Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) & injuries and mental health conditions constitute a serious impediment to achieving the vision of Agenda 2063 to
...
build an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa driven by its own citizens. Each year, these conditions cause millions of premature deaths and disabled lives across Africa. These conditions also lead to annual economic loss of multiple billion US-Dollars. Their burden both in terms of disease morbidity/mortality and socio-economic impact is increasing.
more
Peru celebrates 200 years of independence in 2021. Over this period of independent life, and despite the turbulent socio-political scenarios, from internal armed conflict to economic crisis to polit
...
ical instability over the last 40 years, Peru has experienced major changes on its epidemiological and population health profile. Major advancements in maternal and child health as well as in communicable diseases have been achieved in recent decades, and today
Peru faces an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases including mental health conditions. In terms of the configuration of the public health system, Peru has also strived to secure country-wide optimal health care, struggling in particular to improve primary health care and intercultural services.
more
This document contains guidance for strengthening the disability inclusiveness of MHPSS responses and programmes in emergency settings. It is intended to supplement the IASC Guidelines on Mental
...
Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (2007).
Overall Objective
To consider and address the mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) requirements of persons living in emergency settings with all types of disabilities on an equal basis to the MHPSS requirements of all persons, using a human rights-based approach and implementing social-ecological frameworks.
more
This document is for humanitarian health actors working at national and sub-national level in countries facing humanitarian emergencies. It applies to Health Cluster partners, including governmental
...
and non-governmental health service providers.
Based on the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (IASC, 2007), it gives an overview of essential knowledge that humanitarian health actors should have about mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in humanitarian emergencies.
This document by the IASC Reference Group for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support was developed in consultation with the IASC Global Health Cluster.
more
This document presents an integrated strategy for mental health system development that will lead to enhanced service delivery, improved outcomes, and improved human rights for people with
...
mental disorders.
By using the practical guidance provided in this document, countries can ensure that their mental health systems are not haphazard, but rather, the products of careful consideration and planning.
more
Key highlights from January to April 2020 (Syria situation)
Across the MENA region, UNHCR is receiving alarming reports of increasing mental health
...
issues among the forcibly displaced. Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) activities are being stepped up by UNHCR and partners to address this new dangerous trend.
more
This brief document compiles existing material related to mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for the COVID-19 crisis, as well as other resources that can be applicable to the context. Do
...
cuments are divided into different sections, based on the ‘’spaces of new vulnerability” inherent to some IOM programmes although many of them are applicable to other areas. They cover both mainstreaming of MHPSS and specific actions.
MHPSS managers will also find guidance on how to address the less technical and more managerial and programmatic issues related with the pandemic, including programme redefinition, surge capacity and how to manage demands to provide staff support to colleagues in the same missions
more
Technical Note
Recently, the approach to hazardous events has undergone a considerable shift, away from reactive activities focused on managing and responding to events and towards a more proactive process of emergency and disaster risk management
...
(DRM). The ultimate goal of this shift in focus is to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks, a process known as disaster risk reduction (DRR), while strengthening individual, community, societal and global resilience.
more
To support countries in adapting their response to different COVID-19 scenarios, the World Health
Organization (WHO) Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent
...
Health and Ageing commissioned this scoping review of published and grey literature. The objective was to identify interventions implemented to maintain the provision and use of essential services for MNCAAH during disruptive events and to summarize lessons learned during these interventions. The review included outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (EVD), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Zika virus disease (ZVD), the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies that caused disruption to services, transport and other activities.
more
The World Health Organization (WHO) is releasing the second edition of its Global Accelerated Action for the Health
...
of Adolescents (AA-HA!) guidance. The document aims to equip governments to respond to the health and well-being challenges, opportunities and needs of adolescents.
The guidance provides the latest available data on adolescent health and well-being. It also outlines an updated list of core indicators that data should be collected on. Globally, road injury was the top cause of death for adolescent males in 2019. Among female adolescents, the leading causes of death were diarrhoeal diseases among the younger group (10-14 years) and tuberculosis (TB) in the older group (15-19 years).
Over the last 20 years, mortality rates have declined among adolescents globally, with the largest decline in older (15–19 years) adolescent girls. For non-fatal diseases, the burden has not improved over the past two decades, with the main causes of ill health in this category being: mental health conditions (depressive and anxiety disorders, childhood behavioural disorders), iron deficiency anaemia, skin diseases and migraine.
Adolescent well-being depends on a range of factors, including healthy food, education, life skills and employability, connectedness, feeling valued by society, safe and supportive environments, resilience, and the freedom to make choices. To take an appropriately holistic approach, the guidance outlines how to take crosscutting action to support adolescent health and well-being, with mutually reinforcing interventions across sectors, such as health, education, social protection, and telecommunications. Targeted efforts are also required to engage adolescents, as they trust health systems less than adults do and are especially vulnerable to modern-day trends, like online bullying and gaming.
more
A major problem facing the world is how to build peace following the ravages of increasingly protracted armed conflict. Armed conflicts leave behind shattered, divided societies that are at risk of
...
repeating cycles of violence, and therefore need concerted peacebuilding efforts. Conflicts also take a heavy toll on people’s mental health and psychosocial well-being. One in five people who live in a war zone will likely develop a mental disorder, and many others suffer from painful everyday stresses associated with multiple losses, family separation, gender-based violence (GBV), disability, climate change and ongoing insecurity, among other issues.
more
Every day, schools engage in numerous activities that help promote the health and well-being of students, families, and communities. There is clear evidence
...
of the benefits of the health-promoting schools (HPS) approach, not only for improving overall health outcomes (physical, mental, and social) in the educational community but also for achieving better learning outcomes. The closure of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted these benefits, as well as the close links between health, wellness, and education.
more
Regional Network for Equity in Health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET): Disussion Paper 113
This report synthesises the learning across the full programme of work. It presents the method
...
s used, the context and policy motivations for developing EHBs; how they are being defined, costed, disseminated and used in health systems, including for service provision and quality, resourcing and purchasing services and monitoring and accountability on service delivery and performance, and for learning, useful practice and challenges faced.
more
Results
Recommendations• NGOs should provide MHPSS services with a focus on empowerment and self-reliance
• Introduce interventions focusing on pain mechanisms, coping strategies and physical resilience
• Implement livelihood programmes
• Increase service accessibility and outreach activ
...
ities
• Provide support groups for people who have lost a close family member
• Highlight the importance of supervision and training
• Ensure high quality service provisions by applying relevant outcome measures and to further contribute to the evidence base for MHPSS
• Diversify MHPSS activities to different target groups, including men and women, and address the needs of elderly and individuals with disabilities
This study provides evidence of a large gap between the need of MHPSS among Syrian refugees and provided services. Of the 1082 respondents in this study, 62% expressed that they needed assistance to deal with physical pain and distress. Almost 80% reported being in pain, of which 27% were in severe or very severe pain. Additionally, 55% suffer from distress and 56% rate their own health as fair or poor. Even among the 18-25-yearolds, the prevalence of reporting their overall health as fair was 30.7%. For functionality levels, 28.5% felt severely or extremely emotionally affected by their health problems, and more than 20% had serious difficulties in doing day-to-day work. On the other hand, the majority (72-74%) had no problems in maintaining friendships and participating in community activities
more
This module has been developed to provide training and guidance to improve the quality of care and human rights conditions in inpatient, outpatient and community based mental
...
health and related services, following the conduct of a comprehensive assessment using the WHO QualityRights assessment toolkit.
more
This report explores community-focused change initiatives in the financing, organization, and delivery of mental health services in Peru from 2013
...
to 2016. It examines the national dimension of reforms but focuses above all on implementation and results in the economically fragile district of Carabayllo, in northern Lima.
more
September – December 2021
The funds will be used by WHO to ensure:
continued coordination with other agencies and health actors in the response to the crisis situation
continuity of
...
health services for the population of Afghanistan
provision of life-saving medical supplies
continued response to COVID-19
timely response to potential outbreaks
response to urgent trauma needs
more
The framework sets out a response to current mental health challenges arising from the negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on population me
...
ntal health and well-being. The EFAMH provides a coherent basis for intensified efforts to mainstream, promote and safeguard mental well-being as an integral element of COVID-19 response and recovery; to counter the stigma and discrimination associated with mental health conditions;
more
This paper explores access to water, sanitation, and health in pastoral communities in northern Tanzania. It argues that the concept of gender, used on its own, is not enough to understand the compl
...
exities of sanitation, hygiene, water, and health. It explores pastoralists’ views and perspectives on what is ‘clean’, ‘safe’, and ‘healthy’, and their need to access water and create sanitary arrangements that work for them, given the absence of state provision of modern water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure. Although Tanzania is committed to enhancing its citizens’ access to WASH services, pastoral sanitation and hygiene tend to be overlooked and little attention is paid to complex ways in which access to ‘clean’ water and ‘adequate sanitation’ is structured in these communities. This paper offers an intersectional analysis of water and sanitation needs, showing how structural discrimination in the form of a lack of appropriate infrastructure, a range of sociocultural norms and values, and individual stratifiers interact to influence the sanitation and health needs of pastoralist men, women, boys, and girls.
more
Although the COVID-19 crisis is, in the first instance, a physical health crisis, it has the seeds of a major mental
...
health crisis as well, if action is not taken. Good mental health is critical to the functioning of society at the best of times. It must be front and centre of every country’s response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health and wellbeing of whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis and are a priority to be addressed urgently.
more