WHO & Regionals [to 18 July 2015]
The Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) 17 July 2015, vol. 90, 29 (pp. 365–372) includes:
:: Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, 10–11 June 2015

WHO’s new guidelines on HIV testing services
17 July 2015 — Globally only 51% of people living with HIV know of their status. The new guidelines provide a recommendation to support HIV testing services by trained lay providers and considers the potential of HIV self-testing to increase access to and coverage of HIV testing. The guidelines also address issues and elements for effective delivery of HIV testing services that are common in a variety of settings, contexts and diverse populations.
Read the new guideline

Deworming campaign improves child health, school attendance in Rwanda
17 July 2015 — Soil-transmitted helminth is one of the most common infections worldwide, with roughly 2 billion people affected, mostly in poor and deprived communities. WHO supported the Ministry of Health in Rwanda to launch a deworming campaign, which has lowered the prominence of Soil-transmitted helminth by nearly 20% in the Musanze region. WHO aims to achieve 75% coverage, of all children, by 2020 against soil-transmitted helminth in the 10 most populous countries…

Global health workforce, finances remain low for mental health
14 July 2015 — Worldwide, nearly 1 in 10 people have a mental health disorder, but only 1% of the global health workforce is working in mental health. This means, for example, that nearly half of the world’s population lives in a country where there is less than one psychiatrist per 100 000 people.
:: WHO Regional Offices
WHO African Region AFRO
:: Delegation from MERCK pays courtesy call to WHO Regional Office for Africa
Brazzaville, 16 July 2015 – A high level delegation from MERCK, a drug pharmaceutical company has paid a courtesy call to the World Health Organization Regional Office in Djoue, Brazzaville where they were received by Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Regional Director for Africa.Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of the Board of partners of Merck KG was accompanied by Dr. Karim Bendhaou, President of Merck North West Africa Group, Mr. Frank Gotthardt, Head of public affairs, and the WHO Representative to Congo Dr Fatoumata Diallo. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the ongoing partnership between WHO and Merck, specifically the scaling up of deworming of school age children in the Region, and the control of schistosomiasis in the Republic of Congo…

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
No new digest content identified.

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
:: Timor-Leste launches campaign to protect 500 000 children against Measles, Rubella and Polio
13 July 2015
H.E. Prime Minster of Timor-Leste, Dr Rui Maria de Araújo and H.E. Minister of Health, Dr Maria do Céu Sarmento Pina da Costa launched a National Measles, Rubella and Polio Immunization Campaign on July 13th 2015, supported by Measles and Rubella Initiative, WHO, UNICEF and global immunization partners. This campaign targets 500 000 children throughout the country.

WHO European Region EURO
:: Uzbekistan strengthens the safety and resilience of its hospitals 14-07-2015
:: New report: Investing in public health offers large gains in health, the economy and other sectors 14-07-2015
:: Building capacity for laboratory services 14-07-2015

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: WHO delivers urgently needed health supplies to Aden as part of United Nations convoy
13 July 2015, Sana’a, Yemen — WHO has delivered 46.4 tonnes of medicines, medical supplies, and water and sanitation supplies to Aden in Yemen. Access to health care in Aden is extremely limited due to fighting and most of the governorate’s 31 health facilities are non-functional due to critical shortages in medical supplies and fuel needed for generators. To date, WHO has distributed more than 175 tonnes of medicines and medical supplies in Yemen, reaching a total of almost 5 million people.
Read more about the shipment

WHO Western Pacific Region
:: The Western Pacific Region scales up response to antimicrobial resistance
MANILA, 14 July 2015 – The World Health Organization (WHO) in the Western Pacific Region continues to scale-up efforts in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Left unaddressed, antimicrobial resistance has the potential to increase the cost of health care, hamper the control of infectious diseases and damage trade and economies…