Prevent
Prevention through strong health programmes
Many health emergencies can be prevented or quelled before they cause extreme damage. WHO works with partners to prevent events such as disease outbreaks – for example, through work to improve or create infection prevention and control programmes, and through Europe’s measles vaccination programmes targeting children, and the annual influenza vaccination and surveillance initiatives.
Failure to prevent can be deadly. Measles, a vaccine-preventable illness, has become an increasing threat as vaccination rates have fallen below the threshold for prevention across Europe. In the European Region, an unprecedented number of over 80 000 people have been reported to be affected by measles in 2018. WHO is urgently working with countries to stop outbreaks and raise vaccination rates.
Influenza vaccination uptake has been steadily declining in a number of countries, and access to influenza vaccines remains low in lower-resourced countries. Not only is this a concern for the protection of vulnerable groups against seasonal influenza, but it also affects the Region’s pandemic preparedness as the production of pandemic vaccines is closely linked to seasonal vaccine use.
Prevention often involves processes to ensure that problems are foreseen before they occur – for example, public health advice on the avoidance of risky behaviour or protection from mosquito bites, the responsible use of antibiotics, the building of houses on flood plains, or the transport of toxic products in appropriately reinforced containers.
Infection prevention and control The Ebola virus disease outbreaks, the rapid spread of other emerging viruses, such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), as well as the seriousness of the seemingly inexorable march of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), show how limited infection prevention and control programmes, combined with inadequate water supplies, poor sanitation and weak hygiene infrastructure in health facilities, can threaten global health security. In such outbreaks, instead of serving as points where disease was controlled, health care facilities became dangerous places for outbreak amplification among staff and patients and transmission back to communities. Infection prevention and control is a practical, evidence-based approach that reduces the risk of patients and health workers being harmed by avoidable infections. Preventing health care-associated infections (HAIs) avoids unnecessary harm and at times even death, saves money, reduces the spread of AMR and supports high-quality, integrated, people-centred health services. Preventing HAIs has never been more important. |
