This policy brief describes key HIV viral load thresholds and the available viral load testing approaches for monitoring how well antiretroviral therapy is working for people living with HIV. It provides clarification for and elaborates upon the current treatment monitoring algorithm from the Consol...idated guidelines on HIV prevention, testing, treatment, service delivery and monitoring: recommendations for a public health approach.
This information can help people living with HIV to live healthy lives, ensure that HIV is not transmitted to other people and support policy-makers in determining the optimal allocation of resources for viral load testing and communicating the results.
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Stigma and discrimination related to mental health conditions are widespread and harmful. Reducing stigma and discrimination can benefit families, societies and economies – it can save lives. The toolkit offers practical guidance on how to achieve this, based on three core evidence-based principle...s: leadership or co-leadership by people with lived experience, social contact, and inclusive partnerships. These 3 principles can be realized using a four-step process: identify and define aims, plan and prepare, launch and learn and reflect and proceed. Twelve case studies from all across the world are provided to demystify the process. Stigma and discrimination can be ended if each of us acts as one using the principles in this toolkit.
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J of Pharm Policy and Pract 14, 27 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40545-021-00309-8
The UK government hosted the Global Vaccine Summit on June 4, 2020 under the patronage of the Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The meeting was held by videoconference in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 2. The Summit brought... together more than 300 people, including 42 Heads of State and Government. 62 countries were represented, notably 14 Gavi implementing countries, all of the G7 nations and 19 governments of the G20. Eminent participants also included H.E. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission; H.E. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General; H.E. Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director; Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Ministers from implementing and donor countries; CEOs of vaccine manufacturing companies and private sector partners; leaders of UN and other international agencies; senior civil society representatives; and Gavi champions. A full list of the participants can be found in Annex.
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This guide provides a comprehensive overview of essential information related to immunization, including technical information about vaccines, a review of immunization program management best practices, guidance on the delivery of immunization services, monitoring and evaluation, disease surveillanc...e, and the role of behavior change.
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Report of the 23rd WHO Expert Committee on the selection and use of essential medicines
This executive summary reports the recommendations made by the Expert Committee for the 2021 update of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (EML) and the Model List of Essential Medicine for Children (EMLc)....
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 formulation 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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A study conducted by the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Africa. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on older persons both globally and in the African region. Although overall the region’s population is younger relative to many other world regions, the WHO AFRO region ...has a population just over 62 million older people and is ageing rapidly, with the number of older people expected to triple in the next three decades (Aboderin et al., 2020).
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mnesty International’s annual report on the state of the world’s human rights in 2021, published in March 2022, shows that promises to “build back better” after the Covid-19 pandemic were little more than lip service. Hopes of global cooperation withered in the face of vaccine hoarding and c...orporate greed.
Governments suppressed independent and critical voices, with some even using the pandemic as a pretext to shrink further the civic space. New and unresolved conflicts erupted or persisted. Those forced to flee were subjected to a litany of abuses, including pushbacks by countries in the Global North. But hopes for a better post-pandemic world were kept alive by courageous individuals, social movements and civil society organizations.
The report is available in different languages
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Journal of the International AIDS Society Vol. 21 (2018) e25133
Many prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programmes across Africa initiate HIV-infected (HIV positive) pregnant women on lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) on the first day of antenatal care (“same-day” initiation...). However, there are concerns that same-day initiation may limit patient preparation before starting ART and contribute to subsequent non-adherence, disengagement from care and raised viral load. We examined if same-day initiation was associated with viral suppression and engagement in care during pregnancy.
The data suggest that same-day ART initiation during pregnancy is not associated with lower levels of engagement in care or viral suppression through 12 months post-delivery in this setting, providing reassurance to ART programmes implementing Option B+.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jia2.25133
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The Lay Counselor Cadre in Botswana
Working Document, September 2017