WHO guidelines

The development of global guidelines ensuring the appropriate use of evidence represents one of the core functions of WHO.

A WHO guideline is defined broadly as any information product developed by WHO that contains recommendations for clinical practice or public health policy. Recommendations are statements designed to help end-users make informed decisions on whether, when and how to undertake specific actions such as clinical interventions, diagnostic tests or public health measures, with the aim of achieving the best possible individual or collective health outcomes.

The Guidelines Review Committee ensures that WHO guidelines are of a high methodological quality and are developed through a transparent, evidence-based decision-making process. Guidelines are subject to a rigorous quality assurance process that helps to ensure that each and every published guideline is trustworthy, impactful and meets the highest international standards.

Guidelines Review Committee

WHO is planning to develop or update the guidelines listed below during the 2026-2027 biennium.

These guidelines were chosen based on public health need, organizational mandate, status of scientific evidence and input from Member States, regions, advisory bodies and external entities. The list below includes only guidelines requiring Guidelines Review Committee (GRC) approval, health emergency interim guidelines and vaccine position papers from the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on immunization. It does not include other types of WHO normative products that are planned for this biennium.

This list of planned guidelines is current as of 4 September 2026 and will be updated in June and December of each year.

Queries regarding the list of planned guidelines should be addressed to guidelines2.0initiative@who.int.

Guideline proposed title	Publication date (anticipated/released)
Health Systems, Access & Data Division (HSD)
Antimicrobial resistance Department (AMR)
Guidelines on laboratory diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections using in vitro diagnostic tests	2027 Q4
Performance, Financing and Delivery Department (PDF)
WHO guidelines on the clinical management of sepsis (jointly developed with WHE)	2026 Q4
Health Promotion, Disease Prevention & Care Division (PPC)
Health Determinants, Promotion & Prevention Department (DPP)
WHO clinical treatment guideline for tobacco cessation in adolescents	2026 Q4
Guidelines on interventions to reduce social isolation and loneliness – from children to older people	2027 Q2
WHO clinical treatment guideline for nicotine cessation	2027 Q3
Environment, Climate Change, One Health & Migration Department (ECO)
Guidelines on assessment and management of internal contamination with transuranium actinites	2026 Q4
HIV, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, & STIs Department (HTH)
Consolidated guidelines on HIV: service delivery	June 2026
Consolidated guidelines on HIV: treatment	2027 Q2
WHO guidance on behavioural approaches to prevent HIV and STIs in the general population	2027 Q3
Consolidated guidelines on tuberculosis: tuberculosis preventive treatment, third edition	2027 Q4
Consolidated guidelines on tuberculosis: systematic screening, second edition	2027 Q4
Consolidated guidelines on STI testing, treatment and care	2027 Q4
Guidance on the public health approach for testing, prevention and care related to human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1)	2027 Q4
Consolidated guidelines on hepatitis B C and D prevention, testing, treatment and care	2027 Q4
WHO consolidated guidelines on tuberculosis: module 6: tuberculosis and comorbidities, third edition	2027 Q4
Immunization, Vaccines & Biologicals Department (IVB)
WHO vaccine policy position paper/guideline (COVID-19 vaccine), outcome from Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommendations	July 2026
WHO vaccine policy position paper/guideline (typhoid vaccine), outcome from Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommendations	August 2026
WHO emergency guidance on the use of licensed Ebola vaccine during Bundibugyo virus disease outbreaks: interim guidance, 31 August 2026	Updated August 2026. First published in May 2026.
WHO vaccine policy position paper/guideline (mpox vaccine), outcome from Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommendations	2027 Q1
WHO vaccine policy position paper/guideline (meningitis vaccine), outcome from Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommendations	2027 Q3
WHO vaccine policy position paper/guideline (yellow Fever vaccine), outcome from Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommendations	2027 Q3
WHO vaccine policy position paper/guideline (pertussis), outcome from Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommendations	2027 Q4
Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child, Adolescent & Aging Health Department (LHR)
Consolidated recommendations for management of common childhood illnesses: guidelines for the management of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents	2026 Q3
WHO guideline on expanding contraception options	2026 Q3
Consolidated recommendations for management of common childhood illnesses: guidelines for the management of asthma in children and adolescents, and acute bronchiolitis in children aged less than two years	2026 Q4
WHO guideline on azithromycin for reduction of childhood mortality	2026 Q4
Compilation of WHO recommendations for children one month to nine years	2027 Q1
Abortion care guideline, third edition	2027 Q1
WHO clinical and policy guidelines for responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women, second edition	2027 Q1
Guidelines on newborn resuscitation	2027 Q2
WHO guideline on self-care interventions for health and well-being, third edition	2027 Q3
Integrated guidelines for the management of geriatric syndromes	2027 Q4
Guideline on planning and managing transition from paediatric to adult care	2027 Q4
Guideline on screening, prevention and management of adolescent hypertension	2027 Q4
Consolidated guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia	2027 Q4
WHO maternal and perinatal health recommendations on routine care and management of complications	2027 Q4
WHO recommendations on interventions to improve caesarean section outcomes	2027 Q4
WHO recommendations on screening and management of hyperglycemia during pregnancy, postnatal and interpregnancy periods	2027 Q4
WHO guideline on endometriosis	2027 Q4
Malaria & Neglected Tropical Diseases Department (MNT)
Guidelines for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis, second edition	2026 Q4
WHO guideline on coadministration of azithromycin, ivermectin, albendazole and diethylcarbamazine	2026 Q4
WHO guideline for alleviating morbidity due to filarial lymphoedema	2027 Q1
WHO guideline on the use of serology in trachoma elimination programmes	2027 Q1
Guidelines on alternative treatment strategies for onchocerciasis and other parasitic infections	2027 Q2
Update praziquantel preventive chemotherapy in preschool age children	2027 Q4
Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of loiasis	2027 Q4
WHO guidelines for malaria	2027 Q4
WHO integrated vector control guidelines	2027 Q4
Nutrition Food Safety Department (NFS)
WHO guideline on milk fortification	2027 Q3
WHO guideline on animal-source foods	2027 Q4
Noncommunicable Diseases & Mental Health Department (NMH)
Risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia: WHO guidelines, second edition	July 2026
Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary care	2027 Q1
Guidelines for the psychosocially assisted pharmacological treatment of opioid dependence and community management of opioid overdose	2027 Q2
Guidelines on insulin use for type 1 diabetes in adults, including in emergency and humanitarian settings	2027 Q2
Guideline for the pharmacological management of dyslipidaemia for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease	2027 Q2
Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders	2027 Q4
Health Emergencies Programme (WHE)
Pandemic and Epidemic Management Department (EPM)
Consolidated guidelines on mpox testing and testing strategies	2026 Q3
WHO consolidated guidelines for SARS-CoV-2 testing	2026 Q4
Guidelines for testing of arboviruses	2027 Q2
Guidelines for testing of viral haemorrhagic fevers	2027 Q4
Guideline on post-exposure antibiotic prophylaxis for epidemic-prone bacterial diseases	2027 Q4
Humanitarian and Disaster Management Department (HDM)
Clinical management and infection prevention and control for mpox	2026 Q4
Infection prevention and control guideline: MERS-CoV chapter	2026 Q4
WHO guidelines for the clinical management of filovirus disease	June 2026
WHO guideline on the supportive management of acute respiratory infection caused by viruses (MERS-CoV, influenza, COVID-19, RSV)	2027 Q2
WHO guideline on the clinical management of diphtheria	2027 Q2
Clinical practice guideline for measles	2027 Q4
Infection prevention and control of epidemic-and pandemic prone acute respiratory infections in health care	2027 Q4

Show less Planned guidelines for 2026–2027

Latest WHO guidelines approved by the Guidelines Review Committee

All →

Digital Adaptation Kit for Family Planning: Operational requirements for implementing WHO recommendations in digital systems

25 June 2021

| Guideline

Digital Adaptation Kit for Family Planning: Operational requirements for implementing WHO recommendations in digital systems

Download (3.9 MB)

Overview

Digital Adaptation Kits (DAKs) are part of the SMART guidelines initiative to ensure WHO’s evidence-based guideline content is accurately reflected in the digital systems countries are adopting. The DAKs are software-neutral, operational, and structured documentation based on WHO clinical, health system and data use recommendations to systematically and transparently inform the design of digital systems.

Components of the DAK include:  (1) linked health interventions and recommendations; (2) personas; (3) user scenarios; (4) business processes and workflows; (5) core data elements mapped to standard terminology codes (e.g. ICD); (6) decision support; (7) programme indicators; and (8) functional and non-functional requirements. This DAK focuses on family planning, and is among the various health domains for which DAKs are being developed.

Please let us know about your experience in using the DAK and questions you may have by contacting us at SMART_DAKS@who.int