This article describes experiences in implementing a community mental health and development project in a rural district in southern India, including the position of persons with mental illness when the project was initiated, the challenges faced an...d the strategies that were developed to overcome these challenges. The authors conclude that when services are locally available, persons with mental illness can be treated and rehabilitated within their own community. They can live with dignity and their rights are respected. There is a great need for inclusion of persons with mental illness in the existing developmental activities and in disabled persons’ organisations.
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Listening to what children in crisis have to say is not only a moral and ethical responsibility for donor and humanitarian actors, it is also a humanitarian obligation. Children’s right to participation is recognised in the United Nations Convention on the ...x">Rights of the
Child (UNCRC), which provides rights for children to express their views and ‘be heard and taken seriously’.
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This report serves as a background paper to five short studies Yemeni-international researcher tandems will jointly develop in the course of 2019. It places a particular focus on ‘peace requirements’, a term that seeks to draw attent...ion to the manifold challenges to establishing stability and building peace in Yemen and the resulting efforts which will be required. This report analyzes the current situation in Yemen by looking at social structures, current conflict dynamics, the role and situation of state institutions and external factors, and then moves on to focus on what is required to build peace in Yemen. In laying out these peace requirements, the report focuses on the following relevant sectors: economy, politics, culture and society, as well as security and justice. In a last step, it takes a look at the challenges to and capacities of five different actor groups in Yemen to address these needs: civil society, women, youth, the media and the private sector
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Children in refugee situations face many potential dangers, such as violence, abuse, exploitation, discrimination, separation from their families, trafficking and military recruitment. The impact of these experiences can be devastating and long-last...ing. Children have different needs from adults and these needs can only be identified and met if they are approached in a way that is specific to children.
The impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic has exacerbated the dangers faced by children in refugee situations and laid bare the need for their protection and for ensuring that all their human rights are upheld all the time.
The goal of this publication is to share examples of approaches by members of the Initiative that have proven effective for children.
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Fully functioning water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and health care waste management services are a critical aspect of infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, and ensuring patient safety and quality ...ox">of care. Such services are also essential for creating an environment that supports the dignity and human rights of all care seekers, especially mothers, newborns, children and care providers.
WASH and waste services are also critical for preventing and effectively responding to disease outbreaks. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in these basic services (Box 1). These gaps threaten the safety of patients and caregivers, and have environmental consequences, especially as a result of large increases in plastic health care waste. In short, WASH is a critical foundation for improving quality across the health system (1).
Many facilities lack plans and budgets for WASH, which has impacts on IPC. This lack of services, and of systems to improve them, compromises the ability to provide safe and quality care, and places health care providers and those seeking care at substantial risk of infection and loss of dignity. Unhygienic health care facilities without drinking water or functional toilets are also a disincentive to seeking care and undermine staff morale – these factors can have a critical impact on controlling infectious disease outbreaks.
Climate change and its impacts on WASH and health services, gender-specific needs, and equity in service provision and management all require rigorous attention, adaptable tools and regular monitoring.
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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 describing 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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Climate-induced water insecurity poses one of the biggest threats to humanity and will lead to more hunger, disease and displacement
Oxfam water engineers are having to drill deeper, more expensive and harder-to-maintain water boreholes used by s...ome of the poorest communities around the world, more often now only to find dry, depleted or polluted reservoirs.
Today, during World Water Week, Oxfam publishes the first of its series of reports, “Water Dilemmas”, about the growing water crisis, in large part driven by global heating from greenhouse gas emissions. The report describes how climate change will impact water security in different regions, leading to more hunger, disease and displacement.
Carlos Calderon, Humanitarian Advocacy and Partnerships Lead for Oxfam Aotearoa said, “This new Oxfam research is focused on the global Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) situation, but it paints a picture that illustrates the complexity of elements that, combined, will continue to increasingly affect women, girls, boys and men in the decades to come. Changing weather, poverty, inequality, gender-based violence, political instability and conflicts are impacting the availability and quality of adequate water systems. All governments, particularly those from rich countries, should responsively take action at a global scale. The clock is ticking. Our children will judge us for our actions today, or for the lack of them.”
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This tool is a living document that provides guidance on good partnership practices that promote strong relationships between civil society organizations and government representatives on engaging men and boys in gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and ...bute-to-highlight medbox">rights
(SRHR). Its goal is to strengthen these partnerships in order to enable the scale up and/or institutionalization of evidence-based approaches to engaging men and boys.
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Around the world, approximately 1 in 45 children are on the move – nearly 50 million boys and girls that have migrated across borders or been forcibly displaced within their own countries.1 Climate-related events
and their impacts are already contributing significantly to these staggering numbers...,with 14.7 million people facing new internal displacement as a result of weather-related disasters in 2015 alone. The annual average
since 2008 is higher still, at 21.5 million, equivalent to almost 2,500 people being displaced every single day.2
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Key messages include Effective communication skills should be used for everyone seeking health care,
including people with MNS conditions and their carers; Effective communication skills enable health-care providers to build rapport and trust with people as well as enabling health-care providers to... understand the health and social needs of people with MNS conditions; Health-care providers have a responsibility to promote the rights and dignity of
people with MNS conditions and more
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Self-care interventions are among the most promising and exciting new approaches to improve health and well-being, both from a health systems perspective and for people who use these interventions. The World Health Organization (WHO) uses the following working definition ...ghlight medbox">of self-care: Self-care is the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health- care provider
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Unmet mental health needs in the Region of the Americas are a leading source of morbidity and mortality, which result in tremendous health, social, and economic consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic h...as 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 United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Georgetown University, and the United Nations University have today launched new guidelines to provide the first-ever global policy framework that will help protect, include, and empower children on the ...move in the context of climate change.
The Guiding Principles for Children on the Move in the Context of Climate Change provides a set of 9 principles that address the unique and layered vulnerabilities of children on the move both internally and across borders as a result of the adverse impacts of climate change. Currently, most child-related migration policies do not consider climate and environmental factors, while most climate change policies overlook the unique needs of children.
The guidelines note that climate change is intersecting with existing environmental, social, political, economic, and demographic conditions contributing to people’s decisions to move. In 2020 alone, nearly 10 million children were displaced in the aftermath of weather-related shocks. With around one billion children – nearly half of the world’s 2.2 billion children – living in 33 countries at high risk of the impacts of climate change, millions more children could be on the move in the coming years.
Developed in collaboration with young climate and migration activists, academics, experts, policymakers, practitioners, and UN agencies, the guiding principles are based on the globally ratified Convention on the Rights of the Child and are further informed by existing operational guidelines and frameworks.
Recommendations for safeguarding the rights and well-being of children regardless of their location or migration status.
The guiding principles provide national and local governments, international organizations and civil society groups with a foundation to build policies that protect children’s rights. The organizations and institutions are calling on governments, local and regional actors, international organizations, and civil society groups to embrace the guiding principles to help protect, include, and empower children on the move in the context of climate change.
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This paper aims to understand the agency that caregivers who participated in a CBR empowerment component programme exercised, in order to promote the rights of their children with disabilities to a ...basic education.
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This report includes six case studies from 12 individuals with lived experience of diverse health conditions. These case studies explore the topics of power dynamics and power reorientation towards ...individuals with lived experience; informed decision-making and health literacy; community engagement across broader health networks and health systems; lived experience as evidence and expertise; exclusion and the importance of involving groups that are marginalized; and advocacy and human rights.
It is the first publication in the WHO Intention to action series, which aims to enhance the limited evidence base on the impact of meaningful engagement and address the lack of standardized approaches on how to operationalise meaningful engagement. The Intention to action series aims to do this by providing a platform from which individuals with lived experience, and organizational and institutional champions, can share solutions, challenges and promising practices related to this cross-cutting agenda. The Intention to action series also aims to provide powerful narratives,inspiration and evidence towards the Fourth United Nations High Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025 and achieving the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Self-care interventions are evidence-based, quality drugs, devices, diagnostics and/or digital products which can be provided fully or partially outside of formal health services and can be used with or without the direct supervision ...tribute-to-highlight medbox">of health care personnel.
Where HPV tests are available as part of the national programme, HPV self-sampling offers an additional option to improve cervical cancer screening coverage.
Self-sampling can help reach a global target of 70% coverage of screening by 2030. Women may feel more comfortable taking their own samples, rather than going to see a health worker for cervical cancer screening.
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The mission of the Women’s Health Council is to inform and influence the development of health policy to ensure the maximum health and social gai...n for women in Ireland.
Its membership is representative of a wide range of expertise and interest in women’s health.
The Women’s Health Council has five functions detailed in its Statutory Instruments:
1. Advising the Minister for Health and Children on all aspects of women’s health.
2. Assisting the development of national and regional policies
and strategies designed to increase health gain and social gain for women.
3. Developing expertise on women’s health within the health services.
4. Liaising with other relevant international bodies which have similar functions as the Council.
5. Advising other Government Ministers at their request.
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The new Global Strategy aims to achieve the highest attainable standard of health for all women, children and adolescents, transform the future and ensure that every newborn, mother and child not on...ly survives, but thrives.
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2018 monitoring report: current status and strategic priorities
The report sets out the status of women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, and on health systems and social and environ...mental determinants. Regional dashboards on 16 key indicators highlight where progress is being made or lagging. There is progress overall, but not at the level required to achieve the 2030 goals. There are some areas where progress has stalled or is reversing, namely neonatal mortality, gender inequalities and health in humanitarian settings.
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