Pregnancy and childbirth during adolescence profoundly affects the lives of millions of girls worldwide, and is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity, and infant and child mortality. Every year, an estimated 21 million girls aged 15–...19 years old in low- and middle-income countries become pregnant, and approximately 12 million give birth.
For many adolescent girls, the ability to control their sexual lives remains limited. Long-standing gender inequalities and discrimination, marginalization, harmful social and gender norms, and denial of rights, compounded by poverty and violence, render them vulnerable to early pregnancy, HIV and other health threats. Lack of age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and services create additional barriers to care and support; as a result, adolescent girls who become pregnant are much more likely to go on to have rapid repeated births.
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In where under-five mortality is high and vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem, two high-dose supplements of vitamin A per year, spaced four to six months apart, can strengthen children’s immune systems and improve their chances of survival.
During much of early childhood – from... 6 months to 5years of age – two high doses of vitamin A every year can prevent blindness and hearing loss, boost children’s immunity against diseases like measles and diarrhoea and provide critical protection against death. Like all forms of malnutrition, vitamin A deficiency is a marker of inequality. In countries where diets are lacking in vitamin A and infections and deaths are prevalent, supplementation programmes give vulnerable children a better chance to survive, develop and thrive.
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Vanquishing violence and vulnerability in humanitarian settings
Background paper for the joint African Union–UNAIDS (in capacity of serving
Chair of H6) high-level side event at the 73rd Unite...d Nations General Assembly,
24 September 2018, at UNHQ, Conference Room 3
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El Niño conditions persisting during the 2015/16 planting season have caused the worst drought in 35 years in Southern Africa, resulting in a second consecutive failed harvest. This has created sev...ere food shortages and compounded existing vulnerabilities. Since July 2016, Namibia and Botswana have declared national drought emergencies, in addition to the declarations made earlier by Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Madagascar issued a letter of solidarity with the SADC Appeal, and Mozambique has maintained a red alert in affected areas.
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1 July 2021; Report shows big COVID-19-related HIV prevention programme service disruptions, but highlights that HIV service innovations and adaptations are possible.
A synthesis report on programme...> disruptions and adaptations during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020
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The Demographic Dividend study on Rwanda assessed the socio-economic and human development potential of our country in the short, medium and long-t...erm period using a comprehensive approach. It generated relevant policy and programme information to guide a well-informed polciy required to propel Rwanda towards achieving its aspirations of being high middle income country by 2035 and high income country by 2050.
The primary objectives of this study were to assess Rwanda’s prospects for harnessing the demographic dividend and demonstrate priority policy and programme options that the country should adopt in order to optimise its chances of earning a maximum demographic dividend in the context of its youthful population and medium, long-term socio-economic development aspirations.
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Guidance for School-Based Psychosocial
Programmes for Teachers, Parents and Children
in Conflict and Postconflict Areas
This paper focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals related to poverty, economic growth, inequality, health, food production and the environmen...t. It presents concrete examples of the underlying and complex aspects of antibiotic resistance and its impacts across different Sustainable Development Goals. The aim of this paper is to inform and stimulate discussions on how to further advance the implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, National Action plans on Antimicrobial Resistance, as well as work within all sectors that affect and are affected by antibiotic resistance
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Healthy people, healthy animals and a healthy environment worldwide with the One Health approach.
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically demonstrated just how close ...ht medbox">the link is between humans, animals, and the environment, and has highlighted and aggravated existing challenges. The destruction of natural habitats and displacement of species, trade in wild animals, resource-intensive lifestyles and conditions, non-sustainable food systems and, in particular, industrial agriculture and intensive livestock farming are the causes of the emergence of zoonoses as well as numerous other communicable and non-communicable, chronic diseases.
The One Health approach focuses precisely on such interaction between humans, animals, and the environment.
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War Child put forward a specific request for comparative study, addressing the following questions: •What are the key types of intervention for psychosocial assistance that are being applied to c...hildren in war-affected areas? •What are the results of (scientific) research into the effects of the most relevant programmes? •Which NGOs operate in this sector and what is their practical experience with specific methods? •How does the War Child methodology relate to developments in the sector; what is known about the effects of War Child’s programme and how can these be measured? How will War Child work towards the development of additional evidence?
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For applying the new operational guidance on CB-MHPSS in the field, UNICEF country offices and partners will need ready access to tools and resourc...es that can be used to implement the programs. By bringing together resources from different contexts, the compendium makes options available to country offices and partners for programming.
The compendium aims to strengthen UNICEF capacity for MHPSS programming consistent with the IASC Guidelines for MHPSS in Emergencies and described by the 9 circles of support in the UNICEF operational framework.
The compendium is a compiled set of resources, already being used by UNICEF and partners, both national and international, in diverse settings.
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Situation Analaysis and Needs Assessment
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Jul 1; (6): 1–61 -Published online 2016 July 1