The objectives of this guideline are the same as those of the 2011 edition, namely to provide evidence-based normative guidance on interventions to improve adolescent morbidity and mortality by reducing the chances of early pregnancy and its resulting poor health outcomes. The specific objectives of... the guideline were to: 1. identify effective interventions to prevent early pregnancy by influencing factors such as early marriage, coerced sex, unsafe abortion, access to contraceptives and access to maternal health services by adolescents; and 2. provide an analytical framework for policy-makers and programme managers to use when selecting evidence-based interventions to prevent early pregnancy and negative health outcomes when they occur that are most appropriate for the needs of their countries and context. The recommendations and best practice statements described in this document aim to enable evidence-based decision-making with respect to preventing early pregnancy and poor reproductive outcomes among adolescents in low- and middle-income country contexts.
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This document is an output of a WHO cross-programme initiative aiming to improve the prevention, diagnosis and management of anaemia and thereby accelerate reduction in its prevalence. It comes at an important time, midway through the era of the Sustainable Development Goals, when progress in reduci...ng anaemia has stagnated. This framework is based on the core principles of primary health care: meeting people’s health needs through comprehensive promotive, protective, curative, and rehabilitative care along the life course; systematically addressing the broader determinants of health; and empowering individuals, families, and communities to optimize their health
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The second edition of the joint WHO, WIPO and WTO
publication “Promoting Access to Medical Technologies
and Innovation: Intersections between public health,
intellectual property and trade” (the Trilateral Study),*
published in 2020, included a special insert mappi...ng the
challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation
to the integrated health, trade and IP policy framework set
out in the study. The Trilateral Study and the special insert
were designed to serve as background reference for policy-
makers in the widest sense – lawmakers, government
officials, delegates to international organizations, non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) and researchers
who seek a comprehensive presentation of the full range
of issues, including institutions and legal concepts with
which they may be unfamiliar. It is also designed to serve
as a factual resource for the three organizations’ technical
cooperation activities.
This update revises the information contained in that
insert in the light of more recent developments as of
30 August 2021. Further updates will be made to reflect
subsequent developments.
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The global burden of disease associated with air pollution exposure exacts a massive toll on human health worldwide: exposure to air pollution is estimated to cause millions of deaths and lost years of healthy life annually. The burden of disease attributable to air pollution is now estimated to be ...on a par with other major global health risks such as unhealthy diet and tobacco smoking, and air pollution is now recognized as the single biggest environmental threat to human health.
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The development of this draft Proposed programme budget 2022–2023 comes at a unique moment for WHO. The world is in the grip of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and faces health, social and economic consequences on an unprecedented scale. Although it is not known when the COVID-19 pande...mic will end, recent encouraging vaccine results, in addition to the examples of countries that have achieved good results through public health measures, hold out the prospect of better days ahead. The full impact of the pandemic cannot yet be determined. But whatever its implications, the Secretariat will rise to the challenge and is ready to adapt so that it is fully equipped to support Member States for any eventuality in the future – to make sure that the world will never again have to face this kind of crisis.
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Due to the heterogeneous distribution of malaria transmission and its determinants, subnational tailoring (SNT) provides an analytical framework to facilitate the targeting of each population with appropriate intervention packages for maximum impact to inform national strategic planning and prioriti...zation based on resources available. The WHO Global Malaria Programme recommends the use of subnational data on disease epidemiology and other relevant local contextual factors to facilitate the process of SNT. Once the strategies and intervention mixes have been defined, programmes can proceed to the prioritization of
interventions for effective programming, based on available resources
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A Global Inventory of Alternative Medical Waste Treatment Technologies
This global status report on prevention and control of NCDs (2014), is framed around the nine voluntary global targets. The report provides data on the current situation, identifying bottlenecks as well as opportunities and priority actions for attaining the targets. The 2010 baseline estimates on N...CD mortality and risk factors are provided so that countries can report on progress, starting in 2015. In addition, the report also provides the latest available estimates on NCD mortality (2012) and risk factors, 2010-2012.All ministries of health need to set national NCD targets and lead the development and implementation of policies and interventions to attain them. There is no single pathway to attain NCD targets that fits all countries, as they are at different points in their progress in the prevention and control of NCDs and at different levels of socioeconomic development. However all countries can benefit from the comprehensive response to attaining the voluntary global targets presented in this report.
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WHO published guidance for clinicians and health care decision-makers on the use of corticosteroids in patients with COVID-19.
We recommend systemic corticosteroids for the treatment of patients with severe and critical COVID-19. We suggest not to use corticosteroids in the treatment of patients ...with non-severe COVID-19 as the treatment brought no benefits, and could even prove harmful. Treatment should be under supervision of a clinician.
Corticosteroids are listed in the WHO model list of essential medicines, readily available globally at a low cost. WHO encourages countries to maintain sufficient stocks of corticosteroids to treat COVID-19 and the other disease for which they are effective, while not maintaining excessive stocks which could deny other countries access.
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This toolkit is a comprehensive set of practical tools and resources designed to support country-level risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) practitioners, decision-makers and partners to plan and implement readiness and response activities for Ebola disease outbreaks. The toolkit conta...ins: information about Ebola disease; RCCE considerations on how to approach key issues during Ebola disease outbreaks; tools for understanding the context in which Ebola disease outbreaks occur; methods for collecting data to inform strategy development and bring evidence into the planning and implementation of activities; guidance to support prevention and response interventions; and links to existing RCCE tools and training. It is one of a suite of toolkits on RCCE readiness and response to a range of disease and response areas.
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This World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) joint guidelines production aims at harnessing the contribution of employers and workers towards the control of TB. It covers all the practical steps involved in establishing TB control activities, including (for la...rge employers) starting and running a workplace TB control programme. They are intended for use in all countries in which TB incidence is high and the target audience for the guidelines includes employers, employee organizations, NTP managers, and agencies providing technical support for TB control.
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National action plans on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) often overlook the critical intersection of gender, despite evidence that exposure and susceptibility to infection, health-seeking behaviours, as well as antimicrobial prescribing and use patterns are all influenced by gender.
This toolkit is a comprehensive set of practical tools and resources designed to support country-level risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) practitioners, decision-makers, and partners to plan and implement readiness and response activities for yellow fever outbreaks. The toolkit conta...ins: information about yellow fever; RCCE considerations for how to approach key issues during yellow fever outbreaks; tools for understanding the context in which yellow fever outbreaks occur; methods for collecting data to inform strategy development and bring evidence into planning and implementation of activities; guidance to support vector control and immunization campaigns; and links to existing RCCE tools and training. It is one of a suite of toolkits on RCCE readiness and response to a range of disease and response areas.
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Interim guidance 2 march 2021
Current use of drugs to prevent COVID-19 is variable, reflecting large-scale uncertainty. Numerous randomized trials of many different drugs are underway to inform practice. This first version of the Drugs to prevent COVID-19: A WHO living guideline contains new inform...ation and a recommendation on hydroxychloroquine. It follows the publication of six trials synthesized in a living network meta-analysis (NMA).
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Evidence-based psychological interventions are an important part of health, social, protection and education services and can help increase access to effective mental health treatments and progression towards universal health coverage.
This manual provides managers and others responsible for plan...ning and delivering services with practical guidance on how to implement manualized psychological interventions for adults, adolescents and children. It covers the five key implementation steps: make an implementation plan; adapt for context; prepare the workforce; identify, assess and support potential beneficiaries; and monitor and evaluate the service.
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Member States have requested WHO policy guidance on how to facilitate the implementation of national AMS activities in an integrated and programmatic approach. This policy guidance responds to that demand from Member States and is anchored in public health guiding principles in the human health sect...or. It aims to provide a set of evidence-based and pragmatic recommendations to drive comprehensive and integrated AMS activities under the purview of a central national coordination unit, National AMR steering or coordinating committees or other equivalent national authorities.
Available in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese
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Trustworthy, evidence-based health guidelines form the basis of national policies affecting both patients and health-care workers. Emphasizing the link between robust evidence and people’s trust in their health systems, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe said at the launch ev...ent, “Trust and transformation are key words for us, especially when we talk about improving and strengthening our health systems. Transformation should first and foremost serve the interests of patients and health-care workers”.
While it is not always easy to demonstrate the immediate effect of guidelines on people’s health, there is no viable alternative to utilizing guidelines based on the best available evidence.
Yet, developing robust guidelines remains a challenge for most countries. “Guidelines need to be both simple to use and timely, they need to address people’s real needs, especially at the local level, and should ultimately reflect the resources available,” said Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Director, Country Health Policies and Systems, WHO/Europe. “This means that any successful guideline needs to be adjusted and adapted to local contexts and realities.”
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Fact Book on WHO Level I and Level II monitoring indicators - To monitor the progress of efforts to improve the global medicines situation, WHO has developed a system of indicators that measure important aspects of a country’s pharmaceutical situation. Level 1 indicators measure the existence and ...performance of key national pharmaceutical structures and processes. Level II indicators measure key outcomes of these structures and processes in the areas of access, product quality and rational use. These indicators can be used to assess progress over time; to compare situations between countries; and to reassess and prioritize efforts based on the results.
This Fact Book gives the results of the assessment of Level I indicators conducted in 2003 and of Level II indicator surveys conducted between 2002 and 2004
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Cholera is a major health risk in many parts of the world, affecting millions of people every year. Since mid-2021, the world has been facing an acute upsurge of the 7th cholera pandemic, which is characterized by the number, size and concurrence of multiple outbreaks, the spread to areas that had b...een free of cholera for decades and alarmingly high mortality rates. The mortality associated with these outbreaks is of particular concern as many countries have reported higher case fatality ratios (CFR) than in previous years
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