Urogenital schistosomiasis is a common neglected tropical disease in many rural communities in African countries, with patches of infection in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Globally, an estimated 239 million people are currently infected, with burden estimated at more than 3.5 million disability
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-adjusted life years (DALYs). In many endemic areas, severely infected individuals may suffer fibrosis of the bladder, kidney damage, bladder cancer, and death if untreated. This, however, depends on several factors such as host-parasite genetics, degree and length of exposure, intensity of infection, host immune response to the parasites, and coinfections with other tropical diseases such as malaria and HIV-1.
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On 6 February at 4:17 am, a 7.8 degrees magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey near Syria’s
northern border. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was centered about 33 km (20 miles)
from Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital. Tremors were felt as far away as Lebanon, Greece
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Palestine, and the island of Cyprus. Another big earthquake was felt on the same day at around 1:24
pm local time, largely in the same affected areas. Aftershocks will continue to shake the area as fault
lines adjust to such a huge initial tremor. There’s even a risk—albeit a small one—of an aftershock
bigger than the original quake.
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Nigeria reported its first case of COVID-19 at the end of February 2020 and subsequently experienced
four waves, with peaks in June 2020 and January, August and December 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic
severely impacted the economy of Nigeria and caused disruption of health services nationwide. During
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the crisis, many Nigerians failed to access routine health
services due to decreased income and lockdown
restrictions. The most significant service disruptions
were in maternal and newborn health, vaccination,
sick childcare, family planning and noncommunicable
disease treatment services (1). Pregnant women
were anxious about contracting COVID-19 during
2020, and as a result, many avoided attending health
facilities for antenatal (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC).
Disruptions in the medical supply chain and diversion
of resources to COVID-19 management impacted on
essential health services. Health workers were often
unable to go to work because of transport disruptions
or illness
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This paper introduces a new dataset of official financing—including foreign aid and other forms of concessional and non-concessional state financing—from China to 138 countries between 2000 and 2014. We use these data to investigate whether and to what extent Chinese aid affects economic growth
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in recipient countries. To account for the endogeneity of aid, we employ an instrumental-variables strategy that relies on exogenous variation in the supply of Chinese aid over time resulting from changes in Chinese steel production. Variation across recipient countries results from a country’s probability of receiving aid. Controlling for year- and recipient-fixed effects that capture the levels of these variables, their interaction provides a powerful and excludable instrument. Our results show that Chinese official development assistance (ODA) boosts economic growth in recipient countries. For the average recipient country, we estimate that one additional Chinese ODA project produces a 0.7 percentage point increase in economic growth two years after the project is committed. We also benchmark the effectiveness of Chinese aid vis-á-vis the World Bank, the United States, and all members of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC).
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In line with the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organisations which IFRC, ICRC and various Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies have endorsed, this short Guide aims to help practitioners integrate environmental and climate change considerations into their work. It has been dev
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eloped primarily for logistics staff, administrative staff, and management. It is not necessary to be an environmental expert to use this Guide.
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Zimbabwe has, over the years, grappled with the repercussions of the climate crisis, which have led to erratic rainfall patterns characterized by either severe floods or prolonged periods of drought. The nation has experienced a concerning trend of numerous regions reporting rainfall levels below th
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e usual during what should be "normal" years. The upcoming El Niño event forecasted for 2023-2024, which is associated with drier-than-average rainfall, is poised to exacerbate this predicament. It is expected to intensify aridity, significantly impacting food and animal production across many areas, including those typically classified as "dry regions."
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Ukraine: Russian invasion has forced older people with disabilities to endure isolation and neglect – new report
Many temporary shelters inaccessible to people with physical disabilities
Overburdened care system often provides few alternatives to institutions for older people
Authorities
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and humanitarian actors must ensure an inclusive response
Displaced older people with disabilities in Ukraine are physically and financially unable to access adequate housing and care amid Russia’s ongoing invasion, sometimes leaving few alternatives to being placed in residential institutions, Amnesty International said in a new report.
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Anaemia is a serious global public health problem that particularly affects young children, menstruating adolescent girls and women, and pregnant and postpartum women. It is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal, affectin
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g the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to the body’s tissues.
To reliably monitor the prevalence of anaemia at a population level, it is vital to measure the haemoglobin concentration in an accurate and precise way. In large-scale surveys, however, haemoglobin is most commonly measured using single-drop capillary blood specimens in point-of-care devices. Emerging evidence suggests that the use of single-drop capillary blood can introduce random and/or systematic errors, which may lead to inaccurate estimates, complicating effective anaemia programming.
This technical brief describes the current best practices for haemoglobin measurement, providing guidance to help plan or implement field surveys to assess anaemia at a population level. Continuing work to review emerging evidence is led by members of the WHO-UNICEF Technical Expert Advisory group on nutrition Monitoring (TEAM).
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The article "Asthma in South African adolescents: a time trend and risk factor analysis over two decades" investigates the prevalence and risk factors for asthma in Cape Town adolescents from 2002 to 2017. The study finds that while the overall prevalence of asthma remained similar, the severity of
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the condition increased significantly. Risk factors for asthma and severe cases include smoking, pet exposure, outdoor pollution, and living in informal housing. Despite these trends, underdiagnosis remains a concern, as only one-third of adolescents with current or severe asthma had been formally diagnosed. The article emphasizes the need for better public health strategies to address environmental exposures and improve asthma diagnosis and treatment.
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Malawi is a small and beautiful country in south-central Africa. It is divided into three administrative regions: south, central and north. The regions are further subdivided into 28 districts. The Southern Region is the most densely populated, while the Northern Region is the least populated.
The postpartum period is a critical time for mothers and newborns, who require essential hygiene and personal items, such as menstrual pads, clothes, and diapers, to ensure their well- being and health. Although these items are simple, they can significantly enhance well- being. Conversely, lacking
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these essentials can increase the risk of infections for mothers and newborns.
In Gaza, the current emergency situation has meant women face significant limitations in accessing these essential items due to market unavailability, financial constraints, high security risks, and border closures.
In response, organizations working in sexual and reproductive health in Gaza have united to provide postpartum kits (PPKs) to mothers and newborns effectively.
With approximately 4,000 live births occurring in Gaza each month, it is crucial for partners to collaborate in advocating for resources and ensuring timely procurement and distribution of these kits.
Moreover, to ensure equitable access and consistent quality of the kits for all women, partners have agreed on a unified set of criteria for their composition and distribution.
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Step-by-step risk management guidance for drinking-water supplies in small communities.
This selected material from Hesperian's Community Guide to Environmental Health offers 48 pages of information on basic sanitation and hygiene, including instructions on building safe, affordable, environmentally-friendly sanitation systems, as well as learning activities to help communities underst
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and and prevent sanitation-related health problems. Also available in Spanish and French.
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This Clinic Supervisor’s Manual is helpful for focusing managers on the key elements of integrated primary health care as they simultaneously integrate new interventions for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. This tool contains 12 sections. Section 1 explains how to use the manual. Section 2 hel
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ps the clinic supervisors organize their supervisory visit. The remainder of the sections focus on a number of key areas during a clinic supervision visit.
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The power relations around global decisions which shape population health can be changed through new alliances and information flows. The Democratising Global Health Governance Initiative, of which WHO Watch is a project, is designed to contribute to improved population health (and health equity) th
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rough new alliances and information flows.
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A practical tool for field based humanitarian workers. It provides up-to-date, clear and succint guidance on topics accross the humanitarian sector including references to current, relevant resources and practical tools.
This 88 page book is designed to help primary care workers understand mental health problems and how they can be treated. Mental health problems from childhood to old age are examined. The book focuses primarily on the Afghan culture but is also relevant to a wider community