Regional Network for Equity in Health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET): Disussion Paper 110
This report compiles evidence from published, grey literature and key informants on the UNMHCP
since its introduction in Uganda’s health system, and findings were further validated during a oneda...y
national stakeholder meeting.
Three main factors motivated introduction of the UNMHCP. First, Uganda, along with other lowincome countries, was unable to implement holistically the primary healthcare (PHC) concepts as set out in the Alma Ata Declaration. Second, the macro-economic restructuring carried out in the 1990s, which was an international conditionality for low-income countries to access development financing, influenced the trend towards more stringent prioritisation of health interventions as a means of rationing and targeting use of resources. Third, the government sought to achieve equity with a service package that would be universally available for all people.
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Depression is a leading cause of non-fatal disease burden worldwide, with a lifetime prevalence of 9% among European adult men and 17% among European adult women.
The task at hand requires substantial investments in preventive mental health care, but the potential benefits can be equally rewarding.... After all, mental wellbeing is a key resource for learning, productivity, participation and inclusion. Investing in proactive care to promote, protect and sustain mental health in the population is therefore likely to offer good value for money.
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The Participation Handbook for humanitarian field workers contains detailed practical advice on the participation of affected people in humanitarian action. It has three sections:
Developing a participatory approach (main issues, key factors, building mutual respect, communication methods and... advice on reviewing your approach);
Implementing your participatory approach at every stage of the project cycle (initial assessment, project design, implementation, monitoring and final evaluation);
A list of tools and additional resources (books, internet sites, etc.)
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In an effort to improve the capabilities and accountability of humanitarian and economic practitioners, the SEEP (Small Enterprise Education and Promotion) Network's Minimum Economic Recovery Standards focus on minimum industry standards for facilitating economic recovery in crisis situations.
Th...e handbook sets out strategies and interventions designed to improve income, cash flow, asset management, and growth among crisis-affected households and enterprises. These include financial services, productive assets, employment, and enterprise development. It emphasizes encouraging the re-start of enterprises and livelihoods strategies, and improving market productivity and governance
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This comprehensive HPFM report thoroughly explores Kenya’s health financing landscape. It provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of affairs and sheds light on required strategic changes in health financing. The report points out the need to improve public financial management within th...e health sector, for more efficient financial systems. It focuses on better resourceraising and utilization mechanisms. The matrix highlights the need for consolidation of fragmented health financing arrangements, for a more efficient health system. It also emphasizes the need for enhancing strategic purchasing of health services, to improve the overall efficiency and quality of care. Additionally, the report stresses the critical
role of leveraging data and information systems for more evidence-based informed decision-making. These recommendations are crucial for advancing Kenya’s health financing system and moving closer to the UHC goal.
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The National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination in India (2023-2027) focuses on achieving malaria elimination by 2030, in alignment with the Global Technical Strategy. The document outlines the strategies, targets, and goals for malaria elimination, aiming for zero indigenous malaria cases by 20...27. It emphasizes district-based planning, robust surveillance systems, and enhancing case management and vector control. The plan stresses the importance of universal access to treatment, prevention, and data-driven decision-making. Furthermore, it encourages innovation and research in malaria elimination efforts, fostering multisectoral coordination and community engagement.
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WHO published the first COVID-19 Strategic Response and Preparedness Plan (SPRP) on 3 February, 2020. This report highlights the main points of progress that were made up to 30 June 2020 under the three objectives outlined in the SPRP: scaling up international coordination and support; scaling up co...untry preparedness and response by pillar; and accelerating research and innovation. The report also discusses some of the key challenges faced so far, and provides an update on the resource requirements for the next phase of WHO’s response as part of an unprecedented whole-of-UN approach to the pandemic.
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Antimicrobials have been a critical public health tool since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, saving the lives of millions of people around the world. Today, however, the emergence of drug resistance is reversing the miracles of the past eighty years, with drug choices for the treatment of many ...infections becoming increasingly limited, expensive, and, in some cases, non-existent.
Conscious of the public health threats of AMR to both humans, animals and the environment, the ministries of health and sanitation, agriculture forestry and food security and the environmental protection agency put together a national multi-sectoral coordinating group tasked with the responsibility of establishing mechanisms to integrate all initiatives into a single concerted action and development of the national AMR strategic plan (2018-2022). The National Strategic Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance is the first approach which addresses AMR specifically.
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This purpose of this guide is to inform robust evaluations of the WHO training package – a package aimed at personnel whose primary role in health-care facilities is environmental cleaning, hereafter referred to as cleaners.
The WHO training package – Environmental cleaning and infection prev...ention and control in health-care facilities in low- and middle-income countries – was designed to improve the competencies of cleaners through a practical, educational approach for adult learners in low- and middle-income countries and comprises two volumes: trainer’s guide and modules and resources (1,2). An associated OpenWHO online course describes the essential preparations for trainers to deliver the WHO training package.
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Key questions
What is already known?
Critical illness is common throughout the world and COVID-19 has caused a global surge of critically ill patients.
There are large gaps in the quality of care for critically ill patients, especially in low-staffed and low-resourced settings, and mortal...ity rates are high.
Essential Emergency and Critical Care (EECC) is the effective lifesaving care of low-cost and low-complexity that all critically ill patients should receive in all wards in all hospitals in the world.
What are the new findings?
The clinical processes that comprise EECC and the essential care of critically ill patients with COVID-19 have been specified in a large consensus among clinical experts worldwide.
The resource requirements for hospitals to be ready to provide this care has been described.
What do the new findings imply?
The findings can be used across medical specialties in hospitals worldwide to prioritise and implement essential care for reducing preventable deaths.
Inclusion of the EEEC processes could increase the impact of pandemic preparedness and response programmes and policies for health systems strengthening.
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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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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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The Lancet Countdown is an international collaboration that independently monitors the health consequences of a changing climate. Publishing updated, new, and improved indicators each year, the Lancet Countdown represents the
consensus of leading researchers from 43 academic institutions and UN ag...encies. The 44 indicators of this report expose an unabated rise in the health impacts of
climate change and the current health consequences of the delayed and inconsistent response of countries around the globe—providing a clear imperative for accelerated action that puts the health of people and planet above all else.The 2021 report coincides with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), at which countries are facing pressure to realise the ambition of the Paris Agreement to keep the global average temperature rise to 1·5°C and to
mobilise the financial resources required for all countries to have an effective climate response. These negotiations unfold in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic—a global health crisis that has claimed millions of lives, affected livelihoods and communities around the globe, and exposed deep fissures and inequities in the world’s capacity to cope with, and respond to, health emergencies. Yet, in its response to both crises, the world is faced with an unprecedented opportunity to ensure a healthy future for all.
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The biennium 2020–2021 has revealed more clearly than ever the need for a strong, credible and independent WHO on the world stage. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis has demonstrated the fundamental importance of the global detection, response and coordination roles that only WHO can play a...cross all Member States. At the same time, the challenges to global health systems and the pressure to ensure equal access to quality health care and the best health possible for all have mounted. The triple billion targets of the Thirteenth General Programme of Work, 2019–2023 remain relevant. The work of WHO in all contexts has never been more critical. However, as several Member States have pointed out, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the discrepancy between what the world expects of WHO and what it is able to deliver with the resources/capacity it has at its disposal. Sustainable financing is thus a key challenge for the Organization that must be addressed as part of the lessons learned from the current COVID-19 pandemic. Member States discussed this issue in detail during the Seventy-third World Health Assembly and their conclusions were reflected in resolution WHA73.1 (2020). The topic of adequate funding is not new. However, discussions on the matter have, to date, remained rather abstract. Building on previous discussions and taking account of lessons learned, the WHO Secretariat would like to initiate a process aimed at finding a concrete solution to the sustainable financing of WHO. This document proposes a process through which to arrive at such a decision, including the key stages and timeline.
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An external team evaluated PAHO’s response to COVID-19 to provide an independent assessment of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau’s (PASB) performance regarding preparedness for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The evaluations’ final report culminates with eight recommendations for actions... to future response to health emergencies. The final report of EPRC culminates with eight evidence-based recommendations of actions to strengthen future pandemic responses, while building a resilient recovery in the Region. The recommendations by the external team focus on PAHO’s governance and management, on specialized regional mechanisms, diversified funding models, and use of new technologies, among others.
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Children with disabilities in South Africa: The hidden reality is part of a multiple-country study conducted by ACPF. The study seeks to analyse how cultural, social, physical and other societal barriers prevent children with disabilities from enjoying their constitutional rights to equality, freedo...m and human dignity. It also seeks to establish opportunities and practices that could be used to address these barriers to enhance disabled children’s participation in society.
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Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) organisms are increasing globally, threatening to render existing treatments ineffective against many infectious diseases. In Africa, AMR has already been documented to be a problem for HIV and the pathogens that cause malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid, cholera, meningitis..., gonorrhea, and dysentery. Recognizing the urgent need for action, the World Health Assembly adopted the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance in May 2015. In accordance with the Global Action Plan and to meet needs specific to Africa, Africa CDC will establish the Anti-Microbial Resistance Surveillance Network (AMRSNET). AMRSNET is a network of public health institutions and leaders from human and animal health sectors who will collaborate to measure, prevent, and mitigate harms from AMR organisms.
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This toolkit is designed to help you plan and implement a Patient Navigation program with the best chance of reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes for your patients. It contains evidence-based and experience-based examples, case studies, practical tools, and resources to help you...:
1. Establish an evidence-based patient navigation program tailored to reduce barriers for your patients
2. Incorporate best practices to enhance current patient navigation programs or services
3. Implement a patient navigation model to address any targeted medical condition
where disparities exist
4. Hire, prepare, supervise, support and retain effective Patient Navigators
5. Navigate patients who experience health disparities
6. Evaluate patient navigation programs with the aim of continuous quality
improvement
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Occupational health and safety programmes aim to prevent diseases and injuries arising out of, linked with or occurring in the course of work, while improving the quality and safety of care, safeguarding the health workforce and promoting environmental sustainability in the health sector.
This gu...ide provides an overview of the key elements of occupational health and safety programmes for health workers at national, subnational and facility levels, as well as advice for the development and implementation of such programmes. Health workers exposure risk assessment and management in the context of COVID-19 virus
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Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most important threats to the health worldwide. Antimicrobial resistance or drug resistance is the reduction of the pharmaceutical effects of a drug against a disease or reduction of its effectiveness in improving the clinical signs of a disease. Antimicrobial ...resistance occurs naturally but misuse of antibiotics in human and animals significantly accelerates the process of developing antimicrobial resistance. In fact, antimicrobial resistance refers to the resistance of a microorganism to one or more antimicrobial drugs which had been previously sensitive to these drugs. Antimicrobial resistance can occur in a wide variety of pathogens including bacteria, parasites, viruses, fungi, and cancer cells and may threaten the life of every person, in every age, and in every country
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