategies to prevent, detect, and manage cholera outbreaks in the country, where poor water and sanitation conditions, displacement, and damaged healthcare infrastructure increase the risk of disease spread. T...he plan aims to reduce morbidity and mortality through early detection, rapid response, and coordinated interventions. It is divided into four key phases: the Pre-Epidemic Phase, which includes risk assessment, resource mapping, stockpiling medical supplies, training health workers, and raising community awareness; the Alert Phase, which focuses on surveillance, laboratory confirmation, and mobilization of rapid response teams; the Epidemic Phase, which involves case management, infection control, environmental measures such as water chlorination and improved sanitation, and public awareness campaigns; and the Post-Epidemic Phase, which evaluates the response effectiveness and identifies lessons to improve future preparedness. The plan emphasizes multi-sectoral coordination, strengthening health surveillance, and ensuring timely intervention to control and prevent cholera outbreaks in vulnerable communities.
more
In the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response, WHO identifies young people as a priority target audience with specific concerns, experiences and behaviours. This policy brief provides relevant insights from behavioural evidence and a set of behavioural considerations for tho...se promoting COVID-19 preventive behaviours among young people. Designers of programmes and initiatives targeting youth may find it helpful to refer to the youth-specific barriers and drivers identified in this policy brief and to prioritize these for testing when planning initiatives targeted at young people.
more
Companion to the World Report on Child Injury Prevention 2008
This child-friendly version of the World report on child injury prevention aims to inform children, aged 7 - 11 years, about various types of injuries and how these may be prevented by using a mixture of facts, puzzles,... games and other visual material.
Original file: 24 MB
more
Significant progress has been made in the eradication of three priority diseases in the African Region, as a result of extensive collaboration between the Regional Office, WHO country offices and countries. For example, in August 2020, the region was certified free of wild poliovirus. In the area of... neglected tropical diseases, Guinea worm disease is on the verge of eradication, and 12 member states are within reach of being certified as having eradicated yaws by the end of this year.
more
Prepared by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response for the WHO Executive Board, January 2021
“The world was not as prepared as it should have been, and it must do better,” concludes a WHO panel reviewing the pandemic response "
This report reviews and analyses the Affordable Medicines Programme, which was introduced in Ukraine in April 2017 to provide patients with improved access to 23 outpatient medicines for the treatment of chronic noncommunicable diseases. The evaluation combines both quantitative and qualitative anal...ysis. The findings confirm that the Programme has contributed to a significant increase in access to needed outpatient medicines in Ukraine. Further, while implementation was successful overall, uptake across regions was uneven. The report concludes by listing a number of policy options to support the sustainability and expansion of the Affordable Medicines Programme.
more
The "Regional Action Plan 2017–2030: Towards a Malaria-Free South-East Asia Region" by the World Health Organization (WHO) outlines a strategic framework to eliminate malaria in the 11 countries of the WHO South-East Asia Region by 2030. It focuses on reducing transmission, particularly of Plasmod...ium falciparum and P. vivax, addressing multidrug resistance, improving surveillance, and ensuring universal access to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The plan sets clear objectives and milestones and emphasizes strong governance, cross-border collaboration, community involvement, and sustainable financing to achieve and maintain a malaria-free status across the region.
more
This Guide is part of WHO’s overall programme of work on Political Economy of Health Financing Reform: Analysis and Strategy to Support UHC. The impetus for this work came from demands for more concrete evidence, recognition and integration of political economy issues within
health financing, and... overall system, reform design and implementation processes. This Guide is complementary to WHO’s Health Financing Progress Matrix assessment, as well as Health Financing Strategy development guidance. In this way, it promotes an embedded political
economy analysis approach that can be used in conjunction with other health financing assessments and guidance. The political economy framework can also be extended and easily adapted to broader health policy reforms.
more
Malaria in pregnancy is a significant health problem in malaria-endemic areas. It not only causes substantial childhood morbidity and mortality but also increases the risks of adverse events for pregnant women and their developing fetuses. Most of the burden in these areas is due to infection with P...lasmodium falciparum. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been recommended as first-line treatment for uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in all populations, including pregnant women in their second and third trimesters, since 2006. However, for women in their first trimester of pregnancy, WHO recommended as first-line treatment a combination of quinine and clindamycin.
Based on a review of the evidence conducted in 2022, WHO now recommends artemether–lumefantrine, the ACT with the most human safety data available, as the preferred treatment for uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in the first trimester of pregnancy. This document presents all relevant evidence on the effects and safety in early pregnancy of artemisinins and partner medicines used in ACTs from both studies in experimental animals and observational studies in humans.
more
This second edition of the Basic Malaria Microscopy package is a stand-alone product,
providing all that is needed to conduct a complete training course
Pillar 3 of the Global technical strategy for malaria 2016–2030 calls for the transformation of malaria surveillance into a core intervention in all malaria-endemic countries, as well as in countries which have eliminated malaria but remain susceptible to re-establishment of transmission. This ref...erence manual covers subjects that are relevant to both settings.
The target readership of this manual includes staff working in ministries of health, national malaria programmes and health information systems; partners involved in malaria surveillance; and WHO technical officers who advise countries on malaria surveillance.
more
Anopheles stephensi is an invasive mosquito species which has been found spreading across Africa. While this species presents a new challenge for malaria control on the continent, its surveillance and management have been ongoing in Asia for many years. This document aims to summarize key lessons fr...om 3 countries – India, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Sri Lanka – that have been working to control An. stephensi. It is hoped that their experiences and insights will be valuable for countries encountering An. stephensi for the first time.
more