Resources search

Managing epidemics - Key facts about major deadly diseases

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO)
2018

Expand view

The manual is structured in three parts.

  • Part One “Epidemics of the 21st century” provides vital insights on the main features of the 21st century upsurge and the indispensable elements to manage them.
  • Part Two “Be in the know. 10 key facts about 15 deadly diseases” contains key information about 15 diseases (Ebola Virus Disease, Lassa Fever, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Yellow Fever, Zika, Chikungunya, Avian and Other Zoonotic Influenza, Seasonal Influenza, Pandemic Influenza, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Cholera, Monkeypox, Plague, Leptospirosis and Meningococcal Meningitis). This section provides tips on the interventions required to respond to epidemics of all these diseases.
  • Part Three “Tool boxes” gives an overview and summarized guidance on some other important topics, including: the role of WHO, the International Coordinating Group, laboratory diagnosis and shipment of infectious diseases substances, and vector control.

 

The handbook enables the three levels of WHO – its Headquarters, Regional Offices and Country Offices to work efficiently together by building the foundations of a shared conceptual and thinking framework, which includes common terminology. 

Knowledge and use of contraceptive methods amongst deaf people in Ghana

MPRAH, Wisdom K
2013

Expand view

Background: Persons with disabilities in general face serious barriers to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services due to institutional and attitudinal barriers. However, because deaf people have unique communication and linguistic needs, which are often misunderstood or ignored, they face greater barriers than other persons with disabilities. Whilst available data indicated that there is a wide gap between knowledge and usage of contraceptive amongst Ghanaians, little is known about the level of contraceptive knowledge and usage amongst deaf people.

 

Objectives: The objective of the study was to investigate the level of knowledge and use of contraceptive methods amongst deaf people in Ghana with the aim of understanding their contraceptive behaviour and to improve access.

 

Method: The study was a participatory SRH needs assessment utilising a two-phase, sequential, mixed methods design. The study included 179 participants, consisting of focus groups with seven executives of Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD), 10 male deaf adults, and 9 deaf female adults. A total of 152 deaf people, made up of students, women, and men participated in a survey, whilst one hearing person served as a key informant.

 

Results: The findings of the study indicated that of the 13 methods shown in the survey, only three were known to about 70% of the adults and 60% of the students. Level of knowledge of the remaining nine methods was low.

 

Conclusion: Clear and effective policies are needed to guide the provision of SRH information and services for deaf people in Ghana.

HIV issues and people with disabilities: A review and agenda for research

GROCE, Nora
et al
January 2013

Expand view

The AIDS and Disability Partners Forum at the UN General Assembly High Level Meetings on AIDS in New York in June 2011 and the International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC in July 2012 underscore the attention to the impact of HIV and AIDS on persons with disabilities. However, research on AIDS and disability, particularly a solid evidence base upon which to build policy and programming remains thin, scattered and difficult to access. In this review paper, we summarise what is known about the intersection between HIV and AIDS and disability, paying particular attention to the small but emerging body of epidemiology data on the prevalence of HIV for people with disabilities, as well as the increasing understanding of HIV risk factors for people with disabilities. We find that the number of papers in the peer-reviewed literature remains distressingly small. Over the past 20 years an average of 5 articles on some aspect of disability and HIV and AIDS were published annually in the peer-reviewed literature from 1990 to 2000, increasing slightly to an average of 6 per year from 2000 to 2010. Given the vast amount of research around HIV and AIDS and the thousands of articles on the subject published in the peer-reviewed literature annually, the continuing lack of attention to HIV and AIDS among this at risk population, now estimated to make up 15% of the world's population, is striking. However, the statistics, while too limited at this point to make definitive conclusions, increasingly suggest at least an equal HIV prevalence rate for people with disabilities as for their non-disabled peers.

Infant and young child feeding in emergencies : operational guidance for emergency relief staff and programme managers

IFE Core Group
February 2007

Expand view

This document aims to provide concise, practical (but non-technical) guidance on how to ensure appropriate infant and young child feeding in emergencies. A number of elements are also applicable in non-emergency settings. It is intended for emergency relief staff, programme managers, national governments, United Nations agencies, NGOs and donors, and it applies to all countries. It includes six sections of practical steps, references, key contacts and definitions. Members of the IFE Core Group are: UNICEF, WHO, UNHCR, WFP, IFBAN-GIFA, CARE USA, Fondation Terre des hommes and Emergency Nutrition Network. It is also available in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesian, French, Portuguese and Spanish

Integrating intellectual property rights and development policy : report of the commission on intellectual property rights

COMMISSION ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (CIPR)
September 2002

Expand view

This detailed and thorough report considers whether and how intellectual property rights (IPRs) can play a role in achieving the Millenium Development Goals. It explores the potential benefits of IPRs in stimulating economic growth, and the associated benefits in terms of productivity and reduced poverty. It considers also the barriers that IPRs may present to developing economies, including discouraging invention, research, technology transfer, domestic production and driving up the costs of medicines and agricultural inputs. Key issues covered in successive chapters include: current evidence about the impact of IPRs in developing countries; development of and access to medicines; protection of plants and genetic resources; the Convention on Biological Diversity, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions and geographic indicators; copyright and patents; IPR legislation for developing countries; international and national institutional framework for IPRs

Health by the people : a celebration of the life of Ken Newell

MARTINEAU, Tim
PRICE, Janet
COLE, Robert
Eds
2001

Expand view

Proceedings of a colloquium at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, in memory of Ken Newell. Organised around four themes in international health: equity, epidemiology in action, community voices, and future challenges. Approximately 20 papers

E-bulletin