Vector-borne diseases are responsible for 17% of the global burden of communicable diseases and more than 500 000 deaths annually. The ambitious global targets for the control of vector-borne diseases come in the context of the (re-)emergence of diseases, increasing resistances to insecticides and u...ncertainty related to the financing of global vector control efforts. The United Nations 2030 Agenda with its related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III)
in Quito in 2016 and WHO’s Global vector control response 2017–2030 (WHO, 2017a) emphasize the value of elevating multisectoral actions and strategies that extend beyond the health sector to the core of integrated vector control.
This policy brief underlines the important role housing conditions have in the transmission of vector-borne diseases and showcases interventions and policies the housing sector can contribute to effective, integrated and intersectoral vector-borne diseases management.
more
27 May 2021
All countries should increase their level of preparedness, alert and response to identify, manage and care for new cases of COVID-19. Countries should prepare to respond to different public health scenarios, recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing cases and o...utbreaks of COVID-19. Each country should assess its risk and rapidly implement the necessary measures at the appropriate scale to reduce both COVID-19 transmission and economic, public and social impacts.
more
From raising awareness to building capacity
Meeting Report
World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland 16 -18 September 2013
The frequency of infectious disease epidemics is increasing, and the role of the health sector in the management of epidemics is crucial in terms of response. In the context of infectious disease epidemics, the use of climate-informed early warning systems (EWS) has the potential to increase the eff...ectiveness of disease control by intervening before or at the beginning of the epidemic curve, instead of during the downward slope.
Currently, the initiation of interventions is heavily reliant on routine disease surveillance systems – data that often arrive too late for preventative response. However, forecasting of disease outbreaks using surveillance and weather information shows promising potential – there also remains further scope to examine seasonal climate forecasts. By combining these elements in new EWS based on computational models, it will be possible to improve both the timeliness and impact of disease control. The World Health Organization (WHO) is strengthening existing surveillance systems for infectious diseases to enable the development of more robust and timely EWS, which has resulted in the rapid development and innovation of EWS for disease outbreaks.
more
The Ministry of Health and Social Services has the mandate to fulfil one of the aspirations in Namibia’s Vision 2030 to “transform Namibia into a healthy and food-secure nation”. Namibia strives to provide quality health and social welfare services efficiently and effectively to the population... across the country in its quest to achieve universal health coverage. Namibia has identified eHealth as one of its key enablers to achieve universal health coverage.
more
Prepared by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response for the WHO Executive Board, January 2021
“The world was not as prepared as it should have been, and it must do better,” concludes a WHO panel reviewing the pandemic response "
The objectives of this guideline are the same as those of the 2011 edition, namely to provide evidence-based normative guidance on interventions to improve adolescent morbidity and mortality by reducing the chances of early pregnancy and its resulting poor health outcomes. The specific objectives of... the guideline were to: 1. identify effective interventions to prevent early pregnancy by influencing factors such as early marriage, coerced sex, unsafe abortion, access to contraceptives and access to maternal health services by adolescents; and 2. provide an analytical framework for policy-makers and programme managers to use when selecting evidence-based interventions to prevent early pregnancy and negative health outcomes when they occur that are most appropriate for the needs of their countries and context. The recommendations and best practice statements described in this document aim to enable evidence-based decision-making with respect to preventing early pregnancy and poor reproductive outcomes among adolescents in low- and middle-income country contexts.
more
2nd edition. This second edition builds on the experience of more than 10 years of SMC deployment, and reflects changes introduced in the WHO guidelines for malaria, 3 June 2022. The goal of this publication is to share these best practices to improve SMC implementation, coverage, and monitoring and... evaluation. Examples of materials and tools as well as links to resources are included to support managers and health workers in their efforts to conduct successful SMC activities and prevent malaria among vulnerable children.
more
Meeting report, Kampala, Uganda,
7–8 November 2023
Anopheles stephensi is an invasive mosquito species which has been found spreading across Africa. While this species presents a new challenge for malaria control on the continent, its surveillance and management have been ongoing in Asia for many years. This document aims to summarize key lessons fr...om 3 countries – India, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Sri Lanka – that have been working to control An. stephensi. It is hoped that their experiences and insights will be valuable for countries encountering An. stephensi for the first time.
more
The National Malaria Elimination Strategic Plan (NMESP) 2024–2028 of Ghana outlines the country’s roadmap to shift from malaria control to elimination. Despite major progress—like reducing malaria deaths from nearly 2,800 in 2012 to 151 in 2022—malaria remains a major public health challenge... in Ghana.
The plan aims to reduce malaria deaths by 90% and cases by 50% by 2028 (compared to 2022), and to eliminate malaria entirely in 21 low-burden districts. It includes a mix of interventions such as insecticide-treated nets, indoor residual spraying, seasonal chemoprevention, malaria vaccination, and strong surveillance systems.
The strategy is tailored to the local malaria burden, promotes community engagement, relies on multisectoral partnerships, and ensures adequate resource mobilization. Its ultimate goal is to protect Ghana’s population, improve public health, and support the country’s socioeconomic development.
more
This toolkit is a comprehensive set of practical tools and resources designed to support country-level risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) practitioners, decision-makers and partners to plan and implement readiness and response activities for Ebola disease outbreaks. The toolkit conta...ins: information about Ebola disease; RCCE considerations on how to approach key issues during Ebola disease outbreaks; tools for understanding the context in which Ebola disease outbreaks occur; methods for collecting data to inform strategy development and bring evidence into the planning and implementation of activities; guidance to support prevention and response interventions; and links to existing RCCE tools and training. It is one of a suite of toolkits on RCCE readiness and response to a range of disease and response areas.
more
This toolkit is a comprehensive set of practical tools and resources designed to support country-level risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) practitioners, decision-makers, and partners to plan and implement readiness and response activities for yellow fever outbreaks. The toolkit conta...ins: information about yellow fever; RCCE considerations for how to approach key issues during yellow fever outbreaks; tools for understanding the context in which yellow fever outbreaks occur; methods for collecting data to inform strategy development and bring evidence into planning and implementation of activities; guidance to support vector control and immunization campaigns; and links to existing RCCE tools and training. It is one of a suite of toolkits on RCCE readiness and response to a range of disease and response areas.
more
Growing emergencies and displacements across the world demand increasingly complex interventions and responses. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed Malaria control in emergencies: a field manual to provide technical guidance to help partners respond effectively to malaria in emergency ...situations. This field manual supersedes the 2013 WHO handbook.
more
Rabies remains an under-reported neglected zoonosis with a case-fatality rate of almost 100% in humans and animals. Dog-mediated human rabies causes tens of thousands of human deaths annually despite being 100% preventable. More than 95% of human cases are caused by the bite of a rabies-infected dog.... Dog-mediated human rabies disproportionately affects rural communities, particularly children, and economically disadvantaged areas of Africa and Asia, where awareness of the disease and access to appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) can be limited or nonexistent.
more
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious public health concern with economic, social and political implications that are global in scope, and cross all environmental and ethnic boundaries. As a global threat, AMR risks the achievements of modern medicine, and has the po...tential to impact overall global development. It is important, therefore, to elevate AMR beyond health as part of a larger development agenda in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report provides in-depth technical discussions in areas that have direct implications to the containment of AMR as a development agenda. The report is organized in five chapters which served as the technical background documents for the Biregional Technical Consultation on AMR in Asia, 14-15 April 2016. More information from the meeting is available in the WHO Meeting Report: Biregional Technical Consultation on Antimicrobial Resistance in Asia. The meeting was the first time senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture across Asia came together to tackle AMR
more
Breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide and the leading cause of cancer deaths among women, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. The Global Breast Cancer Initiative strives to reduce breast cancer mortality by 2.5 percent per year, which over a 20-year period can ...save 2.5 million lives. The purpose of this core technical package is to outline a pathway for incremental, sustainable improvements tailored to country-specific needs based on three key strategies and objectives: health promotion for early detection; timely diagnosis; and comprehensive breast cancer management. This document provides a common framework linking policy makers, stakeholders, the clinical community, program managers and civil society to evidence-based systematic approaches that can facilitate health systems strengthening and reduce inequities in women’s health throughout their life cycles
more