This report presents the most current data on four specific forms of violence – violent discipline and exposure to domestic abuse during early childhood; violence at school; violent deaths among a
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dolescents; and sexual violence in childhood and adolescence. The statistics reveal that children experience violence across all stages of childhood, in diverse settings, and often at the hands of the trusted individuals with whom they interact daily. The report concludes with specific national actions and strategies that UNICEF has embraced to prevent and respond to violence against children.
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Unmet mental health needs in the Region of the Americas are a leading source of morbidity and mo
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rtality, which result in tremendous health, social, and economic consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the mental health crisis in the Region, necessitating urgent action at the highest levels of government and across sectors to build back better mental health now and for the future. This landmark report is the result of the PAHO High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19. It provides an analysis of the mental health situation in the Region, followed by a series of recommendations and corresponding actions to support countries in the Americas to prioritize and advance mental health using human rights- and equity-based approaches.
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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of
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the most complex and long-standing humanitarian crises in Africa. By the end of 2020, some 940,421 Congolese refugees and asylum seekers were hosted across the African continent. Ongoing conflicts in eastern DRC, as well as intercommunal violence, continue to cause forced displacement within the DRC and into neighbouring countries, along with tragic loss of human life and destruction of communities.
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South Africa reported it fist case of COVID-19 on 5 March 2020. While the first cases were imported, local transmission has led to a rapid increase in the
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number of cases. As of 21 April 2020, more than 3,400 cases and 58 deaths had been confirmed. On 15 March, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster, and the government has since taken several measures to curb the spread of the virus, including closing borders, implementing strict social distancing measures and a 35-day nation-wide lockdown. These measures, along with the global economic shock caused by the pandemic, are expected to generate rising needs requiring an immediate and urgent response. Although South Africa is considered an upper-middle-income country, the amount of disparities—social, economic, and gender—make the country particularly vulnerable during this emergency.
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The Western Pacific Regional Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (2014–2020) was developed in respo
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nse to a resolution adopted at the sixty-second session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific. The regional plan is fully harmonized with the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (2013–2020) while adding the value of actions that build on regional achievements, contexts, opportunities and perspective
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It provides selected illustrations and photographs of congenital anomalies that are severe enough to have a high probability of being captured during the
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first few days following birth
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As Uganda builds back from the COVID-19 shock, the Ugandan government is strengthening its commitment to a more gender-inclusive and sustainable economy. This report supports these efforts by descri
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bing the gendered impacts of COVID-19 and provides recommendations for Ugandan policy makers and World Bank Group operations to ensure women’s participation in an inclusive and sustainable recovery. It presents gender-disaggregated data from three main sources: high-frequency phone surveys that track the impacts of the COVID-19 shock: one of Ugandan nationals conducted in June and one of refugees conducted in November 2020; interviews with 28 representatives of government institutions, development partners, and women’s organizations in Kampala and in rural areas; and a review of relevant policy and gray literature on climate change, the green economy, and women’s economic empowerment.
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The Lancet Countdown is an international collaboration that independently monitors the health consequences of a changing climate. Publishing update
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d, new, and improved indicators each year, the Lancet Countdown represents the
consensus of leading researchers from 43 academic institutions and UN agencies. The 44 indicators of this report expose an unabated rise in the health impacts of
climate change and the current health consequences of the delayed and inconsistent response of countries around the globe—providing a clear imperative for accelerated action that puts the health of people and planet above all else.The 2021 report coincides with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), at which countries are facing pressure to realise the ambition of the Paris Agreement to keep the global average temperature rise to 1·5°C and to
mobilise the financial resources required for all countries to have an effective climate response. These negotiations unfold in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic—a global health crisis that has claimed millions of lives, affected livelihoods and communities around the globe, and exposed deep fissures and inequities in the world’s capacity to cope with, and respond to, health emergencies. Yet, in its response to both crises, the world is faced with an unprecedented opportunity to ensure a healthy future for all.
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World Psychiatry. 2010 Jun;9(2):67-77.
The main recommendations are presented in relation to: the need for coordinated policies, plans and programmes, th
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e requirement to scale up services for whole populations, the importance of promoting community awareness about mental illness to increase levels of help-seeking, the need to establish effective financial and budgetary provisions to directly support services provided in the community. The paper concludes by setting out a series of lessons learned from the accumulated practice of community mental health care to date worldwide, with a particular focus on the social and governmental measures that are required at the national level, the key steps to take in the organization of the local mental health system, lessons learned by professionals and practitioners, and how to most effectively harness the experience of users, families, and other advocates
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Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including mental disorders, currently pose one of the biggest threats to health and development globally, particularly in low and middle income countries2. It is pr
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edicted that unless proven interventions are rapidly implemented in countries, in the short to medium term, health care costs will increase exponentially and severe negative consequences will ensue not only to individuals and families but to whole societies and economies. NCDs are already a major burden in South Africa, but without added rigorous and timely action the health and development consequences may well become catastrophic. Immediate and additional, high quality, evidence based and focussed interventions are needed to promote health, prevent disease and provide more effective and equitable care and treatment for people living with NCDs at all levels of the health system. The problem is further compounded by the rising global prevalence of multi-morbidity (defined as the coexistence of two or more chronic diseases in one individual).
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Guiding framework for development cooperation, Working paper 2017.
This document was drawn up on the basis of expert publications and inputs from partners in
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the
GIZ regional programme Psychosocial Support for Syrian and Iraqi Refugees and Internally
Displaced People1 in order to serve as guidance in the design, implementation and assessment of
psychosocial support measures for refugees in the context of the crises in Syria and Iraq. It is
aimed at actors from the MHPSS sector working with refugees in the Middle East and at ministries
and academic/scientific institutions in the context of the Syria and Iraq crises.
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Over the past two decades, Afghanistan has depended on international donor support to fund essential services like health care. But this donor support has been falling for years and will likely to continue do so—perhaps precipitously—following
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the announcement by United States President Joe Biden that the US will withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. This decline in funding has already had a harmful—and life-threatening—impact on the lives of many Afghan women and girls, as it affects access to, and quality of, health care.
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The Early Childhood Development Policy and its Strategic Plan seek to provide a framework to ensure such a holistic and integrated approach to the development
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of young children. International research has demonstrated the high economic returns on ECD investment and its positive impact on health and education outcomes as well as the overall economic development of a nation. The implementation of the ECD Policy will thus provide Rwanda with the basis for achieving the objectives and goals of the EDPRS and Vision 2020.
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Neurological, Psychiatric, and Developmental Disorders: Meeting the Challenge in the Developing World
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Nerv
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ous System Disorders in Developing Countries.
Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2001.
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The Government of Botswana’s SRH Policy Guidelines and Service Standards document provides the framework for developing a responsive strategy and
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an implementation plan for SRHR and HIV&AIDS Linkages and Integration. The global call on governments to demonstrate commitments to intensify linkages between sexual and reproductive health and HIV&AIDS at the policy and programme level is therefore an added opportunity for the government to review the current service provision model and optimize current resources to provide more integrated, comprehensive coordinated SRHR and HIV&AIDS services.
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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, and global levels in their response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. It begins dia
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gnostically, 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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This Birth Defect Surveillance facilitator (train-the-trainer) guide 2nd edition covers foundational skills needed to begin the development, implementation and ongoing improvement
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of a congenital anomaly surveillance programme, whether population-based or hospital-based, in particular for countries with limited resources.
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This document aims to define a practical plan of action for the IFRC Secretariat to effectively integrate child protection, as a minimum standard,
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within its organizational systems and development, protracted crisis and emergency operations. The timeline for the action plan is 2015 to the end of 2020.
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This companion to the ALNAP EHA Guide offers protection-specific insights for evaluators and evaluation commissioners across the humanitarian sector. It covers
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the planning, data management and analysis phases of evaluation and addresses a range of challenges that – whilst not all unique to protection – are often exacerbated by the contexts in which protection activities typically take place. Challenges addressed include those arising from the multi-faceted nature of protection activities, the difficulty understanding cause-effect relationships underlying protection risks, and the challenges of accessing and managing very sensitive data, sometimes drawn from communities in conflict.
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