Strategy for Increasing the use of Modern Contraceptives in Nigeria
We investigate whether and to what extent Chinese development finance affects infant mortality, combining 92 demographic and health surveys (DHS) for a maximum of 53 countries and almost 55,000 sub-national locations over the 2002-2014 period. We address causality by instrumenting aid with a set of ...interacted variables. Variation over
time results from indicators that measure the availability of funding in a given year. Cross-sectional variation results from a sub-national region’s “probability to receive aid.” Controlled for this probability in tandem with fixed effects for country-years and provinces, the interactions of these variables form powerful and excludable instruments. Our results show that Chinese aid increases infant mortality at sub-national scales, but decreases mortality at the countrylevel. In several tests, we show that this stark contrast likely results from aid being fungible within recipient countries.
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To realize Agenda 2030, aid agencies, private philanthropies, and their partners in the Global South need better data to monitor how official development finance (ODF) dollars advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and avoid missing the mark. In this report, we summarize the results of a n...ovel effort to tag and analyze 2.7 million ODF projects between 2010-2021 using machine learning to understand their contributions to the SDG thematic areas at a goal
and target level. This time frame is instructive: it compares the last six years of the Millennium Development Goals era and the first six years of the new SDG age, from early optimism to later uncertainty about the resilience of the agenda to drive collective commitments amid unanticipated global shocks.
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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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This paper examines the implications of the IMF’s April 2024 macro-fiscal forecast updates on government health expenditure (GHE) across 170 economies through 2029, covering nearly all years remaining to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The findings reveal wide disparities in gove...rnments' capacities to increase health spending, with differences not only observed across income groups but also within them. Primary concerns focus to two groups of low- and lower middleincome
countries: the first group is projected to experience a contraction in real per capita GHE from 2019 and 2029, threatening to reverse progress toward the health SDG targets, while the other group faces stagnation in real per capita GHE, greatly limiting advancement. The insights presented are crucial for health policymakers and their external partners to respond to evolving macro-fiscal circumstances and stabilize investment growth in health. While increasing the priority of health in spending is a key policy option, it will not be sufficient on its own. Effective responses also
require improving spending efficiency and addressing broader fiscal challenges. Without decisive action, many countries have little chance of achieving the health SDGs.
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The guidelines are primarily intended for health-care professionals working in first- or second-level health-care facilities, including emergency, inpatient and outpatient services. They are also directed at policy-makers, health-care planners and programme managers, academic institutions, non-gover...nmental and civil society organizations to inform capacity-building, teaching and research agendas.
Web annex A provides the quantitative evidence reports, Web annex B summarizes the qualitative and economic evidence and Web annex C presents the Evidence-to-Decision frameworks.
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This document is for public health specialists, health emergency responders, clinicians, health facility managers, health and care workers and IPC practitioners including but not limited to those working in primary care clinics, sexual health clinics, emergency departments, dental practices, infecti...ous diseases clinics, genitourinary clinics, maternity services, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology and acute care facilities that provide care for patients with suspected or confirmed mpox.
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ith a view to support the monitoring and reporting on the denial of humanitarian access against children, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and UNICEF publish today* a guidance note offering new tools to practitioners to better address ...this violation of children's rights in conflict situations. The Denial of Humanitarian Access (DHA) is one of six grave violations against children monitored by the United Nations in the framework of its Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC
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Meeting report, Kampala, Uganda,
7–8 November 2023
The purpose of this guide is to provide updated clinical guidance on TB/HIV, with an emphasis on diagnostic aspects—including new techniques—as well as current treatment, while maintaining a public health approach. By compiling and consolidating the latest World Health Organization recommendatio...ns on the subject into a single guide, the aim is to create a reference and consultation document that is frequently used, and that unifies and standardizes the comprehensive management of TB/HIV co-infection in healthcare facilities based on the principle of “two diseases, one patient.” It also seeks to support the updating of national standards and guidelines on co-infection and to complement the coordinated work that must exist between TB and HIV prevention and control programs at all levels, within the framework of the twelve internationally recommended TB/HIV collaborative activities.
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Vector control, alongside case management, remains the most effective approach to controlling and eliminating malaria. Key interventions, such as indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), have significantly reduced malaria transmission in many African countries. This... has enabled some countries to transition from the control phase to the elimination phase.
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This training module on malaria case management has been developed to support the staff involved in malaria control and elimination programmes in the effective organization of malaria diagnosis and case management services
A historic funding crisis is threatening to unravel decades of progress unless countries can make radical shifts to HIV programming and funding. The report highlights the impact that the sudden, large-scale funding cuts from international donors are having on countries most affected by HIV. Yet it a...lso showcases some inspiring examples of resilience, with countries and communities stepping up in the face of adversity to protect the gains made and drive the HIV response forward.
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The Ghana National Malaria Strategic Plan 2021–2025 aims to reduce malaria mortality by 90% and malaria cases by 50% (using 2019 as baseline) and to achieve pre-elimination in at least six districts by 2025. The plan focuses on scaling up prevention measures like distributing insecticide-treated n...ets, indoor residual spraying, seasonal chemoprevention, and prevention in pregnancy. It also emphasizes universal access to prompt diagnosis and effective treatment, strengthening health system governance, improving supply chains, mobilizing resources, and enhancing surveillance. Special attention is given to vulnerable groups and high-burden areas to ensure equity and sustainability in the fight against malaria.
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The new WHO guidelines provide clinical management recommendations for four of the most widespread arboviruses affecting humans: dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and yellow fever.
An integrated approach is vital, as these four diseases often present with similar symptoms, especially in the early stages... of infection, and multiple arboviruses may circulate simultaneously in certain regions. This makes clinical differentiation challenging, particularly where diagnostic testing is not readily available.
This guideline is available in online format on the MAGICapp platform
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Access to safe, effective and quality-assured health products and technologies is crucial for achieving universal health coverage and primary health care goals. The continued growth of the aging population; increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases; growing burden of mental health issues; climat...e change; shifting patterns of vector borne diseases, fungal disease and waterborne diseases; antimicrobial resistance; and new infectious hazards create an ongoing need for equitable access to safe, effective and quality-assured health products and technologies, and renewed investments in research and development for innovative health products and technologies.
The coronavirus pandemic exposed the inequalities in access to health products, highlighting the need for longer-term strategies to strengthen access to health products and technologies outside of and in emergency situations. While technological and scientific advances present an opportunity to increase access to health products and technologies, the risk of increasing inequality due to higher prices for new health products and technologies; the persisting problem of substandard and falsified medical products; a lack of skilled workforce in many low- and middle-income countries; and a lack of data for decisionmaking and for measuring progress present significant challenges.
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The Compendium of Solid Waste Management in Humanitarian Contexts is a comprehensive, structured and userfriendly manual and planning guide that provides a systematic overview of existing Solid Waste Management (SWM) technologies and approaches appropriate for use in humanitarian contexts.
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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Addressing TB comorbidities and risk factors is central to the World Health Organization (WHO) End TB Strategy. These guidelines consolidate the latest WHO recommendations on TB and key comorbidities. The guidelines are a living document and will include dedicated sections for each key TB comorbidit...y or health-related risk factor. The first edition focused on HIV-associated TB, updating the WHO policy on collaborative TB/HIV activities. This second edition expands on the previous edition and consolidates new and existing recommendations on interventions to address undernutrition in people with TB, to provide food assistance to households of people with TB in food-insecure settings, and to screen for TB among those who are undernourished or food insecure.
HIV and undernutrition are leading health-related drivers of TB globally, both negatively impacting on TB treatment outcomes. TB remains the top cause of death among people with HIV, and nearly half of people with TB are undernourished, which in turn increases their risk of early mortality.
These guidelines are intended for use by ministries of health, particularly TB programmes and departments addressing related health conditions and risk factors, by implementing partners, technical and funding agencies, civil society, affected communities, clinicians, and by public health practitioners.
The guidelines are complemented by an operational handbook, that provides practical advice on how to implement the recommendations at the scale needed to achieve national and global impact.
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Epidemics and pandemics are some of the biggest threats to a safe and healthy world. But with effective preparedness and response measures, we can reduce their impacts and even stop them in their tracks.
Through the Programmatic Partnership with the European Union, 24 local Red Cross and Red Cres...cent Societies have been working to keep communities healthy and safe from epidemics and pandemics with technical assistance, advocacy support and coordination from IFRC and European National Societies. They do so by equipping communities with knowledge and tools to stop the spread of diseases and by setting up systems so they can report outbreaks quickly, enabling a rapid response from authorities. National Societies have also significantly developed their own epidemic preparedness and response capacity.
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