This template dossier complements and should be used after fulfilling the criteria and preconditions specified in the Process of validation of elimination of kala-azar as a public health problem in South-East Asia. The national kala-azar programme should be in the consolidation phase of elimination;... that is, the annual incidence of kala-azar in the implementation unit is maintained below 1 case (new plus relapse) per 10 000 population for a minimum of 3 consecutive years.
The template is designed to help national kala-azar elimination programmes prepare a dossier documenting the essential evidence supporting the request to the World Health Organization (WHO) to validate the status of kala-azar elimination as a public health problem in their country. The information presented in this document will help independent assessors understand the national programme’s specific context, achievements and relevant epidemiological data.
The dossier should be organized according to the following sections:
- Description of the country context and health system capabilities
- Historical data and delineation of endemic areas
- Surveillance and elimination activities
- Epidemiological data
- Vector control strategy and activities
- Post-validation surveillance plan
Once the dossier is prepared, it should be examined and duly endorsed by the National Task Force on kala-azar elimination and/or neglected tropical diseases, or a similar body, before submission to WHO.
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Cancer centres are a major resource in ensuring a comprehensive approach to cancer treatment and its planning. As part of a new roadmap developed by WHO and IAEA to help countries design national cancer control programmes, this publication proposes a framework to develop a cancer centre and/or to st...rengthen the provision of services in an existing cancer centre. The publication provides the features of multidisciplinary cancer care and details the infrastructure, human resources and equipment for different services. This framework is expected to be used as a guide to implementation, taking into consideration the local context and resources.
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The National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS and STIs 2017-2024 spells out the objectives and targets that we have jointly committed to achieve. The plan describes the strategies and activities that will need to be implemented on the ground across India's 36 States and Union Territories with the help of... AIDS Control Societies, District AIDS Prevention and Control Units, Regional Institutes, communities, development partners and the private sector. We must urgently scale up our efforts to avert new HIV infections and provide care and treatment to people living with HIV to materialise our commitment of ending AIDS in India by 2030.
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This toolkit is a comprehensive set of practical tools and resources designed to support country-level risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) practitioners, decision-makers, and partners to plan and implement readiness and response activities for yellow fever outbreaks. The toolkit conta...ins: information about yellow fever; RCCE considerations for how to approach key issues during yellow fever outbreaks; tools for understanding the context in which yellow fever outbreaks occur; methods for collecting data to inform strategy development and bring evidence into planning and implementation of activities; guidance to support vector control and immunization campaigns; and links to existing RCCE tools and training. It is one of a suite of toolkits on RCCE readiness and response to a range of disease and response areas.
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The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a leading humanitarian agency dedicated to helping people whose lives have been shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Health comprises nearly half of IRC’s program portfolio globally and encompasses thr...ee sectors: 1) Primary Health (including child health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and mental health); 2) Nutrition; and 3) Environmental Health. IRC health programming across its portfolio, in terms of the size and breadth, responds to significant needs in crisis affected settings, improving health and wellbeing while reducing causes of ill-health.
This five-year Health Strategy sharpens our focus on where we can have the most impact. It guides our efforts in planning, technical assistance, business development, advocacy, and internal and external collaboration. Through this strategy, we will invest and grow in areas that will help us achieve high impact at scale for our clients. For the next five years these priorities will include: Nutrition; Immunization: Infectious Disease Prevention and Control; Last Mile Delivery of Primary Health Care: Clean Water.
Our strategy aligns with Strategy 100 (S100) and Strategy Action Plans (SAPs). It lays out how IRC, through health, nutrition, and Environmental Health (EH) programming, will advance the IRC’s S100 ambitions, respond to global trends, and capitalize on our value add. The strategy will be complemented by delivery plans that detail investments, actions, and roles and responsibilities to advance our priorities. At the end of FY24, we will take stock of the implementation of the strategy, measure progress towards achieving our goals, and review if it continues to be fit for purpose.
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The pharmacological management of asthma has changed considerably in recent decades, as it has come to be understood that it is a complex, heterogeneous disease with different phenotypes and endotypes. It is now clear that the goal of asthma treatment should be to achieve and maintain control of the... disease, as well as to minimize the risks (of exacerbations, disease instability, accelerated loss of lung function, and adverse treatment effects). That requires an approach that is personalized in terms of the pharmacological treatment, patient education, written action plan, training in correct inhaler use, and review of the inhaler technique at each office visit. A panel of 22 pulmonologists was invited to perform a critical review of recent evidence of pharmacological treatment of asthma and to prepare this set of recommendations, a treatment guide tailored to use in Brazil. The topics or questions related to the most significant changes in concepts, and consequently in the management of asthma in clinical practice, were chosen by a panel of experts. To formulate these recommendations, we asked each expert to perform a critical review of a topic or to respond to a question, on the basis of evidence in the literature. In a second phase, three experts discussed and structured all texts submitted by the others. That was followed by a third phase, in which all of the experts reviewed and discussed each recommendation. These recommendations, which are intended for physicians involved in the treatment of asthma, apply to asthma patients of all ages.
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The purpose of this book is to provide an overview of Buruli ulcer (Mycobacterium ulcerans infection) for the medical and scientific communities and the general public alike.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant
tuberculosis (XDR-TB) increasingly occur in resource-constrained settings.
In the context of a national response to MDR- and XDR-TB, health workers in
TB clinics (in district hospitals and some accredited health centres) wil...l need
to diagnose MDR-TB, initiate second-line anti-TB drugs, and monitor MDRTB
treatment.
Management of MDR-TB: a field guide was created to help health workers
carry out these tasks. It is a job aid that medical officers and TB nurses
are meant use frequently during the day for quick reference. This module
is closely related to other clinical guideline modules in the Integrated
Management of Adolescent and Adult Illness (IMAI) series. In particular, the
approach to chronic disease management is taken from General principles
of good chronic care in the IMAI series.
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This document aims to support those working in primary care to strengthen IPC, informed by existing WHO IPC guidance and implementation resources. Many of the existing WHO IPC guidance and implementation resources initially developed for acute health care facilities have a potential utility for IPC ...in primary care. However, navigating these resources to locate relevant content for IPC in primary care can be challenging as some documents can span over 100 pages. This document extracts relevant content, bringing together existing WHO IPC standards, indicators and implementation approaches that are focused on, or directly relevant to IPC in primary care. It should also be used to identify resources suitable for use in primary care that can be embedded within relevant IPC or other health programmes.
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This study aimed to analyze the geographical distribution of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to identify high-risk areas in space and time for the occurrence of cases and deaths in the indigenous population of Brazil. This is an ecological study carried out between 24 March and 26 October 20...20 whose units of analysis were the Special Indigenous Sanitary Districts. The Getis-Ord General G and Getis-Ord Gi* techniques were used to verify the spatial association of the phenomena and a retrospective space–time scan was performed. There were 32 041 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 471 deaths. The non-randomness of cases (z score = 5.40; P < 0.001) and deaths (z score = 3.83; P < 0.001) were confirmed. Hotspots were identified for cases and deaths in the north and midwest regions of Brazil. Sixteen high-risk space–time clusters were identified for the occurrence of cases with a higher RR = 21.23 (P < 0.001) and four risk clusters for deaths with a higher RR = 80.33 (P < 0.001). These clusters were identified from 22 May and were active until 10 October 2020. The results indicate critical areas in the indigenous territories of Brazil and contribute to better directing the actions of control of COVID-19 in this population.
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This guideline provides global, evidence-informed recommendations on the use of indicators for assessing a population’s
iron status and application of the use of ferritin concentrations for monitoring and evaluating iron interventions.
These guidelines provide updated evidence-based recommendations on the priority HCV-related topics from the 2018 WHO Guidelines for the care and treatment of persons diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C infection and the 2017 WHO Guidelines on hepatitis B and C testing. These priority areas are:
... direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment of adolescents and children ages ≥3 years of age
simplified HCV service delivery (decentralization, integration and task sharing)
HCV diagnostics – use of point-of-care (POC) HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA) assays and reflex HCV RNA testing.
These guidelines also update existing chapters without new recommendations, such as the inclusion of new manufacturers’ protocols on the use of dried blood spot (DBS) for HCV RNA testing and new data to inform the limit of detection for HCV RNA assays as a test of cure, in addition to their use for diagnosis.
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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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Rabies has an enormous impact on both agriculture and conservation biology, but its greatest burden is undeniably on public health. As such, routine methods for rapid risk assessment after human exposures to rabies as well as applications for laboratory-based surveillance, production of biologicals ...and management of this infectious disease are critical. Given its mandate to improve human health and control disease among its Member States, WHO has led the production of this fifth edition of Laboratory techniques in rabies.
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This policy brief presents a summary of current evidence on vulnerability to TB and proposes interventions for equitable, person-centred, and human rights-based TB prevention and care. It aligns with WHO policies and guidance on TB prevention and screening, management of TB and comorbidities, access... to health care, universal health coverage, determinants of TB, TB-associated impairment and disability, social protection, as well as ethics, equity and human rights.
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A Guide to the Application of the WHO Multimodal Hand HygieneImprovement Strategy and the “My Five Moments for Hand Hygiene”Αpproach
The Ethiopia Multi-Sectorial Cholera Elimination Plan (2022-2028) outlines a national strategy to eliminate cholera in Ethiopia by 2028. The plan follows the Global Roadmap to End Cholera by 2030 and is based on six key pillars: Leadership & Coordination, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH), Surveill...ance & Reporting, Use of Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV), Healthcare System Strengthening, and Community Engagement.
Ethiopia has historically faced recurrent cholera outbreaks due to poor sanitation, unsafe water, and weak health infrastructure. The plan prioritizes high-risk areas (hotspot woredas) and aims to reduce cholera-related mortality by 90% by 2028. It includes efforts to improve WASH conditions, strengthen disease surveillance, enhance rapid response capabilities, expand vaccination campaigns, and integrate cholera control into broader health policies.
The government, in collaboration with international partners such as WHO, UNICEF, and the Global Task Force for Cholera Control (GTFCC), will implement and monitor the plan. The estimated budget for the initiative is $390 million over eight years. Ethiopia aims to achieve zero cholera transmission in hotspot regions, ensuring sustainable public health improvements.
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This report presents country, regional and global estimates of low birth weight for 2000, together with a detailed description of the methods used in calculating the estimates. Some limited data on trends are also included. The limitations of low-birth-weight data are described and recommendations a...re made for further improvements in the data for this important indicator of health.
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This publication aims to provide updated guidance on the specific use of yellow fever laboratory assays in the context of surveillance to be used across the Global Yellow Fever Laboratory Network for disease surveillance. In the recent years, new commercial assays became available and are now recomm...ended for use by WHO and this publication will support national program on the use of compound laboratory assays as per the most recent recommended testing algorithms. This piece is aligned with the elimination effort set in the comprehensive global strategy to eliminate yellow fever epidemics (EYE) strategy 2017-2026 and where its advisory laboratory technical working group actively contributed to its development. The target audiences are policy-makers and health workers.
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The humanitarian crisis in Northeast Nigeria, driven by conflict, climate-related shocks, and food insecurity, has created immense challenges for the health sector in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) States. About 1.8 million people remain displaced(1), with inadequate access to healthcare services an...d persistent disease outbreaks, malnutrition, and mental health challenges. This strategy outlines a comprehensive localization approach to strengthen the health sector's capacity by empowering local and national actors (L/NAs) include state and local government structures to lead humanitarian responses at respective levels with minimal oversight functions.
The localization strategy aligns with the global commitments of the Grand Bargain 2.0, prioritizing equitable partnerships, capacity sharing, and resource mobilization to enhance sustainable, community-owned health systems(2). Key components include increasing the visibility and meaningful participation of L/NAs in health sector coordination, promoting direct funding to local actors, and addressing systemic barriers such as governance, leadership, capacity, and resource gaps.
The global humanitarian community made a commitment, as reflected in the Grand Bargain 2.0, to localization (3) to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian aid. A key priority of this commitment is to empower local actors to take a leading role in delivering assistance, ultimately leading to better outcomes for affected communities. A localized health response, strengthened by partnerships, can achieve several key outcomes, including rapid response and access, community acceptance, cost-effectiveness, links to long-term development, and increased accountability to the community. Localization in health matters because it ensures sustainable and community-owned health responses.
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