The Department of Health Services (DoHS), Ministry of Health and Population has released a guideline Warehouse Management Guideline (Booklet). This guideline has prepared under the leadership of Management Division, DoHS to provide a technical guidance on Warehouse management in different level of stores in Nepal.
The Department of Health Services (DoHS), Ministry of Health and Population has released a new guideline on Safely Dispose of Unused or Expired Medicine, Chemicals and Medicine related Commodities 2078. This guideline has prepared under the leadership of Environment Health and Health Care Waste Management Section, Management Division.
Since the foundation of the World Health Organization in 1948, the world has experienced public health challenges that have required us all to come together with science, solutions and solidarity. This timeline, published in 2023 on the occasion of WHO’s 75th anniversary, serves as a reminder of some of the most memorable successes and how these have contributed to improved health across the world. These milestone achievements also provide inspiration for us to face the health challenges of the future.
Source of Info: WHO
A critical lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic is that we must invest in strengthening the health workforce to enable equitable pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response and deliver essential health services. The following are urgent actions that finance ministers, health ministers, other policymakers, and donors must undertake at all levels to prepare the workforce for the future and ensure universal health coverage.
Source of Info: Top Policy Recommendations to Invest in Health Workers.
Then this fellowship is designed for you!
Oxfam International will launch the fellowship for the first cohort of fellows this year with Asia Centre as the implementing partner. The fellowship will fund eight young people to work on an idea of their choice which could strengthen civic space in their country or address concerns of rising inequality, climate change, gender justice and social justice.
The programme will provide tools to empower young people with hands-on training and close mentorship to strengthen their capacity to make social change happen. Oxfam senior staff and its partners will mentor and provide guidance to the fellows to develop their leadership skills, help them execute their projects, and widen access to regional, local and global civil society and advocacy networks.
Benefits
Eligibility
Prospective young fellows must meet the following criteria:
Fellows Deliverables
Language Proficiency
Application Process
To apply for the fellowship, fill in this Google Form.
If you have any questions regarding the application process, please email: contact@asiacentre.org.
The Center for International Health (CIH-LMU) invites individuals with bachelor’s or master’s degree in health sciences or a related subject to a two days’ workshop on the 𝗦𝗲𝘅𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝘄- 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲- 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀.
The workshop is organized in collaboration with Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS), Nepal.
Date and time: 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟰𝘁𝗵 & 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯, 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟵:𝟬𝟬 𝗮𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝟰:𝟯𝟬 𝗽𝗺, 𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲
𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 (𝗣𝗔𝗛𝗦), 𝗟𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗵𝗲𝗹, 𝗟𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗽𝘂𝗿, 𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗹
Mode of delivery: Face to face
𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯, 𝟭𝟭:𝟱𝟵 𝗽𝗺, 𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲
More information on the workshop´s content and mode of registration can be found in the attached flyer.
3 April 2023 – WHO is organizing the Fifth Global Forum on Human Resources for Health from 3 to 5 April 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Forum, the largest gathering of the health workforce professionals, health policymakers and multisectoral partners is focusing on the theme of Protecting, safeguarding, and investing in the health and care workforce.
As the halfway point to the Sustainable Development Goals approaches, and three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, population health outcomes and life expectancy are in reverse.
Health systems are dependent on health worker availability, accessibility and quality. Yet chronic shortages of health workers, underinvestment in their education and training, as well as low salaries and mismatch between education and employment strategies are leading to major challenges. The pandemic placed a heavy toll: the latest figures show that an estimated 50% of health and care workers, who already felt overworked and undervalued before COVID-19, experienced burnout from the huge additional burdens placed upon them.
“The world must take urgent action to protect and invest in health workers in all countries. Health workers need decent pay and working conditions,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “WHO calls for all countries to increase investment in health workforce education and jobs to meet their population needs and health system demands. This requires political leadership across all sectors, not just health”.
Marking more than five years since the adoption of the Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030, the Forum will share evidence and experiences on workforce development, as well as opportunities for a post COVID-19 era. It will examine the required policy solutions, investments, and multi-sectoral partnerships to address health and care workforce challenges and advance the implementation of the Working for Health 2022-2030 Action Plan.
WHO is recommending that all countries increase graduation of health personnel to reach 8-12% of the active workforce per annum. For instance, a country with a total of 5000 physicians would need to graduate between 400-600 physicians per annum to maintain and improve capacity in relation to population needs and health system demand.
“National responses to COVID-19 showed that the health and care workforce is capable of hugely positive change”, said Jim Campbell, Director of the Health Workforce Department. “If we want equity and universal health coverage, if we want global health security, we must protect health workers. We must invest in them, and we must take action together”.
The Forum will dedicate particular attention to health workforce investment and financing in all countries: to secure the resources for the scale-up of education and jobs. It will feature work led by the WHO African Regional Office together with Member States and regional partners in the development of the African Health Workforce Investment Charter, which aims to align and stimulate investments to halve inequities in access to health workers; especially in those African countries identified as having the greatest shortages.
The Forum is being attended by over 2000 delegates with most joining online and close to 200 participating in person. It provides a pivotal moment to focus on the topic that lies at the heart of global health agenda, taking place during the World Health Worker Week campaign, and just ahead of World Health Day, which this year marks WHO’s 75th birthday on 7 April 2023.
The outcomes of the Forum will inform the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meetings on Universal Health Coverage and Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response scheduled in September 2023.
WHO
The World Health Organization will complete 75 years on April 7, 2023 – World Health Day. Countries joined efforts in 1948, to establish WHO to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable – so everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health and well-being. On 7 April 2023, World Health Day, the World Health Organization will observe its 75th anniversary.
WHO has been working with Member States in the Region for addressing challenges, promoting Health for All, and building robust and resilient health systems. Today, the Region has eight flagship priority programmes, which are aligned to WHO’s global goals and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
For the public: Demand your right to access the health services you need without falling into financial hardship!
For Member States
ACTION POINTS
29 March 2023 –– The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Azerbaijan and Tajikistan for achieving elimination of malaria in their territories. The certification follows a sustained, century-long effort to stamp out the disease by the two countries.
“The people and governments of Azerbaijan and Tajikistan have worked long and hard to eliminate malaria,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Their accomplishment is further proof that, with the right resources and political commitment, eliminating malaria is possible. I hope that other countries can learn from their experience.”
Certification of malaria elimination is the official recognition by WHO of a country’s malaria-free status. The certification is granted when a country has shown – with rigorous, credible evidence – that the chain of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes has been interrupted nationwide for at least the past three consecutive years. A country must also demonstrate the capacity to prevent the re-establishment of transmission.
“Azerbaijan’s and Tajikistan’s achievement was possible thanks to sustained investment and the dedication of the health workforce, together with targeted prevention, early detection and treatment of all malaria cases. The WHO European Region is now two steps closer to becoming the first region in the world to be fully malaria-free,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
Azerbaijan detected its last case of locally transmitted Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) malaria in 2012 and Tajikistan in 2014. With today’s announcement, a total of 41 countries and 1 territory have been certified as malaria-free by WHO, including 21 countries in the European Region.
Malaria control efforts in Azerbaijan and Tajikistan were strengthened through a range of investments and public health policies that enabled the governments, over time, to eliminate the disease and maintain malaria-free status.
For more than six decades, both governments have guaranteed universal primary health care. They have vigorously supported targeted malaria interventions – including, for example, prevention measures such as spraying the inside walls of homes with insecticides, promoting early detection and treatment of all cases, and maintaining the skills and capacities of all health workers engaged in malaria elimination.
Both Azerbaijan and Tajikistan utilize national electronic malaria surveillance systems that provide nearly real-time detection of cases and allow for rapid investigations to determine if an infection is local or imported. Additional interventions include biological methods of larvae control, such as mosquito-eating fish, and water management measures to reduce malaria vectors.
Since the 1920s, a sizeable portion of Tajikistan’s economy and, to a lesser extent Azerbaijan’s, has depended on agricultural production, particularly valuable cotton and rice exports.
The agricultural irrigation systems in both countries have historically also posed a malaria risk to workers. Both countries have established systems to protect agricultural workers by providing free access to malaria diagnosis and treatment in the public health care system.
Malaria control staff have the capacity to immediately test, diagnose and treat infected workers with appropriate antimalarial drugs, and to monitor and assess environmental, entomological and epidemiological risk factors. Additional programme activities include regularly assessing the judicious use of insecticides for vector control, implementing water management systems, and educating the public on malaria prevention.
The final decision on awarding a malaria-free certification rests with the WHO Director-General, based on a recommendation by the independent Technical Advisory Group on Malaria Elimination and Certification. For more on WHO’s malaria-free certification process, visit this link (WHO).
The Sustainable Development Goals include the target of reducing the global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to less than 70 per 100,000 live births, with no country having an MMR that exceeds twice the global average. Nepal has committed to reduce
the MMR from 281 per 100,000 live births in 2006 to 116 by 2022, 99 by 2025, and 70 by 2030. This Nepal Maternal Mortality Study 2021 is the first ever joint undertaking of the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), the National Statistics Office (NSO), the Nepal Health Research Council, and health development partners for estimating the MMR and identifying the causes of maternal deaths – during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum periods – in Nepal. By doing so, it intends to inform evidence-based policies and programs at the federal, provincial, and local levels.
The MoHP, in collaboration with the NSO, made an arrangement through a Memorandum of Understanding, where the census enumerators, as a part of their regular work, collected data on live births and deaths of women of reproductive age (WRA) in the enumerated households for the last 12 months preceding the National Population and Housing Census 2021. In the first phase, those Census enumerators then completed the death notification forms to identify pregnancy-related deaths, and submitted them to the census supervisor and notified the deaths to the pre-identified and trained local level health workers. In the second phase of the study, the local level health workers visited the household of each of the deceased women, verified the information and identified the pregnancy related deaths. For each pregnancy-related death identified, a verbal autopsy was conducted by trained health workers using the verbal autopsy form.
The MMR was found to be 151 per 100,000 live births in Nepal.
The MMR was found to be 151 per 100,000 live births in Nepal, with higher ratios in the Lumbini and Karnali provinces (207 and 172 per 100,000 live births respectively) and a lowest ratio in the Bagmati province (98 per 100,000 live births). Of the 12,976 deaths among women of reproductive age (15-49 years), 653 were pregnancy-related, comprising five percent of the total deaths in this age group.
[Excerpt from Executive summary]
Download Report: National Population and Housing Census 2021: A Report on Maternal Mortality
Recommended readings
Public Health Update (Sagun’s Blog) is a popular public health portal in Nepal. Thousands of health professionals are connected with Public Health Update to get up-to-date public health updates, search for jobs, and explore opportunities.
#1 Public Health Blog for sharing Job opportunities and updates in Nepal
”Public Health Information For All”
– – Sagun Paudel, Founder
Contact: blog.publichealthupdate@gmail.com
