SEA/RC63/10 - Coordinated approach to prevention and control of acute diarrhoea and respiratory infections
Abstract
Acute diarrhoea and respiratory infections are high-burden diseases in the South-East Asia Region of WHO. Dedicated programmes for both during the 1980s and the 1990s were successful in reducing mortality among the under-5 population. But, despite these programmes, high morbidity persisted. Furthermore, with no focus in recent years, they have continued to lead the causes of under-5 deaths in the Region and also globally. This has been the main impediment in achievement of the Millennium Development Goal 4 in the Region. Simple, safe, effective and yet relatively inexpensive interventions have been available for at least three decades but the underlying cause for the high burden appears to be poor access to and utilization of available services aimed at reducing mortality. Almost complete lack of focus on preventive interventions and overlooking the burden in other age groups appear to be the main reasons for the persistence of high morbidity from these diseases. There is now a need to design and launch national programmes that encompass all age groups and integrate universal access to quality care with preventive interventions. These interventions need to be well coordinated and supported by strong advocacy, community mobilization and empowerment, training, research, monitoring and evaluation, and by mobilization of national and international responses. WHO’s role should be to support Member States both technically and in mobilizing international response, including resources. This working paper presents an outline of such a programme for the Region. The High-Level Preparatory (HLP) Meeting held in the Regional Office in New Delhi from 28 June to 1 July 2010 reviewed the working paper and made the following recommendations: Actions by Member States (1) The most cost-effective interventions should be prioritized and implemented as appropriate for a given country situation in developing national strategies and workplans. (2) Training needs should be assessed and training curricula developed for undergraduate medical students, midwives and nurses, with regard to the coordinated approach to prevention and control of acute diarrhoea and respiratory infections based on the regional strategy. (3) Advocacy and educational activities should be included in schools by integrating the coordinated approach for prevention and control of acute diarrhoea and respiratory infections into school health programmes. (4) Coordination and collaboration should be established with various sectors, both within and outside the health sector, for prevention and control of acute diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory infections. (5) Rational use of medicines should be promoted at different levels of health care. Actions by WHO-SEARO (1) To provide support to Member States in developing and adopting a coordinated approach to prevention and control of acute diarrhoea and respiratory infections based on the regional strategy, and in implementing cost-effective interventions that suit the specific needs of individual Member States. (2) To assist Member States in assessing training needs, developing curricula and conducting training activities at various levels. (3) To provide support in the areas of operational research, surveillance, and monitoring and evaluation. The working paper and the HLP meeting recommendations based on it are submitted to the Sixty-third Session of the Regional Committee for its consideration. The Committee is also requested to consider the draft resolution on the subject.Citation
World Health Organization. Regional Office for South-East Asia. (2010). SEA/RC63/10 - Coordinated approach to prevention and control of acute diarrhoea and respiratory infections. WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/128386