This publication provides guidance for planning country-specific programming to achieve the triple elimination of mother-to-child (or vertical) transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B virus. It is based on the WHO Triple Elimination Framework, which promotes an integrated, person-centred appro...ach to efficiently and holistically prevent transmission of these infections from mothers to their infants along four pillars.
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National tuberculosis (TB) prevalence surveys provide a nationally representative measurement of the burden of TB disease in the population, at a given point in time. Repeat surveys allow assessment of trends and tracking of progress towards national and global targets for reductions in TB disease b...urden. Survey data also provide important insights that can help national TB programmes to identify ways to improve TB diagnosis and treatment.
National TB prevalence surveys are relevant in countries that do not yet have national disease notification and vital registration systems that are of sufficiently high quality and coverage to allow reliable tracking of TB disease burden.
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This operational guidance provides a structured approach to support countries in sustaining priority services for HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections in the context of reduced external funding. The guidance is intended for national governments, public health programmes, communit...y-led organizations, civil society, technical partners and donors working to safeguard priority services, support phased adaptation, protect health outcomes and preserve hard-won gains.
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The new WHO guidelines provide clinical management recommendations for four of the most widespread arboviruses affecting humans: dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and yellow fever.
An integrated approach is vital, as these four diseases often present with similar symptoms, especially in the early stages... of infection, and multiple arboviruses may circulate simultaneously in certain regions. This makes clinical differentiation challenging, particularly where diagnostic testing is not readily available.
This guideline is available in online format on the MAGICapp platform
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The Compendium of Solid Waste Management in Humanitarian Contexts is a comprehensive, structured and userfriendly manual and planning guide that provides a systematic overview of existing Solid Waste Management (SWM) technologies and approaches appropriate for use in humanitarian contexts.
This guide aims to provide an overview of successful practice from the field for the disaster risk reduction/management practitioner interested in EWS. It presents guiding principles that will build a strong foundation for the design or strengthening of EWS at any level. It is not an operational, bu...t a strategic, guide that insists on asking the right questions and exploring all perspectives prior even to deciding whether or not early warning is the appropriate tool for a given context.
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Growing emergencies and displacements across the world demand increasingly complex interventions and responses. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed Malaria control in emergencies: a field manual to provide technical guidance to help partners respond effectively to malaria in emergency ...situations. This field manual supersedes the 2013 WHO handbook.
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Despite being a preventable and curable infectious disease, tuberculosis (TB) has continued to elude global controll efforts. In 2023, 8.2 milion people with TB were diagnosed and notified to the WHO, the hightest number ever reported since WHO began tracking.
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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To guide the provision of quality palliative care services across the African region, the African Palliative Care Association (APCA) has developed a framework of core palliative care competencies that can be used by service providers, educators and other stakeholders to guide programmes development.
To contribute to the availability of basic knowledge and skills for the provision of palliative care in
the African region, the African Palliative Care Association (APCA) has developed a competencybased core curriculum framework for use in introductory training on palliative care. The curriculum ... is based on the APCA Standards for Providing Quality Palliative Care Across Africa to ensure that care providers are trained to the appropriate competence for their cadre and level of skill. This curriculum therefore aims to facilitate the development of the best basic skills and attitudes required for the delivery of palliative care services that meet the desired standards of palliative care. The curriculum incorporates theoretical, practical, mentorship and supervision components that are critical to the effective application of knowledge in practice.
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Universal health coverage (UHC) has a central place in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, as
it is a major target (3.8) under SDG 3 (Ensuring healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages). The World Health
Organization defines Universal Health Coverage (UHC) ...as a means through which all people and communities can use the
promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services they need, of sufficient quality to be effective,
while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship. UHC brings hope of better
health and protection for the world’s poorest.
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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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Promoting and protecting the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of children, adolescents, and their caregivers remains undamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a direct contribution to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well- eing). In 2024, UNICEF accelerated the scale-up o...f integrated, multisectoral MHPSS programming. These efforts contributed to the strengthening of national and subnational child and adolescent mental health systems by supporting programming across the continuum of care, investing in workforce development, advancing data systems and evidence generation, and promoting institutional leadership and coordination mechanisms. UNICEF’s growing reach, particularly through health, education, and child protection systems, reflects a strategic commitment to embedding MHPSS in sustainable development frameworks and in responses that bridge humanitarian action and development programming.
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The health impacts of climate change are no longer a distant threat. They are being felt here and now and becoming more extreme.
To address these threats, the WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health in the Western Pacific Region (ACE) was established in 2019 through a partnership with ...the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment of the Republic of Korea and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Centre’s mission is to strengthen cooperation and drive action where environment and health meet. This focus on environmental health has created a strong foundation for system-wide change.
This strategic plan builds directly on that work. Over the next five years, the Centre will expand its reach, supporting countries to take practical, systems-based action that ensures healthier people, healthier environments and a healthier planet.
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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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This plan, approved by the Organization’s 62nd Directing Council, was shaped by extensive consultations with countries and stakeholders, and commits to transformative health outcomes over the next six years, tackling noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), mental health, health security, fragmented healt...h systems and services, and the elimination of communicable diseases, amongst others.
“The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that the Region of the Americas is stronger when we work together,” said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director. “This Strategic Plan harnesses our collective strength to build resilient health systems, reduce disease burden, and improve health and well-being for all across the Americas.”
The plan builds on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed gaps in health systems while highlighting the power of joint action. It targets measurable impacts in countries, such as reducing maternal mortality, reversing rising suicide rates, and eliminating diseases like leprosy and Chagas.
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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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This brief report summarizes recent information on HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) in the era of integrase-strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI) for HIV prevention and treatment.
Adolescents and young adults aged 10-24 remain underserved in the global response against HIV. Combination prevention, treatment and care programmes use a mix of evidence-based interventions to meet the current HIV prevention needs of adolescents and young adults. However, there needs to be a focus ...on priority interventions that are evidence-based, practical, contextual and sustainable. This document highlights interventions and recommendations that have passed through the evidence-based lens of the WHO.
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