Global community perception of ‘surgical care’ as a public health issue: a cross sectional survey

Background In the last decade surgical care has been propelled into the public health domain with the establishment of a World Health Organisation (WHO) designated programme and key publications. The passing of the historic World Health Assembly Resolution (WHA) acknowledged surgical care as a vital component towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). We conducted the first worldwide survey to explore the perception of surgical care as a public health issue. Method The anonymous, cross sectional survey targeted worldwide participants across a range of professional backgrounds, including non-medical using virtual snowball sampling method (in English) using Google Forms (Google Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA) from 20th February 2019 to 25th June 2019. The survey questions were designed to gauge awareness on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UHC, WHO programmes and key publications on surgical care as well as perception of surgical care as a priority topic in public health. Results The survey was completed by 1954 respondents from 118 countries. Respondents were least aware of surgical care as a teaching topic in public health courses (27%; n = 526) and as a WHO programme (20%; n = 384). 82% of respondents were aware of UHC (n = 1599) and of this 72% (n = 1152) agreed that surgical care fits within UHC. While 77% (n = 1495) of respondents were aware of SDGs, only 19% (n = 370) agreed that surgery was a priority to meet SDGs. 48% (n = 941) rated surgical care as a cost-effective component of Primary Health Care. 88% (n = 1712) respondents had not read the WHA Resolution on ‘Strengthening emergency and essential surgical care and anaesthesia as a component of UHC’. Conclusion There is still a widespread gap in awareness on the importance of surgical care as a public health issue amongst our respondents. Surgical care was not seen as a priority to reach the SDGs, less visible as a WHO programme and not perceived as an important topic for public health courses.

HEARTS in the Americas Regulatory Pathway to the Exclusive Use of Validated Blood Pressure Measuring Devices

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of disease burden globally. According to the 2017 Global Burden of Disease estimates, there were 14 million new cases of CVD, 80 million people living with this condition, and nearly 1 million deaths attributed to CVD in the Americas. Hypertension is the major risk factor for CVD, causing half of the cases, and is highly prevalent, affecting one in four adults, including 40% of those over age 25 years.To appropriately detect hypertension, accurate measurement of blood pressure is critical, and inaccurate measurement of BP has important consequences for policies to address hypertension, as well as for patient safety and quality of care. The Fourth World Health Organization (WHO) Global Forum on Medical Devices identified several critical issues related to medical devices. Among those issues were recommendations for increased regulation of medical devices in low- and middle-income countries and development of technical specifications to optimize procurement of priority medical devices. World Health Assembly Resolution 67.20 (Regulatory system strengthening for medical products) stresses the importance of regulation of medical devices for better public health outcomes and to increase access to safe, effective, and quality medical products. This publication seeks to contribute to meeting these recommendations by providing a practical tool for governments to improve their national regulatory frameworks to improve accuracy of blood pressure measuring devices (BPMDs), in turn contributing to the exclusive use of accuracy validated automated BPMDs in primary health care (PHC) facilities by 2025. This publication can also guide the development of procurement mechanisms that will ensure exclusive availability of BPMDs in PHC facilities. Specifically, this publication will provide a brief background on the importance of using validated BPMDs and highlight key elements of regulations related to pre-market approvals to promote accurate BPMDs.

The role of medicine donations in the global programme for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis

World Health Assembly Resolution 50.29, adopted in 1997, committed the World Health Organization (WHO) and its member states to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF) as a public health problem. In 2000, to support this ambitious goal and the health ministries in the >70 LF-endemic countries, the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) was created. The resulting WHO elimination strategy consists of two main components: to stop the spread of infection by interrupting transmission and to alleviate the suffering of affected populations (by controlling morbidity). The GPELF has brought together a broad global partnership of public and private actors, including three pharmaceutical companies with headquarters in three different continents. The medicine donations programmes from GlaxoSmithKline, MSD (trade name of Merck & Co., Kenilworth, NJ, USA) and Eisai have enabled significant achievements during the first 20 y of the GPELF and are positioned to provide essential contributions to the GPELF's goals for the next decade. As we celebrate the progress towards LF elimination during the GPELF's first 20 y, this article reflects on the factors that led to the creation of the three donation programmes, the contributions these programmes have made and some lessons learned along the way. We close by emphasizing our continued commitments to LF elimination and perspectives on the next decade.

The American Heart Association’s Call to Action for Reducing the Global Burden of Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Policy Statement From the American Heart Association

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) affects ≈40 million people and claims nearly 300 000 lives each year. The historic passing of a World Health Assembly resolution on RHD in 2018 now mandates a coordinated global response. The American Heart Association is committed to serving as a global champion and leader in RHD care and prevention. Here, we pledge support in 5 key areas: (1) professional healthcare worker education and training, (2) technical support for the implementation of evidence-based strategies for rheumatic fever/RHD prevention, (3) access to essential medications and technologies, (4) research, and (5) advocacy to increase global awareness, resources, and capacity for RHD control. In bolstering the efforts of the American Heart Association to combat RHD, we hope to inspire others to collaborate, communicate, and contribute.

Activities of the WHO World Health Assembly in combating the spread of COVID-19

The article analyses the rights of the WHO World Health Assembly in adopting sanitary and quarantine requirements and other measures against the international spread of disease. The content of the WHO World Health Assembly Resolution «COVID-19 Response» and its impact on international cooperation in combating the spread of COVID-19 have been studied. The obligation of the States Parties of the 2005 International Health Regulations to notify and exchange information in case of unexpected or unusual events in the field of public health has been disclosed.

How can we make better health decisions: a Best Buy for all?

The World Health Organization (WHO) resolution calling on Member States to work towards achieving universal health coverage (UHC) requires them to prioritize health spending. Prioritizing is even more important as low- and middle-income countries transition from external aid. Countries will have difficult decisions to make on how best to integrate and finance previously donor-funded technologies and health services into their UHC packages in ways that are efficient and equitable, and operationally and financially sustainable. The International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI) is a global network of health, policy and economic expertise which supports countries in making better decisions about how best to spend public money on healthcare. In May 2019, iDSI convened a roundtable entitled Why strengthening health systems to make better decisions is a Best Buy. The event brought together members of iDSI, development partners and other organizations working in the areas of evidence-informed priority-setting, resource allocation, and purchasing. The roundtable participants identified key challenges and activities that could be undertaken by the broader health technology assessment (HTA) community: • to develop a new publication package on premium estimation and budgeting, actuarial calculations and risk adjustment, provider payment modalities and monitoring of quality in service delivery • to call on the WHO to redouble its efforts in accordance with the 2014 Health Intervention and Technology Assessment (HITA) World Health Assembly resolution to support countries in developing priority setting and HTA institutionalization, and to lead by example through introducing robust HTA processes in its own workings • to develop a single Theory of Change (ToC) for evidence-informed priority setting, to be agreed by the major organizations working in the areas of priority setting and HTA.

Development of a Responsible Policy Index to Improve Statutory and Self-Regulatory Policies that Protect Children’s Diet and Health in the America’s Region

In 2010, 193 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed World Health Assembly Resolution WHA63.14 to restrict the marketing of food and beverage products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) to children to prevent obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). No study has examined HFSS marketing policies across the WHO regional office countries in the Americas. Between 2018 and 2019, a transdisciplinary team examined policies to restrict HFSS food and beverage product marketing to children to develop a responsible policy index (RESPI) that provides a quality score based on policy characteristics and marketing techniques. After designing the RESPI, we conducted a comprehensive literature review through October 2019 to examine policies in 14 countries in the WHO Americans Region. We categorized policies (n = 38) as either self-regulatory or statutory and calculated the RESPI scores, ranked from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest). Results showed Brazil, Canada, Chile, and Uruguay had the highest RESPI scores associated with statutory policies that restricted point of sale, cartoon, licensed media characters and celebrities; and HFSS products in schools and child care settings, and broadcast and print media. Policymakers can use the RESPI tool to evaluate marketing policies within and across geopolitical boundaries to protect children’s diet and health.