This report examines the support to private healthcare provision in India by the World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Despite supporting private healthcare in the country since 1997, no healthcare results for lending and investments have been disclosed sinc...e the start of these operations over twenty-five years ago. The IFC has overwhelmingly invested in high-end urban hospitals which are out of reach for the majority of Indians. Several have consistently failed to provide free healthcare to poor patients despite this being a condition under which free or subsidized public land was allotted to these hospitals. Supporting private healthcare in a context where 37% of Indians experience catastrophic health expenditures in private hospitals appears to run counter to the World Bank Group’s focus on poverty reduction. These investments do not contribute to the building of stronger healthcare infrastructure or respond to unmet healthcare needs. Only 14% of IFC-financed hospitals are located in the 10 states ranked lowest in terms of the overall performance of the health system. Furthermore, we found many instances where regulators upheld complaints pertaining to violations of patients’ rights by these hospitals including overcharging, denial of healthcare, price rigging, financial conflict of interest and medical negligence.
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WEEKLY EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RECORD, NO 23, 7 JUNE 2024, pp.307-318
The most recent estimate of the global number of deaths from dog-mediatedrabies is 59 000 per year.1 Rabies is associated with a 99.9% fatality rate and severe trauma in families in which a rabies death
occurs, and remains a major publ...ic health concern in most of Africa and Asia and some parts of South America
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Launched in 2016, the European Health Information Gateway (Gateway) is a powerful tool and easy way to access health data, information and resources for all 53 Member States in the European Region. The Gateway was conceptualized as a platform to facilitate access to integrated health information, un...der the umbrella of the European Health Information Initiative (EHII). It has been conceptualised as a bilingual, interactive one-stop health information shop for policy-makers, the general public and WHO staff alike.
Also available in Russian: https://gateway.euro.who.int/ru/themes/emergency-preparedness-and-response/
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The Resolution Population and Individual Approaches to the Prevention and Management of Diabetes and Obesity was approved by the 48th Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization, September 29- October 3, 2008, in response to the epidemic of obesity and diabetes currently affecting the ...countries of the Americas. Its main goal is to call on Member States to prioritize the prevention of obesity and diabetes and their common risk factors by establishing and/or strengthening policies and programs, integrating them into public and private health systems and working to ensure adequate allocation of resources to carry out such policies and programs.
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Antimicrobial resistance is a global threat as it is present in all parts of the world and it means that there is a shortage of effective antibiotics to treat simple infections and diseases, also statistics reveal that because of antimicrobial resistance patients’ morbidity and mortality is increa...sed, as well as healthcare related expenditures. Theoretical frameworks chosen for this study are Mark Salmon White’s construct for public health nursing and Tannahill’s model for health promotion. Both models focus on promoting and contributing to the health and well-being of the public. In this thesis the nurse’s role is explored and steps that can be taken towards contributing to minimizing antimicrobial resistance are listed
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The Haiti & Dominican Republic Cholera Operation Plan of Action outlines the Red Cross's strategy to combat cholera on the island of Hispaniola following the 2010 outbreak in Haiti. As part of a 10-year national strategy, the plan includes an initial two-year emergency response (2014-2016) with a bu...dget of 9.9 million Swiss francs. The approach focuses on three key areas: improving water and sanitation by repairing and expanding water systems and constructing sanitation facilities, prevention and hygiene promotion through community education and hygiene training, and preparedness and response by strengthening disease monitoring, training Red Cross volunteers, and prepositioning medical supplies. This initiative, led by the Haitian and Dominican Red Cross in collaboration with international partners and local governments, aims to reduce cholera infections and improve public health on the island.
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This practical guideline establishes definitions for “contact”, “contact person”, “contact tracing” and other associated concepts. It allows for improvement of contact tracing strategies and provides recommendations attempting to answer some, though not all, questions that arose during t...he 2019 coronavirus pandemic and other outbreaks. The use of this guideline begins once people have been diagnosed and the potential for transmission exists. It is not, however, intended to assist with case investigation. The guideline empowers health workers, governments, and public health officials with the tools to implement effective contact tracing strategies.
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MEDBOX Issue Brief No.2.
The main route of transmission of the Sars-CoV-2 virus are small respiratory droplets. Therefore, thoroughly cleaning of hands with either alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water is one of the corner stones of basic protective measures against COVID-19 for everyone. A part...icular focus of this Issue Brief are documents for the health care sector, but also multilingual material for the public.
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The Republic of the Union of Myanmar’s National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS 2016–2020 is the strategic guide for the country’s response to HIV at national, state/regional and local levels. The framework describes the current dynamics of the HIV epidemic and articulates a strategy to optimize in...vestments through a fast track approach with the vision of ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030. Myanmar’s third National Strategic Plan (HIV NSP III) issues a call to all partners to front-load investments to close the testing gap and reach the 90–90–90 prevention and treatment targets to protect health for all.
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The purpose of this guidance is to assist WHO Member States, and other stakeholders, in the establishment and development of programmes of integrated surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in foodborne bacteria (i.e., bacteria commonly transmitted by food). In this guidance, “integrated surveill...ance of antimicrobial resistance in foodborne bacteria” is defined as the collection, validation, analyses and reporting of relevant microbiological and epidemiological data on antimicrobial resistance in foodborne bacteria from humans, animals, and food, and on relevant antimicrobial use in humans and animals. Integrated surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in foodborne bacteria therefore includes data from relevant food chain sectors (animals, food and humans) and includes data on both antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use. Integrated surveillance of antimicrobial resistance for foodborne bacteria expands on traditional public health surveillance to include multiple elements of the food chain, and to include antimicrobial use data, to better understand the sources of infection and transmission routes.
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5 Nov. 2020
The policy brief provides a concise summary of information and considerations to ensure optimal management of influenza during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes a list of technical guidance and other resources to assist policy makers with monitoring the situation, preventing seasonal i...nfluenza, reducing severe complications and mortality, protecting specific populations and communicating to and engaging with the public.
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Workplaces have played an important role in both the spread and mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world. Being provided a healthy and safe workplace throughout the pandemic and beyond is a human right. Maintaining open, safe and healthy workplaces is of vital importance to protectin...g livelihoods, wellbeing and public health. Critical public health measures can help protect workers, their clients, and the community at large. Through an introduction and 5 modules, this course aims to guide workers and their representatives, business leaders, employers, managers and occupational health and safety professionals on how to protect themselves and their workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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L'objectif de cette publication est de fournir une approche pratique et progressive pour la mise en œuvre des plans d'action nationaux sur la RAM dans le secteur de la santé humaine ; et de fournir un processus et une compilation des outils existants de l'OMS pour prioriser, chiffrer, mettre en œ...uvre, suivre et évaluer les activités des plans d'action nationaux. Le public cible de cette publication est constitué des parties prenantes nationales/subnationales travaillant sur la RAM dans le secteur de la santé humaine. Il s'agit notamment des autorités sanitaires nationales, des groupes nationaux de coordination multisectorielle, des experts techniques de haut niveau et des décideurs impliqués dans la mise en œuvre des activités liées à la RAM à tous les niveaux du système de santé, ainsi que des partenaires de mise en œuvre afin d'accélérer la mise en œuvre, le suivi et l'évaluation durables des plans d'action nationaux sur la RAM.
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The WHO continuously reviews available data on SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. For this version, the global epidemiological
situation of the COVID-19 pandemic as of 21 January 2022 – at a time when the Omicron VOC had been identified in 171
countries across all six WHO Regions and was rapidly re...placing Delta worldwide – was considered Omicron has a substantial growth advantage, higher secondary attack rates and a higher observed reproduction number than Delta.
There is now significant evidence that immune evasion contributes to the rapid spread of Omicron. Other factors may be a shorter
serial interval (by about 0.8 to 1.2 days compared to Delta) and potential increased intrinsic transmission fitness . There is
growing evidence that with Omicron, there is lower vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection and symptomatic disease soon after vaccination compared to Delta. There is also evidence of accelerated waning of VE over time of the primary series against infection and symptomatic disease for the studied vaccines. Further studies are required to better understand the drivers of transmission and declining incidence in various settings. These factors include the intrinsic transmission fitness properties of the virus, degree of immune evasion, vaccination coverage and level of vaccine-derived and post-infection immunity, levels of social mixing and degree of application of public health and social measures (PHSM).
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Promover el seguimiento de los sistemas de salud para prestar mejores servicios a la población de personas mayores forma parte de la serie titulada La Década del envejecimiento saludable en las Américas: situación y desafíos. El propósito de la serie es favorecer la priorización de medidas ef...icaces a nivel local, así como el seguimiento de los datos y las políticas de salud pública, mediante la presentación de información basada en la evidencia. Con el objetivo de presentar el conocimiento actualizado disponible sobre la situación de la salud y el envejecimiento en el inicio de la Década del Envejecimiento Saludable en la Región de las Américas, en este trabajo se brinda información sobre el seguimiento de los sistemas de salud para satisfacer mejor las necesidades de las personas mayores, de manera de subrayar la necesidad de que las sociedades y los sistemas de salud se adapten mejor al envejecimiento poblacional. Además se presenta la herramienta sobre la visión de 360° como una guía para adaptar los sistemas de salud mediante el seguimiento de los indicadores indirectos y destacar los datos y la información que están fácilmente disponibles, desglosados por edad. Esta información puede ayudar en la toma de decisiones y la asignación de recursos para brindar apoyo a las necesidades de las personas mayores. Hasta ahora, se ha llegado a un consenso sobre siete indicadores indirectos con gran pertinencia para fundamentar las políticas y en los estudios de casos en algunos países seleccionados se ha evaluado la viabilidad de este enfoque. En este documento, se presentan la lista de indicadores y el proceso relacionado con la elaboración de la herramienta. La Década del Envejecimiento Saludable 2021-2030 es un período designado para guiar las actividades de transformación de las sociedades con respecto al envejecimiento poblacional y fomentar la inclusión de las personas mayores en cada decisión. El propósito de este documento es contribuir a esta estrategia y poner de relieve los próximos desafíos y oportunidades en relación con el envejecimiento saludable.
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2ª edição atualizada.
O Manual de Recomendações apresenta as diretrizes nacionais para o controle da doença, que incluem procedimentos clínicos padronizados, procedimentos laboratoriais, sistema de vigilância, ações de biossegurança e organização de serviços. Apesar de conter as reco...mendações clínicas no que diz respeito à padronização de ações de busca de casos e tratamento, o manual está destinado às ações voltadas para a saúde pública e não pretende ser um guia clínico sobre a doença. Dessa forma, não substitui livros, textos e publicações acadêmicas que identifiquem boas práticas clínicas sobre a abordagem do sintomático respiratório e do paciente com tuberculose nos seus variados aspectos e especificidades.
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Social inequalities are perpetuating unhealthy living and working conditions and behaviours. These causes are commonly called ‘the social determinants of health’. Achieving greater equity in health will demand that the health sector assumes a greater leadership role in addressing social inequali...ties. This requires equipping health and care workers to better understand how the social determinants of health impact patients and communities. Education of the health workforce is thus a key step to advancing action. Integration of the social determinants of health into education and training will prepare the workforce to adjust clinical practice, define appropriate public health programmes and leverage cross-sector policies and mechanisms.
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This report challenges policy-makers and political leaders to tackle fossil fuel production and consumption as a health control issue, in the same way that smoking has been reduced and regulated. Fossil fuel combustion is a major source of toxic air pollution that kills 7 million people every year, ...almost the same as the number of deaths caused by tobacco smoking.
In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognised air pollution as a major health risk factor. There is widespread public discussion about the effects of fossil fuel combustion and emissions on climate change… but what about the effect on our health? Climate change poses a threat not only to the health of the planet, but also to humans.
The case studies evaluated in this report offer examples of mechanisms that can be used to restrict the production and consumption of unhealthy commodities, so that the health, air pollution and climate communities can learn from one another, using shared approaches and language. These case studies show that the connection with health is a strong argument to support sustainable change.
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Addressing comorbidities and risk factors for TB is a crucial component of Pillar one of the End TB Strategy, which focuses on integrated patient-centred care and prevention, including action on TB and comorbidities. The Framework for collaborative action on TB and comorbidities aims to support coun...tries in the evidence-informed introduction and scale-up of holistic people-centred services for TB, comorbidities and health-related risk factors, with the goal of comprehensively addressing TB and other co-existing health conditions. It should be used in conjunction with relevant WHO guidelines. The Framework is intended for use by people working in ministries of health, other relevant line-ministries, policymakers, international technical and funding organizations, researchers, nongovernmental and civil society organizations, as well as primary care workers, specialist health practitioners, and community health workers who support the response to TB and comorbidities in both the public and private sectors.
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TUATION UPDATE
In the early morning of 6 February 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred in southern Türkiye near the
northern border of Syria. The earthquake was followed 11 minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Many
aftershocks are still being felt across the region. Whilst the imp...act is still being assessed, initial reports evidence
significant damage in the areas of southern Türkiye and northern Syria.
In response, the Syria Ministry of Health (MoH) activated its emergency operations centre (EOC) on 6 Feb 2023
under the chairmanship of the Deputy Minister. In all affected governorates, public and private health facilities
and medical convoys have been repurposed to support the response and are being managed by the National
Ministry of Health (MoH) and Directorate of Health (DoH) at governorate level. Support has been directed to
affected areas, with medical convoys including 28 ambulances and 7 mobile clinics, deployed from the health
directorates of Damascus, Rural Damascus, Quneitra, Homs, Tartous, Aleppo and Latakia. At the same time, 4
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