A comprehensive briefing by Half of Syria
April 2020
A comprehensive briefing on the critical challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to Syrians, as reported by Syrian civil society organisations. These challenges have been collated following extensive interviews with the teams of member and partner
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organisations working in the field in various sectors: health, child care, education, women’s empowerment, media and culture, research, human rights and accountability, relief and social services, and local governance.
This comprehensive briefing also include concrete recommendations formulated by the Syrian civil society.
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This brief provides key considerations for engaging communities on COVID-19 and tips for how to engage where there are movement restrictions and physical distancing measures in place, particularly in low-resource settings.
The spread of COVID-19 poses a challenge for emerging markets such as those in Africa and Latin America. While governments around the world are suffering from a shortage of ventilators, hospital beds, and personal protective equipment, availability of these items is already extremely limited in some
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countries. In Africa, countries including Mali, Liberia, and Burkina Faso have only a few ventilators available to aid their populations, and there is also a lack of reliable oxygen supplies, ICUs, and healthcare workers to treat the sick. Additionally, many countries in Africa are already suffering from food insecurity and weak economies, which will worsen the long-term effects of coronavirus.
Keeping these factors in mind, GeoPoll conducted a remote study in 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa on the effects coronavirus is already having on people throughout the region.
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The creaNon of ‘friendly spaces’ for women and girls has been a key
strategy in the protecNon and empowerment of women 1 and girls in South
Sudan since conflict re-erupted in the country in December 2013. This
document provides guidance on the aims of these spaces, and how they
can best be e
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stablished and managed in the South Sudan context.
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Interim Guidance
This document is to help Member States build on actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve national medium- to long-term preparedness for future threats. It maps COVID-19 preparedness and response actions to the building of sustainable International Health Regulations (2
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005) core capacities; locates relevant supporting WHO resources that are not specific to the pandemic; and advocates for the conscious and effective allocation of COVID-19 funds to also meet countries’ longer-term need
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been a formative experience for all humanity and a health emergency of global proportions, presenting a huge challenge to national leaders, health systems, and citizens. The findings of a new report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) sho
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ws that it has also been a test to our democracies and the respect for human rights to which countries across the OSCE committed many years ago.
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The Western Pacific Regional Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (2014–2020) was developed in response to a resolution adopted at the sixty-second session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific. The regional plan is fully harmonized with
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the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (2013–2020) while adding the value of actions that build on regional achievements, contexts, opportunities and perspective
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Mozambique registered its first COVID-19 case on 22 March 2020 and since then numbers have steadily grown over the following three months with cases now reported in all provinces. In response, a level 3 State of emergency was enacted on 1 April 2020 and has been extended until 29 July 2020, with mea
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sures targeting the prevention of COVID-19 transmissions.
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The report examines how people with mental health conditions are often shackled by families in their own homes or in overcrowded and unsanitary institutions, against their will, due to widespread stigma and a lack of mental health services.
Many are forced to eat, sleep, urinate, and defecate in t
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he same tiny area. In state-run or private institutions, as well as traditional or religious healing centers, they are often forced to fast, take medications or herbal concoctions, and face physical and sexual violence. The report includes field research and testimonies from Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Palestine, the self-declared independent state of Somaliland, South Sudan, and Yemen.
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How to do it best for the patient and the family
The Government of the Republic of Zambia has placed priority on ensuring that Zambians are healthy and productive as a catalyst to the attainment of socioeconomic development . The Vision 2030 aims to transform Zambia into a prosperous middle-income country as articulated also in the 7th National De
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velop-ment Plan (7NDP) and National Health Strategic Plan 2017 – 2021 (NHSP 2017-2020). However, this aspiration is threatened by the double burden of Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseas¬es. Zambia has been recording an increase in morbidity and mortality due to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as cancers, diabetes, chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. According to the 2016 WHO NCD country profiles, 29% of all deaths in Zambia are attributed to NCDs. This is unacceptably high, considering that most of these diseases can be reduced by modifying four main behavioural risk factors for NCDs which are tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity.
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A discussion paper outlining the first steps in developing a nutrient profile model to drive changes to product composition and labelling and promotion practices in the WHO European Region
The aims of the guidance are to protect breastfeeding, prevent obesity and chronic diseases, promote a healthy
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diet, and ensure caregivers receive clear and accurate information on infant and young child feeding.
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2-Day Orientation training Orientation Training, 1 Febr. 2021
Community Health Workers (CHWs) are an essential part of the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT) Initiative • Africa CDC set up PACT to drive forward the Africa Union Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19
Available in
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English, French and Arabic
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The technical note calls for raising awareness among practitioners and policymakers about the importance of strong tobacco control measures for protecting the health and development of children, including banning tobacco advertising, implementing 100% smoke-free environments and raising taxes on tob
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acco.
Exposure to tobacco smoke has devastating impacts throughout childhood and adolescence, starting from conception.
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Recognizing the importance of the critical role of community health in disaster management, the Amref health Africa has
developed this operational guide to provide policy direction on COVID-19 response at community level. This guide has
been developed in collaboration with all the implementing cou
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ntries in supporting prevention and control of COVID-19.
With a strong community COVID-19 response system at community level, we can all contribute to prevention and control
of COVID-19, and thereby improve health and livelihoods for all people
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39 examples of field practices, and learnings from 20 countries, for all phases of humanitarian response. The report shows that deliberate and proactive action is required to ensure that persons with disabilities from all constituencies are systematically included and meaningfully participate in DRR
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and humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery. It draws lessons from field practices, but does not provide technical guidance. The newly published IASC Guidelines are the reference document to seek in-depth theoretical and technical information.
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Young people living in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau are the most at risk of the impacts of climate change, threatening their health, education, and protection, and exposing them to deadly diseases. The report is the first comprehensive analysis of climate ri
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sk from a child’s perspective. It ranks countries based on children’s exposure to climate and environmental shocks, such as cyclones and heatwaves, as well as their vulnerability to those shocks, based on their access to essential services.
Additional translations of the Executive Summary are available in the following languages, with thanks to Climate Cardinals: English, French, Arabic, Hausa, Portuguese, Spanish, Somali, Yoruba
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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) declared a Yellow Fever (YF) outbreak and activated a multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre for coordination of Yellow Fever response on 12 November 2020. The outbreak, which mainly affected three states of Delta, Enugu and Bauchi, already recorded
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a total of 222 suspected cases 19 confirmed cases and 76 deaths between 1 and 11 November 2020.
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Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the principal cause of morbidity, disability and premature mortality in Azerbaijan. The most effective way to reduce the NCD burden is to prevent NCD development, by addressing thebehavioural risk factors underlying NCDs at the population and individual leve
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ls: smoking, alcohol use, excessive salt intake, low physical activity, overweight and obesity, and unhealthy diets. In Azerbaijan, a national survey of the prevalence of major NCD risk factors, aligned with the WHO-endorsed STEPwise approach to surveillance (STEPS) methodology, was conducted in 2017.
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Lancet Oncol 2022; 23: e251–312Published OnlineMay 9, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00720-8
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), urgent action is needed to curb a growing crisis in cancer incidence and mortality.
Without rapid interventions, data estimates show a major increase in cancer mo
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rtality from 520 348 in 2020 to about
1 million deaths per year by 2030. Here, we detail the state of cancer in SSA, recommend key actions on the basis of
analysis, and highlight case studies and successful models that can be emulated, adapted, or improved across the
region to reduce the growing cancer crises. Recommended actions begin with the need to develop or update national
cancer control plans in each country. Plans must include childhood cancer plans, managing comorbidities such as
HIV and malnutrition, a reliable and predictable supply of medication, and the provision of psychosocial, supportive,
and palliative care. Plans should also engage traditional, complementary, and alternative medical practices employed
by more than 80% of SSA populations and pathways to reduce missed diagnoses and late referrals. More substantial
investment is needed in developing cancer registries and cancer diagnostics for core cancer tests.
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