School health programmes have been demonstrated to be the most cost-effective way to influence health behaviours in young people. The purpose of this two-part handbook is to support schools as they seek to implement interventions aimed at reducing the main modifiable risk behaviours f...or noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) . The background provided in this Introduction handbook and the approaches and advice outlined in the Practical application handbook focuses on providing young people with the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and life skills necessary for making informed decisions, and creating a healthy school environment that can reduce the risk of NCDs
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The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, a collaborative endeavour of the World
Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the Harvard School of Public Health,
drew the attention of the international health community to the burden of neurological
disorders and many other chronic conditions. T...his study found that the burden of neurological
disorders was seriously underestimated by traditional epidemiological and health
statistical methods that take into account only mortality rates but not disability rates. The
GBD study showed that over the years the global health impact of neurological disorders
had been underestimated.
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WHO needs US$2.54 billion to provide life-saving assistance to millions of people around the world facing health emergencies. WHO’s Health Emergency Appeal is a consolidation of WHO’s priorities and financial requirements for 2023 to carry out health interventions in emergency and humanitarian r...esponses. The number of people in need of humanitarian relief has increased by almost a quarter compared to 2022, to a record 339 million. WHO is responding to an unprecedented number of intersecting health emergencies: climate change-related disasters such as flooding in Pakistan and food insecurity across the Sahel in the greater Horn of Africa; the war in Ukraine; and the health impact of conflict in Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria and north eastern Ethiopia – all of these emergencies overlapping with the health system disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and outbreaks of measles, cholera, and other killers. Contributions to the appeal can be fully flexible, flexible across a region, or flexible within a country appeal.
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Q6: In individuals with psychotic disorders (including schizophrenia) who require long term antipsychotic treatment, are anticholinergic medications more effective in preventing or reducing extrapyramidal side-effects and/or improving treatment adherence than placebo/treatment as usual?
WHO has published the first-ever guidance on the clinical management of diphtheria. The only previously available guidance was an operational protocol. The new guidance followed the rigorous process for developing guidance at WHO.
It addresses the use of Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT) in the treatmen...t of diphtheria. There is a worldwide shortage of DAT and evidence based recommendations on the use of DAT were requested by many Member States.
The guidance also includes new recommendations on antibiotics. In patients with suspected or confirmed diphtheria, WHO recommends using macrolide antibiotics (azithromycin, erythromycin) rather than penicillin antibiotics.
This clinical practice guideline has been rapidly developed recognizing the global increase in diphtheria outbreaks. Outbreaks of diphtheria in Nigeria, Guinea and neighbouring countries in 2023 have highlighted the urgent need for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of diphtheria. Given the sporadic nature of outbreaks, many clinicians in the affected regions have never managed acute diphtheria and its related complications. Diphtheria remains a neglected disease and vaccination is the top priority. At the same time, for patients with diphtheria, access to antibiotics, DAT and supportive care can be lifesaving.
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In 2016, Senegal made a minimal advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. In June, the Government launched an initiative to remove tailbés from the street and prosecute marabouts that perpetrate crimes against their students; however, no marabouts were prosecuted during th...e reporting period. Children in Senegal perform dangerous tasks in gold mining. Children also engage in the worst forms of child labor, including in forced begging, sometimes as a result of human trafficking.
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The purpose of this document is to offer guidance to Member States on quarantine measures for individuals in the context of COVID-19. It is intended for those responsible for establishing local or national policy for quarantine of individuals, and adherence to infection prevention and control measur...es.
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This summary assesses the current state of evidence on each approach in tabular form, providing: the definition and objectives; evidence of effectiveness; operational considerations (e.g., training, staffing, and logistics); cost considerations and evidence on cost-effectiveness; operational success...es and challenges; and areas for future research and learning. This document is not intended to endorse any particular approach. Rather, it aims to objectively present the state of the existing evidence on each approach, so as to inform decision-making among practitioners looking to further test, refine and implement such approaches.
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Three billion people – 40 per cent of the world’s population – do not have a place in their homes to wash their hands with water and soap. Three quarters of those who lack access to water and soap live in the world’s poorest countries and are amongst the most vulnerable: children and familie...s living in informal settlements, migrant and refugee camps, or in areas of active conflict. This puts an estimated 1 billion people at immediate risk of COVID-19 simply because they lack basic handwashing facilities.
The Hand Hygiene for All initiative aims to move the world towards this goal: supporting the most vulnerable communities with the means to protect their health and environment. It brings together international partners, national governments, public and private sectors, and civil society to ensure affordable products and services are available, especially in disadvantaged areas, and to enable a culture of hygiene.
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The module is currently available in English, French, Nepali, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish
Rabies is fatal, vaccine-preventable disease responsible for an estimated 59,000 human deaths each year. Most cases are transmitted by dogs, and most deaths occur in underserved populations in Africa and Asia. Approximately 40% of deaths occur in children.
These guidelines have been extracted from the WHO manual Surgical Care at the District
Hospital (SCDH), which is a part of the WHO Integrated Management Package on Emergency
and Essential Surgical Care (IMPEESC).
Refer for details on anaesthesia, head, gunshot and landmine injuries in chapters
UNICEF Child Alert | February 2018
Back in Myanmar, an estimated half million Rohingya remain largely sealed off in their communities and displacement camps, fearful that the violence and horror that had driven so many of their relatives and neighbours to fl ee would engulf them too.
Today, t...here are an estimated 720,000 Rohingya children in southern Bangladesh and Myanmar’s Rakhine State, in dire need of humanitarian assistance and protection – and looking to the outside world for help.
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16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence campaign ended on 10 December. A series of events organized by UNHCR and other agencies operating in the Rohingya response increased attention on issues in particular affecting women and girls: The Refugee Relief an...d Repatriation Commisisoner and camp authorities strongly collaborated with the agencies to
demonstate Bangladesh’s commitment to ending gender-based violence for refugees
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This briefing paper provides an overview of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people planning, commissioning or providing HIV prevention activities in the UK. It does this by reviewing thirty key questions about PrEP and how it might be implemented in the UK.
The executive summary of the WHO Global oral health status report presents a snapshot of the most recent data on major oral diseases, risk factors, health system challenges and opportunities for reform. The report’s clear conclusion is that the status of global oral health is alarming and requires... urgent action. The report will serve as a reference for policy-makers and an orientation for a wide range of stakeholders across different sectors to guide advocacy towards better prioritization of oral health in global, regional and national contexts. In addition, the report provides, as a separate online resource, the first-ever country oral health profiles for all 194 WHO Member States, giving unique insights into key areas and markers of oral health that are relevant for decision-makers.
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Resilience has rapidly become one of the most prominent objectives for the development sector, so ascertaining how best to measure it is an essential task for practioners working in monitoring and evaluation. In this discussion paper, the main insights emerging from the series of large-N Effectivene...ss Reviews, a set of quantitative studies that aim to evaluate impact and generate learning from a random sample of Oxfam’s projects are outlined. It is also considered how this measurement approach may adapt as ideas about resilience change both within Oxfam and in the development sector at large
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Viral hepatitis is defined as inflammation of the liver cells due to viral infection. The burden of liver disease in South Africa is mostly underestimated as viral hepatitis, in particular chronic infection, is a silent and neglected cause of morbidity and mortality. However, the burden of disease i...s likely substantial given the prevalence of chronic viral hepatitis. This burden is further compounded by the lack of screening and access to care and treatment as well as inadequate disease surveillance, human and financial resources.
The National Guidelines for the Management of Viral Hepatitis were developed, with the purpose to:
inform healthcare workers in the public and private sectors about the disease, its epidemiology in South Africa and current methods of diagnosis and therapy
strengthen the healthcare response to viral hepatitis
empower communicable diseases workers and stakeholders to make informed decisions regarding appropriate and cost effective interventions
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This brief draws out some recommendations for Ebola response actors in North Kivu. It includes lessons learned primarily from (i) historical outbreaks in Congo; (ii) outbreaks in Uganda in 2000-01 and 2012; (iii) the 2014-2016 West African epidemic; (iv) the outbreak in Equateur Province in DRC (May...- July 2018), and (v) the ongoing outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces in DRC (August 2018 - ongoing). The full report can be accessed here: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/123456789/14160.
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As our world changes, so too does the burden of disease. Globalisation, evolving trade and consumption patterns, and increased access to life-saving medical care are just some of the factors that have transformed the global health landscape.