2023-05-02 13:33:25
On May 4, the World Health Organization could declare the end of the pandemic. Meanwhile, a reduction in interruptions in the provision of routine health services has been reported. but it is necessary to invest in the recovery and in greater resilience
May 4 will be held there fifteenth meeting of the Covid-19 Emergency Committee, convened by the director general of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus . A much awaited meeting and one that could represent a decisive step towards the declaration of the end of the pandemic
. After the meeting, the Emergency Committee will inform the WHO Director-General, indicating whether the COVID-19 pandemic still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. The emergency committee also makes temporary recommendations to WHO and its member states.
In the meantime, the WHO report on the Fourth round of the global pulse survey on continuity of essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that health systems in countries have started to show first important signs of recovery. In early 2023, countries reported experiencing a reduction of interruptions in the delivery of routine health servicesbut highlighted the need to invest in recovery and greater resilience for the future.
Among 139 states responding to the fourth round of the survey, on average continuous outages were reported in nearly a quarter of services. In 84 countries where trend analysis is possible, outage rate decreased on average from 56% in July-September 2020 to 23% in November 2022-January 2023.
Healthcare stopped
Persistent outages are due to both supply and demand factors, including i low levels of health care seeking in communitiesnonch la limited availability of health workers and other health resources such as open clinics or available stocks of medicines and products. It is good news that health care systems in most countries are starting to restore essential health services for millions of people who lost them during the pandemic, he comments. Rudi Eggers, WHO director for integrated health services. But we must ensure that all countries continue to close this gap to recover health services and apply the lessons learned to build health systems that are better prepared and resilient for the future.
In this new survey, fewer countries reported that they have intentionally reduced access to all service delivery platforms and essential public health functions since the 2020-2021 report, showing an important step for return to pre-pandemic levels of service delivery and wider functioning of the system. By the end of 2022, most countries have reported partial signs of a recovery in services, including sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health services; nutrition; vaccination; communicable diseases (including malaria, HIV, tuberculosis and other sexually transmitted infections); neglected tropical diseases; non-communicable diseases; management of mental, neurological and substance use disorders; elders assistance; and traditional and/or complementary treatments.
Backlogs
The number of countries reporting a disruption to their national supply chain system has shrunk by almost half (29 out of 59 responding countries) to around a quarter (18 out of 66 responding countries) in the last year. Despite signs of recovery, service outages persist in all countries across all regions and income levels and in most service delivery settings and tracking service areas. Countries are also facing a growing backlog of services – most frequently in services for screening, diagnosis and treatment of noncommunicable diseases – which can lead to negative consequences as people have delayed access to timely care. Restoring the delivery of essential health services is critical because disruptions – including services for health promotion, disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and palliation – can have adverse health effects at the population level and individual even greater than the pandemic itself, especially among vulnerable populations.
Integrate COVID-19 services into essential health services
In another important step towards system recovery and transition, most countries have made progress in integrating COVID-19 services in the provision of routine health services. In fact, around 80-90% of countries have fully integrated Covid-19 vaccination, diagnostic and case management services, as well as services for post-Covid conditions in the provision of routine services. However, the majority of countries (80% of 83 responding countries) reported at least one bottleneck to increasing access to essential Covid-19 tools (e.g. diagnostics, therapies, vaccines and personal protective equipment), with health personnel problems and lack of funds which represent the most common obstacles.
More help needed for recovery, resilience and preparedness
Most countries have started applying what they learned during the Covid-19 pandemic, including through the institutionalization of a number of innovative service disruption mitigation strategies in the provision of routine healthcare services. These include the implementation of telehealth approaches, the promotion of home care or self-care interventions, approaches to strengthen the availability, capacity and support mechanisms of healthcare professionals, innovations in the procurement and delivery of medicines and supplies , more routine community communications and partnerships with private sector suppliers.
Three-quarters of countries reported on additional allocations for longer-term recovery, resilience and system readiness. Countries have expressed the need for WHO support to address remaining challenges in the COVID-19 context and beyond, most frequently related to strengthening the health workforce, developing health service monitoring capacities, health care planning primary – oriented models of care, governance, policy and planning and financial planning and financing.
May 2, 2023 (change May 2, 2023 | 1:27 pm)
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