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Risk Assessment: Emergence of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae ST23 carrying carbapenemase genes in EU/EEA countries - first update

ECDC - Risk assessments - Wed, 02/14/2024 - 22:27
This document assesses the risk associated with the dissemination of carbapenemase-producing hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) of sequence type (ST) 23 and other STs in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA).
Categories: C.D.C. (Europe)

Increase of hypervirulent carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in the EU/EEA

ECDC - News - Wed, 02/14/2024 - 22:27
Since the most recent ECDC rapid risk assessment in 2021, the number of EU/EEA countries reporting hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) sequence type (ST) 23 has increased from four to ten and the number of cases reported to ECDC by the countries, increased from 12 to 143.
Categories: C.D.C. (Europe)

Digital payments to health workers boost retention, motivation, and impact

WHO news - Fri, 02/09/2024 - 13:34

An immunization worker gets set up to receive her wages on her mobile wallet in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Credit: WHO

Campaigns in Africa to stop polio and other diseases have a more stable, better-motivated workforce thanks to WHO’s collaboration with countries and partners to pay frontline health workers through their mobile phones instead of in cash.

“Over 80 percent of workers are saying they prefer the digital payments,” said Ahmed Hamani Djibo, head of WHO’s Digital Finance Team.

WHO has been leading among international organizations in moving away from the unwieldy, less-secure practice of disbursing salaries in cash. Over the past few years, the Organization launched its Digital Finance Team and joined the Better Than Cash Alliance, an 80-member United Nations partnership with a mandate to develop the digitization of payments and expand financial inclusion – activities that support the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Since it was established in 2020, WHO’s Digital Finance Team has designed and implemented digital payment solutions in 24 countries in Africa, including, last year, in Benin, Botswana, Madagascar, Rwanda, Togo and Zimbabwe.

“WHO has successfully digitized payments for more than two million health workers across Africa,” said Tidhar Wald, Managing Director, a.i., at the Better Than Cash Alliance. “With these inspiring results, WHO is taking a clear leadership role in accelerating the digital transformation in the provision of health outcomes globally.”

A polio immunization team on the job in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Credit: WHO

“A really big difference in speed”

Workers surveyed in Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Tanzania said they appreciated the security of not carrying cash, the convenience of no longer having to travel to a disbursement site to receive their wages, and above all, the speed of payment – as short as half an hour after finishing work compared to waits of weeks or even months.

The surveys, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, linked timely compensation to better morale and worker retention.

“There is really a big difference in speed,” said Jean-Luc, a health worker interviewed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the end of a polio immunization campaign. “We finished the campaign mop-up yesterday and received a text notification the next evening. I’m going to pay my child’s school fees. Now we can relax.”

Digital payments also save time and money for health campaign organizers, including the burden and expense of transporting large sums of cash and completing documentation.

“When you have 300 to 500 volunteers to pay, doing accounts and signing receipts takes a lot of time,” said Saïdi, a polio team leader in DRC.

WHO first used the new digital payments in polio immunization campaigns in Côte d’Ivoire. Although outbreaks of vaccine-derived polio were on the rise, vaccination campaigns were having trouble getting off the ground. In the first quarter of 2020, almost half the polio campaigns in WHO’s African Region were postponed, saw workers drop out, or suffered other detrimental effects stemming from delays in cash disbursements.

As WHO and partners worked to develop the nuts-and-bolts aspects of a digital payment ecosystem (registering workers into a database, verifying their profiles with the mobile network operator and more) the benefits of a cashless approach became more apparent.

"There is substantial evidence that digitizing payments can support people, especially women, to gain access to financial services and increase control over their earnings,” said Maria May, Senior Program Officer, Inclusive Financial Systems, at the Gates Foundation. “Over the past four years, the World Health Organization has utilized the growing presence of mobile money across Africa to ensure that the courageous frontline vaccinators in polio outbreak campaigns are paid completely, quickly, and securely.”

Alain Labrique, director of WHO’s Department of Digital Health and Innovation, said that “digital payments are one of the key pillars of Digital Health Public Infrastructure currently strongly encouraged within WHO’s guidance to member-states on Digital Transformation.” WHO views digital payments as a foundation for many more digital development activities, together with Data Exchange and Digital ID Infrastructure. He added “we are delighted to work with partners in the digital space and add our voice to this celebration of WHO's joining the Better Than Cash Alliance”.

Increase in severe food-borne infections reported in EU/EEA in 2022

ECDC - News - Thu, 02/08/2024 - 18:13
The food-borne infections listeriosis and shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli are increasing in the EU/EEA and were in 2022 at levels higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Categories: C.D.C. (Europe)

Chikungunya worldwide overview

ECDC - News - Wed, 02/07/2024 - 16:52
Every month ECDC provides detailed epidemiological overview of the worldwide transmission of chikungunya in its weekly threat report (Communicable Diseases Threat Report).
Categories: C.D.C. (Europe)

Dengue worldwide overview

ECDC - News - Wed, 02/07/2024 - 16:52
Every month ECDC provides detailed epidemiological overview of the worldwide transmission of dengue in its weekly threat report (Communicable Diseases Threat Report).
Categories: C.D.C. (Europe)

Putting survivors at the forefront of the global movement to end female genital mutilation

WHO news - Tue, 02/06/2024 - 15:19

Joint Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr Natalia Kanem, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, OHCHR High Commissioner Volker Türk, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

Today, on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, we reaffirm our dedication to the girls and women who have been subjected to this grave violation of human rights. Every survivor's voice is a call to action, and every choice they make in reclaiming their lives contributes to the global movement to end this harmful practice. 

More than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation. This year, nearly 4.4 million girls will be at risk of it. This equates to more than 12 000 cases every day.

In keeping with the commitments outlined in the Beijing Declaration and platform for action, those agreed during the 25th Anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25), Generation Equality, and other normative frameworks including The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and their general recommendations, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (target 5.3), we reiterate our commitment to prevent and respond to female genital mutilation.

Female genital mutilation is a violation of women’s and girls’ rights, one that endangers their physical and mental health and limits their potential to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. It increases their risk of serious pain, bleeding and infections and the likelihood of other health complications later in life, including risks during childbirth, which can imperil the lives of their newborns.

That is why, in our pursuit of a world free of discrimination and practices that harm girls and women, it is imperative that we turn our attention to the voices that matter most – the voices of survivors.

We must amplify the voices of survivors to raise awareness and inspire collective action, and promote their power and autonomy by ensuring they have an active role in prevention and response interventions.

Survivors have first-hand knowledge of the challenges and the tools needed to eliminate the practice. It is crucial that we invest in survivor-led movements, especially at the grassroots level, by dedicating resources that will advance their efforts. 

We also must ensure that comprehensive and culturally sensitive services are available and accessible. This includes strengthening the provision of health care and social and legal services to support survivors.

UNFPA and UNICEF, as the lead agencies of the Global Joint Progamme on Eliminating FGM, OHCHR, UN Women, WHO, and other United Nations entities remain steadfast in partnering with survivors as community champions and leaders, while ensuring their voices and perspectives inform programmes to prevent and respond to FGM. Indeed, investing in movement-building and promoting girls’ and women’s agency is at the core of the UN Joint Programme on Eliminating FGM.

We celebrate progress that has been achieved: The practice of FGM has been declining over the last three decades, and in the 31 countries with nationally representative prevalence data, around 1 in 3 girls aged 15 to 19 today have undergone the practice versus 1 in 2 in the 1990s.

As of last year, the Joint Programme supported more than 11 000 organizations, of which 83 per cent were grassroots organizations partnering with coalitions and survivor-led movements, advocating for changes in policies and laws, and championing changes to social and gender norms.

Yet there is an urgent need for even more targeted, coordinated and sustained efforts if we are to achieve our common goal of ending female genital mutilation by 2030. Together, led by survivors, we can consign this harmful practice to history, once and for all.

 

 

 

Global cancer burden growing, amidst mounting need for services

WHO news - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 10:56
Ahead of World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s cancer agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), released the latest estimates of the global burden of cancer.

WHO introduces the Health Technology Access Pool

WHO news - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 13:28
WHO announces the Health Technology Access Pool (HTAP) as the successor to the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP).

One Health approach against antibiotic resistance: Country visit to North Macedonia

ECDC - News - Mon, 01/29/2024 - 20:40
From 29 January to 2 February 2024, a team of experts from EC, ECDC, EFSA, Epiconcept and the Integrated Quality Laboratory Services (IQLS) will visit North Macedonia.
Categories: C.D.C. (Europe)

WHO awards countries for progress in eliminating industrially produced trans fats for first time

WHO news - Mon, 01/29/2024 - 12:02
WHO has awarded its first-ever certificates validating progress in eliminating industrially produced trans fatty-acids to five countries. Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand have each demonstrated they have a best practice policy for industrially produced trans-fatty acids (iTFA) elimination in effect, supported by adequate monitoring and enforcement systems.

ECDC4Africa CDC – latest updates: November 2023 to January 2024

ECDC - News - Sat, 01/27/2024 - 02:37
Latest updates on the ECDC4Africa CDC project.
Categories: C.D.C. (Europe)

Vaccination coverage in the EU/EEA during Autumn 2023 campaigns

ECDC - News - Fri, 01/26/2024 - 14:14
Nearly 20 million people aged 60 years and above received COVID-19 vaccines during the autumn / winter campaign in the EU/EEA
Categories: C.D.C. (Europe)

Online EpiPulse training for Montenegro

ECDC - News - Fri, 01/26/2024 - 01:42
On 17 January 2024, an online training on the EpiPulse platform was organised as part of the ECDC Accession Support to the Western Balkans and Türkiye.
Categories: C.D.C. (Europe)

WHO and partners bring fuel to Al-Shifa, as remaining hospitals in Gaza face growing threats

WHO news - Tue, 01/23/2024 - 23:16
WHO and partners completed another high-risk mission on Monday to resupply fuel to the Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people remain cut off from aid.

WHO Executive Board appoints Regional Directors for Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, and Western Pacific regions

WHO news - Tue, 01/23/2024 - 13:48
Dr Hanan Hassan Balkhy will serve as Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Ms Saima Wazed will serve as Regional Director for South-East Asia, and Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala will serve as Regional Director for the Western Pacific, all starting on 1 February 2024.

Africa CDC Public Health Emergency fellows visit ECDC

ECDC - News - Mon, 01/22/2024 - 23:44
From 15 to 19 January 2024, ECDC hosted a group of fellows from the Africa CDC Public Health Emergency Management Fellowship Programme.
Categories: C.D.C. (Europe)

WHO releases AI ethics and governance guidance for large multi-modal models

WHO news - Thu, 01/18/2024 - 14:10
WHO new guidance on the ethics and governance of large multi-modal models (LMMs) – a type of fast growing generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology with applications across health care.

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

ECDC - News - Tue, 01/16/2024 - 17:42
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer after breast cancer to affect women aged 15–44 years in the European Union.
Categories: C.D.C. (Europe)

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