HelpAge International is a global network of organisations promoting the right of all older people to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives. Convite is a humanitarian, independent, nonprofit, non
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-governmental organisation that works to guarantee and promote social, economic and cultural rights across Venezuela and is a new member of the HelpAge Global Network. Convite provides direct support to older people, as well as assisting the National Committee of the Pensioned and Retired of Venezuela as part of the Latin American Democracy Network. One of the organisation’s main objectives is to the raise the profile of the crisis in the country internationally.
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An 82 percent funding gap is putting the lives of 2.5 million people in north-west Syria at risk this winter.
The first cholera case in north-west Syria was confirmed on 19 September. See bel
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ow for the latest updates.
On 17 September, at least six airstrikes were reported in Idleb, 10 km away from the road used by the 7th cross-line convoy. One man was injured.
On 27 September, an airstrike reportedly hit in the vicinity of five IDP camps in Idleb, near the Bab AlHawa border crossing, injuring a woman, child and seven men.
HNAP recorded 19,545 new internal displacements in north-west Syria in September – the highest record so far in 2022 - largely driven by the deteriorating economy.
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Millions of children in Yemen could be pushed to ‘the brink of starvation’ due to huge shortfalls in humanitarian aid funding amid the COVID-19
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pandemic – according to a new UNICEF report marking more than five years since conflict escalated in the country.
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After a decade of crisis, Syria remains one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises. Continued hostilities, new and protracted displaceme
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nt, increased returns and the sustained destruction of communities have impacted Syrians’ lives and futures in a devastating way. The 2021 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) identified that 13.4 million people, more than half of country’s pre-crisis population, need humanitarian support. Of this figure, 12.4 million require health care.
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KEY INDICATORS (AS OF 31 AUGUST)
905,831 Refugees and asylum seekers registered in Ethiopia
59% Percentage of refugees below the age of 18
36,135 New arrivals registered in Ethiopia in 2018
Reusing a legacy interactive audio instruction (IAI) program to provide education in a humanitarian crisis is a quick solution and a smart use of previous investments (“Learning in the Time of Ebo
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la”). This article highlights and advises on the issues that relate to adapting and updating previously developed IAI programs, including how to orient current audiences to listen and learn in new ways.
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“Preferred product characteristics” (PPCs) are key tools to incentivize and guide the development of urgently needed health products. Some of the vector control interventions deployed in complex
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emergencies and in response to natural disasters – namely insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) – have already met identified public health needs in more stable settings; other tools such as insecticide-treated tarpaulins have been specifically designed for this use case. Given the diverse mix of existing and potential new interventions and the considerable gaps in the associated evidence base, this PPC aims to clearly articulate the unmet public health needs for tools designed to control malaria transmission in complex emergencies and in response to natural disasters.
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A new survey on the impact of the floods in Pakistan on older people reveals that hundreds of lives are needlessly being put at risk due to
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the decimation of health services and the rise of diseases like malaria and diarrhoea, which can be killers to older people with weaker immune systems.
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In 2022, humanitarian action will need to adapt to new and challenging realities. The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a heavy toll in developing countr
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ies, civilians continue to be the most affected by conflict and extreme poverty is rising. Climate change effects are devastating, forced displacement is at record levels and 161 million people face acute food insecurity.
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JOINT RESPONSE PLAN (JRP)
The Strategic Executive Group has developed a Joint Response Plan (JRP) for 2019 regarding the displaced people from Myanmar and who are affected specially by this influx
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The JRP has included different issues in terms of measuring people who are in need, of support interventions and assistance, types of aid, a emphasizing on a coordinated approach among all NGOs and concerned government sectors pointing the below topics:
• Overview of the crisis and needs
• Protection framework for humanitarian response
• Response strategy of 2019
• Coordination and monitoring
• The new way of working
• Cross-cutting issues
• People targeted by sector
Through developing this Plan, the SEG attempted to depicting shared understanding of the crisis, including the most pressing humanitarian needs. It represents a consolidated evidence-base and will helps this joint strategic response plan who are working at the same ground.
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Accessed: 25.04.2020
COVID-19 represents a dramatic new threat to life in war-torn countries. International humanitarian law (IHL) is a key legal framework that provides crucial safeguards to peo
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ple affected by armed conflicts. This overview summarizes some of the main provisions of IHL that may be particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A new report from aid agencies Age International and HelpAge International, If not now, when? criticises the humanitarian sector for its failure to
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address the needs of older people in emergencies. This failure contravenes several international commitments made in recent years and flies in the face of humanitarian principles
Download the full report here: https://www.helpage.org/download/5fb34a78e7597/
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COVID-19 has triggered the deepest global recession since the 1930s. Extreme poverty has risen for the first time in 22 years, and unemployment has
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increased dramatically. Women and young people aged 15 – 29 working in the informal sector are being hit the hardest. School closures have affected 91 per cent of students worldwide.
Political conflicts are more intense and taking a heavy toll on civilians, disproportionately affecting children. Women and girls are at increased risk of conflict-related sexual violence. Attacks against aid and health workers persist. For the ninth consecutive year, more than 90 per cent of casualties from explosive weapons in populated areas were civilians.
The last decade saw the highest-ever number of people internally displaced by conflict and violence, with many locked in a state of protracted displacement. There are an estimated 51 million new and existing IDPs, and the number of refugees has doubled to 20 million.
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WHO has developed a new health kit to support treatment for chronic disease patients in emergency settings. The prevalence of NCDs is increasing worldwide, including in emergency/crisis-prone areas.
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Yet current humanitarian response has not accounted for this emerging burden. The NCD kit attends to cover this gap by providing essential medicines and medical devices for the management of hypertension and cardiac conditions, diabetes and endocrine conditions, chronic respiratory diseases, and mental health and neurological conditions and neurological conditions for outpatient care in primary health care settings.
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In December 2013, UNICEF published its first comprehensive evaluation assessing how well its global and country strategies and programmes have worked to protect children in emergencies.
The ‘Evaluation of UNICEF Programmes to Protect Children i
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n Emergencies’ was undertaken to identify key successes and gaps in child protection programming over the period 2009-2012 and to draw out lessons learned ahead of the roll-out of the new Strategic Plan, 2014-2017. The evaluation investigates achievements and gaps against the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs), UNICEF’s Child Protection Strategy and the previous Strategic Plan, 2006-2013. It assesses the extent to which interventions in longer term
child protection systems-strengthening and preparedness have led to a more effective response in crises.
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The official death toll had risen to 493 people as of 29 March, according to the Government.
A new cholera outbreak was reported in Nhamatande; ni
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ne Cholera Treatment Centres have been established in Beira and other locations.
More than 140,000 people were displaced in 161 sites across Sofala (116 sites), Manica (27 sites), Zambezia (13 sites) Tete (5 sites); of whom more than 7,400 were identified as vulnerable, according to the Government.
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Strict storage recommendations for insulin are difficult to follow in hot tropical regions and even more challenging in conflict and humanitarian emergency settings, adding an extra burden to the ma
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nagement of people with diabetes. According to pharmacopeia unopened insulin vials must be stored in a refrigerator (2–8°C), while storage at ambient temperature (25–30°C) is usually permitted for the 4-week usage period during treatment. In the present work we address a critical question towards improving diabetes care in resource poor settings, namely whether insulin is stable and retains biological activity in tropical temperatures during a 4-week treatment period. To answer this question, temperature fluctuations were measured in Dagahaley refugee camp (Northern Kenya) using log tag recorders. Oscillating temperatures between 25 and 37°C were observed. Insulin heat stability was assessed under these specific temperatures which were precisely reproduced in the laboratory. Different commercialized formulations of insulin were quantified weekly by high performance liquid chromatography and the results showed perfect conformity to pharmacopeia guidelines, thus confirming stability over the assessment period (four weeks). Monitoring the 3D-structure of the tested insulin by circular dichroism confirmed that insulin monomer conformation did not undergo significant modifications. The measure of insulin efficiency on insulin receptor (IR) and Akt phosphorylation in hepatic cells indicated that insulin bioactivity of the samples stored at oscillating temperature during the usage period is identical to that of the samples maintained at 2–8°C. Taken together, these results indicate that insulin can be stored at such oscillating ambient temperatures for the usual four–week period of use. This enables the barrier of cold storage during use to be removed, thereby opening up the perspective for easier management of diabetes in humanitarian contexts and resource poor settings.
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In January 2018, over 10,000 people fled their homes following clashes reported in multiple locations in Jonglei, including Yuai, Pultruk, Payai, Kuer-nyuon, Pieri, Waat and Walgak. Some crossed to
Ethiopia, where 2,300 people registered as refugees in t
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he Gambela region. There were several reports of people returning from displacement camps and refugee settlements in Uganda to locations in
Central Equatoria, including Lainya, Kajo-keji, Morobo and Yei, as well as reports of movement from Sudan to Bentiu, Unity. However, partners are working to verify these reports; population movements
remain difficult to track and patterns hard to discern. About 5.1 million people were estimated to be severely food insecure between January and March 2018, including 20,000 who are facing catastrophic conditions. According to assessments conducted in January in the Baggari area, Wau County, malnutrition has improved compared to the same period last year, with surveys showing GAM rates of
about 2.8 per cent in Mboro and 3.6 per cent in Farajallah. Last year, Baggari was among locations which surpassed the WHO emergency threshold of 15 percent of the population malnourished. In
January, there were no new reports of cholera cases in South Sudan, marking a continued decline in the outbreak that was declared in June 2016.
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Sphere has recently updated its Interactive Handbook, making it quicker and easier to browse and access its content.
New features allow users to browse the Handbook in multiple languages, access ad
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ditional sets of standards, filter and share search results and embed the Handbook into other websites. This improved platform is an essential resource for humanitarian practitioners looking for guidance across all phases of preparedness and response.
Users have the option of browsing the Interactive Handbook in English, Arabic, French and Spanish. The Handbook is currently being translated into ten more languages, expected to be added to the platform in the coming months. Japanese is due to be the first addition later in 2019.
The online platform now also includes the Minimum Economic Recovery Standards (MERS) Handbook, also available in English, Arabic, French and Spanish. More sets of standards should be added in the coming months.
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