The WHO Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programmes is grateful and thanks all the individuals and organizations that contributed to developing these guidelines to make them relevant and responsive to the needs in the field.
We appreciate the overall support of the Secretariat of the WHO Guidelines Review Committee during the guideline development process.
Methodologist, systematic reviewers and modellers
Special thanks to Nancy Santesso (McMaster University, Canada), the guideline methodologist, for her hard work and firm commitment to the guideline development process.
Sincere gratitude to Eric Chow and Jason Ong and the research team at Monash University, Australia and the systematic review team Angela Barbara, Tejan Baldeh, Meha Bhatt, Stephanie Duda, Laura Fullerton, Anila Qasim, Rosa Stalteri, Matthew Ventresca and Holger Schünemann of McMaster University, Michael G. DeGroote Cochrane Canada Centre for conducting the systematic reviews.
We thank Samantha Berman, Jennifer Owen and Katy Turner, University of Bristol, for modelling the cost and effectiveness of approaches for managing women with vaginal discharge.
STI Guideline Development Group
The members of the STI Guideline Development Group (Annex 1) provided invaluable guidance and comments during the development of these guidelines through virtual meetings and comments by correspondence. Their meticulous attention to detail, expert comments and feedback ensured the consistency and relevance of these guidelines.
Guideline Development Group members
Ilya Abellanosa-Tacan (Cebu City, Philippines), Laith Abu-Raddad (Weill Cornell Medical College, Qatar), Yaw Adu-Sarkodie (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana), Chris Akolo (FHI 360, Washington, DC, USA), Andrew Amato (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Sweden), Mircea Betiu (Nicolae Testemițanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Republic of Moldova), John Changalucha (National Institute for Medical Research, United Republic of Tanzania), Rizwana Chaudhri (Islamabad Specialists Clinic, Islamabad, Pakistan), Xiang-Sheng Chen (National Center for STD Control of Chinese CDC and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Institute of Dermatology, Nanjing, China), Amina El Kettani (Ministry of Health, Morocco), Patricia Garcia (Ministry of Health, Lima, Peru), William M. Geisler (University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA), Edward W. Hook III (University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA), Rossaphorn Kittyaowamarn (Ministry of Public Health, Thailand), Jeffrey D. Klausner (UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, USA), Ranmini Kularatne (National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg, South Africa), David Lewis (University of Sydney, Australia), Nicola Low (Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Berne, Switzerland), Philippe Mayaud (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom), Daniel McCartney (International Planned Parenthood Federation, United Kingdom), Nelly Mugo (Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kenya), Saiqa Mullick (Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, South Africa), Francis Ndowa (Harare, Zimbabwe), Kees Rietmeijer (Denver Public Health Department, USA), Pachara Sirivongrangson (Ministry of Public Health, Thailand), Katayoun Tayeri (Ministry of Health, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran), Ann Natalia Umar (Ministry of Health, Jakarta, Indonesia), Magnus Unemo (Örebro University Hospital, Sweden), Noor Mohamed Usman (Chennai, India), Bea Vuylsteke (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium) and Judith Wasserheit (University of Washington, USA).
Observers
Laura Bachmann (United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA), Cecilia Ferreyra (FIND, Switzerland), Fernando Pascual Martinez (GARDP, Switzerland) and Tim Sladden (UNFPA, New York, USA).
External Review Group
Anupong Chitwarakorn (Silom Clinic, Thailand), H.J.C. de Vries (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Hans Benjamin Hampel (University of Zurich, Switzerland), Kausar Jabeen (Aga Khan Foundation, Pakistan), Monica Lahra (New South Wales, Australia), Ahmed Latif (Public Health Consultant, National Territory, Australia), Ioannis Mameletzis (consultant, Ukraine), Angelica Espinosa Miranda (Ministry of Health, Brazil), Koleka Mlisana (University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa), Lori Newman (National Institutes of Health, Washington, DC, USA), Catherine Ngugui (Ministry of Health, Kenya), Lilani Rajapaksa (National STD AIDS Control Programme, Sri Lanka), Reshmie Ramautarsing (Bangkok, Thailand), Danvic Rosadiño (Love Your Self Clinic, Mandaluyong City, Philippines) and Janet Wilson (International Union of STI, Leeds, United Kingdom).
WHO Secretariat and consultants
Overall coordination
Teodora Elvira Wi led the guideline development and coordinated the overall development process. The guideline would not have been developed without the unwavering support of Meg Doherty, Director, Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programmes.
WHO headquarters
The following individuals contributed to developing these guidelines: Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programmes: Rachel Baggaley, Theresa Babovic, Meg Doherty, Nathan Ford, Cadi Irvine, Yamuna Mundade, Annette Vester, Marco Vitorio, Lara Vojnov and Mayada Youssef-Fox; Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health: Ian Askew, Nathalie Broutet, Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli, Sami Gottlieb, James Kiarie, Melanie Taylor and Igor Toskin; Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health: Francis McConville; and Department of Antimicrobial Resistance, Surveillance, Evidence and Laboratory Strengthening: Carmen Pessoa.
Jasmin Leuterio, Laurent Poulain and Danilo Salvador provided administrative support. Adriana De Putter and Jerome Peron managed the budget and commissioning processes. Yann Seigenthaler (consultant, WHO Communications) provided communication and product development support.
WHO regional offices
Hugues Lago (WHO Regional Office for Africa); Massimo Ghidinelli (WHO Regional Office for the Americas); Joumana Hermez (WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean); Nicole Seguy (WHO Regional Office for Europe); Bharat Rewari (WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia); Naoko Ishikawa (WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific).
Special acknowledgement to Francis Ndowa, who assisted in collating and analysing all the comments from the Guideline Development Group and the External Review Group and compiling the various inputs. David Breuer edited the text.
Funding
The Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programmes, Ministry of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Office, Luxembourg and UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction provided funding for this guideline.
