This report presents the findings from a ‘deep dive’ undertaken by UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office to consider the experiences in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines an
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d the Pacific. The target audience for this report includes OPDs and humanitarian actors at global, regional, and country levels.
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According to the latest available estimates, more than 1 in 7 adolescents aged 10–19 is estimated to live with a diagnosed mental disorder globally. Almost 46,000 adolescents die from suicide each year, among the top five causes
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of death for their age group. Meanwhile, wide gaps persist between mental health needs and mental health funding. The report finds that about 2 per cent of government health budgets are allocated to mental health spending globally.
The full report , excecutive summary, brief reports are available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic athttps://www.unicef.org/reports/state-worlds-children-2021?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=media&utm_campaign=sowc-web
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This document contains guidance for strengthening the disability inclusiveness of MHPSS responses and programmes in emergency settings. It is intended to supplement the IASC Guidelines on Mental
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Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (2007).
Overall Objective
To consider and address the mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) requirements of persons living in emergency settings with all types of disabilities on an equal basis to the MHPSS requirements of all persons, using a human rights-based approach and implementing social-ecological frameworks.
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PLoS Med 10(8): e1001501. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001501
The CB MHPSS operational guidelines were developed in response to emerging evidence on the determinants of children’s resilience, lessons learned from the evaluation of existing approaches, and th
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e unique challenges that today’s crises pose for children’s safety, wellbeing and optimal development.
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Rabies is a fatal viral zoonosis and serious public health problem.1 All mammals are believed to be susceptible to the disease, and for the purposes of this document, use
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of the term animal refers to mammals. The disease is an acute, progressive encephalitis caused by viruses in the genus Lyssavirus.
2 Rabies virus is the most important lyssavirus globally. In the
United States, multiple rabies virus variants are maintained in wild mammalian reservoir populations such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats. Although the United States has been declared free from transmission of canine rabies virus variants, there is always a risk of reintroduction of these variants.The rabies virus is usually transmitted from animal to animal through bites. The incubation period is
highly variable. In domestic animals, it is generally 3 to 12 weeks, but can range from several days to months, exceeding 6 months.8 Rabies is communicable during the period of salivary shedding of rabies virus. Experimental and historic evidence documents that dogs, cats, and ferrets shed the virus for a few days prior to the onset of clinical signs and during illness. Clinical signs of rabies are variable and include inappetance, dysphagia, cranial nerve deficits, abnormal behavior, ataxia, paralysis, altered vocalization, and seizures. Progression to death is rapid. There are currently no known effective rabies antiviral drugs.
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The rise of the discourse of 'trauma' as a major articulator of suffering within Western culture is a facet
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of the medicalization of life that has gathered pace in the last century. In recent years, Western mental health professionals have been increasingly involved in services addressing the plight of war-affected populations - largely non-Western - in war zones or as refugees. Querying the extent to which their experiences can be reduced to a matter of mental health, this article addresses child refugees from war via three questions that go to the heart of the debate about how they are to be understood, the implications for their future maturation as individuals and citizens, and the role of psychological therapies aimed at catharsis of 'traumatic' memory.
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PLoS Med 10(1): e1001366. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001366
Published: January 8, 2013
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
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of interpersonal therapy (IPT) using a 8 session group protocol. The manual - 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
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The chapter Closing the Gap: The Health Disparities of Older LGBTI People in the Americas, is part of the publication series titled ‘Decade
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of Healthy Aging: situation and challenges’. In order to outline the current knowledge available on the situation of health and well-being of older persons in the Americas at the beginning of the United Nations Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030), this document presents data and existing evidence different forms of discrimination and mistreatment older people face due to their sexual orientation and gender identities that ultimately increase health disparities. Previous studies on LGBTI older people offer valuable information on the lived experiences of these communities and demonstrate that they face unique challenges with aging, emphasizing the difficulties related to access to care. Very few studies on older people and aging include a focus on sexual orientation or gender identity; however, it is possible to point out that HIV/AIDS is one of the most significant health disparities confronting LGBTI older persons, followed by physical and mental health problems, substance use, social isolation, poverty, and the lack of access to quality healthcare, including long-term care facilities or other institutions. Closing the gap in access and quality of health and care services is an imperative to increase longevity, health status and quality of life of LGBTI older people.
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This 2019 edition of The State of the World’s Children (SOWC) examines the issue of children,
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food and nutrition, providing a fresh perspective on a rapidly evolving challenge. Despite progress in the past two decades, one third of children under age 5 are malnourished – stunted, wasted or overweight – while two thirds are at risk of malnutrition and hidden hunger because of the poor quality of their diets. At the center of this challenge is a broken food system that fails to provide children with the diets they need to grow healthy. This report also provides new data and analyses of malnutrition in the 21st century and outlines recommendations to put children’s rights at the heart of food systems.
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When situations occur in which unwanted events are rightly or wrongly connected with vaccination, they may erode confidence in vaccines and the authorities delivering them. This document presents the scientific evidence behind WHO’s recommendations on building and restoring confidence in vaccines
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and vaccination, both in ongoing work and during crises. The evidence draws on a vast reserve of laboratory research and fieldwork within psychology and communication. It examines how people make decisions about vaccination; why some people are hesitant about vaccination; and the factors that drive a crisis, covering how building trust, listening to and understanding people, building relations, communicating risk and shaping messages to the audiences may mitigate crises. This document provides a knowledge base for stakeholders who develop communication strategies or facilitate workshops on communication and trust-building activities in relation to vaccines and immunization, such as immunization programme units, ministries of health, public relations and health promotion units, vaccine safety communication trainers and immunization advisory bodies.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as ‘a state
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of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community’. Mental illness refers to all of the diagnosable mental disorders, which are characterised by abnormalities in thinking, feelings or behaviours. Mental illness is closely related to vulnerability, both in its causes and in its effects. Globally, 14 per cent of the global burden of disease is attributed to mental illness – with 75 per cent of those affected being found in low-income countries – which includes a broad spectrum of diagnoses, from common mental illnesses such as anxiety and
substance abuse, to severe illnesses like psychosis.
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This brief document compiles existing material related to mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for the COVID-19 crisis, as well as other resources that can be applicable to the context. Do
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cuments are divided into different sections, based on the ‘’spaces of new vulnerability” inherent to some IOM programmes although many of them are applicable to other areas. They cover both mainstreaming of MHPSS and specific actions.
MHPSS managers will also find guidance on how to address the less technical and more managerial and programmatic issues related with the pandemic, including programme redefinition, surge capacity and how to manage demands to provide staff support to colleagues in the same missions
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Small island developing states (SIDS) are a set of islands and coastal states that share similar sustainable development challenges, as a result of their size, geography and vulnerability to climate
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change. Thirty-nine WHO member states in four regions – the African Region, the Region of the Americas, the South-East Asian Region, and the Western Pacific region – are classified as SIDS. Whilst the individual countries differ in many respects, collectively they face unique social, economic and environmental challenges.
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Water, sanitation and hygiene education in schools – WASH in Schools – provides safe drinking water, improves sanitation facilities and promotes lifelong health. WASH in Schools enhances the well-being
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of children and their families, and paves the way for new generations of healthy children.
from Schools offers a snapshot of WASH in Schools experiences across the globe. These stories have been gathered through a retrospective search of UNICEF’s global and country office websites. They represent a myriad of activities undertaken by UNICEF and partners in 2010 and 2011.
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Information booklet on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? Who develops PTSD? What are the symptoms of PTSD? Why do some people develop PTSD and other people do not? How is PTSD Treated? How can I hep a fr
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iend or relative who has PTSD? How can I help myself? Where can I go for help? What if I know someone in crisis? Next Steps for PTSD Research.
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The article "Time to Align: Development Cooperation for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases" argues for greater international cooperation and investment in addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially in low- and middl
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e-income countries. Traditionally, global health funding has focused on infectious diseases, but the growing burden of NCDs—such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes—necessitates new approaches to development assistance.
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Understanding and building resilience to early life trauma in Belarus and Ukraine
In 2018 and early 2019, the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s cultural contexts of
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health and well-being project worked alongside the University of Exeter’s WHO Collaborating Centre on Culture and Health, the Minsk Regional Centre for Psychiatry and Addiction, and the Institute of Mental Health of the Ukrainian Catholic University to engage researchers, practitioners, health-care workers and other relevant stakeholders in a series of workshops on the cultural contexts of early life trauma in Belarus and Ukraine.
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This regional technical guidance note was developed for the UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office (APRO) and Asia-Pacific Country Offices to provide guidance on older persons, health workers, and careg
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ivers in the contexts of COVID-19 to effectively support each member state and work with other partners in preparing for and responding to the COVID-19 epidemic.
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