Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases) and mental health conditions (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, depression, anxiety, autism spectrum disorders) are the world’s leading cause of preventable illness..., disability, and death. This report examines the dangers posed by current and rising rates of noncommunicable diseases and mental health conditions (NMHs) in South America, beyond their health risks, by demonstrating their considerable negative impact on economic growth. An analytical model was developed that projects the macroeconomic effects of NMHs over the period 2020–2050 in ten South American countries: Argentina, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The results showed that the macroeconomic impact of NMHs in South America indicates significant economic shortfalls resulting from NMHs. Overall, the total GDP loss due to NMHs in South America amounts to USD 7.3 trillion (2022 international USD) over the period 2020–2050
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Las enfermedades no transmisibles (ENT) (por ejemplo, las enfermedades cardiovasculares, el cáncer, la diabetes y las enfermedades respiratorias crónicas) y los problemas de salud mental (por ejemplo, la enfermedad de Alzheimer y las demencias relacionadas, la depresión, la ansiedad y los trastor...nos del espectro autista) son la principal causa mundial de enfermedades prevenibles, discapacidad y muerte. En este informe se examinan los riesgos que plantean las actuales tasas crecientes de ENT y problemas de salud mental en América del Sur, más allá de los riesgos para la salud, y se ponen de manifiesto sus considerables efectos negativos en el crecimiento económico. Se concibió un modelo analítico que proyecta los efectos macroeconómicos de las ENT y los problemas de salud mental durante el período 2020-2050 en 10 países de América del Sur: Argentina, Bolivia (Estado Plurinacional de), Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Perú, Uruguay y Venezuela (República Bolivariana de). Los resultados revelan que el impacto macroeconómico de las ENT y los problemas de salud mental en América del Sur se traduce en déficits económicos importantes. En términos generales, la pérdida total de PIB en América del Sur asciende a US$ 7,3 billones (US$ internacionales del 2022) en el período 2020-2050, lo que equivale al 4% del PIB total de la región. Es decir, si se eliminaran estas enfermedades y problemas, el PIB anual sería cerca de un 4% mayor cada año durante 30 años
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The MEDBOX Annual Report provides an overview of the most important projects of the past year
Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions (EASE) is an evidence-based group psychological intervention to help 10–15-year-olds affected by internalizing problems (e.g. stress and symptoms of anxiety, depression) in communities exposed to adversity. Published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and U...nited Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), EASE aims to support adolescents and their caregivers with skills to reduce distress. The EASE training manual accompanies the EASE intervention manual and is designed to be used to train EASE helpers (those who deliver the EASE intervention to adolescents and caregivers) and EASE trainers/supervisors (those who will go on to train/supervise future EASE helpers).
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This publication provides an overview of evidence and guidance on the growing challenge of workplace heat stress in the context of climate change. It highlights the health and productivity risks faced by billions of workers, especially in manual labor sectors. The report details the physiological, s...ocioeconomic, and mental health impacts of heat stress and outlines evidence-based strategies for prevention and mitigation. It emphasizes the need for occupational heat action programmes, stakeholder collaboration, and tailored interventions to protect vulnerable workers, reduce productivity losses, and support sustainable development in a warming world.
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This document provides technical guidance for manufacturers seeking World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification of in vitro diagnostic devices (IVDs) for malaria, with a focus on rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for symptomatic patients. It summarises the minimum performance requirements, includin...g analytical and clinical performance standards, and emphasises considerations relating to diverse specimen types, testing environments and user populations in low- and middle-income countries. The guidance is aligned with the criteria and prequalification processes of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, while clarifying that demonstration of clinical utility is outside the scope of prequalification.
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The annual bulletin of the Mekong Malaria Elimination (MME) programme is a yearly report that reviews ongoing efforts to combat multidrug resistance and eliminate malaria in the 6 countries of the Greater Mekong subregion (GMS): Cambodia, China (Yunnan province), Lao People's Democratic Republic, My...anmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.
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This document provides technical guidance for manufacturers seeking World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification of in vitro diagnostic devices (IVDs) for malaria, with a focus on rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for symptomatic patients. It summarises the minimum performance requirements, includin...g analytical and clinical performance standards, and emphasises considerations relating to diverse specimen types, testing environments and user populations in low- and middle-income countries. The guidance is aligned with the criteria and prequalification processes of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, while clarifying that demonstration of clinical utility is outside the scope of prequalification.
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Updated guidance on the integration of diabetes, hypertension and mental health services, and interventions to support adherence to antiretroviral therapy. The guideline offers practical implementation guidance for countries and key stakeholders as well as outlining key research gaps. As life expec...tancy for people living with HIV continues to increase, managing noncommunicable diseases, mental health, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy is essential to sustaining treatment success, quality of life, and engagement in care. A life course approach addresses these needs from childhood through older age. Service integration supports more person-centred, coordinated care across the life course.
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Tobacco mythbusters: tools for debunking common myths promoted by the tobacco industry
PHSM are vital in reducing the risk and scale of infectious disease transmission and lowering hospitalization and deaths. Examples include contact tracing, quarantine and isolation, mask use, ventilation, school or workplace measures, mobility restrictions and travel requirements.
While these mea...sures are essential, decision-making on PHSM becomes particularly complex during rapidly evolving health emergencies, with incomplete information and under significant public and political pressure, especially when the pathogen is novel or poorly understood. In such contexts, guidance needs to be agile and responsive, developed and adapted based on emerging evidence and shifting epidemiological patterns. Decision-makers are frequently confronted with difficult trade-offs, having to balance measures that are:
─ effective but socially disruptive;
─ cost-effective but logistically burdensome;
─ beneficial for public health but economically disruptive; or
─ practical but inequitable or unethical
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The WHO handbook “Epidemiological Data Analysis for the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) in Humanitarian Emergencies” explains how to collect, analyse, interpret, and share health data during crises such as conflicts or natural disasters. It is a practical guide for health and su...rveillance officers to detect disease outbreaks early and guide quick public health responses. The document outlines steps for managing data at different levels (local, regional, national), analysing disease trends by time, place, and person, and using indicators to monitor outbreak risks. It also provides methods for interpreting and communicating results clearly to decision-makers to support effective health interventions in emergencies.
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Building on the WHO guidelines for disclosure to children up to age 12 in 2011, this implementation guidance provides evidence on existing interventions that support children and adolescents living with HIV in the process of disclosure. It includes interventions that focuses on safe disclosure, as w...ell as supporting children and adolescents with onwards disclosure. Specifically, this brief collates existing interventions via a scoping review; assesses key interventions through a realist evaluation lens, identifying what works, for whom, and in what contexts; and highlights emerging considerations, key gaps, and key actions.
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Strengthening global health security to protect the world against future epidemics and pandemics requires well-tested and decentralized capacities for the local detection and rapid containment of outbreaks of infectious disease. For such capacities to translate into effective response actions, ind...ividuals and teams must be well connected and coordinated, despite differences in the size, geography, technical focus or constituency of their parent institution.
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This resource was written to support persons who seek to initiate a support group for suicide loss survivors. Suicide bereavement support groups offer a wide range of benefits that can help individuals to navigate the difficult time following a loss. First and foremost, a support group provides a ch...ance to break the silence and reduce the stigma surrounding suicide by creating a space where individuals can openly discuss their grief. It also serves as a source of information about suicide and bereavement. It is important to note that support groups are not a replacement for professional help and that support groups may not be for everyone.
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This report was developed by the WHO TB Vaccine Accelerator Finance and Access working group, co-led by WHO, Gavi and the Government of South Africa. It sets out the working group’s shared vision for equitable access to novel TB vaccines and will advance a shared understanding of the current lands...cape and its possible evolution in the future. It identifies six urgently needed solutions to accelerate access and financing and highlights the roles of different stakeholders to support the implementation of these solutions.
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The ILO has joined forces with Gallup to carry out a groundbreaking global survey covering 50 countries that sheds further light on the causes of the persistence of HIV-related stigma and discrimination in the world of work.
Helping Adolescents Thrive (HAT) is a joint WHO-UNICEF initiative to strengthen programming and policy responses for adolescents, to promote positive mental health, prevent mental health conditions,
and prevent self-harm and other risk behaviours. The vision of HAT is a world in which all adolescen...ts, their caregivers, civil society and communities unite with governments to protect and promote adolescent mental health. This means taking action routinely to implement and monitor evidence-informed and human rights-based strategies for improving mental health, and to prevent and reduce mental health and substance use conditions in adolescents in order to improve lifelong well-being
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During the 17 years since Surgical approaches to the urogenital manifestations of lymphatic filariasis was first published, there has been heightened awareness of the physical, economic and emotional burden of the genitourinary manifestations of filariasis. With the impetus to provide better guidanc...e for care of those suffering from LF, this update was both warranted and timely.
At the outset, the Committee noted that barriers continue to exist in care of patients affected by LF-associated morbidity. These barriers include lack of information for patients as well as for many healthcare providers, including general surgeons and others within health systems
This update offers a new consensus of the Committee regarding the staging of hydroceles caused by LF, also known as “filariceles”. It recommends integrating LF surgery with other efforts to strengthen surgical care by assessing health facilities for their surgical readiness using the WHO surgical assessment tool or “SAT”. It also recommends integratinghernia surgery with hydrocele surgery and integrating standards for prevention of surgical site infection (SSI).
The update revises recommendations for standard procedures and processes, offers an algorithm for diagnosis (including the use of ultrasound) and discusses postoperative care. It recommends collecting data using the staging and grading system described by Capuano and Capuano along with other metrics for public health management of LF.
A multifaceted approach has therefore been recommended to coordinate public health outreach with national surgical planning and local health systems to include supporting partners such as nongovernmental organizations. Surgical camps with mobile teams, as well as training of personnel at DCP3 “first level” or WHO Level II hospitals (depending on region and resources), have important roles for reducing LF morbidity.
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