The Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities, 2008, presents evidence-
based recommendations on the preferred methods for cleaning, disinfection and sterilization of patient-
care medical devices and for cleaning and disinfecting the healthcare environment. This docume...nt
supercedes the relevant sections contained in the 1985 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Guideline for
Handwashing and Environmental Control. 1 Because maximum effectiveness from disinfection and
sterilization results from first cleaning and removing organic and inorganic materials, this document also
reviews cleaning methods. The chemical disinfectants discussed for patient-care equipment include
alcohols, glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, iodophors, ortho-phthalaldehyde, peracetic
acid, phenolics, quaternary ammonium compounds, and chlorine. The choice of disinfectant,
concentration, and exposure time is based on the risk for infection associated with use of the equipment
and other factors discussed in this guideline. The sterilization methods discussed include steam
sterilization, ethylene oxide (ETO), hydrogen peroxide gas plasma, and liquid peracetic acid. When
properly used, these cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization processes can reduce the risk for infection
associated with use of invasive and noninvasive medical and surgical devices. However, for these
processes to be effective, health-care workers should adhere strictly to the cleaning, disinfection, and
sterilization recommendations in this document and to instructions on product labels.
LAST UPDATE 2019
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WHO-SEARO in partnership with WHOCC AIIMS, UNICEF, UNFPA and USAID has prepared a training package for building capacity of healthcare teams in health facilities for continous quality improvement of maternal and newborn healthcare. The focus is on the care of mothers and newborns at the time of chil...d birth since a large proportion of maternal deaths, newborn deaths and stillbirths happen around that time.
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First Global Patient Safety Challenge Clean Care is Safer Care
The WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care provide health-care workers (HCWs), hospital administrators and health authorities with a thorough review of evidence on hand hygiene in health care and specific recommendations to impro...ve practices and reduce transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to patients and HCWs. The present Guidelines are intended to be implemented in any situation in which health care is delivered either to a patient or to a specific group in a population. Therefore, this concept applies to all settings where health care is permanently or occasionally performed, such as home care by birth attendants.
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This document highlights the key aspects of safe health-care waste management in order to guide policy-makers, practitioners and facility managers to improve such services in health-care facilities. It is based on the comprehensive WHO handbook Safe management of wastes from health-care activities (...WHO, 2014), and also takes into consideration relevant World Health Assembly resolutions, other UN documents and emerging global and national developments on water, sanitation and hygiene and infection prevention and control.
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This 400 page guide, created by PHI’s Center for Climate Change and Health and the American Public Health Association (APHA), with support from the California Department of Public Health helps local health departments prepare for and mitigate climate change effects—from drought and heat to flood...ing and food security—with concrete, implementable suggestions.
The guide: Provides a basic summary of climate change and climate impacts on health; Prioritizes health equity, explains the disproportionate impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities, and targets solutions first to the communities where they are most needed, including low-income, elderly and people of color communities; Connects what we know about climate impacts and climate solutions with the work of local health departments; and Offers specific examples of how local health departments can address and ameliorate the impacts of climate change in every area of public health practice.
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The 2021 WHO health and climate change global survey report provides a valuable snapshot of the overall progress governments have made in addressing the health risks of climate change. The findings on key health and climate change indicators aim to empower policy makers to: make informed decisions o...n the implementation of policies and plans; identify evidence gaps; and better understand the barriers to achieving adaptation and resilience priorities in the health sector while maximizing the health benefits of sector-wide climate mitigation efforts.
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Policy
June 2015
Training Menus, Facilitation Tips, and Participatory Training Modules
This report makes the case for a major new initiative—to rapidly recruit, train and deploy 2 million community health workers in Africa. Drawing on a vast body of evidence and substantial regional experience, the report shows how community health workers save lives and improve quality of life and ...how investments in community health workers effectively harness the demographic dividend, reduce gender inequality and accelerate economic growth and development. Indeed, the benefits of community health workers stretch from one end of the Agenda for Sustainable Development to the other.
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Towards the Peoples Health Assembly Book -2
This background document (EUR/RC72/BG/7) was considered and adopted by the WHO Regional Committee for Europe at its 72nd session (Tel Aviv, Israel, 12–14 September 2022), together with the working document (EUR/RC72/7) and information document (EUR/RC72/INF./4). The Regiona...l Committee adopted resolution EUR/RC72/R3, in which it endorsed the framework.
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A key purpose of the Recovery Toolkit is to support countries in the reactivation of health services which may have suffered as a result of the emergency. These services include ongoing programmes such as immunization and vaccinations, maternal and child health services, and noncommunicable diseases....
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WHOs Special Initiative for Mental Health has supported the availability of mental health services for more than 40 million more people. Learn about WHOs Special Initiative for Mental Health, which seeks to increase access to quality and affordable care for mental health conditions in 12 countries ...for 100 million more people. The initiative is advancing policies, advocacy and human rights, and scaling-up quality interventions and services for people with mental, neurological and substance use conditions.
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Mental health problems are common and cause great suffering to individuals and communities around the world. They have a significant impact not only on the physical and mental health of those affected but also on their families and the communities they live in. At the same time, all communities have... their own traditional mechanisms for support and contain a range wide of resources that can be helpful in preventing mental health conditions from developing, promoting positive mental health and supporting the recovery of people that are struggling with a mental health condition.
In the wider context, people living with a mental health condition are often excluded from their communities and experience various violations to their basic human rights (discrimination, violence, exclusion from employment opportunities). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the mean prevalence of global mental health disorders is 10.8% while the prevalence in emergency settings is 22.1% in any conflict-affected population.
During emergencies and crisis, the stigma, exclusion and discrimination towards people living with mental health conditions is often higher, which can cause isolation and protection issues. Communities can play a crucial role in promoting mental health as well as enhancing primary care and access. Their role is to help reduce mental health inequalities by providing community resources that connect people to community-based resources and by providing mental health education. This also helps to reduce the massive mental health treatment gap.
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UNICEF Malawi and its partners are prioritizing renewable energy solutions for children and communities across the country to access clean and affordable electricity, with a focus on hard-to-reach, rural communities unable to access the national electricity grid.
It provides guidance on care for use in resource-limited settings or in settings where families with sick young infants do not accept or cannot access referral care, but can be managed in outpatient settings by an appropriately trained health worker. The guideline seeks to provide programmatic guida...nce on the role of CHWs and home visits in identifying signs of serious infections in neonates and young infants.
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