The COVID-19 pandemic has turned all eyes towards not only our health and our health systems but also their deficiencies. While we are united in the fragility of our existence, we are cruelly divided in terms of access to medical care.
This year’s World Health Day focuses on reducing the disparities when it comes to how people access healthcare in order to restore the human right of good health for all. ISO not only has a number of standards aimed at equitable healthcare management, but it has made many of those that are relevant to COVID-19 freely available online. These include standards for ventilators, medical and personal protection equipment and occupational health and safety.
What’s more, by bringing together international best practice, standards can help countries and organizations with limited resources benefit from the latest expert guidance on establishing practices and protocols that can help.
The upcoming IWA 38, Building guideline of emergency medical facility, will provide guidelines on how to quickly construct facilities for respiratory infectious diseases within existing medical institutions. The International Workshop Agreement will draw on the latest scientific guidance from around the world for the prevention and control of such illnesses.
This will be complemented by the future ISO 5472, Standard protocols of walk-through screening stations for infectious disease control, which is aimed at facilitating the safe and cost-effective implementation of testing stations for the detection of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. These can reduce the amount of protective equipment needed and increase the number of people tested.
Also in development is ISO/TS 5798, Quality practice for detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by nucleic acid amplification methods. The new technical specification will provide the necessary considerations for the design, development, verification, validation and implementation of analytical tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2 using nucleic acid amplification methods. It will include pre-examination and examination process steps for respiratory tract specimens as well as their relevant parameters.
In addition, the recently published ISO/PA 45005, Occupational health and safety management – General guidelines for safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic, was developed in just three months in response to the urgency of the situation and the pressing need for such information. Available at no cost online, the publicly available specification is aimed not only at organizations but at individual workers in every kind of activity, to help them continue to work while protecting their health. It provides crucial aid at a time when not only the health but the livelihoods of so many are threatened.
All of these standards, and many more, contribute to this year’s World Health Day objectives and to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for good health and well-being (SDG 3), which aims to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.
Janga la COVID-19 limegeuza macho yote kuelekea sio tu afya yetu na mifumo yetu ya afya lakini pia upungufu wao. """Wakati tunaungana katika udhaifu wa maisha yetu, tunagawanyika kwa ukatili katika suala la upatikanaji wa huduma za matibabu." Siku ya Afya Duniani ya mwaka huu inazingatia kupunguza tofauti wakati inakuja kwa jinsi watu wanavyofikia huduma za afya ili kurudisha haki ya binadamu ya afya nzuri kwa wote. ISO sio tu ina viwango kadhaa vinavyolenga usimamizi wa afya wa usawa, lakini pia imefanya mengi ya yale yanayohusiana na COVID-19 kupatikana kwa uhuru mtandaoni. Hizi ni pamoja na viwango kwa ajili ya ventilators, vifaa vya matibabu na ulinzi wa kibinafsi na afya ya kazi na usalama. Zaidi ya hayo, kwa kuleta pamoja mazoea bora ya kimataifa, viwango vinaweza kusaidia nchi na mashirika yenye rasilimali ndogo kufaidika na mwongozo wa hivi karibuni wa wataalamu juu ya kuanzisha mazoea na itifaki ambazo zinaweza kusaidia. IWA 38 - Mwongozo wa Ujenzi wa Kituo cha Matibabu cha Dharura - itatoa miongozo juu ya jinsi ya kujenga haraka vituo vya magonjwa ya kuambukiza ya kupumua ndani ya taasisi za matibabu zilizopo. Mkataba wa Warsha ya Kimataifa utategemea mwongozo wa kisayansi wa hivi karibuni kutoka ulimwenguni kote kwa kuzuia na kudhibiti magonjwa kama hayo. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika ISO 5472: 2020: ""Protocols za Kiwango za Vituo vya Uchunguzi wa Kutembea kwa Udhibiti wa Magonjwa ya Kuambukiza,"" inasaidia kugundua magonjwa ya kuambukiza kama vile COVID-19." Hizi zinaweza kupunguza kiasi cha vifaa vya kinga vinavyohitajika na kuongeza idadi ya watu waliochunguzwa. "Toleo la kwanza la ISO 5798: 2020 ""Mazoea ya ubora kwa ajili ya kugundua ugonjwa mbaya wa kupumua wa coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) kwa njia za kupanua asidi ya nuklia"" ni katika maendeleo." """Ufafanuzi mpya wa kiufundi utatoa kuzingatia muhimu kwa kubuni, maendeleo, uthibitisho, uthibitisho na utekelezaji wa vipimo vya uchambuzi kwa kugundua SARS-CoV-2 kwa kutumia mbinu za kupanua asidi ya nuklia." Itatia ndani hatua za kabla ya uchunguzi na mchakato wa uchunguzi kwa sampuli za njia za kupumua pamoja na vigezo vyao muhimu. "Kwa kuongezea, ISO 4555: 2020 ""Usimamizi wa Afya na Usalama wa Kazi: Miongozo ya Jumla ya Kazi Salama wakati wa Janga la COVID-19"" ilitengenezwa katika miezi mitatu tu kwa kukabiliana na dharura ya hali na hitaji la haraka la habari kama hiyo." Inapatikana bila gharama mtandaoni, maalum inapatikana kwa umma ni lengo si tu kwa mashirika lakini kwa wafanyakazi binafsi katika kila aina ya shughuli, kuwasaidia kuendelea kufanya kazi wakati kulinda afya yao. Inatoa msaada muhimu wakati ambapo si afya tu bali pia njia za maisha za watu wengi zinatishwa. "Sehemu ya kwanza ya mpango huu ni ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia"" na ""Usalama wa Dunia."""