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 “living paper” contributes to the global knowledge on how countries are responding to the pandemic by documenting real-time actions in a key area of response – that is, social protection measures planned or implemented by governments.
The document describes the use of strategic information at various stages of the response in the context of strengthening broader health information systems. Strategic information can be defined as data collected at all service delivery and administrative levels to inform policy and programme decisi...ons.
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The aim of this guidance manual is to introduce the user to project/programme plan- ning in a Red Cross Red Crescent environment. It describes the different stages of the planning phase of the “project/programme cycle” within the context of Results-Based Management (RBM). It also gives an overvi...ew of the various components of RBM and explains how to integrate and apply this approach in practice. In addition, the manual summarizes briefly the other key phases of the cycle (assessment, imple- mentation and monitoring, evaluation) and provides references to the key Federation manuals on these phases.
The manual has been developed primarily for use by people managing projects and programmes either in a National Society or the secretariat of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (International Federation). Although it is mainly designed for use at the country level, the basic principles can be applied to project and programme planning at any level. The manual draws on two International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement publications – the International Federation’s Project Planning Process (2002) and the ICRC Economic Security Unit’s Programme/ Project Management: The Results-Based Approach (2008) – reflecting the significant similarity of approach. The International Federation has developed the manual internally to suit the particular needs and uses of project/programme management within the organization.
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The target audience for this guideline is primarily for health care providers nurses, doctors, social workers and other people involved in HIV response in Rwanda so that they are capable of offering quality care services to patients over a long time. The new National Guidelines for Prevention and Ma...nagement of HIV and STIs are articulated in accordance to treat all HIV+ patients regardless of CD4 count and a new service delivery model to support its implementation.
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This strategy takes into account the policies formulated by sectors with cross-cutting interests in school meals, such as education, health, social protection and agriculture.The strategy further complements the provisions of the National School Health Policy and the asso...ciated National School Health Guidelines (2009) into a school meals framework with six strategic objectives. Above all, the strategy encourages inter-ministerial coordination, multi-sectoral planning, stable funding and monitoring and evaluation for home-grown school meals to all children in Kenya.
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On 31st December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. On 7th January 2020, Chinese authorities identified a new strain of Coronavirus as the causative age...nt for the disease. The virus has been renamed by WHO as SARS-CoV-2 and the disease caused by it as COVID-19. The disease since its first detection in China has now spread to over 200 countries/territories, with reports of local transmission happening in more than 160 of these countries/territories. As per WHO (as of 1st April, 2020), there has been a total of 823626 confirmed cases and 40598 deaths due to COVID-19 worldwide.
In India, as on 2nd April, 2020, 1965 confirmed cases (including 51 foreign nationals) and 50 deaths reported from 29 States/UTs. Large number of cases has been reported from Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
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The Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool (Urban HEART) is a user-friendly guide for policy- and decision-makers at national and local levels to: identify and analyse inequities in health between people living in various parts of cities, or belonging to different socioeconomic groups with...in and across cities; facilitate decisions on viable and effective strategies, interventions and actions that should be used to reduce inter- and intra-city health inequities.
Also available in French and Spanish: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/79060
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The document WHA70.16, adopted during the 70th World Health Assembly, outlines a global strategy for an integrated response to vector-borne diseases. It emphasizes the urgent need to strengthen national and global capacities for vector control amid rising threats such as insecticide resistance, clim...ate change, and the spread of vectors like mosquitoes. Member States are urged to align their national strategies with WHO’s integrated approach, improve surveillance, promote research, and ensure cross-sector and cross-border collaboration. The WHO Director-General is requested to provide technical support, promote innovation, and monitor progress, with regular updates to future World Health Assemblies.
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National Guidelines on Nutrition, Care, Support, and Treatment (NCST) for Adolescents and Adults
These guidelines are intended to:
• Establish a consistent set of nutrition interventions and recommendations aimed at managing and preventing undernutrition and overnutrition in adolescents and ad...ults, with a focus on people with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) patients.
• Provide simple and clear guidance to service providers and managers on how to implement the nutrition interventions and recommendations at the various health care delivery contact points.
• Provide a framework for policymakers and development partners to use when planning nutrition interventions for adolescent and adults.
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This publication is designed to be used by programme planners and managers as a resource when designing interventions to integrate postpartum family planning into national and subnational strategies. Postpartum family planning should not be considered a ‘vertical’ programme, but rather as an int...egrated part of existing maternal and child health and family planning efforts. Successful interventions for postpartum family planning require holistic and evidence-based programme strategies that contribute to strengthened health systems and sustained improvements in high-quality services that put people at the centre of health care
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The following document outlines the principles, objectives and strategies of a national policy for the protection of orphans and other vulnerable children in Rwanda. The propositions constitute a first step towards a comprehensive framework, which will assist the Government and its partners to plan,... implement and monitor projects and programmes in favour of orphans and other vulnerable children.
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Los cambios del contexto en 2018 nos traen varios desafíos y oportunidades para el 2019. Este año tuvimos la posesión del Presidente Duque y un redireccionamiento de las prioridades del Gobierno en la agenda nacional. Asimismo, observamos un incremento sustantivo en los flujos migratorios mixtos ...provenientes de Venezuela, mientras en algunas de las zonas históricamente más afectadas por el conflicto armado se ejercían esfuerzos para la implementación de los Acuerdos de Paz con las FARC-EP. En ese contexto, observamos en algunas regiones del país la continuidad de dinámicas de violencia con afectaciones a la población civil y el subsecuente deterioro de los indicadores humanitarios: el desplazamiento interno, restricciones a la movilidad, amenazas y asesinatos a líderes(as) y defensores(as) de derechos humanos, incidentes MAP/MUSE. Todos ellos alcanzaron niveles que no registrábamos desde hace algunos años. Además, la incertidumbre por los diálogos de paz con el Ejecito de Liberación Nacional aumenta el riesgo de estos desafíos.
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This guidance document has been produced by WHO to assist blood services in the development of national plans to respond to any emerging infectious threats to the sufficiency or safety of the blood supply, whether from an existing infectious agent that is changing in incidence and spread, or from a ...newly identified infectious agent. It is intended that this document be followed to guide the national blood service through the process of planning how to respond in a timely, controlled and appropriate way to any specific infectious threat that may subsequently emerge. It is acknowledged that it is not only the blood supply that may be affected by such emerging infectious threats; in those countries undertaking transplantation, the supply of cell, tissues and organs may also be threatened. Increasingly, blood services are taking overall national responsibility for transplantation in their capacity as the organization responsible for the collection, processing, storage and supply of cells, tissues and organs. This approach is both sensible and appropriate, as the overall donor selection and screening processes are the same or very similar. This guidance document can therefore also be used to assist those bodies responsible for the provision of cells, tissues and organs to prepare for an emerging infectious threat.
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Through technical consultations with countries and partners, WHO has led the development of Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats Module 1: Planning for respiratory pathogen pandemics. Version 1.0. The Module, currently available as an advanced draft, builds on previous pandemic lessons a...nd guidance, and has the following new elements:
It presents an integrated and efficient respiratory pathogen pandemic planning approach covering both novel pathogens and those known to have pandemic potential;
It enables coherence in addressing pathogen-agnostic and pathogen-specific elements for better preparedness;
It gives an organizing framework including operational stages and triggers for escalation and de-escalation between pandemic preparedness and response periods;
It contextualizes 12 IHR (2005) core capacities within the five components of health emergency preparedness, response and resilience (HEPR), from the respiratory threats perspective; and
It describes the critical sectors for respiratory pathogen pandemic preparedness to trigger multisectoral collaboration.
WHO will finalize and publish this Module after a global technical meeting that will be held on 24-26 April 2023.
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Interium guidance, 25 June 2021Timely and accurate diagnostic testing is an essential tool in preventing and controlling the spread of COVID-19. This document describes recommendations for national testing strategies and the use of PCR and rapid antigen tests in different transmission scenarios of t...he COVID-19 outbreak, including how testing might be rationalized in low resource settings. All testing should be followed by a strong public health response including isolating those who test positive and providing them care, contact tracing and quarantine of contacts.
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This guidance has been developed in line with the WHO corporate risk management framework, the WHO business continuity and contingency plans, as well as the Inter-Agency Emergency Response Preparedness Framework. It is based on a common organiza-tional approach and procedures for managing including ...emergency response across all hazards and at each level of the Organization. It relates WHO’s responsibilities (1) under the International Health Regulations (2005) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and other international treaties; (2) as the United Nations’ lead agency for health and the health cluster; and (3) as a member of the United Nations or Humanitarian Country Teams
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AIDSFree Case study series
This publication is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of Cooperative Agreement AID-OAA-A-14-00046....
The contents are the responsibility of AIDSFree and do not necessarily reflect the views of PEPFAR, USAID, or the U.S. Government.
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Interim Guidcance March 2020
People affected by humanitarian crises, particularly those displaced and/or living in camps and camp-like settings, are often faced with specific challenges and vulnerabilities that must be taken into consideration when planning for readiness and response operations for... the COVID-19 outbreak. They are frequently neglected, stigmatized, and may face difficulties in accessing health services that are otherwise available to the general population. In the context of this Interim Guidance, the people in humanitarian situations affected by this guidance may include internally displaced persons (IDPs), host communities, asylum seekers, refugees and returnees, and migrants when in similar situations. While further adaptations might be needed for some population groups, including those living in slums this interim guidance is issued to assist field staff to immediately respond to urgent needs.
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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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