WHO launches consolidated guidelines for malaria
The WHO Guidelines for malaria bring together the Organization’s most up-to-date recommendations for malaria in one user-friendly and easy-to-navigate online platform, the MAGICapp. They are designed to support malaria-affected countries in their efforts to reduce and, ultimately, eliminate a disease that continues to claim more than 400 000 lives each year.
Through the new platform, MAGICapp, users will find:
- All official WHO recommendations for malaria prevention (vector control and preventive chemotherapies) and case management (diagnosis and treatment). Recommendations for elimination settings are in development.
- Links to other resources, such as guidance on the strategic use of information to drive impact; surveillance, monitoring and evaluation; operational manuals, handbooks, and frameworks; and a glossary of key terms and definitions.
Users can access the evidence that underpins each WHO recommendation through the new web-based platform. There is a feedback tab to help identify recommendations that may need an update or further clarification, and inputs from stakeholders are also welcome by email (gmpfeedback@who.int).
The consolidation of WHO’s malaria guidelines is one of a number of actions the Organization has undertaken in recent years to make its guidance more accessible to end users in malaria-endemic countries. The overall aim is to deliver timely, high quality recommendations through processes that are more transparent, consistent, efficient and predictable.
Key definitions
A WHO guideline is defined broadly as any information product developed by WHO that contains recommendations for clinical practice or public health policy.
A recommendation tells the intended end-user of a guideline what he or she can or should do in specific situations to achieve the best health outcomes possible, individually or collectively. It offers a choice among different interventions or measures having an anticipated positive impact on health and implications for the use of resources.
