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People living with HIV are 29 times (26–31) more likely to develop tuberculosis (TB) disease compared with people without HIV and living in the same country. TB is a leading cause of hospitalization and death among adults and children living with HIV, accounting for one in five HIV-related deaths globally. This Regional Response Plan for TB-HIV 2017–2021 is a product of wide consultation with national and regional partners. It is intended to provide strategic directions to countries on prioritizing interventions and setting reasonable targets. It will guide how interventions can be further expanded and made efficient by strengthening health systems, and improving coordination and synergy to ensure universal access and equity.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the largest cause of death and suffering due to any communicable disease among the most productive groups in the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia Region. Nearly half of global TB cases emerge in this Region, which is home to one fourth of the total population. It is estimated that TB and TB-HIV co-infection caused 3 deaths every 2 minutes in the Region in 2015. These deaths were entirely preventable with proper treatment of all TB patients, including those infected with drug-resistant strains. The WHO End TB strategy and corresponding Regional Strategic Plan to end TB targets reductions to the extent of 90% in deaths, and 80% in TB incidence by 2030. This is in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to which all countries have committed.

The world’s 370 million indigenous peoples face a plethora of issues caused by displacement, dispossession, loss of livelihood, systematic racism and abuse, and lack of recognition. Further hindering an adequate response to these challenges, there is a pervasive lack of data about indigenous peoples concerning health and other key development indicators. Data that are available show a prevalence of extreme poverty and severe health disparities that include tuberculosis (TB).

This report highlights the key results achieved over Phase II of the Maternal Health Thematic Fund (MHTF), from 2014 to 2016, structured around the three cross-cutting principles of accountability, equality of access and quality of care, as outlined in the MHTF Business Plan Phase II (2014-2017). The report foregrounds the MHTF’s role in supporting health systems strengthening, and addresses its catalytic nature, its promotion of sustainability and its strong emphasis on advancing innovation. A vision and direction are outlined for the third phase of the MHTF, which will be further elaborated in a forthcoming Business Plan Phase III (2018-2021).

This document provides key considerations on when clinically stable children, adolescents and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding as well as members of key populations (people who inject drugs, sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people and people living in prisons and closed settings) can benefit from access to ART services for clinically stable clients, including less frequent clinic visits and multi-month refills for ART and other medications. The guidance provides the rationale and the approach to expand differentiated ART delivery to populations of people living with HIV who previously may not have been considered “eligible” for ART delivery models for clinically stable clients.

When we began this project, we realised that there was little consolidated information on the HCV situation in Malaysia, whether epidemiological reports, patient voices, or the diagnostics and treatment environment. This report seeks to fill that gap and be a useful tool for clinicians, civil society, policy makers, politicians, and other stakeholders working towards access and affordability of HCV diagnostics and medication.

Infographic on hepatitis produced by WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific.

This report provides in-depth technical discussions in areas that have direct implications to the containment of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a development agenda. The report is organized in five chapters which served as the technical background documents for the Biregional Technical Consultation on AMR in Asia, 14-15 April 2016.

This handbook has been written by a group of patients in British Columbia. We all have long experience with medication-assisted treatments for opioid dependence. The language about drug use is complex. The latest version of the manual that defines diseases and disorders (DSM-V) no longer refers to “dependence” and uses “addiction” instead. In this handbook, we continue to use “dependence” to refer to our experience of “needing the drug” and significant withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit or cut down on our use.

The primary purpose of antiretroviral therapy is to keep people living with HIV in good health. In the large majority of people living with HIV, antiretroviral medication can be chosen that reduce the amount of HIV in the blood to levels that are undetectable by standard laboratory tests. It can take some months to reduce viral levels to undetectable levels and allow the immune system to begin to recover. Antiretroviral therapy is transformative for people living with HIV. It enables people to regain their quality of life, return to work, enjoy their families and enjoy a future filled with hope.