The 2014–2015 Ebola epidemic in western Africa was the longest and most deadly Ebola epidemic in history, resulting in 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The Ebola virus has been known since 1976, when two separat...e outbreaks were identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) and South Sudan (then Sudan). However, because all Ebola outbreaks prior to that in West Africa in 2014–2015 were relatively isolated and of short duration, little was known about how to best manage patients to improve survival, and there were no approved therapeutics or vaccines. When the World Heath Organization declared the 2014-2015 epidemic a public health emergency of international concern in August 2014, several teams began conducting formal clinical trials in the Ebola affected countries during the outbreak.
more
Curricular Modules for Lecturers and Teachers.
The 2nd edition of the Global Public Health Curriculum has been published in the South Eastern European Journal ...dbox">of Public Health, end of 2016 as a special volume . The curriculum targets the postgraduate education and training of public health professionals including their continued professional development (CPD). However, specific competences for the curricular modules remained to be identified in a more systematic approach
more
Report of the WHO/Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Consultation. The Consultation was organized back-to-back with the first annual meeting of the International Coordinating Group ...te-to-highlight medbox">of the BMGF-funded project for human and dog rabies elimination in developing countries, held at WHO headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, from 5 to 7 October 2009. This allowed the Consultation to benefit from the participation of the national coordinators and advisers of the BMGF-funded projects in the Philippines, South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal) and the United Republic of Tanzania
more
It is widely understood that the food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing and most neglec...ted crises. It lacks sufficient global focus, resources and urgency. As in so many crises, women and girls are disproportionately affected and shoulder the consequences of protracted neglect, with unconscionable impacts on their safety, life chances and agency.
Gaining a holistic view of the gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is difficult. This is due to a lack of data and prioritization, and the large geographical and socioeconomic terrain covered by both regions. However, what we do know about this crisis is more than enough to urgently address the needs of women and girls.
An OCHA discussion paper on this topic (which will be published imminently, and from which this policy brief is drawn) found that there is:
A strong risk of profound regression in gender equality gains made to date in the countries of concern, including on education, sexual and reproductive health, and the economic independence of women and girls (with knock-on effects on broader humanitarian and development outcomes).
An increasing challenge to reverse what must be recognized as a protracted and growing gender-based violence (GBV) emergency in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.
The food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is protracted, multidimensional and highly gendered, with spiralling impacts on gender equality and food security outcomes. It is driven by interwoven and overlapping factors, including climate change, political instability, conflict, socioeconomic conditions, migration and displacement and, more recently, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Interlinked with these factors are gendered structural drivers of food insecurity, including deeply entrenched gender inequalities and harmful social norms. Gendered risks and impacts of food insecurity include alarming limitations on access to education, sexual and reproductive health rights, women’s agency and participation, and dramatic increases in different existing forms of GBV and the emergence of new ones. Recognition of such gendered dimensions of food insecurity and of the need for a multisectoral approach in the response is key to addressing the crisis, along-side sustained commitment and adequate allocation of resources. This policy brief draws out key findings from the OCHA discussion paper on this topic, which includes a desk review of studies, assessments and reports, and interviews with local women’s organizations on the front lines of the food insecurity crisis in communities across both regions.
Below are the most pressing gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity (not in order of priority), as well as key gaps in the current humanitarian response to food insecurity, and recommendations to take forward.
more
This brief gives an overview of disability rights in the Sub-Saharan region, with focus on Sida partner countries; DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and South S...udan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe
more
Produced by Training and Research Support Centre for the Regional Network for Equity in Health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET), March 20, 2020.
This brief summarises and provides links to of...ficial, scientific and other resources to support an understanding of and individual to regional level responses to the epidemic of ‘novel coronavirus’, also known as COVID-19.
more
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 predicted that unless proven interventions are rapidl...y 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).
more
abridged version, March 2021
he study highlights the impacts of COVID-19 on women and men as gleaned from research conducted during 2020, as well as the Computer Assisted Telephonic Interviews (CATI) Rapid Gender Assessments (RGAs) executed by UN W...omen, UNFPA and partners in seven countries in the East and Southern Africa region.
more
Petersenet al.International Journal of Mental Health Systems2011,5:8http://www.ijmhs.com/content/5/1/8
Children with disabilities in South Africa: The hidden reality is part of a multiple-country study conducted by ACPF. The study seeks to analyse ho...w cultural, social, physical and other societal barriers prevent children with disabilities from enjoying their constitutional rights to equality, freedom and human dignity. It also seeks to establish opportunities and practices that could be used to address these barriers to enhance disabled children’s participation in society.
more
The goals and objectives of the Sudan National Action Plan on AMR can only be achieved through implementing strategic interventions and activities with all concerned ministries and departments joini...ng hands with other stakeholders to collaboratively tackle these challenges.
more
African countries, like many regions of the world, are affected by the legacy of atrocity crimes. Genocide, the transatlantic slave trade and slave...ry, colonialism and post-independence violence committed during dictatorships, not to mention civil war and violent extremism, have severely violated human rights and left devastating marks on societies across the continent. The way in which societies deal with violent pasts has profound implications for the present and the future, as well as their chances of building sustainable peace.
Strengthening education about atrocity crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, is an essential part of addressing violent pasts and preventing future atrocity crimes. Echoing a series of United Nations resolutions on the importance of educational measures for genocide prevention,1 in 2013, the Secretary-General’s annual report Responsibility to protect: State responsibility and prevention included the recommendation: “Education curriculums should include instruction on past violations and on the causes, dynamics and consequences of atrocity crimes” as an important means to promote societal resilience to atrocity crimes.
This recognition is in line with the Education 2030 Agenda and, more specifically, target 4.7 of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 on Education. This target calls on countries to promote education that fosters sustainable development, human rights, gender equality, a culture of peace, global citizenship and an appreciation of cultural diversity.
more