Snake antivenoms are effective treatments to prevent or reverse most of the harmful effects of snakebite envenoming and are included in the WHO list of essential medicines. The availability and accessibility of these antivenoms, along with raising awareness on primary prevention methods among communities and health workers, are the best ways to limit serious consequences and deaths from snakebite envenoming.

After a bite by a snake suspected of being venomous, follow these steps:

The social determinants of health (SDH) are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. These forces and systems include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies and political systems.

Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy have increased, but unequally. There remain persistent and widening gaps between those with the best and worst health and well-being.

Poorer populations systematically experience worse health than richer populations. For example:

There are challenges to overcome in implementing action to address health inequities through the social determinants of health. The social determinants of health equity is a complex and multifaceted field. It involves a wide range of stakeholders within and beyond the health sector and all levels of government. In addition, social determinants of health data can be difficult to collect and share.

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are among the most common infections worldwide and affect the poorest and most deprived communities. They are transmitted by eggs present in human faeces which in turn contaminate soil in areas where sanitation is poor.

The main species that infect people are the roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), the whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) and the hookworms (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale).

The WHO recommended medicines –albendazole (400 mg) and mebendazole (500 mg) – are effective, inexpensive and easy to administer by non-medical personnel (e.g. teachers). They have been through extensive safety testing and have been used in millions of people with few and minor side-effects.

Both albendazole and mebendazole are donated to national ministries of health through WHO in all endemic countries for the treatment of all children of school age.

Ivermectin for the control of S. stercoralis is expected to be available at affordable price from 2021

A baby who dies after 28 weeks of pregnancy, but before or during birth, is classified as a stillbirth.

There are nearly 2 million stillbirths every year, one each 16 seconds. . Over 40 per cent of all stillbirths occur during labour – a loss that could be avoided with improved quality and respectful care during childbirth including routine monitoring and timely access to emergency obstetric care when required.

Trachoma can be prevented by limiting environmental risk factors. These include inadequate hygiene, crowded households, inadequate access to water and inadequate access to and use of sanitation. Infections usually begin at an early age and grow less frequent and shorter in duration with increasing age. Infections are most often acquired through family and contact with others with active disease. Repeated infections cause the most serious symptoms of the disease.

Trachoma can be eliminated as a public health problem using the SAFE strategy, comprising:

Traditional medicine

Traditional medicine has a long history. It is the sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness.

Complementary medicine

The WHO global report on traditional and complementary medicine 2019 was developed to address the gap in reliable, credible and official data from Member States in the area of T&CM. 

This report reviews global progress in T&CM over the past two decades and is based on contributions from 179 WHO Member States. It provides valuable information for policy-makers, health professionals and the public for capitalizing on the potential contribution of T&CM to health and well-being.

The WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014–2023 was developed and launched in response to the World Health Assembly resolution on traditional medicine (WHA62.13). The strategy aims to support Member States in developing proactive policies and implementing action plans that will strengthen the role traditional medicine plays in keeping populations healthy.