In the last quarter of 2019 Southern African Regional Interagency Standing Committee Africa (RIASCO) reported that more than 11 million people were experiencing crisis or emergency levels of food in
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security in nine Southern African countries1 due to deepening drought and climate related crisis. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) urged for urgent humanitarian action, and at the beginning of November 2019 Angola, Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia had declared states of drought emergencies, requiring international assistance to address the worsening food insecurity situation.
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In 2024, we need US$1.5 billion to provide live-saving health care to millions of people in emergencies. An alarming combination of conflict, climate
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-related threats and increasing economic hardship mean an estimated 166 million people require health assistance.
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The scope of this PPC document is to serve as a guide to address the unmet public health need for a PPE system that protects the HW-F in tropical climate
s while caring for patients and providing h
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eavy duty essential health services.
The characteristics described in this guidance are targeted for PPE used in
health clinics, hospitals and communities in low resource settings where there is lack of advanced environmental controls and equipment. The purpose is to ensure harmonization in PPE design and its use to avoid confusion and exacerbating the risk of infections in HW-F. The principles of this PPC document can also be considered in risk reduction strategies
in other healthcare settings.
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The World Happiness Report 2021 focuses on the effects of COVID-19 and how people all over the world have fared. Our aim was two-fold, first to focus on the
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effects of COVID-19 on the structure and quality of people’s lives, and second to describe and evaluate how governments all over the world have dealt with the pandemic. In particular, we try to explain why some countries have done so much better than others.
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Conflict, climate crisis and COVID-19 pose great threats to the health of women and children.
Healthy communities rely on well-functioning ecosystems. They provide clean air, fresh water, medicines and food security. They also limit disease and stabilize the climate. But biodiversity loss is happening at unprecedented rates, impacting human
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health worldwide, according to a new state of knowledge review of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and WHO.
The report synthesizes the available information on the most important inter-linkages between biodiversity, ecosystem stability, and epidemic infectious diseases such as the Ebola virus; and the connection between biodiversity, nutritional diversity and health. It also covers the potential benefits of closer partnerships between conservation and health, from improved surveillance of infectious diseases in wildlife and human populations, to promoting access to green spaces to promote physical activity and mental health. It also highlights the many areas in which further research is needed.
The Joint report hopes to provide a useful reference for the Sustainable Development Goals and post-2015 development agenda, which represents an unique opportunity to promote integrated approaches to biodiversity and health by highlighting that biodiversity contributes to human well-being, and highlighting that biodiversity needs protection for development to be sustainable.
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Human activities are driving fundamental changes to the biosphere and disrupting many of our planet’s natural systems. There is increasing scientific evidence that the unfolding climate crisis, gl
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obal pollution, unprecedented levels of biodiversity loss, and pervasive changes in land use and cover threaten nearly every dimension of human health and wellbeing
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Resilience has rapidly become one of the most prominent objectives for the development sector, so ascertaining how best to measure it is an essential task for practioners working in monitoring and evaluation. In this discussion paper, the main insig
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hts emerging from the series of large-N Effectiveness Reviews, a set of quantitative studies that aim to evaluate impact and generate learning from a random sample of Oxfam’s projects are outlined. It is also considered how this measurement approach may adapt as ideas about resilience change both within Oxfam and in the development sector at large
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The context of the Ebola epidemic presented extreme challenges for Oxfam, as it did for many organisations. At the onset of the epidemic, there was a general lack
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of understanding of the disease and how to respond to it effectively and safely. A pervasive and persistent climate of fear, coupled with changing predictions about the likely evolution of the epidemic, influenced analysis and response at all levels. There was strong pressure to treat the epidemic as a medical emergency requiring a medical response – organised through topdown processes – rather than standard humanitarian coordination
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The “Case Study: CDI2WASH Program” depicts the benefits and lessons learnt by the beneficiaries and change agents in CDI2WASH program during the last 4 years. The document has contained the success of
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the project and accumulated learning have been documented in the publication. It upholds the achievement of the process and will remain as the supportive document help while taking any types of WASH development interventions by any stakeholders.
No publication year indicated.
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The health impact of radiological and nuclear emergencies can last for decades. Lessons learned from past radiological and nuclear accidents have demonstrated that the mental health and psychosocial consequences can outweigh the direct physical heal
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th impacts of radiation exposure. International radiation emergency preparedness and response standards outline provisions for mitigating these effects. Yet, practical guidance for addressing the mental health and psychosocial aspects of radiation emergencies remains scarce.
This framework aims to promote integration between the MHPSS and radiation protection fields. It is intended for officials and specialists involved in radiation emergency planning and risk management as well as MHPSS experts working in health emergencies.
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In 2015, 26% of the deaths of 5.9 million children who died before reaching their fifth birthday could have been prevented
through addressing environmental risks – a shocking missed opportunity.
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The prenatal and early childhood period represents
a window of particular vulnerability, where environmental hazards can lead to premature birth and other complications,
and increase lifelong disease risk including for respiratory disorders, cardiovascular disease and cancers. The environment
thus represents a major factor in children’s health, as well as a major opportunity for improvement, with effects seen in every
region of the world.
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"Helping Traumatized Children Learn is the result of an extraordinary collaboration among educators, parents, mental health professionals, community groups, and attorneys determined to help children experiencing the traumatic
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effects of exposure to family violence succeed in school."
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Nations will more quickly transition to clean energy if they redirect government funds away from subsidising unhealthy commodities– in particular fossil fuels. Such action would reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, thereby mitigating climat
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e change and saving lives. Countries must reexamine current economic incentives to industries that harm health as an essential step towards creating coherent policies that sustain growth, support clean energy expansion and prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
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A framework to implement the Agenda for the Americas on Health, Environment, and Climate Change 2021–2030
Recently, Sri Lanka has been impacted by multiple natural disasters. Sri Lanka experienced a landslide in October 2014, and flooding in December 2014.8 Sri Lanka withstood the worst drought conditions witnessed in four decades in 2016; the extreme drought conditions extended into 2017 and produced s
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ubstantial economic and social effects. The drought was responsible for an increase in national poverty levels, due to reduced cultivation income, especially for rural farmers. ... In May 2017, Sri Lanka experienced continuous rains causing flash floods and extreme devastation. However, despite natural disasters and challenges posed by a complex political environment, Sri Lanka’s financial performance remained largely satisfactory in the first half of 2017.
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A global hunger crisis -- fuelled by conflict, economic turbulence and climate-related shocks -- has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of people experiencing food insecurity and
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hunger has risen since the onset of the pandemic. The IRC estimates that the economic downturn alone will drive the number of hungry people up by an additional 35 million in 2021. Without drastic action, the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 will suspend global progress towards ending hunger by at least five years.
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Despite some improvements, current levels of air pollution still pose a considerable risk to the environment and to human health in the WHO European Region. One issue of concern is that monitoring
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of particulate matter is very limited in the countries of eastern Europe, the Caucasus and central Asia. This paper summarizes the evidence about the health effects of air pollution from particulate matter and presents the policy implications, the aim being to stimulate policy-makers to develop more effective strategies to reduce air pollution and its health effects in those countries.
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The report presents successful case studies from around the world, including the implementation of minimum protection standards for refugee children in Germany, cross border child protection systems in West Africa, and finding alternatives to the de
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tention of migrant children in Zambia. Other countries featured in the report include Afghanistan, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, South Sudan, Vietnam, Uganda and the U.S. Each of the initiatives can be replicated in different contexts and inform child-focused actions and policy change at national, regional and global levels to be agreed in the framework of the Compact.
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Thailand is exposed to flooding, landslides, drought, earthquakes, tsunamis, heat waves, forest fires, and epidemics. Thailand is also exposed to technological hazards such as chemical accidents. Flooding is the natural hazard with the most significant impact on human life, livelihoods, and the econ
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omy for the country. The occurrence of droughts has increased in recent years due to the effects of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, which brings drier-than-average rainfall conditions. Drought has adversely impacted the country’s agriculture sector, which employs around one third of the country’s workforce.
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