The potential for terrorist use of chemical agents is a noted concern highlighted by the Tokyo sarin gas attacks of 1995. The events of September 11, 2001, increased congressional attention towards reducing the vulnerability of the United States to such unconventional attacks. The
possibility that... terrorist groups might obtain insecure chemical weapons led to increased scrutiny of declared Libyan chemical weapon stockpiles following the fall of the Qadhafi regime. Experts have expressed similar concerns regarding the security and use of Syrian chemical weapons,
reportedly including stocks of nerve (sarin, VX) and blister (mustard gas) agents.
more
Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2016. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.16.171082
Objective: To describe the temporal and geographical distribution of Zika virus infection, and associated neurological disorders, from 1947 to February 2016.
Recommendations for a public health approach
HIV/AIDS Programme
To improve survival and quality of life among the 2.5 million children living with HIV, a comprehensive package of prevention, care and treatment is required. This package should include management of infections such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and ear infections, as well as common opportunisti...c infections and HIV-related co-morbidities. WHO is developing a series of guidelines on each of these conditions, following the GRADE approach. The document on the management of pneumonia and diarrhoea in HIV-infected infants and children is the first of this series. The recommendations are similar to those for non infected children, but they cover specific aspects related to HIV infection.
more
The Infection prevention and control in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a living guideline consolidates technical guidance developed and published during the COVID-19 pandemic into evidence-informed recommendations for infection prevention and control (IPC). This living guideline... is available both online and PDF.
This version of the living guideline (version 6.0) includes fifteen statements on IPC measures in health-care settings (screening and patient placement, ventilation, physical barriers, environmental cleaning, waste management, amongst others) as well as one statement on mask fit in the community context.
more
Approximately 80% of the 463 million adults worldwide with diabetes live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). A major obstacle to designing evidence-based policies to improve diabetes outcomes in LMICs is the scarce availability of nationally representative data on the current patterns... of treatment coverage. The objectives of this study were to estimate the proportion of adults with diabetes in LMICs who receive coverage of recommended pharmacological and non-pharmacological diabetes treatment; and to describe country-level and individual-level characteristics that are associated with treatment.
more
This report is the annual global monitoring report documenting progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 targets 2.1 and 2.2. This year’s report explores the links between urbanization and changing food systems and how these changes are impacting the availability, affordability and des...irability of healthy diets, food security and malnutrition in all its forms. It shows that understanding the ways in which urbanization is shaping food systems will require using a rural-urban continuum lens. By mapping the interlinkages across the rural-urban continuum, governments can identify challenges created by urbanization and suitable policies, technologies, investments and governance mechanisms to help address them.
more
The WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases organized an expert meeting on monitoring of digital marketing of unhealthy products to children and adolescents in June 2018. Based on that meeting, this report aims to provide a tool to support Member States in moni...toring digital marketing of unhealthy products to children; the resulting tool – the so-called CLICK monitoring framework – is flexible and can be adapted to national context. The report also describes current digital marketing strategies, the challenges arising from current practices, and some policy options to tackle digital marketing to children and adolescents.
more
This document outlines why and how nurses and midwives are important, not only for individual health optimization but also to achieve the thematic priorities of For the Future. More specifically, it provides case studies to showcase the amazing work that nurses and midwives across the Region are doi...ng to improve health. The document also provides future policy directions to strengthen the scope and leadership of the nursing and midwifery workforce, alongside actions to accelerate investment in their education, skills and employment.
more
revised version December 2020
The State of the world’s nursing 2020 report provides the latest, most up-to-date evidence on and policy options for the global nursing workforce.