The Greater Horn of Africa is experiencing one of the worst food insecurity situations in decades. It is estimated
that more than 37 million people are in Integrated Food Security Phase Classificat
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ion (IPC)1 phase 3 or above and approximately 7 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished in the region. While finding food and safe water is the absolute priority, the health response is essential to avert preventable disease and death.
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This paper provides a very good understanding of the CHAST approach with its development and tools.
Music therapy can help traumatized children and adults to stabilize and to create a safe space for the expression of feelings and thoughts. In a 1
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day international symposium on Friday May 26, presenting lectures and workshops, we’ll highlight the way music therapy research, methods and techniques are applied to treating childhood trauma and sexual abuse, traumatized refugees, prisoners and victims of violence.
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Millions of children are at increased risk of harm as their lives move increasingly online during lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF and partners said today.
“
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The coronavirus pandemic has led to an unprecedented rise in screen time,” said Global Partnership to End Violence Executive Director Dr. Howard Taylor. “School closures and strict containment measures mean more and more families are relying on technology and digital solutions to keep children learning, entertained and connected to the outside world, but not all children have the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to keep themselves safe online.”
April 2020
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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of our lives. With schools closed and lockdowns imposed, many children and young people are spending all their time at home. Much of that time may be s
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pent online, often for much longer than is usual.
Being able to connect online provides valuable opportunities to learn, play and socialize with friends and peers and access information and support. It is therefore extremely important for children and young people. However, spending time online comes with risks
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Safe disposal of children’s feces is as essential as the safe disposal of adults’ feces. Th
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is brief provides an overview of the available data on child feces disposal in Burkina Faso and concludes with ideas to strengthen safe disposal practices, based on emerging good practice. Th e Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) tracks progress toward the Millennium Development Goal 7 target to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Th e JMP standardized defi nition for an improved sanitation facility is one that hygienically separates human excreta from human contact.
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Summary of the main report: Direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 pandemic and response in South Asia .
It uses a series of exercises based on actual observed changes in services and intervention coverage to model impacts on mortality, hospita
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lizations, and ICU admissions due to COVID-19. It also models the impact of nationwide stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of COVID-19 on maternal and child mortality, educational attainment of children, and the region’s economy. The study focuses on South Asia’s six most populous countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and makes the case for interventions and strategies to minimise these indirect consequences.
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Arsenic contaminated tube well water was first detected in Bangladesh in early 1990s. The arsenic comes from naturally arsenic-rich material delivered by the region's river systems, deposited over m
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any years to make up the land of Bangladesh. Arsenic contamination is not caused by tube wells, or by irrigation or application of fertilizers.
Today, although 98 per cent of the population uses an improved drinking water source the safe water coverage of Bangladesh is 86 per cent because of arsenic contamination.
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In October 2022, President Biden signed the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act (GMPTA) into law, which directs USAID to prevent and treat malnutrition globally. The GMPTA further codif
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ies USAID’s leadership on nutrition, with a focus on evidence-based interventions across health systems and food systems, in both development and humanitarian settings.
Realizing the potential of good nutrition to save lives and ensure a brighter future for generations to come is central to U.S. Government priorities. For over 60 years, USAID has been a leader in the fight to end global malnutrition. Nutrition affects every aspect of human development: from the ability to fight disease, to children’s performance in school, to a nation’s health and economic advancement. There is overwhelming evidence of the power of good nutrition but, due to challenges in accessing safe, nutritious foods and health and sanitation services, many people in low- and middle-income countries remain undernourished.
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This brief summarizes current evidence and guidance for maintaining safe and effective care across the spectrum of maternal, newborn and infant care while protecting mother and child and health care
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providers during COVID-19. Furthermore, implications of the principle of “do no harm” are reviewed for maternal, newborn and infant care delivery during COVID-19, so that this information is conveniently and readily available to clinical and health system policy leaders and stakeholders in countries and communities. Additionally, considerations for safe oxygen delivery as well as key Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures at home and in healthcare facilities for pregnant women, newborns and children are described in detail in the brief.
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Beat the heat: child health amid heatwaves in Europe and Central Asia finds that half of these children died from heat-related illnesses in their first year of life. Most
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children died during the summer months.
"Around half of children across Europe and Central Asia – or 92 million children – are already exposed to frequent heatwaves in a region where temperatures are rising at the fastest rate globally. The increasingly high temperatures can have serious health complications for children, especially the youngest children, even in a short space of time. Without care, these complications can be life-threatening,” said Regina De Dominicis UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.
Heat exposure has acute effects on children, even before they are born, and can result in pre-term births, low birth weight, stillbirth, and congenital anomalies. Heat stress is a direct cause of infant mortality, can affect infant growth and cause a range of paediatric diseases. The report also notes that extreme heat caused the loss of more than 32,000 years of healthy life among children and teenagers in the region.
As the temperatures continue to rise, UNICEF urges governments across Europe and Central Asia to:
- Integrate strategies to reduce the impact of heatwaves including through National Determined Contributions (NDC), National Adaptation Plans (NAP), and disaster risk reduction and disaster management policies with children at the centre of these plans
Invest in heat health action plans and primary health care to more adequately support heat-related illness among children
- Invest in early warning systems, including heat alert systems
- Adapt education facilities to reduce the temperatures in the areas children play in and equip teachers with skills to respond to heat stress
- Adapt urban design and infrastructure including ensuring buildings, particularly those housing the most vulnerable communities are equipped to minimize heat exposure
- Secure the provision of safe water, particularly in countries with deteriorating water quality and availability.
UNICEF works with governments, partners and communities across the region to build resilience against heatwaves. This includes equipping teachers, community health workers and families with the skills and knowledge to respond to heat stress.
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The guidance provides critical considerations and practical checklists to keep schools safe. It also advises national and local authorities on how to adapt and implement emergency plans for educatio
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nal facilities.
In the event of school closures, the guidance includes recommendations to mitigate against the possible negative impacts on children’s learning and wellbeing. This means having solid plans in place to ensure the continuity of learning, including remote learning options such as online education strategies and radio broadcasts of academic content, and access to essential services for all children. These plans should also include necessary steps for the eventual safe reopening of schools.
Where schools remain open, and to make sure that children and their families remain protected and informed.
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Many children will not be ‘safe to learn at home’: As of April 2020, 91 percent of the world’s students have been affected by school closures
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due to COVID-19. While schools are often places where violence occurs, they also offer a comparatively protective and nurturing space for many children. Especially for the most vulnerable learners -the poorest and most left behind- that rely on school not only for learning and development, but also for food, trusted and accurate information on important issues such as hygiene, and their overall physical and mental health.
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This document presents the results of a survey assessing the WASH readiness of schools in UNHCR-supported refugee camps and refugee settlements. UNHCR and partners are using
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the results to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) COVID-19 mitigation measures in schools and design targeted improvements to WASH facilities to allow for safe operation of schools.
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January 2021. Save the Children urges governments and donors to take five urgent steps to ensure that children who were in school prior to COVID-19
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closures can safely return:
Financial support for the world’s poorest families, so they can send their children to school and keep them healthy;
Catch-up classes for students who re-enter the formal education system;
Water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools, to make them COVID-19 safe for students, teachers and their families;
National back to school communications campaigns to inform communities that it is safe for children to return;
Effective training for teachers to keep everyone safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Q9: What is/are the effective and safe interventions to treat somatoform disorders in children and adolescents in non- specialist health settings?
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WASH in schools during a cholera response is important due to the strong correlation between WASH and IPC. Not only can it impact the health and well-being of students and staff but also facilitate
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the potential spread of the disease via the congregation of children and adults from multiple households. Hygiene can often be more difficult to control with young children and therefore efforts to put in place systems to encourage good practices are essential.
To prevent the spread of cholera in schools, it is important to have clean and safe water sources, proper sanitation facilities, and good hygiene practices in place. This includes providing clean drinking water, hand-washing stations with soap, and education on hygiene and sanitation practices and implement Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) including dissemination of Information, Education and Communication materials (IEC).
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The new guidance will help ensure children’s online experiences are safe and positive during COVID-19.
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The practical steps that adolescents can follow, include:
Checking privacy settings
Making sure locations cannot be identified
Blocking anyone that makes them feel uncomfortable
Knowing where they can seek help
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This Ebola Poster with its 20 Messages was developed with people working with children in schools in Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis in 2014. It has been adapted in 2018. CfH has 100 other mess
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ages for children to learn and share in 10 health topics
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Guidance on Disability Inclusion for GBV Partners in Lebanon