The primary audience for the guideline is policy makers and health programme managers of MNCH and immunization programmes in ministries ...="attribute-to-highlight medbox">of health where decisions are made and policies created on the use and implementation of homebased records.
The guideline is also aimed at health providers who use home-based records as a tool for recording information and providing health education or communicating key information. Development and international agencies and non-governmental organizations that support the implementation of home-based records will also find this guideline of use.
more
Children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable in humanitarian settings, yet they are often not able to access the services and protection they need. While multiple factors create these barr...iers, a major cause is how data about children with disabilities is collected and mapped. Data collection processes often exclude or underrepresent the views of children with disabilities and thier caretakers. When the experiences of children with disabilities and their caretakers are not defined and collected, they become excluded from mainstreamed protective services, which are meant to serve all children. Children with disabilities also do not get the specialised interventions they need.
This guidance note explores how to use qualitative methods to create more robust assessment processes to ensure more effective programming and services for children with disabilities. This note provides promising practices for engaging with children with disabilities and includes sample tools that can be tailored to fit the needs of a particular assessment process. The note also explores the importance of thoughtful cross-sectoral responses so that children with disabilities, and their families, are carefully considered in areas like water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), education, health, and nutrition, and therefore receive the holistic support they need and deserve.
This note is intended for a broad audience of relevant child protection actors, including practitioners, coordination groups, researchers, and donors. The information is not limited to one type of humanitarian setting, geographic region, or culture. As a result, the practices and guidance should be adapted to each specific context, ideally in partnership with well-informed local actors, such as representatives from local organisations for persons with disabilities.
more
The report focuses on several key areas where health outcomes are falling short, and provides insight into ways in which countries can improve the ...situation for their children and adolescents. Areas in focus include mental health, overweight/obesity and adolescent risk-taking behaviour.
The report shows, for example, that:
- mental health remains a neglected subject – only one quarter of countries are collecting data on the number of children treated by a mental health professional;
- half of countries do not regulate the marketing of food to children, despite the fact that childhood obesity rates are high across the Region and physical activity rates are low;
- almost half of countries have no policy that affects the availability of unhealthy foods at school;
- 2 in 5 girls and 1 in 3 boys who are having sex do not protect themselves; and
one third of countries do not offer legal access to contraception without parental consent for those under 18 years of age.
more
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have newly developed "Caring for ...to-highlight medbox">Child Survivors of Sexual Abuse Guidelines" for health and psychosocial providers in humanitarian settings - “CCS Guidelines”. The CCS Guidelines are based on global research and evidence-based field practice, and bring a much-needed fresh and practical approach to helping child survivors, and their families, recover and heal from the oftentimes devastating impacts of sexual abuse. The guidelines walk the reader through the core knowledge, attitude and skill competencies required for service providers to effectively care for children and families affected by sexual abuse. In addition, the guidelines outline how to provide case management and basic psychosocial care for child survivors, as well as best practices for coordinating care.
more
The Toolkit for Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings was developed by
the International Federation ...edbox">of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Reference
Centre for Psychosocial Support and World Vision International. The toolkit provides
a set of materials to assist managers and facilitators/animators in setting up and
implementing quality Child Friendly Spaces (CFS). These resources have at their core
the protection of children from harm; the promotion of psychosocial well-being; and
the engagement of community and caregiver capacities. The CFS Toolkit includes:
• Activity Catalogue for Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings
• Operational Guidance for Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings
• Training for Implementers of Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings.
more
Sexual abuse perpetrated against children is one of the most significant crises of our time. ...an class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">Child sexual abuse is a significant risk factor for children, in common with other forms of child maltreatment. Sexual abuse can have severe short- and long-term consequences on the physical, mental, social, emotional and economic well-being of children, families and communities. In emergencies, the threat of all forms of child abuse and gender-based violence (GBV), including child sexual abuse, is acute and widespread.
more
Produced by UNICEF and IRC, with the support of the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ) and ...ight medbox">the generous funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Caring for Child Survivors of Sexual Abuse (CCS) Resource Package (Second Edition, 2023) is a revision of the original CCS Guidelines and associated Training (First Edition, 2012). The Second Edition offers an up-to-date global technical guidance on providing a model of quality care for children and families affected by sexual abuse in humanitarian settings. The new resources include both revised and content additions based on practitioner feedback, the most recent evidence and learning. In particular, the Guidelines aim to bring a stronger focus on gender inequality, intersectionality, as well as the connections between the best interests of the child and a survivor-centered approach.
more
Progress in reducing tobacco use is a key indicator for measuring countries’ efforts to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control... – target 3.a under the Sustainable Development Goals agenda. Countries have adopted this indicator to report progress also towards the tobacco reduction target under the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013–2020 and the WHO’s Global Programme of Work triple billions target.
Fourth edition.
more
This document provides an overview of sexual and reproductive health and rights issues that may be important for the human ...o-highlight medbox">rights, health and well-being of adolescents (aged 10–19 years) and the relevant World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on how to address them in an easilyaccessible, user-friendly format. The document serves as a gateway to the rich body of WHO guidelines, and as a handy resource to inform advocacy, policy and programme/project design and research. It aims to support the implementation of the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health 2016–2030 (1), and is aligned with the WHO Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!) as well as the WHO Operational Framework on Sexual Health and Its Linkages to Reproductive Health (2,3).
more
Findings from this report reveal that, rates of early marriage are high, a significant percentage of children contribute to ...to-highlight medbox">the household’s income or are its main source of income, and restrictions on the mobility of women and girls constrain their participation in social and economic activities and their access to basic services. As the overwhelming majority of refugees do not have paid employment and rely mainly on aid and dwindling family resources, the more the situation of displacement is prolonged the greater the likelihood of higher rates of child labour for boys and early marriage for girls.
more
In many conflicts around the world, more children die from diseases linked to unsafe water than from direct violence. UNICEF is releasing Water Under Fire volume 3, a report that highlights ...ass="attribute-to-highlight medbox">the issues children face in accessing water in times of war. The report demonstrates the humanitarian impact on children through case studies from Iraq, State of Palestine, Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine. Attacks on water, sanitation services and staff must stop.
more
How we respond both now and going forward will help mitigate the impact of COVID-19, and to the extent possible preserve ...highlight medbox">children’s rights to Survive, Learn, and Be Protected. We will focus our efforts on the most critical work essential to maintaining these commitments to the extent possible.
more
We live in a world in which 28 million children have been driven from their
homes as a result of conflict, persecution and insecurity¹. If current trends
continue, more than 63 million ...s="attribute-to-highlight medbox">children could be forced to flee by 2025², of
which over 25 million will cross borders and become refugees. At least
300,000 of these child refugees will end up alone, separated from their
families³. Without a step-change in the provision of education for refugee
children, at least 12 million of them will be out of school by 2025⁴.
more
One billion people around the world live with disabilities. This report makes the case that they are being “left behind” in the global communit...y’s work on health. This lack of access not only violates the rights of people with disabilities under international law, but UHC and SDG 3 cannot be attained without better health services for the one billion people with disabilities.
more
UNHCR invested significantly in risk mitigation, prevention and response to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in the Europe region in 2022-2023, in particular in connection with ...bute-to-highlight medbox">the Ukraine emergency, where the risks were considered high due to the unprecedented scale and speed of displacement, mostly women and children, combined with high turnover of humanitarian staff and the range of new and untraditional actors involved in the response. PSEA also remains a priority for UNHCR’s work for other refugees, internally displaced and stateless persons across the region.
This compilation highlights the 10 most promising practices that were initiated by UNHCR and its partners in the Europe region in 2022-2023. These practices are shared with the aim to inspire further work on PSEA in the region and elsewhere and encourage continuous learning and exchange.
more
Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, [S.l.], v. 24, n. 3, p. 112-122, nov. 2013. ISSN 2211-5242
Children with disabilities encounter more violence in their lives than their peers without disability. Organisations involved in Community Based Re...habilitation (CBR) come across many cases of violence against the children they work with. Many organisations have no policy on child protection since it is not within the scope of their expertise. Others work with child protection policies that are hard to apply in the realities they deal with. Through research done in Ethiopia, with a recent update, the author attempts to show that there is a need for policies in CBR, that follow a community approach rather than an individual approach to child protection.
more
Despite growing evidence on the impact of psychosocial support interventions, there is an urgent need for a stronger evidence base ...ribute-to-highlight medbox">on approaches that effectively support children affected by armed conflict. To contribute to this evidence base, and building on a pilot study conducted in Uganda in 2009, War Child conducted an exploratory outcome evaluation of its psychosocial support intervention ‘I DEAL’ in South Sudan and Colombia in 2012. The objective of the evaluation was to explore the outcomes that I DEAL achieves for children and the factors that influence the achievement of those outcomes to further inform and strengthen the intervention
more
This report assesses the impact of the conflict in Ukraine and its implications for organized crime and security-related issues for neighbouring co...untries, with a focus on Moldova.
These include:
Organized crime and illicit trafficking (including trafficking in persons, drugs, arms, illicit tobacco, and other goods); Cybercrimes and fraud; Disinformation and propaganda; and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats.
more
Researchers focused on mental health of conflict-affected children are increasingly interested in the...span> concept of resilience. Knowledge on resilience may assist in developing interventions aimed at improving positive outcomes or reducing negative outcomes, termed promotive or protective interventions.
more
WHO-OHCHR launch new guidance to improve laws addressing human rights abuses in mental health care
Ahead of World Mental Health Day, the World H...ealth Organization (WHO) and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) are jointly launching a new guidance, entitled "Mental health, human rights and legislation: guidance and practice", to support countries to reform legislation in order to end human rights abuses and increase access to quality mental health care.
Human rights abuses and coercive practices in mental health care, supported by existing legislation and policies, are still far too common. Involuntary hospitalization and treatment, unsanitary living conditions and physical, psychological, and emotional abuse characterize many mental health services across the world.
more