The European Commission has recently published a report on the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine based on questionnaires completed by EU and EEA member states in 2015. 20 out of the 29 countries providing information had a strategy to promote prudent use and contain antimicrobial resistance (AMR), 6 were in the process
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It is estimated that 131 million people are infected with chlamydia, 78 million with gonorrhoea, and 5.6 million with syphilis every year. These are the three most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the WHO has issued new guidelines for their treatment in response to the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. Chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis
Antibiotic resistance changes treatment for STIs Read More »
There is growing concern around the world about drug use and road safety. This policy brief from WHO provides up-to-date information on drug use and road safety to support informed decisions on road safety and drug policies in WHO Member States. It focuses on drug-driving and not on drink-driving. It proposes that drug-driving laws and
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Nearly half the European population is thought to have difficulty identifying, understanding and using health information. As this has real and negative health consequences, improving health literacy is a crucial step in improving people’s health. Health literacy skills are best developed early in life, which means the education sector is an important player, but it
Investing in health literacy Read More »
The European Commission has published a report on activities by Member States and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), to monitor the safety of medicines throughout their life cycle (a process called ‘pharmacovigilance’). The aim of EU rules on pharmacovigilance is to monitor the safety of medicines so that regulators can take action to reduce the
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The European Commission’s 3-year initiative ‘Ex-smokers are unstoppable’ has now finished but it proved enormously successful with one in three of the 480,000 registered users stopping smoking after three months. The centre-piece of the programme was the iCoach, a digital health coach which was free and available both online and as a mobile app for
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The OECD has just published ‘Better ways to pay for health care‘ as part of their Health Policy Studies series. This publication points out that payers for health care are trying a variety of policies as part of broader efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of care. Any reform requires other measures to be
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An international tribunal has upheld the sovereign authority of states to protect health through tobacco control. The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has confirmed that tobacco control measures applied by the Government of Uruguay did not violate the terms of an investment agreement between Uruguay and Switzerland, under which the
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The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has produced a guide on the information the Agency publishes on centrally and non-centrally authorised medicines for human use. Providing an overview of the range of documents produced by EMA during the life span of a medicine, the guide covers early development, through initial evaluation, adoption of positive or negative
Information on human medicines Read More »
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has been reviewing scientific advice on nutrient intakes and has set the following values for vitamin B6: 0.3 mg for infants aged 7-11 months; 0.6 to 1.4 mg for children aged 1-14; 1.7 mg for men and boys aged 15-17, and 1.6 mg for women and girls aged 15-17;
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