The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. As a community composed of men, united in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit toward the Kingdom of their Father. They have welcome...d the news of salvation, meant for every man. This community realizes its link with mankindand its history by the deepest of bonds
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March 2020
The number of African Union Member States reporting COVID-
19 cases is increasing and there is a likelihood of community transmission. The WHO recently modified the COVID-19 suspect case definition to include severe acute respiratory infection and advises testing of all severe acute r...espiratory illness (SARI) cases.1 However, many Member States have not yet started implementing these changes, they are still focussing surveillance efforts on individuals with travel history to an area with local COVID-19 transmission. This means patients with similar symptoms, but no apparent contact, may not
be investigated.
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Ebola Deeply is an online web portal and news site designed to provide accurate and timely information about the Ebola health crisis, with an emphasis on providing context and countering misinformation. Launched in October 2014, this digital media project involves a team of freelance journalists and... technologists who feature a mix of original articles, op-eds, and content from the Associated Press and other news organisations. A key feature of the site is the Ebola Files section, a collection of text and interactive materials covering basic information, the history of the Ebola virus, scientific perspectives, and stories about survivors. There is also an interactive map of recent cases and death rates, a timeline of events, and videos
http://www.eboladeeply.org/.
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The Mediclinic Infohub article on silicosis provides an overview of this occupational lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust. It explains that inhaled silica particles lead to lung scarring and nodule formation, progressively impairing breathing. The article outlines symptoms such as shortness ...of breath, severe cough, fatigue, loss of appetite, chest pains, and fever. Diagnosis involves a medical examination, detailed occupational history, lung function tests, and imaging like chest X-rays or CT scans to detect lung scarring and nodules. While silicosis is irreversible with no specific cure, management focuses on preventing further silica exposure and treating complications. Preventive measures include maintaining high occupational health standards to control silica dust exposure.
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Diabetic foot ulcers are a complication affecting approximately 15% of the total population with diabetes mellitus. There are three and half million diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia alone. Aim: to determine capacity building for nurses’ knowledge and practice regarding prevention of diabetic foot... complications. Research Questions: 1. Does the nurse’s knowledge prevent diabetic foot ulcer and other foot complications? 2. Does the high practice of the nurses during foot screening can prevent diabetic foot ulcer in primary health care centers in Saudi Arabia? Design: Descriptive, research designs have been utilized. Setting: Chronic disease clinic in primary health care centers in Jeddah city. Subjects: a purposive sample of 30 nurses and convenience sample of 30 patients. Tools: A. Diabetic foot ulcer Structured interview questionnaire to assess nurse’s knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus and diabetic foot. B. Health status assessment questionnaire to assess health history status of diabetic client. C. An observational checklist to assess the nurse practice once during diabetic foot screening. Results: Significant increase in nurse's knowledge had been observed, while the majority of them had poor practice in relation to foot screening. Whereas complicated diabetic patients represent 35.7% of diabetic patients have neuropathy. Moreover, only 7.1% have neuropathy and diabetic ketoacidosis. Also there was a significant moderate positive correlation between the overall score of nurse’s knowledge and the overall score of the practice regarding diabetic foot complications. Conclusions: Proper foot care, early recognition and management of risk factors prevent foot ulcer. Recommendations: Developing a structured training educational program for nurses dealing patients with diabetic foot disorders.
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The World Health Organization's fact sheet on hypertension provides a comprehensive overview of high blood pressure, highlighting its prevalence, risk factors, and health implications. It emphasizes that hypertension is a major cause of premature death worldwide, with an estimated 1.28 billion adult...s aged 30–79 years affected, two-thirds of whom live in low- and middle-income countries.
The document outlines modifiable risk factors, including unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol use, and being overweight or obese. It also discusses non-modifiable risk factors such as family history, age over 65 years, and co-existing conditions like diabetes or kidney disease. The fact sheet underscores the importance of regular blood pressure monitoring, as hypertension often presents without symptoms, and highlights lifestyle changes and medications as effective treatments. Additionally, it mentions global targets aimed at reducing the prevalence of hypertension by 33% between 2010 and 2030.
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WHO convened the fifth stakeholders meeting on the elimination of HAT due to infection with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (g-HAT) and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (r-HAT) in Geneva, Switzerland, on 7–9 June 2023. The meeting was held again in person after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandem...ic and jointly for both forms of the disease. The previous meetings on g-HAT held in 2014, 2016 and 2018, as well as on r-HAT in 2015, 2017 and 2019, and jointly for g-HAT and r-HAT in 2021 (8) reinforced the partnership and commitment for HAT elimination and structured the mechanisms of collaboration within the WHO network for HAT elimination. The network includes NSSCPs, groups developing new tools, international and nongovernmental organizations involved in disease control, and donors.
Fewer than 1000 cases of HAT annually have been reported over the past 5 years, which is a historic achievement. The area at risk has been substantially reduced. The elimination of HAT as a public health problem at the global level has been achieved.
The new road map for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) 2021−2030 (“the road map”) with the target to interrupt the transmission of g-HAT requires the strengthened and sustained efforts of all stakeholders, national authorities and partners, under WHO coordination. It will take disproportionally high efforts and innovative strategies to find the last cases of g-HAT and neutralize its transmission. Given the limited resources and other competing public health priorities, this is a challenge that requires our joint commitment.
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La crisis sanitaria y socioeconómica desencadenada por la pandemia del COVID-19 ha golpeado duramente a los países de América Latina y ha dejado al descubierto las profundas desigualdades sobre las que numerosos informes internacionales, regionales y nacionales han alertado en las últimas décad...as. En este contexto, la histórica exclusión y marginación política y económica de los más de 800 pueblos indígenas de la región se ha acentuado como consecuencia de las insuficientes respuestas estatales a la crisis, que no han considerado adecuadamente los derechos colectivos de estos pueblos y han tenido escasa relevancia cultural.
Este documento ofrece un panorama de la situación de los pueblos indígenas de la región ante la pandemia del COVID-19. Analiza tanto las respuestas del Estado como las de los propios pueblos indígenas ante la crisis, además de ofrecer un conjunto de recomendaciones para rectificar el olvido de estos pueblos en la gestión de la pandemia, centrándose en sus derechos colectivos.
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La fiebre amarilla es una enfermedad endémica en varios países de América Latina. Con vistas a brindar apoyo a los responsables de la toma de decisiones para priorizar las acciones preventivas frente a esta afección, la Organización Panamericana de la Salud presenta estos perfiles nacionales co...n una selección de datos concisa y exhaustiva de los países con endemicidad. En cada perfil se brinda un análisis de la situación actual del país, los factores ecológicos y climáticos asociados a la enfermedad, la distribución e incidencia de los vectores, y las claves de la actividad arboviral. Asimismo, se incluye una perspectiva histórica de la epidemiología y un resumen del estado de la vacunación contra la enfermedad en el país.
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Este informe es el primero de la serie «Intención de pasar a la acción» de la OMS, cuyo objetivo es mejorar la limitada base de evidencia sobre la repercusión de la participación constructiva y abordar la falta de enfoques normalizados sobre cómo hacer operativa dicha participación. La serie... «Intención de pasar a la acción» pretende conseguirlo proporcionando una plataforma desde la que personas con experiencias vividas, y defensores de organizaciones e instituciones, puedan compartir soluciones, dificultades y prácticas prometedoras relacionadas con esta agenda transversal. Esta serie también tiene como objetivo proporcionar poderosas historias, inspiración y evidencia de cara a la Cuarta Reunión de Alto Nivel de las Naciones Unidas sobre las ENT que se celebrará en 2025, así como lograr los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) de las Naciones Unidas para 2030.
Para ello, este informe incluye seis estudios de casos procedentes de 12 personas con experiencias vividas de diversas dolencias. Se analizan temas como la dinámica del poder y la reorientación del poder hacia las personas con experiencias vividas; la toma de decisiones informada y la alfabetización sanitaria; la implicación de la comunidad en redes sanitarias y sistemas de salud más amplios; la experiencia vivida como evidencia y conocimientos; la exclusión y la importancia de implicar a los grupos que están marginados; y la promoción y los derechos humanos
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El desarrollo de los pueblos y muy especialmente el de aquellos que se esfuerzan por escapardel hambre, de la miseria, de las enfermedades endémicas, de la ignorancia; que buscan unamás amplia participación en los frutos de la civilización, una valoración más activa de suscualidades humanas; q...ue se orientan con decisión hacia el pleno desarrollo, es observado por laIglesia con atención. Apenas terminado el segundo Concilio Vaticano II, una renovada toma deconciencia de las exigencias del mensaje evangélico obliga a la Iglesia a ponerse al servicio delos hombres para ayudarles a captar todas las dimensiones de este grave problema yconvencerles de la urgencia de una acción solidaria en este cambio decisivo de la historia de lahumanidad.
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Development finance institutions owned by European governments and the World Bank Group are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on expensive for-profit hospitals in the Global South that block patients from getting care, or bankrupt them, with some even imprisoning patients who cannot afford th...eir bills. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of these same hospitals denied entry to patients suffering from the virus or sold intensive care beds at eyewatering prices to the highest bidder. These development institutions have woefully inadequate safeguards, invest via a complex web of tax-avoiding financial intermediaries, and offer little to zero evidence on the impacts their investments are having. Oxfam is calling on rich-country governments and the World Bank Group to immediately halt their spending on for-profit private healthcare, and for an urgent independent investigation to be conducted into all active and historic investments.
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Background: Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) requires health financing systems that provide prepaid pooled resources for key health services without placing undue financial stress on households. Understanding current and future trajectories of health financing is vital for progress towards ...UHC. We used historical health financing data for 188 countries from 1995 to 2015 to estimate future scenarios of health spending and pooled health spending through to 2040. Methods: We extracted historical data on gross domestic product (GDP) and health spending for 188 countries from 1995 to 2015, and projected annual GDP, development assistance for health, and government, out-of-pocket, and prepaid private health spending from 2015 through to 2040 as a reference scenario. These estimates were generated using an ensemble of models that varied key demographic and socioeconomic determinants. We generated better and worse alternative future scenarios based on the global distribution of historic health spending growth rates. Last, we used stochastic frontier analysis to investigate the association between pooled health resources and UHC index, a measure of a country’s UHC service coverage. Finally, we estimated future UHC performance and the number of people covered under the three future scenarios.
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IHME’s Financing Global Health report provides an overview of health spending around the world, with a special focus on investments in health in low- and middle-income countries. The report examines how this funding for health is changing each year and forecasts how it may change in the future. Fi...nancing Global Health examines where money for health originates and what health issues it funds.
This year, Financing Global Health 2023 looks at how interest payments on loans that many countries took out during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep their economies afloat and their people protected are now straining health budgets. It also details how development partners’ investments in health in low- and middle-income countries – development assistance for health – have changed since reaching historic levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, dropping by $19.4 billion between 2021 and 2023, from $84.0 billion to $64.6 billion.
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Os manuais de formação TACT e o folheto para o paciente foram desenvolvidos no âmbito da iniciativa do ACT Consortium para melhorar a gestão dos casos de malária e promover a utilização correta dos testes de diagnóstico rápido (RDT). A iniciativa TACT ("Targeting ACTs") visa garantir a util...ização adequada das terapias combinadas à base de artemisinina (ACT), tratando apenas os casos de malária confirmados e orientando os cuidados alternativos para outras doenças febris. Os manuais oferecem formação interativa, baseada no local de trabalho, para auxiliar os profissionais de saúde na transição do tratamento presuntivo para um diagnóstico baseado em testes, em conformidade com a política da OMS. O folheto para o paciente, disponível em inglês e suáili, utiliza histórias ilustradas para explicar a importância e o objetivo dos TDR, abordar preocupações comuns e incentivar a confiança nos resultados dos testes. Após terem sido pré-testados quanto à sua clareza e compreensão, estes materiais apoiam mudanças sustentáveis na prática clínica e na comunicação com os doentes no âmbito dos cuidados de saúde primários na Tanzânia.
Accessed on 03/07/2025.
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Diagnosing asthma in children represents an important clinical challenge. There is no single gold-standard test to confirm the diagnosis. Consequently, over- and under-diagnosis of asthma is frequent in children. A task force supported by the European Respiratory Society has developed these evidence...-based clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis of asthma in children aged 5–16 years using nine Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcome (PICO) questions. The task force conducted systematic literature searches for all PICO questions and screened the outputs from these, including relevant full-text articles. All task force members approved the final decision for inclusion of research papers. The task force assessed the quality of the evidence using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
The task force then developed a diagnostic algorithm based on the critical appraisal of the PICO questions, preferences expressed by lay members and test availability. Proposed cut-offs were determined based on the best available evidence. The task force formulated recommendations using the GRADE Evidence to Decision framework.
Based on the critical appraisal of the evidence and the Evidence to Decision framework, the task force recommends spirometry, bronchodilator reversibility testing and exhaled nitric oxide fraction as first-line diagnostic tests in children under investigation for asthma. The task force recommends against diagnosing asthma in children based on clinical history alone or following a single abnormal objective test. Finally, this guideline also proposes a set of research priorities to improve asthma diagnosis in children in the future.
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Rabies is a fatal viral zoonosis and serious public health problem.1 All mammals are believed to be susceptible to the disease, and for the purposes of this document, use of the term animal refers to mammals. The disease is an acute, progressive encephalitis caused by viruses in the genus Lyssavirus....
2 Rabies virus is the most important lyssavirus globally. In the
United States, multiple rabies virus variants are maintained in wild mammalian reservoir populations such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats. Although the United States has been declared free from transmission of canine rabies virus variants, there is always a risk of reintroduction of these variants.The rabies virus is usually transmitted from animal to animal through bites. The incubation period is
highly variable. In domestic animals, it is generally 3 to 12 weeks, but can range from several days to months, exceeding 6 months.8 Rabies is communicable during the period of salivary shedding of rabies virus. Experimental and historic evidence documents that dogs, cats, and ferrets shed the virus for a few days prior to the onset of clinical signs and during illness. Clinical signs of rabies are variable and include inappetance, dysphagia, cranial nerve deficits, abnormal behavior, ataxia, paralysis, altered vocalization, and seizures. Progression to death is rapid. There are currently no known effective rabies antiviral drugs.
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The document "Diabetes in Pregnancy" by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) outlines quality standards for managing diabetes in women during pregnancy, with a focus on five key areas. First, it emphasizes the importance of preconception planning for women of childbearing age wit...h diabetes. These women should receive guidance on optimizing their health before pregnancy, including achieving target HbA1c levels and taking high-dose folic acid to minimize risks. Second, joint diabetes and antenatal care is recommended for pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes, who should be seen early in pregnancy (ideally by 10 weeks gestation) by a combined diabetes and antenatal team to ensure optimal care throughout their pregnancy.
The third focus area is continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), which should be offered to pregnant women with type 1 diabetes. This includes either real-time CGM or flash monitoring to help improve blood glucose control and reduce complications during pregnancy. Fourth, postnatal testing and referral are essential for women diagnosed with gestational diabetes, who should receive glucose testing after birth to detect any persistent diabetes. Those eligible are referred to the National Diabetes Prevention Programme to lower their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Lastly, the document recommends annual HbA1c testing for women with a history of gestational diabetes to monitor for type 2 diabetes development.
These standards aim to improve pregnancy outcomes for women with diabetes by providing individualized, accessible, and culturally appropriate care.
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Mpox is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by the mpox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus closely related to the variola virus that causes smallpox. Mpox was first discovered in 1958 when outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research. The first human case was recorde...d in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox and since then the infection has been reported in a number of African countries. Mpox can spread in humans through close contact, usually skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact, with an infected person or animal, as well as with materials contaminated with the virus such as clothing, beddings and towels, and respiratory droplets in prolonged face to face contact. People remain infectious from the onset of symptoms until all the lesions have scabbed and healed. The virus may spread from infected animals through handling infected meat or through bites or scratches. Diagnosis is confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of material from a lesion for the virus’s DNA. Two separate clades of the mpox virus are currently circulating in Africa: Clade I, which includes subclades Ia and Ib, and Clade II, comprising subclades IIa and IIb. Clade Ia and Clade Ib have been associated with ongoing human-to-human transmission and are presently responsible for outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while Clade Ib is also contributing to outbreaks in Burundi and other countries.
In 2022‒2023 mpox caused a global outbreak in over 110 countries, most of which had no previous history of the disease, primarily driven by human-to-human transmission of clade II through sexual contact. In just over a year, over 90,000 cases and 150 deaths were reported to the WHO. For the second time since 2022, mpox has been declared a global health emergency as the virus spreads rapidly across the African continent. On 13 Aug 2024, Africa CDC declared the ongoing mpox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS), marking the first such declaration by the agency since its inception in 2017.7 This declaration empowered the Africa CDC to lead and coordinate responses to the mpox outbreak across affected African countries. On August 14, 2024, the WHO declared the resurgence of mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) emphasizing the need for coordinated international response.
As of August 2024, Mpox has expanded beyond its traditional endemic regions, with new cases reported in countries including Sweden, Thailand, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Sweden has confirmed its first case of Clade 1 variant, which has been rapidly spreading in Africa, particularly in DRC. The emergence of this new variant raises concerns about its potential for higher lethality and transmission rates outside Africa.
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El presente informe incluye análisis de consultas informales en cinco de las regiones de la OMS: la Región de África, la Región de las Américas (donde se realizaron consultas separadas para el Caribe y América del Norte, y para América Latina), la Región de Asia Sudoriental, la Región de Eu...ropa y la Región del Mediterráneo Oriental, junto con tres foros en la Región del Pacífico Occidental. Se analizan las similitudes generales, los matices regionales y las prioridades planteadas en las seis regiones de la OMS para la participación significativa de las personas con experiencias vividas.
El presente informe es la segunda publicación de la serie «De la intención a la acción», un conjunto de recursos destinados a mejorar la limitada base de evidencia sobre el impacto de la participación significativa y abordar la falta de enfoques normalizados sobre cómo hacer operativa esta participación. La serie «De la intención a la acción» pretende llevar esto a cabo proporcionando una plataforma desde la que las personas con experiencias vividas, y los defensores de organizaciones e instituciones, puedan compartir soluciones, retos y prácticas prometedoras relacionadas con esta agenda transversal. La serie «De la intención a la acción» también tiene como objetivo proporcionar poderosas historias, inspiración y evidencia para la 4.ª Reunión de Alto Nivel de las Naciones Unidas sobre las ENT que se celebrará en 2025 y la consecución de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) de las Naciones Unidas para 2030.
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