This case study in Chile focused on the following two strategic levers of the WHO/UNICEF PHC Operational Framework during the implementation period 2022–2023: “Political Commitment and Leadership” and “Governance and Policy Frameworks”. This included examining how support from the three le...vels of the Organization (WHO headquarters, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/WHO Regional Office for the Americas and PAHO/WHO Chile Country Office) has been coordinated and operationalized. The case study also explored how, through these two strategic levers, catalytic actions have been planned and implemented in relation to other operational levers, in particular “Models of care”.
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The following appendices of the Guide for introducing a malaria vaccine containing key messages are available for country adaptation
Explore a world of health data
These guidelines promote the delivery of people-centred health services for STIs by providing evidence-based recommendations related to decentralization, integration, task sharing and digital health. These recommendations complement existing WHO guidelines for STI testing, treatment and management, ...and other service delivery interventions, such as self-care interventions. All the recommendations will be incorporated into the forthcoming WHO consolidated guidelines on STI prevention and care.
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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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he Global Early Warning and Prevention System (GLEWS) identifies and monitors disease events, develops epidemiological intelligence for identification and mitigation of risks against emerging, endemic and epidemic diseases, and threats to environmental health and food security. The Tripartite (FAO, ...WHO and WOAH) collaborate and work together for an operational global One Health Intelligence system. This webinar explains how this is done
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Buruli ulcer (BU) is a skin-related neglected tropical disease (skin NTD) caused by infection with
Mycobacterium ulcerans. BU is the third most common mycobacterial disease after tuberculosis and leprosy
in people who are not immunocompromised. The infection manifests in non-ulcerative forms as no...dules,
plaques and/or oedemas, which ulcerate within 4–6 weeks and display characteristic undermined edges and yellowish-white necrotic slough . Most lesions occur on the lower limbs.
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This document on logistics management information systems (LMIS) was developed to address the increasing need for harmonization and standardization of core indicators for managing medicines and health products for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) at country level (i.e. for last-mile logistics). It... thereby responds to requests from Members States, pharmaceutical groups, financial donors and implementing partners for guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) for a transparent, standardized reporting mechanism and key indicators for in-country logistics. More importantly, this document will also guide the last-mile logistics process and is relevant for the health workforce working at different levels of national health information systems. It can be adapted and used for any health products depending on the needs of the country or health programmes.
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More than a quarter of the global population still cook meals over open fires and/or on simple stoves fuelled by firewood, agricultural waste, dried dung, charcoal, and coal. This practice results in the emission of harmful and dangerously high levels of household air pollution.
Exposure to this h...ousehold air pollution has been estimated to cause around 3.2 million deaths annually in 2019; these emissions also worsen ambient air quality, alter the global climate, have gendered livelihood impacts, and degrade the local environment.
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Exposure to air pollution has significant adverse health effects, leading to nearly 1 in every 8 deaths globally. Air pollution affects all age groups, from unborn children to older people, in both high- and low-income nations.
Depending on the health profile of the traveller, the type of travel to be undertaken, and the place of transit and destination, travellers may face various health risks during travel. The International travel and health collection is an update of International travel and health (2012) and serves as... an entry point for other World Health Organization (WHO) publications that provide further information. Its primary target audience is travel health practitioners and travel health professionals, who provide health advice to travellers on appropriate precautions to be taken to minimize any travel-related health risks in unfamiliar environments, before, during and after travel. The guidance may also be of interest to health authorities who intend to support travel health professionals in their jurisdiction or develop
health advice for their population. It may also be of interest to travellers who wish to obtain such information for themselves as well as those working in the travel industry, such as agents and organizers, airlines and shipping companies.
Module 3 outlines the clinical features, geographical distribution and chemoprophylaxis against malaria, as well as personal protection measures against mosquitoes that travellers should take during their journey and at destinations, and treatment for those who are infected.
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Published by the World Health Organization, International Travel and Health 2012 provides comprehensive guidance on the health risks associated with international travel, as well as practical measures to prevent or reduce adverse health outcomes. Although the book is primarily intended for medical a...nd public health professionals who advise travellers, it is also useful for travel agents, transport providers and informed travellers. It covers a variety of topics, such as preventing infectious diseases, environmental hazards, accident risks, vaccination requirements, malaria prophylaxis and travel medical kits. Particular attention is given to travellers visiting friends and relatives, those travelling at short notice, and those journeying to remote or high-risk destinations. Recommendations are based on individual health status, destination, travel duration and behaviour. The publication emphasises the shared responsibility of travellers, healthcare providers and the travel industry in promoting safe travel and minimising preventable illnesses. Online updates provide real-time information on outbreaks, vaccine guidance and disease distribution.
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The 2024 World Malaria Report shows that the malaria burden remains overwhelmingly concentrated in Africa. The continent accounted for 94% of global cases and 95% of malaria-related deaths in 2023. Although the number of malaria cases increased globally from 204 million in 2000 to 246 million in 202...3, the number of deaths declined from 805,000 to 569,000. Children under five are still the most affected group, accounting for 76% of malaria deaths in Africa. A few countries, particularly Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, carry the highest burden. Since 2000, Africa has significantly reduced malaria incidence and mortality, averting over 1.7 billion cases and 12 million deaths. Nevertheless, malaria continues to pose a significant health challenge, necessitating ongoing action and investment.
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Health in All Policies (HiAP) promotes health and equity. It is based on the recognition that our greatest health challenges for example, non-communicable diseases, health inequities and inequalities, climate change, and spiraling health care costs are highly complex and often linked through the soc...ial determinants of health (SDH). In this context, promoting healthy communities, and in particular health equity across different population groups, requires that we address the social determinants of health, such as public transportation, education access, access to healthy food, economic opportunities, and more. While many public policies work to achieve this, conflicts of interest may arise. Alternatively, unintended impacts of policies are not measured and addressed. This requires innovative solutions, and structures that build channels for dialogue and decision-making that work across traditional government policy siloes. Hence, HiAP could be adopted to ensure commitment from the highest decision makers within government to address the social determinants of health.
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The health of refugees and migrants is directly related to their access to quality, effective and appropriate health care along all their routes of travel. Refugees and migrants face challenges in accessing health care, including financial, legal and cultural barriers, that are well documented.
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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The health impacts of climate change are no longer a distant threat. They are being felt here and now and becoming more extreme.
To address these threats, the WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health in the Western Pacific Region (ACE) was established in 2019 through a partnership with ...the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment of the Republic of Korea and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Centre’s mission is to strengthen cooperation and drive action where environment and health meet. This focus on environmental health has created a strong foundation for system-wide change.
This strategic plan builds directly on that work. Over the next five years, the Centre will expand its reach, supporting countries to take practical, systems-based action that ensures healthier people, healthier environments and a healthier planet.
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PHSM are vital in reducing the risk and scale of infectious disease transmission and lowering hospitalization and deaths. Examples include contact tracing, quarantine and isolation, mask use, ventilation, school or workplace measures, mobility restrictions and travel requirements.
While these mea...sures are essential, decision-making on PHSM becomes particularly complex during rapidly evolving health emergencies, with incomplete information and under significant public and political pressure, especially when the pathogen is novel or poorly understood. In such contexts, guidance needs to be agile and responsive, developed and adapted based on emerging evidence and shifting epidemiological patterns. Decision-makers are frequently confronted with difficult trade-offs, having to balance measures that are:
─ effective but socially disruptive;
─ cost-effective but logistically burdensome;
─ beneficial for public health but economically disruptive; or
─ practical but inequitable or unethical
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While disease outbreaks and other acute public health risks and events are often unpredictable and require a range of responses, the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) provide an overarching legal framework that defines States Parties’ (countries’) rights and obligations in managing p...ublic health risks, events and emergencies that have the potential to cross borders.
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