These guidelines form part of efforts to institutionalise the prevention and containment of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in health care facilities in South Africa, as outlined in the Antimicrobial Resistance Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan.  The focus of these guidelines is on two inte...rrelated aspects of prevention of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) and their spread; and the application of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) practices at hospital level.
                                                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                This research paper uses  the Health  Resources  and  services  Availability Mapping  System (HeRAMS) database to develop two composite indices – one  for health centres and one for hospitals – in order to analyse and assess the health facilities’ performance across time and to evaluate the di...sparities among regions in the Syrian Arab Republic. The indices will provide an evidence-based tool for the main actors in the health  sector  to  identify  gaps, to  intervene  accordingly  and  to  assess  the  impact  of  their interventions on the health  system.  The process  of constructing the indices  includes description and selection of variables, application  of normalization techniques and weighting  methods,  and  sensitivity analysis. 
A  literature  review, analysis  of  the scope  of the HeRAMS database, analysis of the  crisis situation, data limitation and expert consultations were the main aspects of the construction process of the indices.
                                                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat that requires urgent
collaborative action within and among countries. As a result of the worldwide reports of the increasing rates of AMR to hospital and community-acquired infections and in the agricultural sector, the Global Action Plan on AMR was... adopted in 2015. T
                                                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                These guidelines were developed as part of Kenya's fast-track plan to end AIDS among adolescents and young people. Based on research into adolescent and young key populations in Kenya and elsewhere, they outline a package of HIV prevention services, and emphasize the need to combine biobehavioural i...nterventions with services in education, job skills training, mental health, and social care and protection.
                                                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                One  important  application  of  digital  health  in  TB  patient  care  is  the  support  that  it  can  lend  to  medication  adherence.  TB  programmes  have  already  been  using  short  message  service  (SMS),  video-supported treatment (VOT) and event monitoring device for medication support ...(EMM)1 to help patients complete  treatment  and  health-care  workers  to  monitor  both  daily  dosing  and  treatment  continuity
                                                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                This integrated operational framework provides an overview of the connections between mental health, neurological and substance use (MNS) conditions, and their links to health, well-being and the broader public health and sustainable development agenda. The need for integrated approaches is increasi...ngly recognized as critical to address the complex interactions between mental health, brain health, substance use, and physical health, particularly in light of global threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The framework also provides a series of actions for governments and health service planners and advisors to achieve integration across four domains: leadership and governance; care services; promotion and prevention; and health information systems, evidence generation and research.
                                                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                PQM conducted an assessment of the medicine quality assurance and quality control systems in Rwanda during November 9-13, 2009. Medicine quality assurance remains to be developed in Rwanda: the country has neither a medicine regulatory authority (MRA) nor a national medicine quality control laborato...ry – the two key institutions to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of medicines. The MOH Pharmacy Taskforce (PTF) is to be commended however for successfully controlling the pharmaceutical market to the extent that there is no informal medicines market in Rwanda. Based on its findings, the assessment team expects Rwanda to be able to make great strides in evidence-based medicines quality assurance in the short to medium term, provided it receives adequate technical assistance and financial support. 
                                                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                Phytochem Rev (2023) 22:1691–1806
Plants have a lot of potential and will continue to contribute feasible, effective medicines and/or pesticides; more research is warranted to fully  explore their future applications
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                MOH clinical practice guidelines
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are critical in the prevention and care for all of the 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) scheduled for intensified control or elimination by 2020.
Provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene is one of the five key interventions within the global NTD ...roadmap. Yet to date, the WASH component of the strategy has received little attention and the potential to link efforts on WASH and NTDs has been largely untapped.
Focused efforts on WASH are urgently needed if the global NTD roadmap targets are to be met. This is especially needed for NTDs where transmission is most closely linked to poor WASH conditions such as soil-transmitted helminthiasis, schistosomiasis, trachoma and lymphatic filariasis.
This strategy aims to mobilise WASH and NTD actors to work together towards the roadmap targets.
                                                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                DHS Working Papers No. 123
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                Evidence shows that oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) reduces  the risk of contracting HIV during sexual intercourse by more than  90% when taken daily. It is for this reason the National HIV Prevention  Strategy 2015-2020 (2018 Revision) emphasises the role of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in ...reducing new HIV infections in Malawi. 
The Ministry of Health has prioritised PrEP use among the populations  most at-risk of HIV infection in Malawi: young women ages 10 to 24  years, sero-discordant couples, female sex workers, men who have  sex with men, and other priority populations (such as members of the  uniformed services, prisoners, and mobile populations).
                                                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                Revised and expanded version of the Guidelines
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                The Quality Criteria for Health National Adaptation Plans (HNAPs) presents examples of good practice in HNAP development to assist countries in developing a comprehensive, feasible and implementable plan. The criteria are also intended to guide countries in setting the foundation for a long-term ite...rative HNAP process. The proposed criteria are not prescriptive and should be adapted to dynamic country contexts, uncertain and changing climatic conditions, and new knowledge and technologies. 
9 February 2021
                                                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                Data on asthma aetiology in Africa are scarce. We investigated the risk factors for asthma among schoolchildren (5–17 years) in urban Uganda. We conducted a case-control study, among 555 cases and 1115 controls. Asthma was diagnosed by study clinicians. The main risk factors for asthma were tertia...ry education for fathers (adjusted OR (95% CI); 2.32 (1.71–3.16)) and mothers (1.85 (1.38–2.48)); area of residence at birth, with children born in a small town or in the city having an increased asthma risk compared to schoolchildren born in rural areas (2.16 (1.60–2.92)) and (2.79 (1.79–4.35)), respectively; father’s and mother’s history of asthma; children’s own allergic conditions; atopy; and cooking on gas/electricity. In conclusion, asthma was associated with a strong rural-town-city risk gradient, higher parental socio-economic status and urbanicity. This work provides the basis for future studies to identify specific environmental/lifestyle factors responsible for increasing asthma risk among children in urban areas in LMICs.
                                                                    more
                                                            
                         
                     
                                                        
                        
                        
                            
                            
                                                                The primary audience for these recommendations includes health professionals who are responsible for developing national and local health-care guidelines and protocols and health workers involved in the provision of care to women and their newborns during pregnancy, labour and childbirth; this inclu...des midwives, nurses, general medical practitioners and obstetricians. The primary audience also includes managers of maternal and child health programmes, and relevant staff in ministries of health and educational and training institutions, in all settings.
                                                                    more