West Africa is experiencing the largest, most severe, most complex outbreak of Ebola virus disease in history. On 11 August 2014, WHO convened a consultation where the participants concluded that in the particular context of the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, it is ethically acceptable to of...fer unproven interventions that have shown promising results in the laboratory and in animal models but have not yet been evaluat-
ed for safety and efficacy in humans as potential treatment or prevention
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This booklet provides an overview of all findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study. Published in The Lancet in November 2018, GBD 2017 provides for the first time an independent estimation of population, for each of 195 countries and territories and the globe, using a standardized, repli...cable approach, as well as a comprehensive update on fertility. Produced with the input of 3,676 collaborators from 146 countries and territories, GBD 2017 incorporates major data additions and improvements, and methodological refinements. GBD 2017 also includes estimates at the subnational level for selected locations.
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Research
BMJ 2014;349:g4643 doi: 10.1136/bmj.g4643 (Published 5 August 2014), 1-11
The article "Asthma in South African adolescents: a time trend and risk factor analysis over two decades" investigates the prevalence and risk factors for asthma in Cape Town adolescents from 2002 to 2017. The study finds that while the overall prevalence of asthma remained similar, the severity of ...the condition increased significantly. Risk factors for asthma and severe cases include smoking, pet exposure, outdoor pollution, and living in informal housing. Despite these trends, underdiagnosis remains a concern, as only one-third of adolescents with current or severe asthma had been formally diagnosed. The article emphasizes the need for better public health strategies to address environmental exposures and improve asthma diagnosis and treatment.
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Effective implementation of WHO PEN, combined with other very cost effective population-wide interventions, will help even resource constrained settings to attain the global voluntary targets related to reduction of premature mortality and preventionof heart attacks and strokes.
PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0142290 November 9, 2015; 1 / 16
This report reviews the current situation in relation to national capacity to address NCDs and the progress made at country level over the past decade. It highlights that, while progress is being made, there is still much work to be done to create the infrastructure, policies, surveillance and healt...h systems response that will allow NCDs and their contributing risk factors to be successfully contained and reversed.
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www.jogh.org • doi: 10.7189/jogh.02.020405 ~ December 2012 • Vol. 2 No. 2 • 020405
Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 117: e210277chgsa, 2022. online | memorias.ioc.fiocruz.br
PLOS Medicine | DOI:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002088 August 23, 2016
Air pollution is a major environmental risk factor and contributor to chronic, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). However, most public health approaches to NCD prevention focus on behavioural and biomedical risk factors, rather than environmental risk factors such as air pollution. This article discus...ses the implications of such a focus. It then outlines the opportunities for those in public health and environmental science to work together across three key areas to address air pollution, NCDs and climate change: (a) acknowledging the shared drivers, including corporate determinants; (b) taking a ‘co-benefits’ approach to NCD prevention; and (c) expanding prevention research and evaluation methods through investing in systems thinking and intersectoral, cross-disciplinary collaborations.
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Mortality statistics are fundamental to public health decision making. Mortality varies by time and location, and its measurement is affected by well known biases that have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper aims to estimate excess mortality from ...the COVID-19 pandemic in 191 countries and territories, and 252 subnational units for selected countries, from Jan 1, 2020, to Dec 31, 2021.
The Lancet. 10 March 2022. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02796-3.
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Integrating the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and sexual and reproductive health programmes: implementation guidance
The acute food insecurity and malnutrition situation in South Sudan is deteriorating as a result of the economic crisis, repeated climatic shocks – primarily widespread flooding – and conflict and insecurity. The inflow of returnees and refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan is exacerbating the ...situation – putting additional pressure on an already fragile country.
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Lancet Glob Health 2022; 10: e491–500
Scope: The purpose of this guideline is to assist health care providers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed arboviral disease caused by dengue, chikungunya, Zika or yellow fever viruses. This guideline includes recommendations on the management of patients admitted to health care facilit...ies (defined for the purpose of this guidance as “severe disease”) and those seen in outpatient facilities (defined for the purpose of this guidance as “non-severe disease”).
Target audience: This guideline is designed primarily for health care providers who manage patients with clinically apparent arboviral infections. The guideline can be applied at all levels of the health system, including community-based care, primary care, emergency departments and hospital wards.
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