The second edition of the joint WHO, WIPO and WTO
publication “Promoting Access to Medical Technologies
and Innovation: Intersections between public health,
intellectual property and trade” (the Trilateral Study),*
published in 2020, included a special insert mappi...ng the
challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation
to the integrated health, trade and IP policy framework set
out in the study. The Trilateral Study and the special insert
were designed to serve as background reference for policy-
makers in the widest sense – lawmakers, government
officials, delegates to international organizations, non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) and researchers
who seek a comprehensive presentation of the full range
of issues, including institutions and legal concepts with
which they may be unfamiliar. It is also designed to serve
as a factual resource for the three organizations’ technical
cooperation activities.
This update revises the information contained in that
insert in the light of more recent developments as of
30 August 2021. Further updates will be made to reflect
subsequent developments.
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Rabies is a global public health problem with important socioeconomic impacts. Human rabies is preventable; almost all cases are transmitted through the bite of a rabid dog. Elimination of human rabies is possible. Technical support and tools are available. This report covers:
- Why investment ...is needed: key rationale.
- Investment purpose: global elimination of rabies.
- Investment in action: four case examples in Philippines, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Bangladesh.
- Summary results of case examples: Programme similarities and differences, and Health impact success stories from case examples.
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A quick reference guide for health authorities and health-care workers
Revised 2015
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health crisis that resulted in 1.14 million deaths in 2021. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates, 96 416 of these deaths occurred in the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region. All 22 countr...ies/territories in the Eastern Mediterranean Region are enrolled in the global AMR
surveillance system, and 17 countries/territories reported data in 2024 (for the year 2023). The total number of isolates reported to the system increased sixfold between 2017 and 2022, but the proportion of blood isolates is relatively very low. Most of the data come from public sector laboratories or hospitals, although the private sector has increased its participation in some countries/territories recently. Three pathogens account for three quarters of all the reported pathogens – Escherichia coli
(26%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (23%), and Staphylococcus aureus (22%).
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This publication describes the first WHO public-benefit Target Product Profiles (TPPs) for snakebite antivenoms. It focuses on antivenoms for treatment of snakebite envenoming in sub-Saharan Africa. Four TPPs are described in the document:
Broad spectrum Pan-African polyvalent antivenoms: products ...that are intended for widespread utility throughout sub-Saharan Africa for treatment of envenoming irrespective of the species of snake causing a bite. Monovalent antivenoms for specific use cases: for products for a single species (or genus) of snake (e.g., boomslangs or carpet viper antivenoms).
Syndromic Pan-African polyvalent antivenoms for neurotoxic envenoming: products that are intended for treatment of envenoming by species whose venoms are neurotoxic. Syndromic Pan-African polyvalent antivenoms for non-neurotoxic envenoming: products for snakebite envenoming where the effects are largely haemorrhagic, necrotic or procoagulant.
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A GUIDE FOR HEALTH WORKERS AND AUTHORITIES IN NIGERIA
The ERF provides WHO staff with essential guidance on how the Organization manages the assessment, grading and response to public health events and emergencies with health consequences, in support of Member States and affected communities. The ERF adopts an all-hazards approach and it is therefore a...pplicable in all acute public health events and emergencies.
This version (2024) of the WHO ERF has been developed following extensive consultation across the three levels of the Organization and response experiences over the last five years of emergency response. Key areas have been updated to improve the accountability, predictability, timeliness and effectiveness of WHO’s response to emergencies.
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WHO recommends member states provide universal access to public hand hygiene stations and making their use obligatory on entering and leaving any public or private commercial building and any public transport facility. It is also recommended that healthcare facilities improve access to and practice ...of hand hygiene.
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This guide provides an overview of the major elements that must be considered before, during and after the implementation of antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for SARS-CoV-2. This guide is complementary to policy guidance issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). The guide may ...appeal to a range of audiences including Ministries of Health, donors, public and private organizations/agencies acting as implementing partners and community based and civil society organizations with experience working on health, especially organizations familiar with similar testing campaigns for other disease programmes like HIV and malaria
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Tuberculosis continues to represent a severe public health problem in the Region of the Americas, even more so in the case of indigenous peoples, whose TB incidence is much higher than that of the general population. To achieve tuberculosis control in these communities, it is necessary to respond t...o communities’ diverse needs from an intercultural perspective that allows the application of a holistic approach—from a standpoint of equality and mutual respect—and considers the value of their cultural practices. In the Region of the Americas, although there has been progress toward recognizing the need for an intercultural approach to health services, obstacles rooted in discrimination, racism, and the exclusion of indigenous peoples and other ethnic groups persist. To respond to this situation, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) prepared this guidance which––based on an intercultural approach in accordance with the priority lines of the current PAHO Policy on Ethnicity and Health and its practical development in the Region’s indigenous populations––represent a support tool for implementing the End TB Strategy. This publication integrates PAHO’s accumulated experience and best practices developed by its Member States in recent years, including discussions and experiences shared in regional meetings on the issue, and emphasizes innovation and social inclusion. This requires an urgent shift away from traditional paradigms, taking specific actions that gradually reduce TB incidence and moving toward effective multisectoral actions that have proven effective in quickly containing the epidemic. This publication integrates PAHO’s accumulated experience and best practices developed by its Member States in recent years, including discussions and experiences shared in regional meetings on the issue, and emphasizes innovation and social inclusion. This requires an urgent shift away from traditional paradigms, taking specific actions that gradually reduce TB incidence and moving toward effective multisectoral actions that have proven effective in quickly containing the epidemic.
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Rev. Panam Salud Publica. 2017;41:e153. doi: 10.26633/RPSP.2017.153
Worldwide, over 6 million people are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the pathogen that causes Chagas disease (CD). In the Americas, CD creates the greatest burden in disability-adjusted life years of any parasitic infection. In Co...lombia, 437 000 people are infected with T. cruzi, of whom 131 000 suffer from cardiomyopathy. Colombia’s annual costs for treating patients with advanced CD reach US$ 175 016 000. Although timely etiological treatment can significantly delay or prevent development of cardiomyopathy—and costs just US$ 30 per patient—fewer than 1% of people with CD in Colombia and elsewhere receive it.
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The objectives of these guidelines are to provide recommendations outlining a public health approach to managing people presenting with advanced HIV disease, and to provide guidance on the timing of initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all people living with HIV.
WHO recommends that a... package of screening, prophylaxis, rapid ART initiation and intensified adherence interventions be offered to everyone living with HIV presenting with advanced disease.
WHO strongly recommends that rapid ART initiation should be offered to people living with HIV following confirmed diagnosis and clinical assessment. Rapid initiation of ART is defined as within seven days of HIV diagnosis. WHO further strongly recommends ART initiation on the same day as HIV diagnosis based on the person’s willingness and readiness to start ART immediately, unless there are clinical reasons to delay treatment.
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Rabies has an enormous impact on both agriculture and conservation biology, but its greatest burden is undeniably on public health. As such, routine methods for rapid risk assessment after human exposures to rabies as well as applications for laboratory-based surveillance, production of biologicals ...and management of this infectious disease are critical. Given its mandate to improve human health and control disease among its Member States, WHO has led the production of this fifth edition of Laboratory techniques in rabies.
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WHO has a unique combination of technical public health and scientific expertise, and a global operational footprint, with field offices in more than 150 countries. In 2020, this global, technical, and operational reach meant WHO was able to support countries around the world in every aspect of COVI...D-19 public health response, from surveillance and laboratory testing to maintaining essential health services in the most vulnerable and fragile contexts.
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Standard Operating Procedures for Procurement in the Public Health Sector. Updated 2006.
Zika and dengue viruses remain significant public health threats. These viruses share the same Aedes (Stegomyia) mosquito vectors and geographic distributions but infections cannot be readily distinguished clinically and need to be differentiated from each other, and from other circulating arboviral... and non-arboviral pathogens, using laboratory tests. This document provides guidance on current testing strategies for Zika and dengue virus infections with updates to the previous interim guidance for laboratory testing for ZIKV, addressing pregnant and non-pregnant patients respectively, and incorporates current guidance for dengue virus diagnostic testing. The choice of laboratory assays and interpretation of test results require careful consideration of epidemiology, patient history, and limitations of existing diagnostic tests.
This interim guidance is for use by staff of laboratories testing for Zika and dengue virus infections and for clinical practitioners and public health professionals providing clinical management or surveillance.
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Community pharmacists are the health professionals most accessible to the public and are a cornerstone of primary health care. The role of community pharmacists is expanding globally. This report provides an overview of existing components and provisions of the legal and regulatory framework for com...munity pharmacies and their activities in Europe. It presents the diverse approaches to community pharmacy licenses and to establishment of new pharmacies and their ownership. It also details the framework for community pharmacy operating requirements (including opening hours, workforce, premises and equipment, services provided and identification of a community pharmacy) and the types of activity undertaken. Provisions associated with possible alternative forms of dispensing medicines (over-the-counter medicines, prescription-only medicines, dispensing by medical doctors and online medicine sales) are also described
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People-centered approaches that help communities maintain protective behaviours and follow guidelines set out by public health and government agencies are more important than ever. The evidence is clear, communities play a role in preventing and controlling epidemics and they are best able to take a...ction and slow or stop the spread of disease when properly engaged and empowered. This toolbox in 2 parts offers best practice approaches to community engagement with families. Promoting individual and joint responsibilities for the safety of the family, this toolbox aims to bring families and households together to manage shared risks and agree to safe behaviours critical for their safety and the safety of their community.
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Tackling COVID-19 misinformation. Ensuring communities have access to lifesaving public health information from trusted sources and are not misled by misinformation is essential to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an effort to empower doctors and nurses – some of the most effective and trusted... messengers of public health information – to actively address COVID-19 misinformation and build vaccine confidence globally, the WHO welcomes this social media toolkit for healthcare practitioners, developed by the Government of the United Kingdom.
This toolkit aims to provide healthcare workers with the tools, skills and content needed to effectively share authentic and reliable information online. Centered around three core vaccine confidence messages, Vaccine Safety, Vaccine Development and Vaccine Reducing Risk of Sickness; this toolkit sets out three approaches: creating your own posts, posting the images and videos provided in the toolkit, or resharing vaccine information from trusted sources.
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The objective of this guidance document is to support the public health professionals
in implementing effective surveillance of cholera in at-risk, endemic and epidemic
areas. This document has been developed by the Surveillance Working Group of the
Global Task Force for Cholera Control (GTFCC) a...t the World Health Organization based
on the existing documents, guidelines, tools and articles related to surveillance of
cholera disease, as well as technical discussions with experts held during GTFCC
meetings.
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