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Health and well-being profile of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. An overview of the health situation in the Region and its countries in 2023
Health and well-being profile of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. An overview of the health situation in the Region and its countries in 2023
In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by all Member States of the United Nations. Rapid progress on health indicators, which had gained momentum in 2000, has stalled since 2015 with rising rates of maternal and child mortality, premature mortality from NCDs and road traffic mortality. The 767 million people of the Eastern Mediterranean Region represent almost 10% of the global population. The Region includes many countries facing high rates of material and financial deprivation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, socioeconomic challenges, including access to education and health care, gender and geographical inequity concerns, environmental risk factors, natural disasters and conflicts and protracted humanitarian crises in several countries of the Region. The documented slowdown across many health-related indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) calls for a more strategic approach to reverse regional trends and address upstream issues such as risks and determinants of health.
Regional action plan for the implementation of the global health sector strategies on HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, 2022-2030
Regional action plan for the implementation of the global health sector strategies on HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, 2022-2030
The Eastern Mediterranean Region is challenged by growing epidemics of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Although some progress has been made in all three disease areas, the regional response is off-track and most of the 2020 regional targets were not achieved. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is growing faster than the response, with increases in incidence and mortality over the past decade. Similarly, despite progress in hepatitis B third-dose coverage and in testing and treatment for hepatitis C virus, the coverage of other key interventions – including birth-dose vaccination, injection safety, harm reduction, and testing and treatment – is still low. STIs are increasing in the Region, with a limited response that does not match the burden of disease. Furthermore, COVID-19 disrupted services, exposing profound weaknesses in our health systems and their lack of resilience in emergencies. Overall, achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 and the global targets on HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs by 2030 will be difficult if the Region continues at the current pace. Only a focus and surge of efforts will enable the Region to meet the global targets for the three disease areas by 2030.
Evidence-informed policy-making: a glossary of key terms
Evidence-informed policy-making: a glossary of key terms
A significant challenge within the ecosystem of evidence-informed policy-making is the absence of a shared vocabulary and consistent application of related terminology. Although various fields – including health, research, epidemiology and policy-making – offer definitions for certain terms, few are specifically tailored to evidence-informed policy-making, and none offer a fully comprehensive definition. As a result, there is considerable overlap among terms and confusion regarding their usage among practitioners and policy-makers. This glossary has been developed to address these gaps by clarifying the existing definitions of terms related to evidence-informed policy-making and by incorporating newly introduced terms previously lacking proper definitions.