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1
Antimicrobials have been a critical public health tool since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, saving the lives of millions of people around the world. Today, however, the emergence of drug resis
...
tance is reversing the miracles of the past eighty years, with drug choices for the treatment of many infections becoming increasingly limited, expensive, and, in some cases, non-existent.
Conscious of the public health threats of AMR to both humans, animals and the environment, the ministries of health and sanitation, agriculture forestry and food security and the environmental protection agency put together a national multi-sectoral coordinating group tasked with the responsibility of establishing mechanisms to integrate all initiatives into a single concerted action and development of the national AMR strategic plan (2018-2022). The National Strategic Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance is the first approach which addresses AMR specifically.
more
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the world’s top 10 public health threats. The World Health
...
Organization (WHO) in the African Region, using the Antimicrobial Stewardship assessment tool, has assessed Member States progress on strengthening national capacity need for effective implementation of antimicrobial stewardship interventions to mitigate the threat posed by AMR. The African Region bears the bulk of the global burden of AMR, which drives up health care costs and the increases the economic burden on families and societies. Ultimately, this puts the achievements of modern medicine at risk when infections can no longer be treated with first-line antibiotics. In 2019, the deaths associated with and those directly attributable to bacterial resistance were estimated around 4.95 million and 1.27 million respectively. Left unchecked, deaths from drug resistant infections will surpass the predicted annual death toll of 10 million by 2050.
more
Refugees and migrants face similar health threats from COVID-19 as their host populations. However, inadequate access to essential services and exc
...
lusion may makes early detection, testing, diagnosis, contact tracing and seeking care for COVID-19 difficult for refugees and migrants thus increasing the risk of outbreaks in these population and presenting an additional threat to public health. This document offers guidance to Member States and partners for the inclusion of refugees and migrants, as part of holistic efforts to respond to COVID-19 epidemics in the general populations.
17 April 2020
more
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and malaria remain significant public health challenges in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). In 2021, the region reported 1.7 million sepsis-related deaths,
...
with 373,000 associated with bacterial AMR. High antibiotic consumption, particularly in high-income countries, combined with rising usage in middle-income countries, has accelerated the emergence of drug-resistant infections. Malaria management is further complicated by biological threats, including vector insecticide resistance, PFHRP2/3 gene deletions, and antimalarial drug resistance, alongside insufficient trained personnel and limited molecular surveillance capacity. Effective strategies to address these challenges include strengthening regional and cross-border surveillance networks, designating WHO collaborating centers for molecular monitoring, enforcing national treatment policies, and raising public and healthcare provider awareness about rational antimalarial and antibiotic use. These measures, coupled with sustainable funding and enhanced therapeutic efficacy studies, are essential to reduce the development and spread of drug-resistant malaria and improve overall health outcomes in the EMR.
more
Communicable and non-communicable diseases in Africa in 2021/22
World Health Organization Africa Region; WHO Africa
World Health Organization Africa Region; WHO Africa
(2023)
C_WHO
This report is one of the first major products of the newly established Precision Public Health Metrics unit of the UCN cluster of the WHO Regional Office for Africa. The report presents national tr
...
ends in communicable and non-communicable disease burden and control in the WHO African region. It tracks progress made with respect to disease burden reduction, elimination and eradication. It also highlights major emerging threats, opportunities and priorities in the fight against commu- nicable and non-communicable diseases in the region. It covers the period 2000-2022, but for some indicators, information is available only up to 2021.
The report shows the number of reported cases for malaria and vaccine preventable diseases (meningitis, measles, yellow fever, pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, and polio); disease incidence due to HIV, tuberculosis and four major noncommunicable diseases (cardiovas- cular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respira- tory diseases).
more
Effective surveillance and monitoring of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors are essential for informing evidence-based public health policies, addressing
...
health inequities, and ensuring progress toward global and regional targets. By tracking trends in NCDs, their modifiable risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol, and air pollution, along with biological risk factors such as overweight and obesity, high blood pressure (hypertension), and elevated blood glucose (diabetes), policymakers can identify emerging threats, target vulnerable populations, allocating resources efficiently. Reliable data also enable countries to evaluate interventions, adjust policies, and strengthen health systems to reduce the burden of NCDs.
more
Containment strategies: lessons from early COVID-19 responses in five African countries
World Health Organization WHO, Regional Office of Africa; AHOP
WHO Regional Office for Africa
(2021)
C_WHO
The number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise again, with South Africa nearing half of all confirmed cases in the WHO African Region. Threats of new variants loom and low vaccination coverage raises questions on the future of the response
...
to COVID-19. Prevention remains the key strategy in most sub-Saharan countries. Five National Centres (NCs) from the African Health Observatory Platform on Health Systems and Policies (AHOP), based in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Senegal, reflect on lessons to be learnt from their containment responses in the initial phases. They construct timelines to highlight the policies and challenges associated with introducing a range of public health containment measures and
discuss the extent to which these measures continue to be valuable given the ever-changing nature of the pandemic.
more
Preparing for the next epidemic or pandemic begins with effective planning. The Pandemic Planning Learning Module 1 (PPLM 1) is a foundational resource designed to build resilience and enhance preparedness by equipping pandemic planning teams with t
...
he practical skills needed to respond to emerging health threats. Employing an adult-based and experiential learning approach (simulation-based), the purpose of PPLM 1 is to equip public health professionals and relevant stakeholders with the essential knowledge and skills to participate in the development, testing, dissemination and implementation of pandemic plans.
more
Pakistan Crisis 2022
recommended
WHO is responding as Pakistan is affected by massive monsoon rainfall and unprecedented levels of flooding and landslides. Damage to health infrastructure, shortages of
...
health workers, and limited health supplies are disrupting health services. Significant public health threats include the spread of water- and vector-borne diseases, with outbreaks of diarrheal diseases, skin infections, respiratory tract infections, malaria, dengue, injuries, and more. With health services reduced, the management of non-communicable diseases are also affected. In addition, the loss of crops and livestock will have a significant impact on the nutrition and health of many communities who depend on these resources.
more
For thousands of years, humans have been using wildlife for commercial and subsistence purposes. Wildlife trade takes place at local, national and international levels, with different forms of wildlife, such as live animals, partly processed products and finished products. Wildlife is a vital source
...
of safe and nutritious food, clothing, medicine, and other products, in addition to having religious and cultural value. Wildlife trade also contributes to livelihoods, income generation and overall economic development.
However, wildlife trade can have detrimental effects on species conservation, depleting natural resources, impoverishing biodiversity and degrading ecosystems (Morton et al., 2021). Wildlife trade, whether legal or illegal, regulated or unregulated, can pose threats to animal health and welfare. It also presents opportunities for zoonotic pathogens to spill over between wildlife and domestic animals, and for diseases to emerge with serious consequences for public or animal health and profound economic impacts (IPBES, 2020; Swift et al., 2007; Smith et al., 2009; Gortazar et al., 2014; Stephen, 2021; Stephen et al., 2022; FAO, 2020). The risk of pathogen spillover and disease emergence is amplified with increased interaction between humans, wildlife and domestic animals. The risk of pathogen spillover has also been exacerbated by climate change, intensified agriculture and livestock production, deforestation, and other land-use changes. Wildlife trade is also a risk to ecosystem biodiversity via the introduction of invasive species (Wikramanayake et al., 2021). Therefore, increased effort must be put into understanding the potential consequences of the wildlife trade, mapping and analysing the adjacent risks, and implementing strategies to manage those risks. Reducing wildlife-trade risks not only helps to limit disease but also minimises the negative effects of invasive species. Between 1960 and 2021, invasive alien species caused estimated cumulative damage of around 116 billion euros across 39 countries in the European Union alone, despite strict import regulations (Haubrock et al., 2021). The effect of invasive species is extremely apparent.
more
Notable progress has also been made on other key health indicators such as reducing maternal, infant and child deaths and malnutrition, increasing immunization coverage, eliminating infectious diseases such as polio and reducing the incidence of mal
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aria, tuberculosis and diarrhoeal diseases.
But despite such substantial progress, the country now faces new and emerging new challenges such as the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases, increased risks associated with disasters, environmental threats and health emergencies during disease outbreaks including the COVID-19 pandemic that is a serious public health threat to Bangladesh. To establish a resilience system for future potential pandemics, the national capacity for emergency preparedness and early response to health emergencies needs to be bolstered considerably.
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The message contained in this publication is clear: countries need a
public health system that can respond to the deliberate release of
chemical
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and biological agents. Regrettable though this message may
be, the use of poison gas in the war between Iraq and the Islamic
Republic of Iran in the 1980s, the recent anthrax incidents in the United
States, and the attack with sarin nerve agent, six years earlier, on the
Tokyo underground, illustrate why it is necessary to prepare.
Russian and Japanese version available:
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The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health shares a communication guide for health professionals to effectively communicate with
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public officials on the need for climate action. In seven steps, the guide provides prompts and examples on how to frame climate issues in a way public officials can be convinced to act. The guide includes a Message Box tool, a framework for adaptable and effective advocacy
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Social determinants approaches to public health: from concept to practice
Erik Blas, Johannes Sommerfeld and Anand Sivasankara Kurup
World Health Organization WHO
(2011)
C_WHO
Health system resilience is not an inevitable byproduct of any investment in health but must be intentionally programmed and developed with necessary input, investment and contextualization. This te
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chnical product aims to guide national, subnational, and global health actors to operationalize the concept of health system resilience for advancement of universal health coverage, health security and ultimately better health for all. It supports the translation of relevant conceptual guidance and high-level recommendations into practical actions.
The specific objectives are to:
present a concise overview of the concept of health system resilience;
provide a roadmap outlining practical and foundational steps for building health system resilience to be adapted to different contexts;
share examples of actions and tools, including stakeholder roles, to support country application of the roadmap.
The target audience for this work is the various stakeholders involved in strengthening health systems and public health including management of emergencies (from prevention and preparedness to response and recovery) and other public health challenges in countries. This ranges from the donors, policy-makers and decision-makers at global, national and subnational levels to the implementing institutions and line managers of health system functions and services across the health system building blocks.
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Strategic communication is at the heart of public health and more important than ever in the digital age. Using communication strategically requires expertise, skills and resources
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to plan, implement and evaluate interventions that encourage governments to implement policies that improve people’s lives and well-being, that empower health workers to deliver the best care possible, and that encourage people to take actions that protect and improve their health and that of their family and community. This Regional Action Framework on Communication for Health (C4H) aims to support Member States in implementing the C4H approach. It outlines steps to be taken by WHO and Member States to use C4H to achieve shared public health goals in the Western Pacific.
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WHO‘s Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, launched today, outlines three key steps: vaccination, screening and treatment. Successful implementation of all three could reduce more than 40% of new cases of the disease a
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nd 5 million related deaths by 2050.
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