The guideline uses state-of-the-art evidence to identify effective policy options to strengthen community health worker (CHW) programme performance through their proper integration in health systems and communities.
Successful delivery of services through CHWs requires evidence-based models for edu...cation, deployment and management of these health workers. The guideline is intended as a tool for national policy makers and planners and their international partners to use in the design, implementation, performance and evaluation of effective community health worker programmes. It contains pragmatic recommendations on selection, training and certification; management and supervision: and integration into health systems and community engagement.
more
Globally, in low-income countries, the average newborn mortality rate is 27 deaths per 1,000 births, the report says. In high-income countries, that rate is 3 deaths per 1,000. Newborns from the riskiest places to give birth are up to 50 times more likely to die than those from the safest places.
...>
The report also notes that 8 of the 10 most dangerous places to be born are in sub-Saharan Africa, where pregnant women are much less likely to receive assistance during delivery due to poverty, conflict and weak institutions. If every country brought its newborn mortality rate down to the high-income average by 2030, 16 million lives could be saved.
More than 80 per cent of newborn deaths are due to prematurity, complications during birth or infections such as pneumonia and sepsis, the report says. These deaths can be prevented with access to well-trained midwives, along with proven solutions like clean water, disinfectants, breastfeeding within the first hour, skin-to-skin contact and good nutrition.
more
Wheelchair Service Training Package - Basic level | The main purpose of the training package is to develop the minimum skills and knowledge required by personnel involved in wheelchair service delivery. An important aim of the training package is to get it integrated into the regular paramedical/reh...abilitation training programs such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, prosthetics and orthotics, rehabilitation nursing. Towards this, WHO is posting the whole training package in the Website for the training institutes and wheelchair service providers. The easiest way to make use of the training package is to download the complete package (requires 3 GB space).
more
The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging health systems across the world. Rapidly increasing demand for care of people with COVID-19 is compounded by fear, misinformation and limitations on the movement of people and supplies that disrupt the delivery of frontline health care for all people...
This g...uidance addresses the specific role of community-based health care in the pandemic context and outlines the adaptations needed to keep people safe, maintain continuity of essential services and ensure an effective response to COVID-19. It is intended for decision-makers and managers at the national and subnational levels and complements a range of other guidance, including that on priority public health interventions, facility-based care, and risk communication and community engagement in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic.
more
A lack of knowledge about the threat of vaccine-preventable diseases, risks and benefits of vaccines, mistrust of government and health workers, poor service delivery and alternative health or religious beliefs play a role in lower uptake of some vaccines. These challenges underscore the importance ...of early integration and investment in a thoughtful communication plan for immunization programmes. This World Health Organization (WHO) report presents communication guidance and specific considerations for countries that plan to introduce human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into their national immunisation programme as part of an effort to prevent cervical cancer.
more
These standards for the quality of paediatric care in health facilities form part of normative
guidance for improving the quality of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health care.
In view of the importance of the continuum of both the life-course and service delivery (1),
these standards bu...ild on the Standards for improving the quality of maternal and newborn
care in health facilities (2), during labour, childbirth and the early postnatal period.
more
No publication year indicated
The specific objectives of the plan are to:
- Scale up evidence-based, cost effective interventions through effective strategies within a HSS approach and provide equitable coverage with quality.
- Reduce neonatal mortality by improved home-based newborn ...care, early identification of sick newborns and improved access to institutional newborn care of adequate quality.
- Reduce common childhood illness related mortality (due to pneumonia and diarrhoea in all areas and malaria in endemic areas) by improving key family and community practices, community-based early diagnosis and management and referral care for complicated cases.
more
UNICEF Syria’s series of think pieces. Every day counts. An outlook on child protection for the most vulnerable children in Syria.To navigate the complex and continuously changing context and attain sustainable results for children, UNICEF – along with other UN agencies - seeks to make a shift i...n its programming towards early recovery while maintaining the delivery of humanitarian assistance based on needs on the ground. This will help strengthen the linkages between the needs-based emergency response and essential service restoration, socioeconomic resilience, and social cohesion.
more
Since the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978, community health volunteers (CHVs) have been at the forefront, providing health services, especially to underserved communities, in low-income countries. However, consolidation of CHVs position within formal health systems has proved to be complex and continue...s to challenge countries, as they devise strategies to strengthen primary healthcare. Malawi’s community health strategy, launched in 2017, is a novel attempt to harmonise the multiple health
service structures at the community level and strengthen service delivery through a team-based approach. The core community health team (CHT) consists of health surveillance assistants (HSAs), clinicians, environmental health officers and CHVs. This paper reviews Malawi’s strategy, with particular focus on the interface between HSAs, volunteers in community-based programmes and
the community health team. Our analysis identified key challenges that may impede the strategy’s implementation:
(1) inadequate training, imbalance of skill sets within CHTs and unclear job descriptions for CHVs; (2) proposed community-level interventions require expansion of pre-existing roles for most CHT members; and (3) district authorities may face challenges meeting financial obligations and filling community-level positions. For effective implementation, attention and further deliberation is needed on the appropriate forms of CHV support, CHT composition with possibilities of co-opting trained CHVs
from existing volunteer programmes into CHTs, review of CHT competencies and workload, strengthening coordination and communication across all community actors, and financing mechanisms. Policy support through the development of an addendum to the strategy, outlining opportunities for task-shifting between CHT members, CHVs’ expected duties and interactions with paid CHT personnel is recommended.
more
In the area of nutrition and HIV, children deserve special attention because of their additional needs to ensure growth and development and their dependency on adults for adequate care. It was therefore proposed to first develop guidelines for children and thereafter consider a similar approach for... other specific groups.
The content of these guidelines acknowledges that wasting and undernutrition in HIV-infected children reflect a series of failures within the health system, the home and community and not just a biological process related to virus and host interactions. In trying to protect the nutritional well-being or reverse the undernutrition experienced by infected children, issues of food insecurity, food quantity and quality as well as absorption and digestion of nutrients are considered. Interventions are proposed that are practical and feasible in resource-poor settings and offer a prospect for clinical improvement.
The guidelines do not cover the feeding of infants 0 to 6 months old, because the specialised care in this age group is already addressed in other WHO guidelines and documents.
more
The EHSP in Botswana seeks to attain universal coverage of high-quality package of essential health services. The EHSP is an integrated collection of cost-effective interventions, promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative, that address the main diseases, injuries and risk factors that affe...ct the population. The EHSP has two key purposes:
1) Provide a standardized package of basic services which forms the core of service delivery in all primary health care facilities
2) Promote a redistribution of health services by providing equitable access, especially in underserved areas, population, etc.
more
A clear understanding of the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of a particular community is necessary in order to improve control of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT).New screening and diagnostic tools and strategies were introduced into South Sudan, as part of integrated delivery of primar...y healthcare. Knowledge and awareness on HAT, its new/improved screening and diagnostic tools, the places and processes of getting a confirmatory diagnosis and treatment are crucial to the success of this strategy.
more
Policy brief, 24 July 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected older people disproportionately, especially those living in long-term care facilities. In many countries, evidence shows that more than 40% of COVID-19 related deaths have been linked to long-term care facilities, with figures being as h...igh as 80% in some high-income countries. Concerted action is needed to mitigate the impact across all aspects of long-term care, including home- and community-based care, given that most users and providers of care are those who are vulnerable to severe COVID-19.
This policy brief provides 11 policy objectives and key action points to prevent and manage COVID-19 across long-term care. Its intended audience is policy makers and authorities (national, subnational and local) involved in the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief builds on currently available evidence on the measures taken to prevent, prepare for and respond to the COVID‑19 pandemic across long-term care services including care providers
more
Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) is a decentralised community-based approach to treating acute malnutrition. Treatment is matched to the nutritional and clinical needs of the child, with the majority children receiving treatment at home using ready-to-use foods. In-patient car...e is provided only for complicated cases of acute malnutrition. CMAM consists of four components: (1) stabilisation care for acute malnutrition with complications, (2) out-patient therapeutic care for severe acute malnutrition without complications, (3) supplementary feeding for moderate acute malnutrition and (4) community mobilisation.
more
Primary care can play a significant role in the COVID-19 response by differentiating patients with respiratory symptoms from those with COVID-19, making an early diagnosis, helping vulnerable people cope with their anxiety about the virus, and reducing the demand for hospital services. This document... provides national and subnational health managers, as well as staff at primary care facilities, with interim guidance on timely, effective and safe supportive management of patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 at the primary care level; and delivery of essential health services at the primary care level during the COVID-19 outbreak
more
1 June 2020
Countries around the world are facing the challenge of increased demand for care of people with COVID-19, compounded by fear, misinformation and limitations on movement that disrupt the delivery of health care for all conditions. Maintaining essential health services: operational guidan...ce for the COVID-19 context recommends practical actions that countries can take at national, subregional and local levels to reorganize and safely maintain access to high-quality, essential health services in the pandemic context. It also outlines sample indicators for monitoring essential health services, and describes considerations on when to stop and restart services as COVID-19 transmission recedes and surges. This document expands on the content of pillar 9 of the COVID-19 strategic preparedness and response plan, supersedes the earlier Operational guidance for maintaining essential health services during an outbreak, and complements the recently-released Community-based health care, including outreach and campaigns, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is intended for decision-makers and managers at the national and subnational levels.
This is an update to COVID-19: Operational guidance for maintaining essential health services during an outbreak: Interim guidance, 25 March 2020
more
This Course for Service Providers on how to give Vitamin A Supplementation and Deworming (VAS+D) uses both a Learner’sGuide and a Facilitator’s Guide. The Learner’s Guide is designed for participants in the course who are healthcare workers or trainers learning to deliver vitamin A and Albenda...zole(for deworming) as part of regular activities associated with community or facility-based health care services, while the Facilitator’s Guide is designed for course facilitators who are planning and conducting courses .
more
Preliminary overview of refugees and migrants self-reported impact of COVID-19
The study surveyed over 30,000 refugees and migrants living in 170 countries. Many of the respondents had fled war or dire economic conditions in their home country only to be faced with the additional challenges posed b...y COVID-19. Travel restrictions including border closures, suspension of resettlement travel, and last-minute deportation left many stranded or forced to stay in cramped, makeshift shelters or detention centers. Amid these uncertain, precarious conditions, many migrants described either a lack of access to health services or a fear of seeking them out — even if they were experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
more
Specifically the Strategy focuses on five strategic objectives:
commitment to action on Healthy Ageing in every country;
developing age-friendly environments;
aligning health systems to the needs of older populations;
developing sustainable and equitable systems for providing lon...g-term care (home, communities, institutions); and
improving measurement, monitoring and research on Healthy Ageing.
Available in Englisch, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish
more
The objective of the evaluation is to understand whether the CHW program has achieved its intended objectives, thus contributing to the overarching objectives defined in the HSSP III of improving the health status of the population by “Ensuring universal accessibility of quality health services fo...r all Rwandans”.
This evaluation has focused on CHWs, who are selected, trained and deployed by the MoH to deliver a defined set of tasks at community level. CHWs are the central element of the Community Health Policy and of the community health strategy plan (CHSP) of the MoH.
more