The COVID-19 pandemic is having far reaching impacts, well beyond the health crisis and needs, with the most severe impacts experienced in the poorest countries and those most vulnerable to
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humanitarian crises including natural disasters, such as Nepal.
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This guidance note is meant to assist humanitarian actors, youth-led organizations, and young people themselves across sectors, working at local, country, regional,
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and global levels in their response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. It begins diagnostically, exploring the impacts of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on young people. It then proposes a series of actions that practitioners and young people can take to ensure that COVID-19 preparedness, response plans and actions, are youth-inclusive and youth-focused – with and for young people. Recommendations are structured around the five key actions of the Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action: services, participation, capacity, resources, and data. Where available, the recommended actions are accompanied by resources and concrete examples, which can inform approaches and support implementation
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In this review, the editors will investigate the impact of eight WASH interventions in preventing (reducing the risk of) and controlling outbreaks in LMIC, with particular focus on three diseases of current concern to the response community – chol
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era, Ebola, and Hepatitis E. Additionally, we will explore economic outcomes related to WASH interventions within an outbreak
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Rwanda first confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in March 2020. Although the number of cases has been low, health system resources are being redirected to respond and an increasing number of children are affected by the socio-econ
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omic impacts of the pandemic, including disruptions to schooling and heightened protection risks.
While Rwanda remained Ebola-free during the outbreak, it remains a priority country and continues to maintain its Ebola preparedness. Rwanda is also home to 147,000 refugees, half of whom are children, who require assistance in and outside of camps.1 In 2021, UNICEF will continue to deliver life-saving services to refugees and children and families affected by COVID-19 and its socio-economic impacts, and maintain its Ebola preparedness and contingency planning.
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The steps reassert the sequence of the HPC, with needs analysis directly informing decisions about the response and monitoring, whether for the preparation of new plans or adjustments to existing ones. The steps of the HPC have a rationale
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and cannot be skipped. However, the depth of work under each step can and should be adapted to the realities of the operating environment and capacities.
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Key highlights from January to April 2020 (Syria situation)
Across the MENA region, UNHCR is receiving alarming reports of increasing mental health issues among the forcibly displaced. Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) activities are b
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eing stepped up by UNHCR and partners to address this new dangerous trend.
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The Minimum Standards and Indicators for Community Engagement were developed through an inter‑agency consultation process that engaged a large number of experts from around the world. UNICEF wishes to acknowledge the contribution of all those that
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participated, and who share a passion for placing communities at the centre of development and humanitarian action. The consultation process consisted of a series of interviews, meetings and workshops over an 18‑month period. Representatives from countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America contributed input and feedback based on their experiences of designing, implementing and measuring community engagement approaches
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The Child Protection handbook provides a synthesis of good practice and learning and enables better advocacy and communication on child protection
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risks, needs and responses. Standards addressing child protection needs cover core work areas and critical issues. Those addressing strategy relate to case management, community-based child protection, child-friendly spaces and protection of excluded children. A fourth set of standards gives guidance on how workers in other sectors can ensure that their programmes are accessible and beneficial to children. DOCUMENT ALSO AVAILABLE IN: Arabic, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Korean, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu on http://cpwg.net/minimum_standards-topics/cpms-full-version/.
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Water, sanitation and hygiene education in schools – WASH in Schools – provides safe drinking water, improves sanitation facilities and promotes lifelong health. WASH in Schools enhances the wel
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l-being of children and their families, and paves the way for new generations of healthy children.
from Schools offers a snapshot of WASH in Schools experiences across the globe. These stories have been gathered through a retrospective search of UNICEF’s global and country office websites. They represent a myriad of activities undertaken by UNICEF and partners in 2010 and 2011.
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In many humanitarian emergencies, there is a serious lack of access to even the most basic materials needed for managing the blood in addition to a lack of appropriate sanitation facilities (including water), which are critical for addressing menst
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rual hygiene. Privacy in emergencies is often scarce, and even if toilets are available they often lack locks, functioning doors, lighting and separation between genders. These barriers are often intensified by cultural beliefs and taboos surrounding menstruation which can restrict the movements and behaviors of girls and women
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2nd edition. Essential guideline for humanitarian assistance
The floods caused by the Tropical Cyclone IDAI has affected 3 million people in the Republics of Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe leaving 839 people dead, and this figure continued to rise as the rai
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ns stopped and water subsided. To date, over 201,476 people (Table 1) have been displaced and about 317 camps established. A total of 2,347 people have been reported injured and over 300 people are still missing in the affected countries.
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Updated 8 June 2021. Coronavirus is spreading globally. How can individuals, communities, humanitarian actors, local and national authorities best respond to uphold the rights of all affected people
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?
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Refugees and migrants face similar health threats from COVID-19 as their host populations. However, inadequate access to essential services and exclusion may makes early detection, testing, diagnosi
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s, contact tracing and seeking care for COVID-19 difficult for refugees and migrants thus increasing the risk of outbreaks in these population and presenting an additional threat to public health. This document offers guidance to Member States and partners for the inclusion of refugees and migrants, as part of holistic efforts to respond to COVID-19 epidemics in the general populations.
17 April 2020
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The state of the Guinean health workforce is one of the country’s bottlenecks in advancing health outcomes. The impact of the 2014–2015 Ebola virus disease outbreak and resulting international attention has provided a policy window to invest in
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the workforce and reform the health system. This research constitutes a baseline study on the health workforce situation, professional education, and retention policies in Guinea. The study was conducted to inform capacity development as part of a scientific collaboration between Belgian and Guinean health institutes aiming to strengthen public health systems and health workforce development. It provides initial recommendations to the Guinean government and key actors.
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The humanitarian-development-peace nexus (HDPNX) is a new way of working that offers a framework for coherent joined-up planning and implementation of shared priorities between
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humanitarian development and peacebuilding actors in emergency settings. To advance the HDPNx in a given country a shared foundational understanding of the current situation is needed. However it can be challenging to find such a resource perpetuating poor understanding planning and operationalization. This is one of a series of country profiles that have been developed by WHO to address that need. Each profile provides an overview of health-related nexus efforts in the country and will be updated regularly.
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The indicators and questions in this document are designed for use by national AIDS programmes and partners to assess the state of a country’s HI
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V and AIDS response, and to measure progress towards achieving national HIV targets. Countries are encouraged to integrate these indicators and questions into their ongoing monitoring efforts and to report comprehensive national data through the Global AIDS Monitoring (GAM) process. In this way they will contribute to improving understanding of the global response to the HIV epidemic, including progress that has been made towards achieving the commitments and global targets set out in the new United Nations Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030, adopted in June 2021, and the linked Sustainable Development Goals.
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This edition of UNICEF’s annual Humanitarian Action for Children highlights UNICEF’s funding appeal, which sets out an ambitious agenda to address the major challenges facing children and young
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people living through conflict and crisis. It presents the investments needed in 2021 to save their lives and protect their futures.
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From Participation to Partnerships (September 2020)
Despite the COVID-19 challenges, children around the world have found meaningful ways to support and protect their peers, families, and communiti
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es. Children are on the frontlines of innovative responses and are working closely with their adult allies. The leadership demonstrated through these child-adult partnerships is the underlying inspiration for this guide.
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How the Greek reception system is failing to protect the most vulnerable people seeking asylum.
Greece and its EU partners are failing pregnant women, unaccompanied children, victims of torture or
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sexual violence and other vulnerable people who seek protection in Europe. These people are being put at risk by flawed processes and chronic understaffing in EU ‘hotspot’ camps on the Greek islands. They do not receive adequate support from the authorities that are legally responsible for protecting them and are being abandoned in overcrowded camps in squalid conditions. Many people live in unheated tents and do not have sufficient access to washing facilities and toilets, and winter is only making their situation worse
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