The WHO continuously reviews available data on SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. For this version, the global epidemiological
situation of the COVID-19 pandemic as of 21 January 2022 – at a time when the Omicron VOC had been identified in 171
countries across all six WHO Regions and was rapidly re...placing Delta worldwide – was considered Omicron has a substantial growth advantage, higher secondary attack rates and a higher observed reproduction number than Delta.
There is now significant evidence that immune evasion contributes to the rapid spread of Omicron. Other factors may be a shorter
serial interval (by about 0.8 to 1.2 days compared to Delta) and potential increased intrinsic transmission fitness . There is
growing evidence that with Omicron, there is lower vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection and symptomatic disease soon after vaccination compared to Delta. There is also evidence of accelerated waning of VE over time of the primary series against infection and symptomatic disease for the studied vaccines. Further studies are required to better understand the drivers of transmission and declining incidence in various settings. These factors include the intrinsic transmission fitness properties of the virus, degree of immune evasion, vaccination coverage and level of vaccine-derived and post-infection immunity, levels of social mixing and degree of application of public health and social measures (PHSM).
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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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Many of the countries that faced cholera outbreaks in 2022 were badly affected by extreme weather events.
As the climate emergency worsens, human displacement will intensify, along with droughts and flooding – all
conditions that give rise to cholera outbreaks. Unless we invest in systems that b...uild preparedness and
resilience among at-risk populations, the cholera burden will continue to rise
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Disease epidemiology has a deeper relationship with the dynamic nature of culture. Health behaviors in general are largely shaped by the cultural norms and customs in a society. A mere identification of a behavior could be only a layer on the outer sphere of a particular disease epidemiology and the... interventional efforts to counteract such behaviors through for example public health measures could be futile and volatile, unless the deeper cultural factors are addressed.
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PEPFAR Malawi’s Country Operational Plan (COP) 2021 reflects a culmination of strong interagency collaboration between the PEPFAR Malawi team, Government of Malawi (GoM), and civil society organizations (CSOs) to mitigate the devastating impacts of COVID-19 and sustain progress achieved over the l...ast two decades towards HIV epidemic control.
At the conclusion of the March 2020 Johannesburg Regional Planning Meeting, the PEPFAR Malawi team presented a COP20 surge strategy to improve client-centered care, mitigate treatment disruption, scale prevention programs to key and vulnerable populations, and strengthen national health systems.
Following this meeting, the first three COVID-19 cases were reported in Malawi and immediately thereafter, adaptations to the COP20 strategy became imperative to deliver safe, client-centered care.
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The OIE has been working on the AMR issue for a long
time. In undertaking its role as a standard- setting organisation*
for animal health, including zoonoses, the OIE has developed
a wide range of international standards on antimicrobial
agents, in particular on responsible and prudent use.
The...se standards are regularly reviewed and updated
through the transparent and inclusive process of expert
advice and member consultation before presentation for
adoption to the World Assembly of Delegates from our
180 Member Countries each year. The OIE also works with
its Member countries in a comprehensive and continuous
capacity building process for their Veterinary Services.
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Bull World Health Organ 2013;91:773–783 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.13.118422
(Submitted: 15 February 2013 – Revised version received: 21 June 2013 – Accepted: 22 June 2013 – Published online: 20 August 2013)
Ghana's attempt to regulate health care waste management started in 2002 with the development of guidelines on health care waste manage-ment by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2006, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) also developed the Health Care Waste Management Policy and Guidelines as ...a single document.
Although awareness on Health Care Waste Management (HCWM) has improved in recent years, there is the need for a systematic approach to improve on effective segregation, safe collection, and storage, as well as ultimate treatment before disposal.
This guideline seeks to ensure that HCW is managed effectively in compliance with existing International Conventions that Ghana is a signatory to, national laws and regulations, and others to be passed in future.
Recommendations for better management of HCW in the nation's health care facilities have been presented in this document. Also, standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been developed to provide
guidance to various levels of the health facilities.
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The Look Back Study (LBS) focuses on the water and sanitation and hygiene (WASH) component of the project but some additional information was collected along side the WASH data. This data has been compared to the baseline survey data that was reported at start of the project (see tables in annex D t...o this report).
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The mandate of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme is to provide leadership and stewardship to accelerate intense and coordinated efforts to reduce the adult TB burden of 290 per 100,000 population recently established in the 2013 National TB Prevalence Survey. Other key challenges are low T...B case notification, unacceptably high TB death rates, low antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage among TB/HIV patients and low drug-resistant notification and treatment.
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28 Dec 2020. The main objective of these guidelines is to provide tools for staff working in the field of immunization to support effective communication between health personnel and the general population, with the aim of strengthening, maintaining or recovering trust in vaccines and the immunizati...on programs in the Region of the Americas.
Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese
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Moving more is one of the easiest ways you can lower your risk of getting heart disease. Not sure where to begin? This fact sheet can give you ideas on how to move more and stay motivated while you make physical activity part of your healthy routine.
Six months after the earthquake, World Vision's efforts have made it possible to provide emergency assistance to selected beneficiaries among the most vulnerable through the distribution of food and hygiene kits and to address the psychosocial needs of children, adolescents, and young people deprive...d of classrooms. During this recovery phase of the response by World Vision teams have been focusing on rebuilding and rehabilitating school infrastructure in order to facilitate the return to school in safer conditions given the almost permanent seismic risks. Six months later, the security situation continues to deteriorate with an increase in kidnappings and nationwide strikes to protest against the rising insecurity.
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