Constituting the fourth part of the World Drug Report 2022, this booklet focuses on the market dynamics of various stimulants – cocaine, amphetamines and “ecstasy” – and of NPS.
The first chapter contains an analysis of the global market for cocaine, starting with a review of cocaine supply..., including trends in the cultivation of coca bush and in the manufacture of and trafficking in cocaine at the global level and in the various regions. An analysis of different eradication strategies is included, as well as of the role of women in the cocaine supply chain. The chapter also presents the latest estimates of and trends in cocaine use, including a brief introduction to the various cocaine consumer products. Finally, it reviews the trends in the use of cocaine and the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in different regions
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During the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s economy slowed. Yet, the global annual average particulate pollution (PM2.5) was largely unchanged from 2019 levels. At the same time, growing evidence shows air pollution—even when experienced at very low levels—hurts human health. T...his recently led the World Health Organization (WHO) to revise its guideline for what it considers a safe level of exposure of particulate pollution, bringing most of the world—97.3 percent of the global population—into the unsafe zone. The AQLI finds that particulate air pollution takes 2.2 years off global average life expectancy, or a combined 17 billion life-years, relative to a world that met the WHO guideline. This impact on life expectancy is comparable to that of smoking, more than three times that of alcohol use and unsafe water, six times that of HIV/AIDS, and 89 times that of conflict and terrorism.
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Human Resources for Health201816:49; https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-018-0315-7
An estimated 99% of children worldwide – or more than 2.3 billion children – live in one of the 186 countries that have implemented some form of restrictions due to COVID-191. Although children are not at a high risk of direct harm from the virus, they are disproportionately affected by its hid...den impacts.
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Humanity & Inclusion has published a report on November 20, on the difficulties children with disabilities face in accessing education in the world’s poorest countries.
INTRODUCTION: Health service use among the public can decline during outbreaks and had been predicted among low and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) started implementing public health measures across Kin...shasa, including strict lock-down measures in the Gombe health zone.
METHODS: Using monthly time series data from the DRC Health Management Information System (January 2018 to December 2020) and interrupted time series with mixed effects segmented Poisson regression models, we evaluated the impact of the pandemic on the use of essential health services (outpatient visits, maternal health, vaccinations, visits for common infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases) during the first wave of the pandemic in Kinshasa. Analyses were stratified by age, sex, health facility and lockdown policy (i.e, Gombe vs other health zones).
RESULTS: Health service use dropped rapidly following the start of the pandemic and ranged from 16% for visits for hypertension to 39% for visits for diabetes. However, reductions were highly concentrated in Gombe (81% decline in outpatient visits) relative to other health zones. When the lock-down was lifted, total visits and visits for infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases increased approximately twofold. Hospitals were more affected than health centres. Overall, the use of maternal health services and vaccinations was not significantly affected.
CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in important reductions in health service utilizsation in Kinshasa, particularly Gombe. Lifting of lock-down led to a rebound in the level of health service use but it remained lower than pre-pandemic levels.
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The WHO Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)’s new Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan targets the end of all kinds of polioviruses by 2018, including the wild and rare vaccine-related strains which cause paralysis among thousands of children worldwide. The plan is focused on develo...ping and deploying a shot version of the anti-polio vaccine to replace the current oral variant, which is known to occasionally cause the same disease that it is supposed to prevent. This document is intended for the use of individuals and organizations involved in polio eradication efforts
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The emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion (WASH) gap analysis project was funded by The Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF), a program managed by Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELRHA) in partnership with the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Per...formance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP), and is a component of a larger initiative to identify and support innovations in emergency WASH. This paper gives an explanation of the background, methodology, and findings of the program.
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the Lancet : Published Online July 31, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)61117-5
A broad range of UNHCR’s key priorities overlap with MHPSS issues – for example, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence [SGBV] prevention and response.
Despite all these existent synergies, UNHCR’s current policies and guidelines do not sufficiently link with MHPSS principles.... For example, the Community Services section, which is closely aligned to the principles of MHPSS and could be well-positioned to guide the implementation of related programs, has not adopted the MHPSS language or approach.
There are opportunities for UNHCR to engage more strongly and clearly in this field. However, this requires a vision for how the organisation as a whole, and particular sectors within the organisation, will engage within the field of MHPSS activities. For a start, UNHCR can work to improve its understanding and framing of mental health and psychosocial issues, and how these issues fit within its broader mandate.
While the majority of MHPSS activities are delivered by implementing partners, UNHCR staff require familiarity with core principles in the field, such as the Intervention Pyramid contained in the IASC Guidelines, in order to support and monitor quality MHPSS activities.
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The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa takes into account the unique aspects of the refugee situation on the African Continent. The 1951 Geneva Convention definition of refugees as "persons fleeing a well-founded fear of persec...ution" had not considered several problems encountered by African refugees and was too narrow within the African context. As a result, Article One of the OAU Convention adds a second paragraph to extend the definition of the term "refugee" and include external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order as causes of migration and flight.
The document contains both the English and the French versions of the original text.
For versions in Arabic, Kirundi, Russian and Spanish check also:
http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b36018.html
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The report presents current information (updated to September 2015) on candidate vaccines, therapies and medical devices for Ebola and gives an overview of completed and on-going trials.
Report of the Joint World Health Organization–Brien Holden Vision Institute Global Scientific Meeting on Myopia | University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia 16–18 March 2015
WHO has issued a new recommendation on the length of bladder catheterization following surgical repair of a simple obstetric urinary fistula. Currently the length of catheterization is not standard and ranges from 5 to 42 days. The new guidance recommends a 7–10 day period of bladder catheterizati...on to allow complete healing. Longer periods of catheterization can be inconvenient for the woman, her family and care providers as it is associated with more discomfort and inconvenience. It also increases the risk of infection and erosion related to catheterization; requires more intensive nursing care and costs more per patient.
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