As the Burundi refugee crisis enters its fourth year, some 430,000 Burundian refugees are being hosted across the region by the governments and people of Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda. Although the spectre of mass violence in Burundi has receded, with the politic...al situation still unresolved and the persistence of significant human rights concerns, refugee arrivals are expected to continue in 2018, albeit at lower levels than in previous years.
more
Now entering its ninth year, the crisis in north-east Nigeria has created vulnerabilities and humanitarian concerns. An estimated 7.7 million men, women, boys and girls are in acute need of protection and assistance. While the humanitarian community has provided life-saving assistance to over 5.6 mi...llion affected people in 2017 and helped stabilise living conditions for millions of people, reducing mortality and morbidity, significant humanitarian needs still remain.
The Humanitarian Response Plan at a glance:
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1
Provide life-saving emergency assistance to the most vulnerable people in conflict-affected areas ensuring that assistance is timely and appropriate and meets relevant technical standards.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2
Ensure that all assistance promotes the protection, safety and dignity of affected people, and is provided equitably to women, girls, men and boys.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3
Foster resilience and early recovery, and strengthen the humanitarian development nexus by working towards collective outcomes.
more
Many groups in sub-Saharan Africa have historically linked persons with disabilities with witchcraft as a component of a wider link between accusations of witchcraft and socially marginalized populations. It is commonly assumed that traditional prejudices towards persons with disabilities are recedi...ng in light of urbanization, education, mass media and efforts to confront such prejudice and stigma by governments,
disability advocates and civil society. Ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by many African countries is considered an additional impetus for change.
Working Paper Series: No. 30
more
Successful detonation of an improvised nuclear device (IND) would be a catastrophic event, causing an unprecedented number of injuries and lives lost, as well as economic, political, and social disruption. However, an effective medical response and an infrastructure prepared to protect itself from f...allout could save tens of thousands of lives. Since 2001, all levels of government, academic institutions, and professional organizations have done significant work to enhance our ability to prepare for and respond to a nuclear detonation. The following manual is intended to simplify and translate the necessary protective actions and medical response modalities in order to make them more accessible and easier to translate into practice. The approach of this manual is to provide a common baseline application for various allied response disciplines (to include senior operational responders, emergency managers, public health advisors, and municipal, State, and Federal executives and elected officials). This manual will enhance mutual understanding of the basics of nuclear response.
more
"The Emergency Response Guidelines for Anhydrous Hydrogen Fluoride (Guidelines) were prepared
by the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Hydrogen Fluoride Panel (Panel). This document is
intended to provide general information to persons addressing an emergency response in the course
of handling... and transporting anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (AHF)."
more
The roundtable provided a forum that allowed communicators across a number of Federal agencies to share information, strategies, and challenges in developing and providing communication messages and materials to the public in preparation for, and in response to, a radiation... emergency. Throughout the discussion , several “big picture” qestions were brought up that may be addressed in future interagency efforts.
more
The Global Reference List of 100 Core Health Indicators is a standard set of core indicators prioritized by the global community to provide concise information on the health situation and trends, including responses at national and global levels.
This second (2018) edition builds on the previous ...work of the inter-agency working group that was commissioned by global health leaders to reduce reporting burden. The 2018 list of indicators contains modifications and additions to indicators and metadata elements to reflect the recommended health and health-related indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals, including universal health coverage.
more
Regional Network for Equity in Health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET): Disussion Paper 111
The health services delivery system in Zambia is pyramid in structure, with primary healthcare (PHC) services at community level, at the base, followed by first and second level hospitals at distric...t and provincial levels, respectively, and third level (tertiary) services at national level. Notably, primary health services are free in Zambia and health service providers are either governmentowned or not-for-profit facilities.
Over the years, resource constraints have affected the quality and extent of healthcare services at all levels, requiring the mobilisation of additional resources for the sector. In doing so, prioritisation was high on the agenda of health sector reform. The EHB, therefore, prioritises interventions with the highest impact on the population, enabling policy makers to revisit priority diseases and conditions and to cost the services provided at each level of facility. Other key issues in developing the EHB in Zambia have included the need to have cost-effective services and cost per capita of services for more systematic budgeting, to rank interventions and to validate and cost the health benefit package as a whole.
more
This working paper is a case study on South Sudan as an important refugee country of origin. The case study looks at issues of forced displacement in South Sudan and underscores the linkages between internally displaced persons and South Sudanese refugees. The case study highlights the importance of... understanding local contexts and root drivers of conflict and displacement. It reviews evaluations of programmes in South Sudan, including past efforts at state building and refugee resettlement to look at learning within the international community. The study was undertaken as part of a wider research project on learning from evaluations to improve responses to situations of forced displacement .
more
Sectors in which Priority Adaptation Projects should be implemented first include:
- 1) Agriculture, Early Warning Systems and Forest (First Priority Level Sectors). This is followed by:
- 2) Public Health and Water Resources (Second Priority Level Sectors);
- 3) Coastal Zone (Thir...d Priority Level Sector); and
- 4) Energy and Industry, and Biodiversity (Fourth Priority Level Sectors).
more
Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2017
The report looks at the extent and impact of natural disasters across the region and how these intersect with poverty, inequality and the effects of violent conflict. But it also shows how scientific and other advances have increased the potential for building di...saster resilience and ensuring that even in the most extreme circumstances people can survive disaster impacts and rebuild their communities and livelihoods.
Disaster resilience is a key element of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Sustainable Development Goals are based on the premise of reaching absolutely everyone. When the drought is assessed, when the flood warnings are broadcast, when the tsunami siren sounds, the aim is to ‘leave no one behind’.
more