South Sudan continues to struggle with a severe health crisis affecting 8.9 million people, primarily in flood- and conflict-affected regions with population movements (displacement and returns), and disease outbreaks. The nation's health system, he...avily reliant on international aid, faces staffing and resource shortages. Vulnerable groups, including women, children, the elderly, and those with disabilities, have limited healthcare access and face heightened risks of mortality and illness.
The life expectancy at birth (55 years) is among the lowest globally, as mortality rates remain among the highest with neonatal, infant, under-five mortality rates estimated at 39.63, 63.76 and 98.69 deaths per 1000 live births respectively, and a maternal mortality ratio of 1,223 deaths per 100,000 live births. Although some disease specific mortality rates such as TB and AIDS-related mortality have declined, mortality due to malaria and non-communicable diseases have increased over the past five years.
The main causes of morbidity remain communicable diseases; malaria, is the top cause of morbidity (64%) and mortality (45%) among outpatients, followed by pneumonia and diarrhea.20 Several Counties report malaria cases above the threshold perennially especially during the rainy seasons, affecting mainly children under five years. The last malaria indicator survey (2017) estimated malaria prevalence of 32%, 34% and 18% among children under-five, protection of civilian’s sites, and internally displaced persons, respectively.
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Refugee children with disabilities experience a reality of exclusion and marginalisation that makes them among the most vulnerable displaced persons in the world. Excluded from participation in social activities and access to school, not only because of their disability, but especially because of so...cial, cultural, and political barriers that prevent them from enjoying the same opportunities as their peers.
Daniela Bruni, a specialist in education in emergency contexts, who has overseen JRS’s related projects for the past two years, has developed a guide on inclusive education.
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This document lays out economic arguments for investing in the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator). Framed within an overall context that recognizes the broader human health and societal impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, ACT-Accelerator's<.../span> Economic Investment Case argues that investment in ACT-Accelerator is the world’s best bet and most viable solution for restarting the global economy. It is intended for governments, multilaterals, civil society, businesses and foundations and all those interested in the work required to change the course of the pandemic. The global deployment of ACT-Accelerator’s comprehensive package of tools will reduce the severity of COVID-19 disease, enabling countries to transition out of the crisis thereby restarting domestic and international economic engines driving our global economy.
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The Global Appeal provides updated information for government, private donors, partners and other readers interested in UNHCR's priorities and budgeted activities for 2021 to protect and improve the lives of tens of millions of people of concern (re...fugees, internally displaced people, stateless persons and others)
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This report provides an analysis of donor government funding to address the HIV response in low- and
middle-income countries in 2022, the latest year available, as well as trends over time. It includes both
bilateral funding from donors and their contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tub...erculosis and
Malaria (Global Fund), UNITAID, and UNAIDS. Overall, the analysis shows that while donor government
funding for HIV increased between 2021 and 2022, this was primarily due to the timing of payments from
the U.S. government and not actual increases in commitments.
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The World Heart Federation (WHF) commenced a Roadmap initiative in 2015 to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease and resultant burgeoning of healthcare costs. Roadmaps provide a blueprint for implementation of priority solutions for the principal cardiovascular diseases leading to death... and disability. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of these conditions and is an increasing problem due to ageing of the world’s population and an increase in cardiovascular risk factors that predispose to AF. The goal of the AF roadmap was to provide guidance on priority interventions that are feasible in multiple countries, and to identify roadblocks and potential strategies to overcome them.
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Atherosclerotic lower-extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) is increasingly recognized as an important cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that affects more than 230 million people worldwide. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors, ...including advanced age, smoking, and diabetes, are strongly linked to an increase risk of PAD. Although PAD has been historically underappreciated compared to coronary artery disease and stroke, greater attention on PAD in recent years has led to important new epidemiologic insights in the areas of thrombosis, inflammation, dyslipidemia, and microvascular disease. In addition, the concept of polyvascular disease, or clinically-evident atherosclerosis in multiple arterial beds, is increasingly identified as a particularly malignant cardiovascular disease worthy of special clinical attention and further study. It is noteworthy that PAD may increase the risk of adverse outcomes in similar or even greater magnitude than coronary disease or stroke. In this review, we highlight important new advances in the epidemiology of PAD with a particular focus on polyvascular disease, emerging biomarkers, and differential risk pathways for PAD compared to other atherosclerotic diseases.
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Diabetes is a major public health problem in the Americas and worldwide, demanding special attention and integrated response. It is estimated that more than 62 million adults are living with diabetes in the Americas. The projections show that diabet...es prevalence will continue to increase to at least 2025. Its steady rise has been mainly due to the high prevalence of risk factors, especially overweight/obesity and physical inactivity.
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The Government of Malawi is committed to improving health and livelihoods in Malawi through community health – the
provision of basic health services in rural and urban communities with the participation of people who live there.
Historically, Community Health has significantly contributed to im...provements in Malawi’s health outcomes in particular
attainment of MDG4. However, the community health system faces resource constraints and inconsistencies around quality
of service – which negatively affect health outcomes.
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Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) is one of the greatest child survival challenges in the world today and
reportedly affects more than 16.2 million children each year1. High impact, proven treatment interventions exist
yet sadly approximately only 3....2 million children with SAM have access to treatment each year2. Thus, there
is a need to scale up interventions to improve coverage and access across high burden countries. While efforts
are currently underway to expand services in many countries, obstacles remain.
One critical barrier to expanding SAM treatment services is the acceptance, accessibility and utilisation of
ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). In some countries and contexts, RUTF is still not fully accepted by
community members; while other countries face problems with procurement, storage and supply chain
management which impact on availability and use3. Reports from Ghana and Zambia highlighted that stock-
outs and logistical challenges are often noted as key contributors to high default rates in outpatient treatment
centres4.
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The aim of this guidance manual is to introduce the user to project/programme plan- ning in a Red Cross Red Crescent environment. It describes the different stages of the planning phase of the “project/programme cycle” within the context of Results-Based Management (RBM). It also gives an overvi...ew of the various components of RBM and explains how to integrate and apply this approach in practice. In addition, the manual summarizes briefly the other key phases of the cycle (assessment, imple- mentation and monitoring, evaluation) and provides references to the key Federation manuals on these phases.
The manual has been developed primarily for use by people managing projects and programmes either in a National Society or the secretariat of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (International Federation). Although it is mainly designed for use at the country level, the basic principles can be applied to project and programme planning at any level. The manual draws on two International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement publications – the International Federation’s Project Planning Process (2002) and the ICRC Economic Security Unit’s Programme/ Project Management: The Results-Based Approach (2008) – reflecting the significant similarity of approach. The International Federation has developed the manual internally to suit the particular needs and uses of project/programme management within the organization.
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The article outlines the prioritized research agenda for the prevention and control of chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) as part of the World Health Organization's (WHO) action plan on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) from 2008 to 2013. It highligh...ts the significant global impact of CRDs, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other related conditions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The document stresses the need for effective prevention strategies and better surveillance, as well as enhanced healthcare infrastructure and resources in LMICs. It calls for research into CRD risk factors, effective interventions, and integrated care approaches that align with broader NCD prevention programs. The article emphasizes the importance of public health initiatives and cross-sector collaborations to reduce the disease burden and improve patient outcomes.
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Chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kill more than
four million people every year and affect hundreds
of millions more. These diseases erode th...e health
and well-being of the patients and have a negative
impact on families and societies. Women and
children are particularly vulnerable, especially those
in low and middle income countries, where they are
exposed on a daily basis to indoor air pollution from
solid fuels for cooking and heating. In high income
countries, tobacco is the most important risk factor
for chronic respiratory diseases, and in some of
these countries, tobacco use among women and
young people is still increasing.
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The Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS (DNHA) in Ministry of Health and Population is grateful to all stakeholders who contributed to the development of the Nutrition Education Communication Strategy II. The DNHA acknowledges the financial and technical support from the World Bank and USAID throu...gh the Nutrition, HIV and AIDS project and Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project (FANTA III)/FHI 360, respectively. The participation of several partners including Irish Aid, the European Union (EU), Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organisation (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Civil Society Organisation Nutrition Alliance (CSONA), Concern Worldwide and the Clinton Health Access Initiative(CHAI).
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PLoSONE 14(9):e0223104.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223104.
The survey centering on reasons behind community resistance was conducted in Butembo in November during a time of Ebola transmission. A researcher from Catholic University of Graben in Butembo and collaborators at the University o...f Alberta in Edmonton published their findings on Sep 26 in PLOS One.
To spark focus group discussions, the researchers used an 18-item questionnaire based on similar ones used during West Africa's outbreak in Guinea, where community resistance and episodes of violence also complicated the outbreak response.
Participants were a convenience sample of 670 adults from the region who were recruited by medical students at Catholic University of Graben. Those surveyed included clinicians, community members, and displaced persons.
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Environment International Volume 86, January 2016, Pages 14-23
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in weather conditions and patterns of extreme weather events. It may lead to changes in health threat to human beings, multiplying existing health problems. This review examines the scientific e...vidences on the impact of climate change on human infectious diseases. It identifies research progress and gaps on how human society may respond to, adapt to, and prepare for the related changes. Based on a survey of related publications between 1990 and 2015, the terms used for literature selection reflect three aspects — the components of infectious diseases, climate variables, and selected infectious diseases. Humans' vulnerability to the potential health impacts by climate change is evident in literature. As an active agent, human beings may control the related health effects that may be effectively controlled through adopting proactive measures, including better understanding of the climate change patterns and of the compound disease-specific health effects, and effective allocation of technologies and resources to promote healthy lifestyles and public awareness. The following adaptation measures are recommended: 1) to go beyond empirical observations of the association between climate change and infectious diseases and develop more scientific explanations, 2) to improve the prediction of spatial–temporal process of climate change and the associated shifts in infectious diseases at various spatial and temporal scales, and 3) to establish locally effective early warning systems for the health effects of predicated climate change.
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This booklet is recommended for all health workers who diagnose and treat leprosy, especially those at the first referral level such as a health centre. It contains more detail than the WHO Guide to Eliminate Leprosy as a Public Health Problem. The ...Guide gives practical advice on how to diagnose leprosy and how to give the correct treatment, and basic information on how to recognise and manage leprosy reactions.e
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Armed conflicts and natural disasters cause significant psychological and social suffering to affected populations. The psychological and social impacts of emergencies may be acute in the short term, but they can also undermine the long-term mental health and psychosocial well-being of the affected ...population. These impacts may threaten peace, human rights and development. One of the priorities in emergencies is thus to protect and improve people’s mental health and psychosocial well-being.
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This Topic Guide has been compiled to provide an overview of undernutrition in the context of development. The focus of the Guide is on undernutrition, defined as the outcome of insufficient (quantity and quality) of food intake (hunger) and repeated infectious diseases. Undernutrition includes bein...g underweight for one’s age, too short for one’s age (stunted), underweight for one’s height (wasted), and deficient in vitamins and minerals (micronutrient malnutrition). This review does not focus on the other component of malnutrition, which is overnutrition
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this toolkit presents a structured, rating-based methodology designed to provide a rapid, comprehensive assessment of the capacity of the human resource support system for a country’s supply chain. Data are gathered from a document review, focus g...roup discussions, and in-country stakeholder interviews to identify the strengths, areas for improvement, opportunities, and challenges for a wide range of human resource inputs and components. The findings are transformed into specific recommendations and strategies for action based on an understanding of country priorities and programming gaps. It includes Word templates; PowerPoint templates and Exce-based Diagnostic Dashboard
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