Tools and Guidelines

The objective of this document is to make available WHO recommendations on newborn health in one easy-to-access document for WHO staff, policy-makers, programme managers, and health professionals. The compilation can also help better define gaps to prioritize guideline updates. WHO produces guidelines according to the highest international standards for guideline development. The main principles are transparency and minimizing bias in every step of the process. The process of developing guidelines is documented in WHO Handbook for guideline development. The development process includes the synthesis and assessment of the quality of evidence, and is based on the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

The objective of this document is to make available WHO recommendations on maternal health in one easy-to-access document for WHO staff, policy-makers, programme managers, and health professionals. The compilation can also help better define gaps to prioritize guideline updates. WHO produces guidelines according to the highest international standards for guideline development. The main principles are transparency and minimizing bias in every step of the process. The process of developing guidelines is documented in WHO Handbook for guideline development. The development process includes the synthesis and assessment of the quality of evidence, and is based on the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

Programmatic mapping (PM) is a collaboration among key population (KP) communities (sex workers [SWs], people who inject drugs [PWID], men who have sex with men [MSM], and transgender people); service delivery providers; and researchers to systematically identify and map the locations where people most at risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV can be reached. It is a tool to focus HIV prevention programing and resources where they will have the greatest impact on the HIV epidemic. The Programmatic Mapping Readiness Assessment Tool provides an adaptable step-by-step guide for conducting an mapping readiness assessment (MRA). The MRA focuses on the safety and well-being of KPs as a group and individuals within the group; helps identify the potential risks and benefits of conducting PM before initiating the mapping process; and guides discussions among program staff, steering committee members, and community leaders in creating an action plan to address risk.

The purpose of this manual is to strengthen and enable health systems to provide confidential, effective and women-centred services to survivors of violence. Violence damages women’s health in many ways, both immediate and long-term, both obvious and hidden. Such violence can include physical, sexual and psychological violence. The violence may be committed by an intimate partner or, in the case of sexual violence, by any perpetrator. The manual focuses on violence against women by men, in particular intimate partner violence and sexual assault, as it remains hidden and often unrecognized by the health system.

This handbook builds on lessons learned from surveys implemented 2015-2017 and advice provided by the Global task force on TB patient cost surveys. It provides a standardized methodology for conducting health facility-based cross-sectional surveys to assess the direct and indirect costs incurred by TB patients and their households. In addition, it provides recommendations on results dissemination, engaging across sectors in policy dialogue and enabling action and related research for effective modifications in care delivery models, in patient support, and wider cross-sectoral interventions.

Myanmar GI and Liver Society developed guidelines for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection in 2009. With the establishment of National Hepatitis Program, this guideline has been revised as the Simplified Treatment Guidelines for Hepatitis C Infection to include the recently developed direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAA) and with simple procedure of Viral Load testing and clinical monitoring. This simplified guideline is essential for providing guidance on the use of oral, low cost, DAAs, with the aim to reduce the disease burden of Hepatitis C in the community. This guideline provides a clear guidance to all medical doctors for precise and quick clinical decisions with simplified clinical monitoring methods. We also aim for this guideline to be able to provide updated knowledge about the treatment and laboratory monitoring of HCV infection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that the incidence of MDR/RR-TB in Myanmar was 14 (8.9-18) thousands in 2015. Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) has been reported since 2007 and National TB Reference Laboratory diagnosed 12 Pre XDR-TB and 14 XDR-TB patients by Second Line Solid DST in 2015. The third nationwide drug resistance survey (2012 – 2013) showed an MDR-TB rate of 5% among new cases and 27.1% among previously treated cases. In order to improve management of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) and expand nation-wide programmatic management of drug-resistant TB (PMDT) in commensurate with new developments, the National Expert DR-TB committee organized meetings in 2016 to update the existing national guideline. This updated guideline has been prepared principally for use by National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP) managers and staff, as well as partner organizations and all professionals, involved in delivering DR-TB care and implementing DR-TB control activities in Myanmar.

The purpose of this Manual is to guide efforts aimed at reducing TB transmission in healthcare facilities, congregate settings such as crowded prisons, hostels, factories, as well as households of TB patients and the community at large, through the implementation of evidence-based, costeffective and affordable TB-IC measures. The implementation shall be monitored closely to inform the NTP that TB-IC targets of the national strategic plan are met. To facilitate the implementation of TB-IC measures two companion documents have been developed: A Trainers’ Manual and a Job Aids Package.

Despite the high global burden of disease due to chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and the advances and opportunities for treatment, most people infected with HBV and/or HCV remain unaware of their infection and therefore frequently present with advanced disease and may transmit infection to others. There are several key reasons for this low rate of hepatitis testing. These include the limited facilities or services for hepatitis testing, lack of effective testing policies or national guidelines, complex diagnostic algorithms, and poor laboratory capacity and quality assurance systems. These are the first WHO guidelines on testing for chronic HBV and HCV infection and complement published guidance by WHO on the prevention, care and treatment of chronic HCV and HBV infection. These guidelines outline the public health approach to strengthening and expanding current testing practices for HBV and HCV infection, and are intended for use across age groups and populations. The primary audience for these guidelines are national programme managers in ministries of health and health-care providers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) responsible for planning and implementing hepatitis testing, prevention, care and treatment services.

More than 700,000 women and girls are held in prisons around the world. Women are always a small minority in national prison populations – only 2–9 per cent on average. However, their numbers are growing every year, and at a faster rate than for men. In 2010, the United Nations adopted the Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the ‘Bangkok Rules’) to give guidance on how to meet the specific needs of women in prison. Sensitisation and training is a key aspect of implementing the Bangkok Rules at a national level. This Workbook has been designed to support prison staff, policymakers, healthcare practitioners, representatives of intergovernmental and nongovernmental organisations, and other interested stakeholders, to put the Bangkok Rules into practice.