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OCHA Policy Brief on Gendered Drivers, Risks and Impacts of Food Insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2023) CC

It is widely understood that the food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing and most neglected crises. It lacks sufficient global focus, resources and urgency. As in so many crises, women and girls are disproportionately affected and shoulder t...he consequences of protracted neglect, with unconscionable impacts on their safety, life chances and agency. Gaining a holistic view of the gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is difficult. This is due to a lack of data and prioritization, and the large geographical and socioeconomic terrain covered by both regions. However, what we do know about this crisis is more than enough to urgently address the needs of women and girls. An OCHA discussion paper on this topic (which will be published imminently, and from which this policy brief is drawn) found that there is: A strong risk of profound regression in gender equality gains made to date in the countries of concern, including on education, sexual and reproductive health, and the economic independence of women and girls (with knock-on effects on broader humanitarian and development outcomes). An increasing challenge to reverse what must be recognized as a protracted and growing gender-based violence (GBV) emergency in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. The food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is protracted, multidimensional and highly gendered, with spiralling impacts on gender equality and food security outcomes. It is driven by interwoven and overlapping factors, including climate change, political instability, conflict, socioeconomic conditions, migration and displacement and, more recently, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Interlinked with these factors are gendered structural drivers of food insecurity, including deeply entrenched gender inequalities and harmful social norms. Gendered risks and impacts of food insecurity include alarming limitations on access to education, sexual and reproductive health rights, women’s agency and participation, and dramatic increases in different existing forms of GBV and the emergence of new ones. Recognition of such gendered dimensions of food insecurity and of the need for a multisectoral approach in the response is key to addressing the crisis, along-side sustained commitment and adequate allocation of resources. This policy brief draws out key findings from the OCHA discussion paper on this topic, which includes a desk review of studies, assessments and reports, and interviews with local women’s organizations on the front lines of the food insecurity crisis in communities across both regions. Below are the most pressing gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity (not in order of priority), as well as key gaps in the current humanitarian response to food insecurity, and recommendations to take forward. more

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The path that ends AIDS: UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2023
recommended

UN Children's Fund UNICEF (2023) CC

This report makes clear that there is a path to end AIDS. Taking that path will help ensure preparedness to address other pandemic challenges, and advance progress across the Sustainable Development Goals. The data and real-world examples in the report make it very clear what that path is. It is not... more

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Mental health action plan for the WHO South-East Asia Region 2023–2030
recommended

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

Member States of the Region have initiated processes to strengthen leadership and governance for mental health. Several countries have developed and implemented mental health plans, strategies and legislations. Direct spending on mental health needs to be increased throughout the Region through the ... more

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Panorama of Diabetes in the Americas

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) (2022) C_WHO

The burden of diabetes is enormous, positioning it as one of the main challenges facing public health today. Currently, it is estimated that 62 million people are living with diabetes in the Region of the Americas and projections show its prevalence will continue rising over the following years. The... more

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Panorama de la diabetes en la Región de las Américas

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) (2022) C_WHO

La carga de la diabetes es enorme, posicionándola como uno de los principales desafíos que enfrenta la salud pública en la actualidad. Actualmente, se estima que 62 millones de personas viven con diabetes en la Región de las Américas y las proyecciones muestran que su prevalencia seguirá aumen... more

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Advancing Climate-Resilient Education Technical Guidance

US Agency for International Development USAID (2023) CC

The Advancing Climate-Resilient Education Technical Guidance builds on the USAID 2022–2030 Climate Strategy and the 2018 USAID Education Policy to support USAID Missions and partners who seek to integrate climate action and awareness into education programs and are committed to achieving climate-r... more

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UN Women Humanitarian Strategy (2022–2025) In Brief

UN Women (2023) CC

This publication provides an overview of UN Women’s commitments to the humanitarian community guided by the “UN Women strategic plan 2022–2025”. It highlights areas where UN Women has a unique advantage in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls across the humanitari... more

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Macroeconomics and health : investing in health for economic development / report of the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health

World Health Organization WHO (2002) C_WHO

The Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (CMH) was established by World Health Organization Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland in January 2000 to assess the place of health in global economic development. Although health is widely understood to be both a central goal and an important outcome ... more

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From Panic and Neglect to Investing in Health Security

The World Bank (2017) CC

Multiple pandemics, numerous outbreaks, thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars of national income wiped out—all since the turn of this century, in barely 17 years—and yet the world’s investments in pandemic preparedness and response remain woefully inadequate. We know by now that the ... more

Global report on children with developmental disabilities

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

Developmental disabilities are common. Yet, children with developmental disabilities have been neglected in health systems planning and policy provisions for health and continue to experience stigmatization, institutionalization, barriers to access health care and inequalities in health and educatio... more

Tracking Universal Health Coverage: 2023 Global monitoring report

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

The world is off track to make significant progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) (SDG target 3.8) by 2030 as improvements to health services coverage have stagnated since 2015, and the proportion of the population that faced catastrophic levels of out-of-pocket (OOP) health spending has i... more

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Global report on hypertension: the race against a silent killer
recommended

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

This report compiles data for the first time on the far-reaching consequences of uncontrolled hypertension, including heart attacks, strokes and premature death, along with substantial economic losses for communities and countries. It also contains information on the global, regional and country-lev... more

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Tuberculosis Research Funding Trends 2005-2020

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2021) C_WHO

Previous advocacy efforts have achieved tangible goals in terms garnering political commitments to increase financing for TB—as seen at the 2018 UN High-Level Meeting on TB. The challenge now is to ensure that these commitments are actually met within a global biomedical research ecosystem that... more

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Malaria action plan for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 2022-2030

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

This action plan is intended for senior-level decision-makers in ministries of health, malaria programme managers, entomologists, and epidemiologists working on malaria and other vectorborne diseases programmes. It is also intended for decision-makers and technical and advocacy staff at other orga... more