Scientists have known for more than half a century that patients could develop resistance to the drugs used to treat them. Alexander Fleming, who is credited with creating the first antibiotic, penicillin, in 1928, cautioned of the impending crisis while accepting his Nobel prize in 1945: “There ...is the danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug make them resistant.” Since then antibiotics have proved one of the most effective interventions in human medicine. Sadly, the overuse and misuse of this precious resource have brought us to a global crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). To address this crisis nearly seven decades after Fleming’s lecture the first UN general assembly meeting on drug resistance bacteria was convened in September 2017.
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Document No. : FDA/SMC/SMD/GL-RAR/2013/01
WHO has published the first-ever guidance on the clinical management of diphtheria. The only previously available guidance was an operational protocol. The new guidance followed the rigorous process for developing guidance at WHO.
It addresses the use of Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT) in the treatmen...t of diphtheria. There is a worldwide shortage of DAT and evidence based recommendations on the use of DAT were requested by many Member States.
The guidance also includes new recommendations on antibiotics. In patients with suspected or confirmed diphtheria, WHO recommends using macrolide antibiotics (azithromycin, erythromycin) rather than penicillin antibiotics.
This clinical practice guideline has been rapidly developed recognizing the global increase in diphtheria outbreaks. Outbreaks of diphtheria in Nigeria, Guinea and neighbouring countries in 2023 have highlighted the urgent need for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of diphtheria. Given the sporadic nature of outbreaks, many clinicians in the affected regions have never managed acute diphtheria and its related complications. Diphtheria remains a neglected disease and vaccination is the top priority. At the same time, for patients with diphtheria, access to antibiotics, DAT and supportive care can be lifesaving.
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Q9. In adults and children with convulsive epilepsy in remission, when should treatment be discontinued?
A systematic review informing a radical transformation of health workforce development
This guideline provides updated, evidence-informed guidance on the percentage of total fat in the diet to reduce the risk of unhealthy weight gain.
This guideline is intended for a wide audience involved in the development, design and implementation of policies and programmes in nutrition and pub...lic health. This guideline includes a recommended level of total fat intake which can be used by policy-makers and programme managers to address various aspects of dietary fat in their populations through a range of policy actions and public health interventions.
The guidance in this guideline replaces previous WHO guidance on total fat intake, including that from the 1989 WHO Study Group on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases and the 2002 Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. The guidance in this guideline should be considered in the context of that from other WHO guidelines on healthy diets.
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The Lancet Infectious Disease Volume 25, Issue 2e77-e85February 2025
This publication was developed in response to the need for a reference list of priority medical devices required for management of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), focusing on cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, especially for low- and middle-income countries to support universal health coverage a...ctions.
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"This is the final report of the six-year collaboration between the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse and the Gulbenkian Global Mental Health Platform, an initiative of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation aimed at reducing the global burden of mental health through the development a...nd application of evidence and good practices to global mental health."
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The Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance (ICRM) programme was initiated by the National Department of Health in July 2013 in order to systematically improve primary health care (PHC) facilities and the quality of care they provide. The Ideal Clinic framework/dashboard sets out the standards for ...PHC facilities to provide good-quality health services. An Ideal Clinic is defined as a clinic with good infrastructure, adequate staff, adequate medicines and supplies, good administrative processes, and sufficient adequate bulk supplies. Applicable clinical policies, protocols and guidelines are adhered to, and it harnesses partner and stakeholder support.
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The objective of this book is to provide health workers with easily accessible information on important aspects of the medicines commonly used at primary care level in Zimbabwe. Medicines are a crucial part of the management of most of our patients, yet many medicines are potentially dangerous if no...t used correctly (by either prescriber or patient). It is important to have up-to-date information not only on the indications for, and the dose of a particular medicine, but also the contra-indications and reasons for special care, possible side effects and interactions with other medicine or medicines. The patient must also have information on how to use the preparation, what side effects may occur, and when to return for help.
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This document has been developed as a guide to allinstitutions producing health care waste in planning and implementation of interventions that will reduce mismanagement of hazardous waste in Zambia.The National Health-Care Waste Management Plan for 2015 to 2019 provides an overv...iew of the situation analysis, the proposed activities and the health care facility waste generating processes in Zambia and presents options for minimizing health-care waste generation through source reduction. The hazardous wastes generated by health care facilities are a challenge in Zambia as handling, storage, transportation and final disposal leaves much to be desired.
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