Bull World Health Organ 2022;100:50–59 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.21.286689
WHO has a unique combination of technical public health and scientific expertise, and a global operational footprint, with field offices in more th
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an 150 countries. In 2020, this global, technical, and operational reach meant WHO was able to support countries around the world in every aspect of COVID-19 public health response, from surveillance and laboratory testing to maintaining essential health services in the most vulnerable and fragile contexts.
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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
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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.
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Internationally, there is a growing concern over antimicro-bial resistance (AMR) which is currently estimated to ac-count for more than 700,000 deaths per year worldwide. If no appropriate measures are taken to halt its pro-gress, AMR will cost approximately 10 million lives andabout US$100 trillion
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per year by 2050. In contrast tosome other health issues, AMR is a problem that con-cerns every country irrespective of its level of incomeand development as resistant pathogens do not respect borders.Despite the threat presented by AMR, the 2014 WorldHealth Organization (WHO) and the recent O’Neill re-port describe significant gaps in surveillance, standardmethodologies and data sharing. The 2014 WHOreport identified Africa and South East Asia as the regions without established AMR surveillance systems.
Tadesseet al. BMC Infectious Diseases (2017) 17:616 DOI 10.1186/s12879-017-2713-1
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The report “Build back fairer: achieving health equity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region” provides ground breaking insights into the state of health
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inequities in the Region and urges countries to take action to address the social determinants of health to reverse the worsening trend of inequity – aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflict, mass movements of people, environmental challenges, gender inequities and unemployment.
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More than 40% of the world population is 24 years old or younger, the vast majority of whom live in low- and lower middle–income countries. Globa
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lly, a quarter of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for mental disorders and substance abuse is borne by this age group and about 75% of mental disorders diagnosed in adulthood have their onset before the age of
24 years . Most children and young people in developing countries, however, do not have access to mental health care.
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Humanitarian actors in emergencies often encounter challenges in knowing Who is Where, When, doing What (4Ws) with regard to mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). Such knowledge is essenti
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al to inform coordination. 4Ws tools are used in many areas of aid to map activities conducted across large geographical areas". This manual outlines the 4Ws with regard to mental health and psychosocial support for humanitarian actors with MHPSS coordinating responsibilities. The tool exists in two parts: a 4Ws data collection spreadsheets application (in excel online) and this manual which describes how to collect the data
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TECHNICAL NOTE III
WHO REPORT ON THE GLOBAL TOBACCO EPIDEMIC, 2017
The pharmaceutical sector of any nation is responsible for providing society with quality medicines and other pharmaceutical services. According to the World
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Health Organization (WHO), Pharmaceuticals may constitute as much as 40% of the national health budget in developing countries, yet portions of the population may lack access to the most essential medicines; while the limited funds available for health are spent on unnecessary, ineffective and even dangerous medications.
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Follow up to the so called Abuja Declaration ten years later: In April 2001, heads of state of African Union countries met and pledged to set a target of
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allocating at least 15% of their annual budget to improve the health sector. At the same time, they urged donor countries to "fulfil the yet to be met target of 0.7% of their GNP as official Development Assistance (ODA) to developing countries". This drew attention to the shortage of resources necessary to improve health in low income settings.
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By end of March 2022:
42 COVID-19 detection laboratories were assessed in the 1st Quarter 2022.
23 (55%) Labs are reported fully functional, while 19 (45%) requires assistance to fully operate (i.e., medical supplies, equipment, mainte
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nance, and staffing).
34 (89%) labs have RT-PCR machines, while 4 (11%) doesn’t have.
Most laboratories operate 1 shift of 8 hours 13 (34%), followed by 2 shifts of 16 hours 11 (29%).
Over 1000 testing capacity per day is reported in Tripoli Biotechnical Centre Lab (5,000), Azzawya NCDC Lab (2,500), Tripoli NCDC public health lab (1500), Misrata NCDC Lab (1,300), and Misrata Medical centre Lab (1,300).
The reported needs ranked per priority are equipment, consumables, and staff training; consequently.
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Immunization is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions to date, saving an estimated 2 to 3 million lives each year. As a direct result
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of immunization, the world is closer than ever to eradicating polio, and deaths from measles – a major child killer – have declined by 73 per cent worldwide between 2000 and 2018, saving an estimated 23.2 million children’s lives. The emergence of COVID-19, however, threatens to reverse this progress by severely limiting access to life-saving vaccines.
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The Executive Board at its 150th session noted an earlier version of this report.1 The present report provides an update on the implementation of the Strategic Action Plan on Polio Transition (2018
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2023)2 at the start of 2022, within the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
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On 30thJanuary 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak
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of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the People’s Republic of China to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the international Health Regulations. The following day, the Italian Government declared a state of emergency, stopping all flights to and from Chinese airports. 1.2On 7th April the foreign, interior, transport and health ministers signed a decree under theInternational Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue stating that Italian ports could no longer be classified as places of safety for foreign naval units, including NGO-run migrantrescue ships, operating outside the Italian Search and Rescue (SAR) area. Despite the national lockdown and the closure of ports to international rescue vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, small ships departing from Libya and Tunisia have continued to sail towards the Italian coastline. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), during the period 1stJanuary –12thApril, 2020 there were an estimated 3,229 sea arrivals in Italy
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Key highlights from January to April 2020 (Syria situation)
Across the MENA region, UNHCR is receiving alarming reports of increasing mental health issues among the forcibly displaced. Mental
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health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) activities are being stepped up by UNHCR and partners to address this new dangerous trend.
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Today, WFP has the capabilities and know-how to tap into mobile technology and artificial intelligence to monitor food security; use satellite technology to locate and track communities in need; and offer digital finance via blockchain technology to put consumer choices in the hands
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of our beneficiaries.
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This report documents severe overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of adequate health care. Human Rights Watch found violent abuse by guards in four official detention centers
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in western Libya, including beatings and whippings. Human Rights Watch witnessed large numbers of children, including newborns, detained in grossly unsuitable conditions in three out of the four detention centers. Almost 20 percent of those who reached Europe by sea from Libya in 2018 were children.
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