Rising levels of inflation, debt and macrofiscal tightening are putting expenditures on the social sectors including health under immense scrutiny. Already, there are worrying signs of reductions in social sector investments. However, even before the pandemic, evidence showed the significant returns... on investments in health equity and its social determinants. Emerging data and trends show that these potential returns have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic - investments in social determinants can mitigate widespread reductions in human capital and the increasing likelihood of costly syndemics, while promoting access to healthcare innovations that have thus far been inequitably distributed. Therefore, we argue that, despite immediate fiscal pressures, this is exactly the time to invest in health equity and its broader social determinants, as the returns on such investments have never been greater.
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The key tools and governance approaches for
international cooperation for sustainable development
(hereafter, international cooperation) were set up in a
markedly different time and age. International
cooperation – with official development assistance
(ODA) as the dominant means of implementa...tion –
remains key, despite being generally considered as no
longer adequate for addressing today’s common and
collective challenges.
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The purpose of the guideline is to provide information to stakeholders on the necessary requirements for a complete prequalification dossier for insecticide-treated nets (ITNs). Its aim is to establish the baseline for dossier requirements which are necessary to assess ITN products for the purposes ...of prequalification, describe the data requirements for fulfilling each dossier module, and to provide standardized information for applicants and testing facilities generating data for ITN prequalification dossiers. The document is supported by implementation guidance documents which provide specific information and considerations for how applicants may approach the generation of supporting information and compilation of a complete product dossier.
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The Training Toolkit for Community Early Warning Systems is an operational manual that aims to strengthen early warning systems in a developing country context. It accompanies and should put into practice the guiding strategic principles found in the Community Early Warning Systems: Guiding Principl...es.
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Adolescence, defined as the period between 10 and 19 years of age, is a developmental stage during which many psychosocial and mental health challenges emerge. There is a well-established link between mental health and HIV outcomes. Adolescents and young adults living with HIV typically have additio...nal mental health needs linked to their experiences of living with and managing a chronic illness, along with prevailing stigma and discrimination. Mental health promotion and prevention is thus a critical priority for this group.
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This implementation brief addresses integration of HIV testing services into family planning (FP) services. It is intended as a practical resource for national health programmes seeking to introduce or scale up HIV testing and linkage to HIV prevention, sexually transmitted infection, and antiretrov...iral therapy services in FP.
This document highlights emerging good practices and country experiences of integrated HIV prevention and testing services within FP and advocates for increased linkage for FP clients to HIV services according to their needs. It also brings together information on models of integration of HIV testing into FP services, programme examples from east and southern Africa and guidance on the implementation monitoring process.
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This study looks at commitments made at the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) under the Grand Bargain and provides an overview of good practices on localisation approaches, provides a number of case studies from the regional response and makes recommendations on how to further strengthen leadership an...d participation of national and local actors within the response to the Syria crisis.
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4th edition
The WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual (LBM) has been in broad use at all levels of clinical and public health laboratories, and other biomedical sectors globally, serving as a de facto global standard that presents best practices and sets trends in biosafety.
LBM encouraged countries t...o accept and implement basic concepts in biological safety and to develop national codes of practice for the safe handling of biological agents in laboratories within their geographical borders.
This fourth edition of the manual builds on the risk assessment framework introduced in the third edition. A thorough, evidence-based and transparent assessment of the risks allows safety measures to be balanced with the actual risk of working with biological agents on a case-by-case basis.
This novel evidence- and risk-based approach will allow optimised resource use and sustainable laboratory biosafety and biosecurity policies and practices that are relevant to their individual circumstances and priorities, enabling equitable access to clinical and public health laboratory tests and biomedical research opportunities without compromising safety.
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This paper is Oxfam’s essential guide for WASH staff and partners. It describes the processes and standards that Oxfam WASH programmes should follow if they are to be carried out effectively, consistently and in a way which treats affected communities with respect.
All WASH staff members are expe...cted to understand and follow these Minimum Requirements. However, it is recognised that in acute emergencies it is preferable to start work on the basics immediately, and build up a comprehensive, quality programme in the following days and weeks. There will, therefore, be some programmes in which certain individual requirements are not appropriate or relevant; in such cases staff members responsible should be able to justify why she/he did things differently, or how the minimum requirement was achieved over time.
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Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response.
The 2018 Sphere Handbook builds on the latest developments and learning in the humanitarian sector. Among the improvements of the new edition, readers will find a stronger focus on the role of local authorities and communities as ...actors of their own recovery. Guidance on context analysis to apply the standards has also been strengthened. New standards have also been developed, informed by recent practice and learning, such as WASH and healthcare settings in disease outbreaks, security of tenure in shelter and settlement, and palliative care in health. Different ways to deliver or enable assistance, including cash-based assistance, are also integrated into the Handbook.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) and United NationsHuman Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) joint globalreport, Hidden cities: unmasking and overcoming healthinequities in urban settings, exposes the extent to whichcertain city dwellers suffer disproportionately from a wide range of diseases and ...health problems. This report provides information and tools to helpgovernments and local leaders reduce health inequities in their cities. The objective of the report is not tocompare rural and urban health inequities. Urban healthinequities need to be addressed specifically for they aredifferent in their magnitude and in their distribution.
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The Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) 2011-2020, endorsed by Member States during the May 2012 World Health Assembly, has set ambitious targets to improve access to immunization and tackle vaccine-preventable diseases. This responsibility has been translated into firm commitments in February 2016, t...hrough the signature of the Addis Declaration on Immunization (ADI) by African Ministers and subsequently endorsed by the Heads of States from across Africa at the 28th African Union Summit held in January 2017. This commitment from the highest level of government comes as a catalyst to immunization efforts on the continent to deliver on the promise of universal immunization
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In 2014, GHS/NACP, with support from UNICEF and other partners, conducted a situation analysis on paediatric HIV care and treatment in Ghana. The purpose of this analysis was to identify the gaps within the current delivery of paediatric HIV care and support system and develop a road map for effecti...ve implementation of Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) and to increase paediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage. The analysis identified gaps such as lack of task shifting on ART services, low paediatric ART coverage, and poor linkage of ART, EID, and PMTCT services with other RCH - immunization and nutrition services.
In view of the findings of the analysis, it was recommended that an Acceleration Plan for Paediatric HIV Services be developed to address the barriers and bottlenecks identified during the assessment. At the current pace of paediatric HIV Services, it can be extrapolated that paediatric ART coverage will increase from 26% to only about 40% by 2020; Ghana will, therefore, fall short of the global target of 90-90-90 (UNAIDS concept).
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In 2016 CRS leveraged the robust infrastructure of its large, multi-sectoral orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) program in Nigeria by expanding the program's core mandate to include community childhood TB casefinding, with a focus on highly vulnerable children and their caregivers
This study, and similar studies in Kenya, Mozambique, Swaziland, Uganda, and Zambia is the outcome of close collaborative by a team in Swaziland, with technical and financial support from the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa, UNAIDS Geneva, and the World Bank's Global HIV.../AIDS Program (Global AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Team). The study entailed using existing data and collecting new data to better know the country's HIV epidemic, know the country HIV response and how funding was allocated, so as to improve the HIV response and strengthen prevention based on evidence on what works to prevent new infections.
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As information about COVID-19 is rapidly evolving, it can be challenging to navigate and synthesize all of the information. The purpose of this document is to provide a synthesized, indexed reference of accurate, standardized COVID-19 information from trustworthy sources. Information is presented in... simple, clear language to support the development of messages and materials needed for social and behavior change interventions.
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Au cours des derniers mois, la situation sécuritaire et humanitaire s'est rapidement détériorée dans les régions du Nord, du CentreNord, du Sahel, de la Boucle du Mouhoun et de l’Est du Burkina Faso. Cette dégradation a entraîné un accroissement substantiel des déplacements internes et ag...gravé l'accès déjà très limité aux services sociaux de base dans un contexte d'extrême pauvreté dans ces localités. Alors que l'insécurité augmente progressivement depuis 2017, l’année 2019 a été particulièrement violente, provoquant une augmentation sans précédent des besoins humanitaires. 2,9 millions de burkinabè sont dans un besoin humanitaire de plus en plus croissant dans tous les secteurs. Parmi ces 2,9 millions de personnes, plus de 920 000 étaient des déplacées internes au 30 juin 2020 et plus de 1,5 millions étaient directement privées d’un accès aux soins de santé et d’éducation
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9 June 2021
Since its launch, GLASS has expanded in scope and coverage and as of May 2021, 109 countries and territories worldwide have enrolled in GLASS. A key new component in GLASS is the inclusion of antimicrobial consumption (AMC) surveillance at the national level highlighted in this fourth G...LASS report.
The fourth GLASS report summarizes the 2019 data reported to WHO in 2020. It includes data on AMC surveillance from 15 countries and AMR data on 3 106 602 laboratory-confirmed infections reported by 24 803 surveillance sites in 70 countries, compared to the 507 923 infections and 729 surveillance sites reporting to the first data call in 2017.
The report also describes developments over the past years of GLASS and other AMR surveillance programmes led by WHO, including resistance to anti-human immunodeficiency virus and anti-tuberculosis medicines, antimalarial drug efficacy.
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The extensive use of natural resources threatens to exceed the carrying capacity of the Earth. The concept of a
circular economy offers an avenue to sustainable growth, good health and decent jobs, while saving the environment
and its natural resources. Further, the change from a linear economy (t...ake, make, dispose) to a circular economy (renew, remake, share) is expected to support significantly the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), particularly SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production.
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