Countries, partners, and donors are committed to the global elimination of blinding trachoma by 2020.
Achieving this public health milestone requires more than funding; it requires health personnel with the
right mix of skills, and well supported and managed health systems. Mass drug administratio...n (MDA)
with Zithromax®, the Pfizer, Inc. donated antibiotic, is a key component of the SAFE strategy, endorsed
by the World Health Organization. There is growing
recognition that improving all aspects of MDA, from
planning to training, recording to reporting, and
receipt of drug to distribution (the supply chain), will
be necessary if MDA programmes are going to reduce
the community burden of Chlamydia trachomatis, and
eliminate trachoma as a cause of blindness by 2020.
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The chapter Closing the Gap: The Health Disparities of Older LGBTI People in the Americas, is part of the publication series titled ‘Decade of Healthy Aging: situation and challenges’. In order to outline the current knowledge available on the situation of health and well-being of older persons ...in the Americas at the beginning of the United Nations Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030), this document presents data and existing evidence different forms of discrimination and mistreatment older people face due to their sexual orientation and gender identities that ultimately increase health disparities. Previous studies on LGBTI older people offer valuable information on the lived experiences of these communities and demonstrate that they face unique challenges with aging, emphasizing the difficulties related to access to care. Very few studies on older people and aging include a focus on sexual orientation or gender identity; however, it is possible to point out that HIV/AIDS is one of the most significant health disparities confronting LGBTI older persons, followed by physical and mental health problems, substance use, social isolation, poverty, and the lack of access to quality healthcare, including long-term care facilities or other institutions. Closing the gap in access and quality of health and care services is an imperative to increase longevity, health status and quality of life of LGBTI older people.
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Desde la notificación de los dos primeros casos confirmados de Vibrio cholerae O1 en el área del gran Puerto Príncipe el 2 de octubre de 2022, al 23 de octubre de 2022, el Ministerio de Salud de Haití (Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population, MSPP por sus siglas en francés), inform...ó un total de 2.243 casos sospechosos, incluidos 219 casos confirmados, 1.415 casos sospechosos internados y 55 defunciones registradas.
El 20 de octubre de 2022, el Ministerio de Salud Pública de República Dominicana confirmó el primer caso importado de cólera en el país
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Ce document a été élaboré par Peter Ventevogel, consultant, sous la supervision de Marian Schilperoord. Les versions préliminaires de cette publication ont grandement bénéficié de la contribution de plusieurs personnes au sein de l’UNHCR et d’organisations partenaires. Nous voudrions tou...t particulièrement remercier les collègues suivants pour leur relecture du document : A l’UNHCR: Gregory Garras, Sarah Harrison, Alexandra Kaun, Stefanie Krause, Preeta Law, Allen Gidraf Kahindo Maina, MaryBeth Morand, Audrey Nirrengarten, Martina Nicole Pomeroy, Monika Sandvik-Nylund, Ita Sheehy, Paul Spiegel, Margriet Veenma and Constanze Quosh. Dans les autres organisations: Carolina Echeverri (consultante SMSPS) Sabine Rakotomalala (UNICEF), Emmanuel Streel (consultant SMSPS), Wietse Tol (Université Johns Hopkins) Mark van Ommeren (OMS) et Inka Weissbecker (International Medical Corps).
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COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a new coronavirus introduced to humans for the first time. It is spread from person to person mainly through the droplets produced when an infected person speaks, coughs or sneezes. Watch this short animation to learn more about COVID-19 and how to protect... yourself against it.
General public
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This 15-minute quick guide is developed with content available from the World Health Organization, CDC, and other organizations. The general public and aid workers without specialized health training will benefit from increased awareness of this outbreak.To access the latest training, log into Disa...sterReady.org or enroll directly in the Ebola Awareness Quick Guide training course.
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The strategic plan reflects shared commitments to enhance collaboration between environmental, animal (wildlife and domestic) and human health, and building new One Health workforce capacity through higher institutions of learning. The strategy also outlines interventions to be undertaken by governm...ent institutions and other partners to enhance existing structures and pool together additional resources to prevent and control zoonotic diseases and other events of public health importance. Successful implementation of the strategy will contribute to the realization of vision 2020 by improving public health, food safety and security, and hence significantly improve the socioeconomic status of the people of Rwanda. It is in this regard that we call upon implementing institutions, bilateral and multilateral partners, civil society and the private sector to join us in implementing the One Health strategy in Rwanda.
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Here you can download the latest Situation Reports
Weekly updates on the current situation in Ukraine and refugee-receiving countries, priority public health concerns and WHO’s actions to rapidly respond to the health emergency triggered by the conflict and to minimize disruptions to the delivery... of critical health services.
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High salt consumption is an important determinant of high blood pressure and reducing it would improve health outcomes by lowering cardiovascular disease and therefore death rates. Reducing salt intake has been identified as one of the most effective public health measures and is one of the leading ...targets at global, regional and national levels to reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases. The purpose of the Dietary Salt Intake Survey in the Republic of Moldova was to establish current baseline average consumption of salt (sodium), potassium and iodine through 24-hour urinary excretion testing among a random sample of the adult population (aged 18–69 years), and to assess the knowledge, attitudes, practices and behaviour around dietary salt in order to enable more efficient planning and the implementation of an effective salt-reduction strategy in the Republic of Moldova.
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Assessment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) service disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Preliminary results.
Guidance on how to provide continuity for NCD programmes:• How to include NCDs in public health emergencies protocols?• How to develop national NCDs tool kits for use in emergen...cies?• How to provide ambulatory essential NCD services during lockdown?• How to provide medical care for NCDs through telemedicine and digital solutions?
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Weekly Epidemiological Record No 9, 2022, 97, 61–80
This position paper supersedes the 2016 publication, “Malaria vaccine: WHO position paper-2016.”1 It includes the updated WHO recommendations on the wider use of the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine for the reduction of malaria morbidity and mortality in ...children living in areas of moderate to high malaria transmission. It also incorporates findings from the evaluation of the WHO-coordinated Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP), recommended by SAGE and MPAG in 2015, and from additional studies since 2015.
This paper does not include findings on vaccine efficacy in infants first vaccinated at 6–12 weeks of age. Because of the lower vaccine efficacy observed in this age category, WHO did not recommend pilot implementation or RTS,S/AS01 vaccine introduction for these young infants. Recommendations2 on the use of RTS,S/AS01 vaccine were discussed by SAGE and MPAG during a joint session in October 2021; evidence presented at the meeting can be accessed at https://terrance.who.int/mediacentre/data/ sage/SAGE_eYB_Oct2021.pdf
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The goal of the global outbreak response for monkeypox is to stop human-to-human transmission of monkeypox, with a priority focus on communities at high risk of exposure which may differ according to context, and to effectively use strong public health measures to prevent onward spread of the diseas...e. Judicious use of vaccines can support this response. This interim guidance, developed with the advice and support of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) Working Group on smallpox and monkeypox vaccines, provides the first WHO recommendations on vaccines and immunization for monkeypox. Key points follow.
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This report started with a simple question—“How can we tell how much funding is devoted to global health programs?”—and ended (more than two years later) with an answer that is far from simple. As those who have tried know well, tracking health-related funding is challenging in any setting, ...given the range of public and private sources and the many types of services and programs that fall within the definition of “health sector.” It is made all the more complicated when significant external support from donors and private charities plus in-kind donations of drugs and other inputs are taken into account. The task is made yet harder by inadequate public expenditure management systems in countries where public agencies’ capacity is stretched very thin and by donor accounting structures that are not designed to respond in a timely way
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The "Assessing National Capacity for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases: Report of the 2021 Global Survey" by WHO examines the global state of readiness and infrastructure for managing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) across countries. Based on the 2021 survey, it analyzes nationa...l capabilities in public health infrastructure, policies, health systems, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on NCD-related resources. The report highlights gaps and strengths in NCD prevention, treatment, and health policy integration, offering insights for improving NCD care worldwide. It emphasizes the need for multisectoral collaboration and targeted actions to meet global health goals.
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On 14 August 2024, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) determined that the resurgence of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Te...mporary recommendations are being developed with input from the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee and will be available in the coming days.
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Lancet Infectious Diseases Volume 22, Issue 11e327-e335.
In February, 2022, WHO published new guidelines with six recommendations to update the global public health strategy against schistosomiasis, including expansion of preventive chemotherapy eligibility from the predominant group of school-age...d children to all age groups (2 years and older), lowering the prevalence threshold for annual preventive chemotherapy, and increasing the frequency of treatment. This Review, written by the 2018-2022 Schistosomiasis Guidelines Development Group and its international partners, presents a summary of the new WHO guideline recommendations for schistosomiasis along with their historical context, supporting evidence, implications for public health implementation, and future research needs.
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Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases and their risk factors are an increasing public health and development challenge in Kazakhstan. This report provides evidence through three analyses that NCDs reduce economic output and ...discusses potential options in response, outlining details of their relative returns on investment. An economic burden analysis shows that economic losses from NCDs (direct and indirect costs) comprise 2.3 trillion tenge, equivalent to 4.5% of gross domestic product in 2017. An intervention costing analysis provides an estimate of the funding required to implement a set of policy interventions for prevention and clinical interventions. A cost–benefit analysis compares these implementation costs with the estimated health gains and identifies which policy packages would give the greatest returns on investment. For example, the salt policy package achieved a benefit-to-cost ratio of 118.4 over 15 years, a return of more than 118 tenge for every 1 tenge invested.
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The "Stories from the field" document by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean shares effective strategies from the Eastern Mediterranean Region for addressing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health challenges, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights regio...nal success stories in mitigating NCDs and mental health conditions through innovative, country-specific interventions. The report emphasizes multisectoral collaboration, community engagement, and resilience in public health responses. It aims to inspire further action and knowledge-sharing to enhance health outcomes in challenging settings across the region.
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This Guide contains information, guidelines, diagrams and other materials addressed to medical practitioners who are engaged in the treatment of casualties of chemical weapons. It is made available to the public for information purposes, but is not intended to be used by the public. All decisions re...garding patient care must be made with a healthcare provider and consider the unique characteristics of each patient.
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The Fifty-first World Health Assembly,
Recalling resolutions WHA22.29, WHA25.55 and WHA28.54 on the prevention of blindness, and
WHA45.10 on disability prevention and rehabilitation; Aware of previous efforts and progress made in the global fight against infectious eye diseases, in particular trac...homa; Noting that blinding trachoma still constitutes a serious public health problem amongst the poorest populations in 46 endemic countries.
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