Promoting and protecting health is essential to human welfare and sustained economic and social development. This was recognized more than 30 years ago by the Alma-Ata Declaration signatories, who noted that Health for All would contribute
both to a better quality of life and also to global peace a...nd security
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Policy Brief November 2021 Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled the ongoing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) global crisis due to the increase in the use of antibiotics to treat COVID-19 patients, disruptions to infection prevention and control practices in o...verwhelmed health systems, and diversion of human and financial resources away from monitoring and responding to AMR threats. Moreover, AMR is likely to have caused more COVID-19 deaths, as secondary bacterial infections can worsen the outcome of severe and critical COVID-19 illness. Therefore, it is more urgent than ever to prioritize efforts towards AMR containment and support countries to improve the detection, characterization and rapid response to emerging AMR.
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The resources provide both the older as well as the updated Operational Guidelines for antiretroviral therapy centres, including administrative issues, functions and establishment of centres, reporting and recording tools, measures to improve retention in HIV care, supply chain management of drugs a...nd various other aspects that are essential to ensure quality treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.
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This paper is an initial compilation of the promising practices on risk communication and community engagement that have developed in Europe during the COVID pandemic, in complementarity to the UNHCR’s Practical Recommendations and Good Practice to Address Protection Concerns in the Context of the... COVID-19 Pandemic.It seeks to document and share such practices, but also to inspire new initiatives, foster exchange, and further develop a community of practice within the region.
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The purpose of this Operational Guideline is to support state health authorities, programme managers and health care professionals with recommendations on appropriate management of children with SAM in the health facilities. Facility based management includes setting up and managing within the healt...h facility premises, a functional space where these children are cared for. This Facility Based Unit is referred to as Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre or NRC in the document. While the scale and design may vary in a given situation, it is intended that the document provide the basis for a consistent set of principles that can be used by all states for facility based management of children with SAM. The Operational Guideline focuses on the Facility/Hospital based approach for the management of SAM children under 5 years of age based on the WHO and revised IAP protocols.
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Capability and Performance
Procurement and supply management activities are fundamental to consistent and reliable access to essential medicines and health products. To reduce the impact of CVD, action needs to be taken to improve prevention, diagnosis, care and management of CVD diseases. Affordable essential medicines and t...echnologies to manage CVD disease must be available where and when they are required. Medicines and technologies need to be managed appropriately to ensure that the correct medicines are selected, procured in the right quantities, distributed to facilities in a timely manner, and handled and stored in a way that maintains their quality. This needs to be backed up by policies that enable sufficient quantities to be procured in order to reduce cost inefficiencies, ensure the reliability and security of the distribution system, and encourage the appropriate use of these health products. In order to avoid stock-outs and the disruption of treatment, all related activities need to be conducted in a timely manner, with performance continually monitored, and prompt action taken in response to problems that may arise. Additionally, medication must be dispensed correctly and used rationally by the healthcare provider and patient alike. The purpose of this guide is to explain the necessary steps.
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