Assessment of the quality of institutional care for adults with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities in the WHO European Region.
The specific objectives of the project were to address gaps in knowledge about the number and characteristics of such long-term institutions and to identify deficie...ncies in current care standards through the lens of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This publication examines and rates the quality of care and protection of human rights in selected institutions in over 20 countries in the Region using the WHO QualityRights toolkit. It identifies steps to take to continue progress toward deinstitutionalization and to ensure respect for the rights of people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities.
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The availability of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in health care facilities, especially in maternity and primary-care settings where they are often absent, supports core aspects of quality, equity and dignity for all people. This document describes an approach for conducting a nation...al situational analysis of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as a basis for improving quality of care. This document describes the process from the initial preparatory stages, including triggers for action, through data collection and analysis to the dissemination of results. Each element of the approach is described and possible limitations and mechanisms to mitigate these are explored.
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The menu was developed using the WHO-CHOICE methodology to prepare and update, as appropriate, WHO estimates of the cost-effectiveness of a range of mental health interventions, in line with the development of Appendix 3 to the global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable dis...eases 2013–2020.
WHO-CHOICE is a programme that helps countries to identify priorities based on health impact and cost-effectiveness. It can be applied to a wide range of strategies relevant to policies affecting health outcomes. All options are compared to a common comparator, a null scenario in which the impacts of currently implemented interventions are removed, thereby enabling comparison of interventions across geographical areas and aspects of health.
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Unmet mental health needs in the Region of the Americas are a leading source of morbidity and mortality, which result in tremendous health, social, and economic consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the mental health crisis in the Region, necessitating urgent action at the highest leve...ls of government and across sectors to build back better mental health now and for the future. This landmark report is the result of the PAHO High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19. It provides an analysis of the mental health situation in the Region, followed by a series of recommendations and corresponding actions to support countries in the Americas to prioritize and advance mental health using human rights- and equity-based approaches.
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This field study to assess the pharmaceutical situation was undertaken in Ghana in May-June 2008 using a standardized methodology developed by the World Health Organization. The study assessed medicines availability and affordability, geographical accessibility, quality and r...ational use among other issues. The survey was conducted in six regions. In each region, 6 public health care facilities, 12 private pharmacies and 1 warehouse were surveyed.
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From Individual to Collective healing: A trainer’s manual
The power of the Global Drug Policy Index lies in its key objective: to score and
rank how countries are faring in different areas of drug policy as identified in the
UN report ‘What we have learned over the last ten years: A summary of knowledge
acquired and produced by the UN system on drug-r...elated matters’,1 and derived
from the landmark UN System Common Position on Drug
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The aim of this guidance is to enhance the capacity of health care facilities to protect and improve the health of their target communities in an unstable and changing climate; and to empower health care facilities to be environmentally sustainable, by optimizing the use of resources and minimizing ...the release of waste into the environment. Climate resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities contribute to high quality of care and accessibility of services, and by helping reduce facility costs also ensure better affordability. They are, therefore, an important component of universal health coverage (UHC).
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Current evidence that the climate is changing is overwhelming. Impacts of climate change and variability are being observed: more intense heat-waves, fires and floods; and increased prevalence of food- water- and vector-borne diseases. Climate change will put pressure on environmental and health det...erminants, such as food safety, air pollution and water quantity and quality. A climate-resilient future depends fundamentally on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Limiting warming to below 2 °C requires transformational technological, institutional, political and behavioural changes: the foundations for this are laid out in the Paris Agreement of December 2015. The health sector can lead by example, shifting to environmentally friendly practices and minimizing its carbon emissions. A climate-resilient future will increasingly depend on managing and reducing climate change risks to protect health. In the near term, this can be enhanced by including climate change in national health programming and creating climate-resilient health systems.
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Science of The Total Environment Volume 764, 10 April 2021, 142919
World Health Organization. (2021). Minimum technical standards and recommendations for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health care for emergency medical teams. World Health Organization.
This strategy defines the World Health Organization (WHO) vision and framework for supporting Member States to accelerate the development, implementation and monitoring of their National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) from 2022 to 2026. The National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) ...are critical to ensure national capacities in health emergency prevention, preparedness, response and recovery are planned, built, strengthened and sustained in order to achieve national, regional and global health security and therefore keep the world safe, serve the vulnerable and promote health.
The strategy promotes, where existing, the use of existing national action plans for health security and not necessary the creation of an additional unique plan. This will avoid duplication and ensure maximum efficiency in domestic resourcing and operationalization efficiency while harnessing external buy-in to support national health priorities.
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This brief summarizes the lessons learned across Europe on the redevelopment of contaminated sites as a part of urban planning and renewal. Specifically, it aims to provide information on the health and environmental impacts to be considered during site redevelopment projects, and to identify good p...ractice and relevant local experiences to support effective, healthy and sustainable redevelopment of contaminated sites. As such, this brief offers key messages to support the work of local decision-makers, planners, practitioners, researchers and civil society organizations.
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From passive beneficiaries to active agents of change
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
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The report identifies major global gaps in WASH services: one third of health care facilities do not have what is needed to clean hands where care is provided; one in four facilities have no water services, and 10% have no sanitation services. This means that 1.8 billion people use facilities that l...ack basic water services and 800 million use facilities with no toilets. Across the world’s 47 least-developed countries, the problem is even greater: half of health care facilities lack basic water services. Furthermore, the extent of the problem remains hidden because major gaps in data persist, especially on environmental cleaning.
This report also describes the global and national responses to the 2019 World Health Assembly resolution on WASH in health care facilities. More than 70% of countries have conducted related situation analyses, 86% have updated and are implementing standards and 60% are working to incrementally improve infrastructure and operation and maintenance of WASH services. Case studies from 30 countries demonstrate that progress is being propelled by strong national leadership and coordination, use of data to direct resources and action, and the mutual benefits of empowering health workers and communities to develop solutions together.
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On the global scale, the impacts of the current food system on the environment are severe. The agro-industrial revolution has made it possible to increase food production at a price.