The African Palliative Care Association is pleased to publish the first edition of Palliative Care Standards for Africa. The development of these standards was achieved through wide consultation with service beneficiaries and providers, and they have been developed to suit different levels of ... service delivery, from primary to tertiary. These standards are underpinned by the World Health Organization’s definition of palliative care, and recognise that scaling up palliative care requires a public health approach with four pillars: policy, education, drug availability and implementation. In addition, the increasing need to establish specific indicators of quality and effectiveness for palliative care has been a big driving force behind these comprehensive standards. It is APCA’s wish that they will provide a framework for the development of evaluation
and performance indicators that can facilitate programme improvement and development. The standards are designed to allow the development or improvement of palliative care across the different services levels, within the organisational capacity of various service providers. They describe a relationship between primary, intermediary and tertiary level service providers, with expectations for all providers articulated through detailed criteria for each standard. It is therefore expected that these standards will influence the planning and delivery of palliative care services at all levels of health care service delivery.
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The Guidelines for the Use of the APCA African Palliative Outcome Scale (POS) has been developed by the APCA, in collaboration with
stakeholders, to help appropriately trained health practitioners and researchers across the region to utilise the APCA African POS in their work place (Powell et... al, 2007; Warria et al, 2007). Not only do the guidelines provide a clear rationale for measuring palliative care outcomes, but they also outline practical information on how to use the tool to collect data and analyse its results. So why is there a need for these guidelines?
Palliative care as a concept and discipline is not well understood across Africa, and its development is still embryonic in many countries. While there are many obstacles that hinder palliative care development on the continent, a key challenge is the lack of accurate information about the palliative care being provided and its outcomes. The APCA African POS is a useful tool to help us measure these outcomes and, given that
measuring palliative care outcomes remains a relatively new concept, it is important to guide people on how to use the tool. Of course, these guidelines are not intended to address everything related to the measurement of palliative care outcomes; they contain only essential information for providers. More detailed information on the use of outcome tools, and in particular within the research setting, can be gained from contacting relevantly trained professionals.
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Public health challenges over the past decade have highlighted the importance of approaching health through a holistic lens of human, animal, and environmental sectors, recognizing the need for a collaborative response against shared threats. Zoonotic diseases, transmitted between humans and animals... through their shared environment, are at the forefront of the threats requiring collaborations that span human health, natural ecosystems, and food systems.
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Drawing on the World Health Organization’s package of NCD best buys, the report demonstrates how these evidence-based measures can help countries reduce premature deaths, strengthen health systems, and advance progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. It provides policymakers, donors, ad...vocates, and partners with a clear economic and social rationale for scaling up implementation of proven solutions. By framing NCD prevention and control as both a health and development priority, the report offers a roadmap for action that delivers benefits across populations, economies, and generations. The evidence is clear: investing in WHO’s best buys is not only possible—it is imperative. The time to act is now.
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The global cholera statistics for 2024, showing an increase in both the number of people who fell sick and died from the disease.
Reported cholera cases rose by 5% and deaths by 50% in 2024 compared to 2023, with more than 6000 people dying from a disease that is both preventable and treatable. Whi...le these numbers are themselves alarming, they are underestimates of the true burden of cholera.
Weekly epidemiological record WER No 36, 2025, 100, 347–364
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Access to medicines is essential for attainment of universal health coverage, which is central to achievement of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. Controlled medicines include those such as opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, amphetamines and others with identified or emergent cl...inical indications. WHO recognizes that these medicines are necessary for pre- and post-operative care, for sedation, for the management of both acute and chronic pain, for palliative care, as anticonvulsants (anti-epileptics), for the management of anxiety disorders and for the management of substance use disorders, including as opioid agonist therapy (OAT).
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Updated guidance on the integration of diabetes, hypertension and mental health services, and interventions to support adherence to antiretroviral therapy. The guideline offers practical implementation guidance for countries and key stakeholders as well as outlining key research gaps. As life expec...tancy for people living with HIV continues to increase, managing noncommunicable diseases, mental health, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy is essential to sustaining treatment success, quality of life, and engagement in care. A life course approach addresses these needs from childhood through older age. Service integration supports more person-centred, coordinated care across the life course.
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WHO, as the coordinating authority on international health, supports countries in protecting public health through evidence-based policies and actions. Considering the significant health burden and the multiple potential benefits of interventions, the WHO Air Quality, Energy and Health Unit aims to ...support countries by providing evidence, building institutional capacity and leveraging the “health argument” to convene sectors to tackle air pollution and accelerate energy access.
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Policy Brief. Good practice statement: When planning and implementing a response for HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases (STIs), policy-makers and providers should be aware that
counselling behavioural interventions aimed to change behaviours to reduce risks associated
with th...ese infections for key populations have not been shown to have an effect on HIV, viral
hepatitis and STIs’ incidence nor on risk behaviour such as condom use and needle/syringe
sharing. Counselling and information sharing, not aimed at changing behaviours, can be a key
component of engagement with key populations and, when provided, it should be in a nonjudgemental manner, alongside other prevention interventions and with involvement of peers
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On 4 September 2025, the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Kasai Province, following confirmation of Zaire ebolavirus by the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) in Bulape and Mweka Health Zones. As of 19... September, there have been 48 total cases (38 confirmed, 10 probable) with 31 deaths (21 confirmed, 10 probable) and a CFR of 64.5%. Among laboratory confirmed cases, 16 deaths were recorded (CFR: 45.7%). Four deaths occurred among health workers, underscoring the risk of nosocomial transmission. Most cases (39.7%) are among adults aged 20 years and above, in a densely populated, remote, and under-resourced area.
The outbreak is driven by multiple risk factors, including transmission in health facilities with limited infection prevention and control (IPC) measures and personal protective equipment (PPE), incomplete contact tracing, delayed detection, and unsafe burial practices. High population mobility between Bulape and Tshikapa, reliance on traditional healers, and the concurrent mpox outbreak are further straining the fragile health system and increasing the risk of geographic spread.
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This plan, approved by the Organization’s 62nd Directing Council, was shaped by extensive consultations with countries and stakeholders, and commits to transformative health outcomes over the next six years, tackling noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), mental health, health security, fragmented healt...h systems and services, and the elimination of communicable diseases, amongst others.
“The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that the Region of the Americas is stronger when we work together,” said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director. “This Strategic Plan harnesses our collective strength to build resilient health systems, reduce disease burden, and improve health and well-being for all across the Americas.”
The plan builds on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed gaps in health systems while highlighting the power of joint action. It targets measurable impacts in countries, such as reducing maternal mortality, reversing rising suicide rates, and eliminating diseases like leprosy and Chagas.
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The WHO handbook “Epidemiological Data Analysis for the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) in Humanitarian Emergencies” explains how to collect, analyse, interpret, and share health data during crises such as conflicts or natural disasters. It is a practical guide for health and su...rveillance officers to detect disease outbreaks early and guide quick public health responses. The document outlines steps for managing data at different levels (local, regional, national), analysing disease trends by time, place, and person, and using indicators to monitor outbreak risks. It also provides methods for interpreting and communicating results clearly to decision-makers to support effective health interventions in emergencies.
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Building on the WHO guidelines for disclosure to children up to age 12 in 2011, this implementation guidance provides evidence on existing interventions that support children and adolescents living with HIV in the process of disclosure. It includes interventions that focuses on safe disclosure, as w...ell as supporting children and adolescents with onwards disclosure. Specifically, this brief collates existing interventions via a scoping review; assesses key interventions through a realist evaluation lens, identifying what works, for whom, and in what contexts; and highlights emerging considerations, key gaps, and key actions.
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This brief report summarizes recent information on HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) in the era of integrase-strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI) for HIV prevention and treatment.
Adolescents and young adults aged 10-24 remain underserved in the global response against HIV. Combination prevention, treatment and care programmes use a mix 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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This guideline includes 48 updated and new evidence-based recommendations related to MNS conditions. The guideline is targeted towards non-specialized health workers at primary- or secondary-level healthcare facilities, or those working at the district level including basic inpatient and outpatient ...services.
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The primary audience for this guideline includes policy-makers or service providers who are responsible for developing national and local health-care protocols and policies related to care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period, and those directly providing care to women during pregna...ncy, including obstetricians, midwives, endocrinologists, nurses, general practitioners, dietitians and diabetes educators, and managers of maternal and child health programmes, in all settings.
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In an era of constrained resources and tightening budgets, strategic prioritization in tuberculosis (TB) programming is more critical than ever. Countries must make informed decisions to allocate limited resources effectively - maximizing impact, preventing avoidable deaths, and sustaining progress ...towards ending TB.
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Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – chief among them, cardiovascular diseases (heart disease and stroke), cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases – along with mental health, cause nearly three quarters of deaths in the world. Their drivers are social, environmental, commercial and geneti...c, and their presence is global. Every year 17 million people under the age of 70 die of NCDs, and 86% of them live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
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