What's New

Tuberculosis (TB) is the world's leading infectious disease, killing around 1.5 million people each year. Despite global and national efforts to end TB and the availability of cost-effective medicines to treat and cure it, too many people continue to suffer from this old disease. In response to early warnings that COVID-19 was having a devastating impact on people affected by TB and TB programs around the world, 10 global networks quickly came together to take action.

The standards for the care of small and sick newborns in health facilities define, standardize and mainstream inpatient care of small and sick newborns, building on essential newborn care and ensuring consistency with the WHO quality of care framework. The standards will guide countries in caring for this vulnerable population and support the quality of care of newborns in the context of universal health coverage. They will provide a resource for policy-makers, health care professionals, health service planners, programme managers, regulators, professional bodies and technical partners involved in care, to help plan, deliver and ensure the quality of health services.

This year’s edition of “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot” brings together the latest available evidence on gender equality across all 17 Goals, underscoring the progress made, but also the progress interrupted as a result of COVID-19.

The recommendations are intended to support a humanitarian response planning by care and service providers including health providers, street units, meal service and shelter providers. It is extremely important from protection, human-rights and public health perspectives, that people who use drugs are included in all COVID-19 outbreak readiness and response strategies, plan and operations. There is a strong public health rationale to extend all measures to everyone, regardless of status and ensuring inclusiveness.

This information is intended for use by pregnant and parenting people who use drugs, their loved ones, and their service providers. Our goal is to promote the overall health and well-being of pregnant people who use substances and their families. For many people, upon finding out they are pregnant, they may wonder about reducing or stopping their use. It is important to know that there are many steps that can be taken, related to substance use or not, to have a healthy pregnancy. Pregnant people and their families can use this information to understand their rights, access services, and find high-quality, evidence-based care. 

Scottish Drugs Forum was awarded Scottish Government funding to conduct baseline research with particular at-risk populations and frontline services to identify specific risks in terms of drug use and sexual health, treatment needs, information needs and what workers need to know in order to support these populations effectively. This would inform the development of information and training resources and programmes, ensuring that the workforce and service providers working with the three target groups are fully trained and equipped to support service users with their sexual health, blood borne viruses and harm reduction needs.

This new report by UNAIDS examines how the experience of tackling HIV can help inform and guide effective, efficient, people-centred and sustainable COVID-19 responses. This report focuses on three key issues: (1) how key lessons learned from the HIV response should inform COVID-19 responses; (2) how the HIV infrastructure is already driving COVID-19 responses and has the potential to catalyse accelerated progress through strategic action; and (3) how the COVID-19 response, informed by the history of responding to HIV, offers a historic opportunity to build a bridge to adaptable results-driven systems for health that work for people.

To help tackle how COVID-19 is upending young people’s lives, briefs under “My life” cover comprehensive sexuality education, risk communication with those young people left behind and girls’ empowerment, particularly as it relates to child marriage.

To help tackle how COVID-19 is upending young people’s lives, briefs under “My life” cover comprehensive sexuality education, risk communication with those young people left behind and girls’ empowerment, particularly as it relates to child marriage.

To help address the impacts of COVID-19 on young people’s health, including on their sexual and reproductive health and rights, there are two briefs under the umbrella of “My body”. The first is a set of frequently asked questions on COVID-19 and young people, co-authored with WHO, UNESCO and UNICE. This second brief is on ensuring sexual and reproductive health services are still accessible to young people.