Annual report on global preparednessfor health emergencies
The next pandemic is not a question of if, but when—and the world is woefully unprepared, according to the first annual report from the
...
Global Preparedness Monitoring Board. The WHO and the World Bank convened the independent group after the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Global News reports. Within 36 hours, a contagion like the 1918 flu could sweep the globe and take 50 to 80 million lives while wreaking havoc on the global economy, the report warns. And that’s just one possibility.
What would it take to get prepared? An investment of $1-$2 per person per year could create “acceptable” level of preparedness.
more
Access to safe blood and blood products is recognized as one of the key requirements for delivery of modern health care in the journey towards heal
...
th for all. The foundation of safe and sustainable blood supplies depends on the collection of blood from voluntary non-remunerated and low-risk donors. Data from the WHO Global Database for Blood Safety (GDBS) brings out several inadequacies related to the supply and safety of blood and blood products. These inadequacies include a number of variations in safe blood practices across the world, including the quantity of blood donated (voluntary and replacement types), quality and adequate testing of the donated blood (immunohaematology [IH] and transfusion-transmitted infections [TTIs]), rational use of blood and blood components such as appropriate patient blood management protocols. These variations are very high in countries of the South-East Asian Region and most of them are either low- or middle-income countries (LMICs).
more
mhGAP is based on evidence-based technical guidelines (4) and provides a set of tools and
training packages to extend service provision. The mhGAP
...
Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG)
for MNS disorders in non-specialized health settings (8) is a clinical decision-making tool
for assessing and managing priority MNS conditions (depression, psychoses, epilepsy, child
and adolescent mental and behavioural disorders, dementia, disorders due to substance
use, self-harm and suicide).
more
Applicable to both IDP and refugee scenarios, the Toolkit incorporates a wide range of relevant information on managing displaced populations living in communal settings (collective centres, spontan
...
eous sites, established camps, etc.). Large scale displacements caused by recent conflict and natural disaster events have created a high demand for the Toolkit, which has proven an invaluable resource for field practitioners, government actors and displaced populations since its original release in 2004.
Available in other languages
more
In Control imparts knowledge, provokes reflection and triggers curiosity. The first half of the book provides an overview of the organisations, pri
...
nciples, frameworks and themes that every professional deploying to health emergencies should be aware of. The second half of the book provides practical advice to help professionals survive and thrive during their mission – from staying healthy, protecting oneself from cyber-attacks and coping with stress to building trust among the host community or dealing with language barriers and the press.
This handbook is free of charge and can be made available in small quantities as long as supply lasts. To order, please send this form to: incontrol-handbook@rki.de
more
This manual provides guidance for policymakers on the issue of prehospital trauma care systems. The main areas covered include the organisation of the prehospital trauma care system, capacity develo
...
pment, data collection, transportation and communication, as well as ethical and legal considerations
more
As slight hints of recovery begin to surface in West Africa, UNICEF is looking at the impact of Ebola on children and the response
...
and work of the affected communities in the report, Ebola: Getting to zero – for communities, for children for the future. The document traces some of the outbreak’s history along with the stories of survivors, health care workers and those working to make things better on the ground. The report also helps map out the actions that urgently must continue to help build resiliency and resuscitate basic services and systems decimated by Ebola.
more
WHO recommends interpersonal therapy (IPT) as a possible first line treatment for depression. With this new manual, the World Health Organization (WHO) gives guidance on the use of interpersonal therapy (IPT) using a 8 session group protocol. The ma
...
nual - which is part of WHO’s mhGAP programme - describes IPT in a simplified format for use by supervised facilitators who may not have received previous training in mental health.
Available in Swahili and Farsi
more
Community-based approaches to Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (CB MHPSS) in emergencies are based on the understanding that communities can be drivers for their own care and change
...
and should be meaningfully involved in all stages of MHPSS responses. Emergency-affected people are first and foremost to be viewed as active participants in improving individual and collective well-being, rather than as passive recipients of services that are designed for them by others. Thus, using community-based MHPSS approaches facilitates families, groups and communities to support and care for others in ways that encourage recovery and resilience. These approaches also contribute to restoring and/or strengthening those collective structures and systems essential to daily life and well-being. An understanding of systems should inform community-based approaches to MHPSS programmes for both individuals and communities.
more
An approach to emergency situations. Relief workers face rapidly changing and complex environments, new disease patterns, enormous humanitarian needs and relatively limited resources. The authors
...
of this book use their experience in the area to produce an operational manual of the issues involved in refugee health programs. This book is aimed at professionals involved in public health assistance to refugees and displaced persons. It deals with a variety of specific refugee health issues at the decisional level, and discusses the priorities of intervention during the different phases of a refugee crisis, from emergency to repatriation.
more
In this contingency planning guidance, a set of actions to prepare for emergencies from all hazards and to help minimize their impact, is proposed. These actions include the development, implementat
...
ion, simulation, monitoring and regular update of risks-based contingency plans.
more
This report aims to provide Syrian children with a platform to make their voices heard. Their stories highlight the urgent need to address the psychosocial well-being of children affected by the Syrian civil war,
...
and in all emergencies
more
The mhGAP community toolkit: field test version is an integral part of WHO's Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), and aims at scaling up services for people with mental health conditions to a
...
chieve universal health coverage.
The toolkit provides guidance for programme managers on how to identify local mental health needs and tailor community services to match these needs. It offers practical information and necessary tools for community providers to promote mental health, prevent mental health conditions and expand access to mental health services.
more
The floods caused by the Tropical Cyclone IDAI has affected 3 million people in the Republics of Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe leaving 839 people dead,
...
and this figure continued to rise as the rains stopped and water subsided. To date, over 201,476 people (Table 1) have been displaced and about 317 camps established. A total of 2,347 people have been reported injured and over 300 people are still missing in the affected countries.
more
A practical handbook. This Health Cluster Guide (2nd edition, 2020) provides practical advice on how WHO, Health Cluster Coordinators and partners can work together during a humanitarian crisis to achieve the aims
...
of reducing avoidable mortality, morbidity and disability, and restoring the delivery of and equitable access to preventive and curative health care.
It highlights key principles of humanitarian health action and how coordination and joint efforts among health and other sector actors can increase the effectiveness and efficiency of health interventions and promote better health outcomes. It draws on Inter-Agency Standing Committee and other expert guidance and includes lessons from field experience in acute and protracted crises.
The coordination principles and practice presented in Health Cluster Guide are equally valid for coordinators and members of health sector groups that seek to achieve effective health action in countries where the cluster approach has not been formally adopted.
more
Interim guidance 2 February 2021 . Available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Ukranian, Russian
Health workers are at the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak response and as such are exposed to
...
different hazards that put them at risk. Occupational hazards include exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens, violence, harassment, stigma, discrimination, heavy workload and prolonged use of personal protective equipment (PPE). This document provides specific measures to protect occupational health and safety of health workers and highlights the duties, rights and responsibilities for health and safety at work in the context of COVID-19.
more
The CBDRR Manual is a practical ‘how-to’ guide on community-based disaster risk reduction for government and non-government agencies in Lao PDR. It is a commonly agreed document to be referred to by agencies working on CBDRR in Lao PDR. It provi
...
des guidance and support for systematic implementation of CBDRR programs by explaining each of the steps as well as tools used.
The manual will also support the Government of Lao PDR (GoL) to monitor CBDRR activities, oversee progress of activities implemented by different actors and locations, provide necessary support on CBDRR technical knowledge as well as provide a reference point for replication of initiatives for local government and implementing agencies.
more
For centuries, indigenous peoples around the world have used their traditional knowledge to prepare for, cope with and survive disasters. Their methods and practices originated within their communit
...
ies and have been maintained and passed down over generations. Until recently, policy makers have largely ignored this vast body of knowledge, in favor of ‘Western’ science and technologybased methods of disaster risk reduction and response. Today, however, many of these traditional practices are considered important and necessary contributions to the conservation of biodiversity and environmental sustainability. Yet at the same time, this knowledge is under constant threat of being eroded or lost, making these communities more vulnerable...
more
The Call to Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies, formally launched in 2013 by the United Kingdom and Sweden, aims to fundamentally transform the way GBV is addressed in humanitarian operations via the collective action
...
of numerous partners, each bringing our various strengths and capacities to the table. Our goal is to drive change and foster accountability within the humanitarian sphere. The commitment to act and to hold ourselves accountable for action is what binds us together under the Call to Action.
more
The marathon to eradicate polio is on its final lap: the world is more than 99% of the way to success. After millennia of living with poliovirus and
...
suffering the paralysis it causes, today nearly all the world’s people live in polio-free countries; two of the three strains of wild poliovirus (WPV) have been eradicated. Some 20 million people are walking who would have been paralysed had it not been for the efforts of national governments and health workers. If eradicating polio has been a marathon, the finishing line is in sight.
more