PQM conducted an assessment of the medicine quality assurance and quality control systems in Rwanda during November 9-13, 2009. Medicine quality assurance remains to be developed in Rwanda: the country has neither a medicine regulatory authority (MRA) nor a national medicine quality control laborato...ry – the two key institutions to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of medicines. The MOH Pharmacy Taskforce (PTF) is to be commended however for successfully controlling the pharmaceutical market to the extent that there is no informal medicines market in Rwanda. Based on its findings, the assessment team expects Rwanda to be able to make great strides in evidence-based medicines quality assurance in the short to medium term, provided it receives adequate technical assistance and financial support.
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The Strategy provides a high-level unifying framework to leverage existing capacities, address barriers and strengthen the use of genomic surveillance in the detection, monitoring and response to public health threats. Genomic surveillance is part of the broader surveillance and laboratory system, a...nd its implementation should reinforce end-to-end capacities including sample collection, diagnostics, data sharing and analysis. The strategy aims to facilitate the connectivity between different disease control programs and surveillance networks. This interoperability will strengthen the cross-cutting essential public health laboratory functions underpinning genomics holistically. The strategy articulates the overarching goal, objectives and strategic actions needed. These are dependent on commitments from countries, partners and WHO for their implementation.
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The Health Sector Policy gives general orientations for the sector which are further developed in the various sub-sector policies guiding key health programs and departments. All health sub-sector policies will be updated in line with this new policy. The Health Sector Policy is the basis of nationa...l health planning and the first point of reference for all actors working in the health sector. The overall aim of this policy is to ensure universal accessibility (in geographical and financial terms) of equitable and affordable quality health services (preventative, curative, rehabilitative and promotional services) for all Rwandans. It sets the health sector’s objectives, identifies the priority health interventions for meeting these objectives, outlines the role of each level in the health system, and provides guidelines for improved planning and evaluation of activities in the health sector. A companion Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP) elaborates the strategic directions defined in the Health Sector Policy in order to support and achieve the implementation of the policy, and more detailed annual operational plans describe the activities under each strategy.
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The Lancet DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30101-8
WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The pandemic eventually reached Yemen, with the first laboratory confirmed case announced on April 10. emen has structural vulnerabilities that have developed over a protracted period of conflic...t and poor governance, and its health system has suffered the most. To prevent a total collapse of Yemen’s fragile health system, the government and the international community should act now more decisively.
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This report has been developed, based on data provided by the TB & ORD surveillance system from across Rwanda. It provides a comprehensive picture of the occurrence and management of TB & ORD and Leprosy in Rwanda. It is structured based on the 2013-2018 Rwanda TB national strategic plan (2013-2018 ...TB NSP) and on the 2014-2018 Rwanda Leprosy national strategic plan (2014-2018 Leprosy NSP).
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A survey was conducted in countries in all six WHO regions and focused on the building blocks that are considered prerequisites to combat antimicrobial resistance: a comprehensive national plan, laboratory capacity to undertake surveillance for resistant microorganisms, access to safe, effective ant...imicrobial medicines, control of the misuse of these medicines, awareness and understanding among the general public and effective infection prevention and control programmes.
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This report has been developed, based on data provided by the TB & ORD surveillance system from across Rwanda. It provides a comprehensive picture of the occurrence and management of TB & ORD and Leprosy in Rwanda. It is structured based on the 2013-2018 Rwanda TB national strategic plan (2013-2018 ...TB NSP) and on the 2014-2018 Rwanda Leprosy national strategic plan (2014-2018 Leprosy NSP).
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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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The aim of the Annual Inspection Report is to present findings of public sector health establishments inspected by the OHSC to monitor compliance with the National Core Standards (NCS) during the 2016/2017 financial year in South Africa.
The NCS define fundamentals for quality of care based on six ...dimensions of quality: Acceptability,Safety, Reliability, Equity, Accessibility, and Efficiency.
The NCS structured assessment tools were used to collect data during inspections across the seven domains namely: Patient Rights; Patient Safety, Clinical Governance and Clinical Care; Clinical Support Services; Public Health; Leadership and Governance; Operational Management and Facilities and Infrastructure. A total of 851 routine inspections were conducted with 201 of these facilities re-inspected. Inspection data was captured on District Health Information System (DHIS) data entry forms and exported for analysis to Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) version 9.4.
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Regional Network for Equity in Health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET): Disussion Paper 111
The health services delivery system in Zambia is pyramid in structure, with primary healthcare (PHC) services at community level, at the base, followed by first and second level hospitals at distric...t and provincial levels, respectively, and third level (tertiary) services at national level. Notably, primary health services are free in Zambia and health service providers are either governmentowned or not-for-profit facilities.
Over the years, resource constraints have affected the quality and extent of healthcare services at all levels, requiring the mobilisation of additional resources for the sector. In doing so, prioritisation was high on the agenda of health sector reform. The EHB, therefore, prioritises interventions with the highest impact on the population, enabling policy makers to revisit priority diseases and conditions and to cost the services provided at each level of facility. Other key issues in developing the EHB in Zambia have included the need to have cost-effective services and cost per capita of services for more systematic budgeting, to rank interventions and to validate and cost the health benefit package as a whole.
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Large-Scale UN Response Needed to Address Health and Food Crises
This report is based on interviews with more than 150 health care professionals, Venezuelans seeking or in need of medical care who recently arrived in Colombia and Brazil, representatives from international and nongovernmental humani...tarian organizations. In addition, researchers analyzed data on the situation inside Venezuela from official sources, hospitals, international and national organizations, and civil society organizations.
We found a health system in utter collapse with increased levels of maternal and infant mortality; the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and diphtheria; and increases in numbers of infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis (TB). Although the government stopped publishing official data on nutrition in 2007, research by Venezuelan organizations and universities documents high levels of food insecurity and child malnutrition, and available data shows high hospital admissions of malnourished children.
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Las fronteras con Colombia y Perú se mantuvieron cerradas y parecería que esta medida se extendería los primeros meses del año 2021. Los contagios por COVID-19 incrementaron de manera sostenida durante el mes de diciembre. Para evitar aglomeraciones y una saturación en el sistema de salud, el G...obierno Nacional (Decreto Ejecutivo No. 1217 / 21 diciembre 2020) declaró el estado de excepción en el territorio nacional, restringiendo la movilidad y el uso de espacios públicos, así como estableciendo un toque de queda.
A pesar de estas restricciones a la movilidad, los refugiados y migrantes continuaron ingresando a Ecuador por pasos irregulares. Se reporta un incremento de ingresos irregulares por la frontera de Tulcán: en el mes de diciembre, hubo entre 350-400 personas ingresando diariamente durante el período de monitoreo (4 horas diarias). Esto representa un incremento del 35% si se lo compara con los ingresos reportados en noviembre.
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In this document, recommendations are provided on designing and implementing
a cross-sectional serosurvey using school-based sampling to estimate age-specific
DENV seroprevalence to inform a country’s national dengue vaccination program.
The document includes recommendations for methods for ...planning and conducting
serosurveys, including survey design, specimen collection, laboratory testing, data
analysis, and the interpretation and reporting of results.
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The Interim Guidance on Cholera Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) by the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) provides recommendations for using RDTs to detect cholera in areas with limited laboratory capacity. It highlights the advantages of RDTs, such as rapid detection (within 30 minutes), ea...se of use by non-laboratory personnel, and their role in early outbreak identification and surveillance. However, it emphasizes that RDTs should not replace culture or PCR testing, as they vary in sensitivity (58-100%) and specificity (60-100%). The document advises on proper test selection, storage, training, and integration into national surveillance systems to enhance cholera response efforts.
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This strategic framework marries formerly separate mandates for HIV and TB management in to one, comprehensive collaboration. It provides a structure for how to: strengthen the health care system to respond effectively to both epidemics, reduce the burden of HIV/AIDS in TB patients, and establish a ...monitoring and evaluation system for the collaborative activities. Activities include: improving TB infection control in health care and other settings, enhancing TB/HIV diagnostic capacity, and harmonize data collection tools and local, national and international TB/HIV indicators.
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The building damage assessment, conducted between March 2010 and February 2011 by the Government of Haiti and the United Nations system, showed that more than 400,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, of which approximately 218,000 could be occupied without repairs (green category), 105,000 were ...damaged but could be repaired (yellow category), and 80,000 were severely damaged and remained uninhabitable (red category).
The destruction of buildings and infrastructure generated a huge amount of debris, estimated at 10 million cubic meters, blocking streets and land in affected areas. In the absence of a national debris management strategy, debris could, thus, be cleared and disposed of in an uncontrolled manner, hindering relief, recovery and reconstruction activities.
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This guide is available in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese
This guide consolidates COVID-19 guidance for human resources for health managers and policy-makers at national, subnational and facility levels to design, manage and preserve the workforce necessary to manage the COVI...D-19 pandemic and maintain essential health services.
The guide identifies recommendations to protect, support and empower health workers at individual, management, organizational and system levels.
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WHO’s Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) defines the Organization’s medium-term vision for working in and with a particular country. The CCS, developed in the context of global and national health priorities, examines the overall health situation in a country, including the state of the health s...ector, socioeconomic status and the major health determinants.
This CCS sets out WHO’s strategic framework for collaboration with the Syrian Arab Republic, from June 2022 until June 2025, in light of the 12 years of crisis that have had a devastating impact on the health sector and infrastructure of basic services. It carefully considers the current and projected issues during its transition from continued humanitarian assistance to recovery, resilience and development. The consolidation of health policies and strategies and health system strengthening, based on the strengthening of primary health care (PHC), aims to contribute to the achievement of national and global development and health goals and the targets of the SDGs.
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As the Americas undergo profound demographic change and there are more persons aged 65 years or older than children younger than 5 years, it is crucial to recognize that national immunization programs must be redesigned to ensure comprehensive protection for individuals across the lifespan. By adopt...ing a life course approach (LCA) to immunization, vaccination programs can be tailored to close immunity gaps at different stages of life. The life course approach foresees the establishment of multiple strategies to reduce missed opportunities for vaccination according to age group. This technical document explains the key concepts of the LCA with a focus on immunization by vaccination, as well as the underlying biological mechanisms that require the application different vaccines at different life stages according to changes to the immune system and in the epidemiological situation of a community.
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Monitoring of implementation of collaborative TB/HIV activities and evaluation of impact is critically important. This requires efficient monitoring and evaluation system so as to establish accountability mechanisms between programmes, the population they serve, and donors. The Guide to monitoring a...nd evaluation for collaborative TB/HIV activities will facilitate this process. The first version of the guide was developed in 2004 placing collaborative TB/HIV activities as integral part of national TB/HIV response. It was revised in 2009 to harmonize the approaches and indicators for monitoring and evaluation across key stakeholders. The current revision builds upon remarkable progress in implementation of collaborative TB/HIV activities and aims to strengthen the implementation further through improved quality of data.
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