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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Introduction : de nos jours, face à la pénurie grandissante de
personnel de santé qualifié et face au défi de l’atteinte des
Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développement, la participation
communautaire est devenue une réalité incontournable. Dans
la zone sanitaire Avrankou Adjarra Ak...pro-Missérété (3A) du
département de l’Ouémé, les relais sont appuyés par l’UNICEF
et l’ONG Africare. L’objectif de notre travail a été d’étudier
la qualité de l’apport des relais dans la mise en oeuvre de la
PCIME-Communautaire.
2014/2 Vol. 26 | pages 241 à 24 SFSP Santé Publique
Introduction: With the growing shortage of qualified healthcare
professionals and the challenge of achieving the Millennium
Development Goals, community participation has become an
essential reality. In the Avrankou Adjarra Akpro-Missérété (3A)
health zone of the Ouémé department, community volunteers are
supported by UNICEF and the NGO Africare. The objective of this
study was to assess the quality of the contribution of community
volunteers to implementation of community-based integrated
management of childhood illness (IMCI).
SFSP Santé Publique » 2014/2 Vol. 26 | pages 241 à 248
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Since the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978, community health volunteers (CHVs) have been at the forefront, providing health services, especially to underserved communities, in low-income countries. However, consolidation of CHVs position within formal health systems has proved to be complex and continue...s to challenge countries, as they devise strategies to strengthen primary healthcare. Malawi’s community health strategy, launched in 2017, is a novel attempt to harmonise the multiple health
service structures at the community level and strengthen service delivery through a team-based approach. The core community health team (CHT) consists of health surveillance assistants (HSAs), clinicians, environmental health officers and CHVs. This paper reviews Malawi’s strategy, with particular focus on the interface between HSAs, volunteers in community-based programmes and
the community health team. Our analysis identified key challenges that may impede the strategy’s implementation:
(1) inadequate training, imbalance of skill sets within CHTs and unclear job descriptions for CHVs; (2) proposed community-level interventions require expansion of pre-existing roles for most CHT members; and (3) district authorities may face challenges meeting financial obligations and filling community-level positions. For effective implementation, attention and further deliberation is needed on the appropriate forms of CHV support, CHT composition with possibilities of co-opting trained CHVs
from existing volunteer programmes into CHTs, review of CHT competencies and workload, strengthening coordination and communication across all community actors, and financing mechanisms. Policy support through the development of an addendum to the strategy, outlining opportunities for task-shifting between CHT members, CHVs’ expected duties and interactions with paid CHT personnel is recommended.
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The plan aims to practice the preparedness measures and response functions which need to be coordinated among relevant departments and organizations to reduce the risk of earthquakes. The plan has two main parts: preparedness and response. The first part includes the preparedness measures which can ...be practically implemented in collaboration with relevant government departments and communities. The latter part includes the response functions by the National Disaster Management Committee and it’s Work Committees if a damaging earthquake were to occur.
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Strengthening HIV prevention among most-at-risk populations (MARPs) in the Syrian Arab Republic:
The National Action Plan (NAP) has been developed based on the model recommended in the global Action Plan. Local data on on-going interventions were collected from technical informants in the various areas of work. These were analysed using the policy framework provided by the AMR policy document. ...Interventions were developed to address gaps in all five objectives of the global Action Plan. Further consultations were done to ensure that the recommended interventions were feasible, valid and relevant within the systemic contexts pertaining to the various affected sectors.
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Policy Guidance Brief 2
• The potential health risks from climate change include: increase of waterborne and vector-borne diseases, heat-related illnesses, injuries and deaths, food insecurity and increased malnutrition. The poor, women, children and the elderly, as well as communities living... in remote high-risk areas are most vulnerable.
• The expected results to achieve this outcome are: (i) climate risk management system is well-established, robust and nationally integrated to respond efectively to increased intensity and impact of risks and hazards on people’s health and wellbeing; (ii) improved social protection, gender consideration and risk finance capacity to prepare for and recover from potential loss and damage resulting from climate change; (iii) Myanmar’s health system is improved and can deal with climate-induced health hazards and support climate-vulnerable communities to respond effectively to disaster and health hazards from climate change.
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