Mark 16:6

Source: Mark 16:6

With insights and devotions drawn from The Jesus Bible , this seven-day reading plan provides examples of God staying true to his covenants throughout the Bible. During this week, you will be inspired by the mercy of God and faithfulness of Jesus to remember to uphold your own promises to God.

Source: A God Who Is Faithful

Artist Kera Till draws a public transportation map for these strange, uncertain times.

Commuting in Corona Times — Discover

Sink your teeth into today’s prompt: Bite.

Discover Prompts, Day 11: Bite — Discover

Skip to main content Toggle navigation United Republic of Tanzania WHO Africa Drawing on Ebola readiness to tackle COVID-19 Drawing on Ebola readiness to tackle COVID-19 Dar es Salaam, 9 April 2020 – Like many African countries now making use of Ebola and Influenza preparedness to step up their COVID-19 response, Tanzania is tapping into the skills of health workers already knowledgeable in infectious disease control, established influenza sentinel surveillance system and repurposing facilities to tackle the new virus. When the tenth Ebola outbreak erupted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2018, Tanzania trained 2400 health workers. Training sessions initially planned for Ebola were reviewed to include COVID-19. More than 300 of them have now been retrained to join the frontline ranks of the country’s COVID-19 battle. In regions that had been identified as being at high risk of Ebola, rapid response teams were formed and trained, and authorities identified isolation areas at specific health facilities in each district and health workers trained to manage those units and handle suspected cases. The health workers and the resources are now proving critical in COVID-19 response. In addition, structures such as isolation units in district health facilities set up for Ebola preparedness are now being turned into COVID-19 units. All the country’s 26 regions have been instructed to designate isolation areas for potential COVID-19 infection, while health worker training in patient triage for Ebola readiness now counts among the assets in curbing the spread of the new coronavirus. “It is very critical to empower health care workers with the right information,” said Dr Nemes Iriya, in charge of Case Management at World Health Organization in (WHO) in Tanzania. WHO Tanzania is working with the Ministries of Health in mainland Tanzania and in Zanzibar to build the capacity of health workers on clinical care, improving infection prevention, laboratory testing and other prevention measures. A total of 182 facilities have been designated to be able to isolate and treat COVID-19 in all district councils. The government has also identified 26 regional referral facilities to be capacitated to provide critical care. Most of the referral facilities already have staff trained in advanced care for Ebola, which included critical care. Angelina Malugu, a nurse who was recently trained on handling COVID-19 patients, said learning about the type of personal protective equipment needed for COVID-19 was crucial. “I was worried because I did not know how to distinguish COVID-19 from Ebola in terms of my safety.” “We still had gaps in knowledge,” Said Mohamed, a junior doctor at the main hospital in Pemba island, recounted during a training session on response to the new virus that was first reported in Tanzania on 16 March. More health workers have been trained through sessions organized by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations. Getting the right messages out The government has also intensified public health education, working with WHO, UNICEF, religious leaders and telecommunications firms to provide facts and debunk rumours about COVID-19. The COVID-19 response has been taken to a higher level, coordinated through the disaster committees and the task force chaired by the Prime Minister. Disaster committees have structures at national, regional, district and village level. Public health officials and key government officials, including the President and Prime Minister, as well as religious leaders have featured on national TV and popular radio programmes to speak about the disease. Handshake greetings and crowds are avoided as much as possible – fewer buses during rush hour makes crowd-shunning difficult. “I’m doing all I can to make sure that I stay safe from any possibilities of getting the infection. I was worried … when I heard there is a case in Tanzania,” said Ashura Magongo, a resident of Dar es Salaam. Columbus Masenga, a Dar es Salaam mechanic, said he had never used a mask or a hand sanitizer in his life until recently. “It sounded weird to hear that I must clean my hands with something that I do not know about. I bought one for my wife to keep in her handbag, but we are using soap and water at home. I think this new disease has come to force everyone to observe personal hygiene. When I got home one night my six-year-old did not hug me. He said, ‘daddy don’t touch me’,” Masenga said. Tanzania has also made quarantine mandatory for arrivals, both national and foreigners, with travellers quarantined in designated hotels for 14 days. Large public gatherings – community meetings, rallies, sports and entertainment – were banned for a month on 17 March. Schools and universities have also been shut for a month. For Additional Information or to Request Interviews, Please contact: Collins Boakye-Agyemang Communications and marketing officer Tel: + 242 06 614 24 01 (WhatsApp) Email: boakyeagyemangc@who.int Help and services Copyright Employment Privacy policy Sitemap Contact us General inquiries Media inquiries WHO country offices WHO offices WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region WHO European Region WHO Headquarters WHO Region of the Americas WHO South-East Asia Region WHO Western Pacific Region Follow us Twitter Facebook YouTube Rss Feed

https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/06-04-2020-who-and-global-citizen-announce-one-world-together-at-home-global-special-to-support-healthcare-workers-in-the-fight-against-the-covid-19-pandemic

‘One World: Together At Home’ Global Special will be broadcast on major television networks and streamed online on Saturday, 18 April from 17:00 (Los Angeles time).

This virtual concert, organized by WHO and international advocacy organizationGlobal Citizen, will bring together people who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to take meaningful actions to protect health and to support the global COVID-19 response.  It will also celebrate and support brave healthcare workers doing life-saving work on the frontlines.

Curated in collaboration with Lady Gaga, this global event will include Alanis Morissette, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Burna Boy, Chris Martin, David Beckham, Eddie Vedder, Elton John, FINNEAS, Idris and Sabrina Elba, J Balvin, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kerry Washington, Lang Lang, Lizzo, Maluma, Paul McCartney, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shah Rukh Khan and Stevie Wonder.

“The World Health Organization is committed to defeating the coronavirus pandemic with science and public health measures, and supporting the health workers who are on the frontlines of the response,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “We may have to be apart physically for a while, but we can still come together virtually to enjoy great music. The ‘One World: Together At Home’ concert represents a powerful show of solidarity against a common threat.”

One World: Together At Home will be broadcast on major television networks worldwide on Saturday, 18 April 2020 at 17:00 (Los Angeles time) / 20:00 (New York time) / 01:00 (London time) on ABC, NBC, ViacomCBS Networks, iHeartMedia and Bell Media networks and platforms in Canada. BBC One will run the program on Sunday 19 April 2020. Additional international broadcasters include beIN Media Group, MultiChoice Group and RTE.

The event will be streamed online on multiple global platforms, including: Alibaba, Amazon Prime Video, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, LiveXLive, Tencent, Tencent Music Entertainment Group, TIDAL, TuneIn, Twitch, Twitter, Yahoo and YouTube. This digital special will include additional artists and performances from all over the globe as well as unique stories from the world’s healthcare heroes.

For the first time, the global community is preparing to celebrate 14 April as the  first  World Chagas Disease Day. One of the aims is to raise the visibility and public awareness of people with Chagas Disease and the resources needed for the prevention, control or elimination of the disease.

Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis, has been termed as a “silent and silenced disease”, not only because of its slowly progressing and frequently asymptomatic clinical course but also because it affects mainly poor people who have no political voice or access to health care. 

Once endemic in Latin American countries, Chagas disease is now present in many others, making it a global health problem.

It was on this date in 1909 that the first patient, a Brazilian girl named Berenice Soares de Moura, was diagnosed for this disease by Dr Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas. 

Raising awareness and the profile of this neglected tropical disease, which is often diagnosed in its late stages, is essential to improve the rates of early treatment and cure, together with the interruption of its transmission.

Evidence-based, cost-effective interventions exist, including screening (blood, organs and of new-borns and children), early case detection, prompt treatment of cases, vector control, hygiene and food safety.

WHO invites the countries to take action with us and add a global voice in favour of this and other neglected tropical diseases.

Did you know?

• Chagas disease is prevalent mainly among poor populations of continental Latin America and affects 6–7 million people.
• During the past decades, it has been increasingly detected in the United States of America and Canada and in many European and some Western Pacific countries.
• The disease can be transmitted by vectorial transmission (T. cruzi parasites are mainly transmitted by contact with faeces/urine of infected blood-sucking triatomine bugs. These bugs, vectors that carry the parasites, typically live in the wall or roof cracks of poorly-constructed homes in rural or suburban areas. Normally they hide during the day and become active at night when they feed on human blood. They usually bite an exposed area of skin such as the face, and the bug defecates close to the bite. The parasites enter the body when the person instinctively smears the bug faeces or urine into the bite, the eyes, the mouth, or into any skin break) contaminated food, transfusion of blood or blood products, passage from an infected mother to her newborn, and organ transplantation and even laboratory accidents.
• Without treatment, Chagas disease can lead to severe cardiac and digestive alterations and become fatal.

The proposal to designate 14 April as World Chagas Disease Day was initiated by the International Federation of Associations of People Affected by Chagas Disease.

On 24 May 2019, the World Health Assembly – WHO’s decision-making body – endorsed the proposal, which  was supported by several health institutions, universities, research centres, national or international nongovernmental platforms, organizations and foundations.

Celebrating World Chagas Disease Day on 14 April will provide a unique opportunity to add a global voice in favour of this and other neglected tropical diseases.