This guidance is targeted to primary health care policy-makers and only addresses issues relevant for primary health care providers. It has been prepared on the basis of a systematic review of the best available evidence and emergent country practices in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the WHO ...European Region. It will be updated on a regular basis as new information becomes available.
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Strengthening rehabilitation in health emergency preparedness, response, and resilience: policy brief outlines the evidence for rehabilitation in emergencies and the need for greater preparedness of rehabilitation services. It shows how existing guidelines support the integration of rehabilitation i...n emergencies and sets out the steps that decision-makers can take to better integrate rehabilitation into health emergency preparedness and response.
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Despite being a curable and preventable disease, tuberculosis (TB) remains as one of the major challenges for health systems, globally. Every year, TB affects more than 10 million people and kills more than 1.4 million people. WHO’s Digital Health for the End TB Strategy – an Agenda for Action o...utlines a conceptual framework in which advantageously positioned digital health solutions are matched to the most urgent needs of TB programmes. Video-supported treatment is a component of one of the four core functions of this framework, the Patient Care domain, and primarily supports the first pillar of the End TB Strategy. This quick guide provides information on the solutions available for asynchronous modes of video communication and how these can be of use to TB programmes.
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To support the achievement of health equity in the Region, the regional inter-agency movement Every Woman Every Child Latin America and the Caribbean (EWEC-LAC) advocates for and supports the use of equity and evidence-based policies, strategies and interventions to accelerate equitable progress in ...the health of women, children and adolescents. Although progress has been made, great inequities persist. Women from the LAC region’s poorest countries are almost four times more likely to die due to complications during childbirth than those living in the wealthiest countries. Through the years, several tools, instruments and methods (TIMs) have been developed by global, regional and country partners that can be used to conduct systematic equity-based analyses and/or re-designs of health systems, programs, strategies and interventions. The main purpose of this document is to present an overview of existing TIMs that can be used by policymakers, program managers, development partners, nongovernmental organizations, academia and civil society partners to strengthen systematic identification, analysis and responding to social inequities in the health of women, children and adolescents in LAC. The TIMs included were identified through a systematic search process
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2nd revised edition. Accessed Apri. 17, 2019
Prevention strategies based on scientific evidence working with families, schools, and communities can ensure that children and youth, especially the most marginalized and poor, grow and stay healthy and safe into adulthood and old age. For every dollar ...spent on prevention, at least ten can be saved in future health, social and crime costs.
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The Strategy aims to protect and improve the well-being
of society and of the individual, to protect and promote
public health, to offer a high level of security and well-being
for the general public and to increase health literacy. The
Strategy takes an evidence-based, integrated, balanced and
...
multidisciplinary approach to the drugs phenomenon at
national, EU and international level. It also incorporates a
gender equality and health equity perspective.
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This Technical Brief focuses on current principles and approaches to Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) management, highlighting key constraints, gaps in knowledge and areas still lacking consensus. It is intended to inform ongoing debates among practitioners, national partners, donors and analysts o...n what information and evidence on best practices are currently available, where the gaps are, and priorities for going forward.
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23 February 2022
A summary of the commitments and targets within the United Nations General Assembly’s 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS.The United Nations General Assembly’s 2021 Political Declaration on AIDS features bold global commitments and targets for 2025 that are ambitious but... achievable if countries and communities follow the evidence-informed guidance within the Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026. This UNAIDS publication provides a summary of those commitments and targets to get every country and every community on-track to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030
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The long-term goal of AIDSFree is to improve the quality and effectiveness of high-impact, evidence-informed HIV and AIDS interventions. This semiannual performance report (SAPR) summarizes AIDSFree's achievements for the period October 1, 2015–March 31, 2016
The report “Dementia: a public health priority” has been jointly developed by WHO and Alzheimer's Disease International. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness of dementia as a public health priority, to articulate a public health approach and to advocate for action at international a...nd national levels.
Dementia is a syndrome that affects memory, thinking, behaviour and ability to perform everyday activities. The number of people living with dementia worldwide is currently estimated at 35.6 million. This number will double by 2030 and more than triple by 2050. Dementia is overwhelming not only for the people who have it, but also for their caregivers and families. There is lack of awareness and understanding of dementia in most countries, resulting in stigmatization, barriers to diagnosis and care, and impacting caregivers, families and societies physically, psychologically and economically.
Available Languages: Chinese, English, Japanese, Russian and Spanish
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Clinical guideline, Methods, Evidence and Recommendations
In this guideline the following is covered: information needs of people with chronic hep
titis B and their carers; where children, young people and adults with chronic hepatitis B a-
should be assessed; assessment of liver disease, includi...ng the use of non-invasive tests and genotype testing; criteria for offering antiviral treatment; the efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness of currently available treatments; selection of first-line therapy; management of treatment failure or drug resistance; prophylactic treatment during im-
munosuppressive therapy; and monitoring for treatment response
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This topic brief highlights how nutrition and healthy diets support the achievement of education and learning objectives, and explains how intervention benefits can be amplified with a whole-school and systems approach. The recommended actions are informed by the Global Standards for health-promotin...g schools. This evidence-informed resource is intended for national education, health and associated sectors to support the strengthening of national school health programmes.
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Background
Noncommunicable diseases are major contributors to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Modifying the risk factors for these conditions, such as physical inactivity, is thus essential. Addressing the context or circumstances in which physical activity occurs may promote physical activity a...t a population level. We assessed the effects of infrastructure, policy or regulatory interventions for increasing physical activity.
Methods
We searched PubMed, Embase and clinicaltrials.gov to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs), controlled before-after (CBAs) studies, and interrupted time series (ITS) studies assessing population-level infrastructure or policy and regulatory interventions to increase physical activity. We were interested in the effects of these interventions on physical activity, body weight and related measures, blood pressure, and CVD and type 2 diabetes morbidity and mortality, and on other secondary outcomes. Screening and data extraction was done in duplicate, with risk of bias was using an adapted Cochrane risk of bias tool. Due to high levels of heterogeneity, we synthesised the evidence based on effect direction.
Results
We included 33 studies, mostly conducted in high-income countries. Of these, 13 assessed infrastructure changes to green or other spaces to promote physical activity and 18 infrastructure changes to promote active transport. The effects of identified interventions on physical activity, body weight and blood pressure varied across studies (very low certainty evidence); thus, we remain very uncertain about the effects of these interventions. Two studies assessed the effects of policy and regulatory interventions; one provided free access to physical activity facilities and showed that it may have beneficial effects on physical activity (low certainty evidence). The other provided free bus travel for youth, with intervention effects varying across studies (very low certainty evidence).
Conclusions
Evidence from 33 studies assessing infrastructure, policy and regulatory interventions for increasing physical activity showed varying results. The certainty of the evidence was mostly very low, due to study designs included and inconsistent findings between studies. Despite this drawback, the evidence indicates that providing access to physical activity facilities may be beneficial; however this finding is based on only one study. Implementation of these interventions requires full consideration of contextual factors, especially in low resource settings.
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The approach is in line with two of the five objectives outlined in the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP): Strategic Objective 2 – Improve the quality of maternal and newborn care; and Strategic Objective 5 – Count every newborn through measurement, programme-tracking and accountability to genera...te data for decision-making and action.
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The 23rd meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines was coordinated from Geneva, Switzerland, and held virtually from 21 June to 2 July 2021. The Committee considered 88 applications proposing additions, changes and deletions of medicines, medicine classes and fo...rmulations on the Model Lists of Essential Medicines. The Committee evaluated the scientific evidence for comparative effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of the medicines in question. The Committee also considered a review of the therapeutic alternatives for medicines on the Model Lists, and update to the AWaRe classification of antibiotics, and reviews and reports relevant to the selection and use of essential medicines.
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Doing What Matters in Times of Stress: An Illustrated Guide is a stress management guide for coping with adversity. The guide aims to equip people with practical skills to help cope with stress. A few minutes each day are enough to practice the self-help techniques. The guide can be used alone or wi...th the accompanying audio exercises.
Informed by evidence and extensive field testing, the guide is for anyone who experiences stress, wherever they live and whatever their circumstances.
Different languages available: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240003927
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In this report a nutrition governance framework was applied to research and analyse the provincial experience with nutrition policy in Pakistan, looking both at chronic and acute malnutrition. Twenty-one in-depth interviews with key stakeholders were also conducted along with a review of published a...nd grey literature. Findings were validated and supplemented by consultative provincial roundtable meetings. Punjab’s nutritional puzzle is that it has high levels of chronic malnutrition and micro-nutrient deficiencies despite a surplus production of food and a low poverty level. Under-nutrition is mainly linked to insufficient attention to preventive health strategies and to a lack of connection between relevant sectors such as Education, Health, Poverty, Safe Water and Sanitation, and Food. Strategic opportunities are recommended which include cross-party political support and ownership for nutrition, with steering by executive leadership; multi-sectoral action and functional integration of various departments and programmes with the creation of a central convening structure for effective cross-sectoral coordination; broadening of nutritional activities beyond salt iodization and vitamin A coverage; central co-ordination of monitoring and evaluation and effective partnerships between the state and non-state sector around data production, awareness, advocacy, and monitoring.
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The State of the world’s nursing 2020 report provides the latest, most up-to-date evidence on and policy options for the global nursing workforce. It also presents a compelling case for considerable – yet feasible – investment in nursing education, jobs, and leadership.
The primary chapters... of the report outline the role and contributions of nurses with respect to the WHO “triple billion” targets; the health labour market and workforce policy levers to address the challenges to nurses working to their full potential; the findings from analysis of National Health Workforce Account (NHWA) data from 191 Member States and progress in relation to the projected shortfall of nurses by 2030; and forward-looking policy options for an agenda to strengthen the nursing workforce to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals, improve health for all, and strengthen the primary health care workforce on our journey towards universal health coverage.
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The principle of “the best interest of the child” should guide decisions by politicians whenever
children are affected. This is one of the basic ideas in the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child. Decision makers should assess the consequences for children before taking
action. Today, this... principle is not fully respected in European countries in relation to migrant
children.
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In the region, it is estimated that there are over 650 million persons with disabilities. However, without accurate, timely and disaggregated data, countries are unable to develop effective policies and programmes, monitor the wellbeing of persons with disabilities and evaluate the equity and impact... of development efforts. This endangers country commitments to ‘leave no one behind’ and undermines their obligations to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This groundbreaking report demonstrates the importance of ensuring data is inclusive and provides recommendations for immediate action in order to improve the collection, analysis and reporting of disability data. We hope this report will be used as a tool for future advocacy and ultimately better data for all.
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