A lot has happened this year. While we continued to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, we were hit by disease outbreaks and
humanitarian crises. Yet, despite these challenges, we marched ...tribute-to-highlight medbox">on, resolute in resolving critical health systems issues to increase
access to quality healthcare services. To further our vision and bring concrete actions to reality, under
the leadership of the Government of South Sudan, we developed the Health Sector Strategic Plan to define the strategic
approaches, key interventions, mapping resource needs, and the implementation framework to strengthen the health system
to deliver essential quality health services equitably for 2023 to 2027. For WHO, this Plan will usher in a new reality -- access
to lifesaving or health-promoting interventions is doable and possible, making the health sector fairer, especially for those
unable to pay
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This report presents, for the first time, a global assessment of the extent to which health care... facilities provide essential water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. Drawing on data from 54 low- and middle-income countries, the report concludes that 38% lack access to even rudimentary levels of water, 19% lack sanitation and 35% do not have water and soap for handwashing. When a higher level of service is factored in, the situation deteriorates significantly. A number of areas require urgent action and WHO will work with UNICEF, Governments and other partners to develop a global plan to address the most pressing needs and ensure that all health care facilities have WASH services.
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Myanmar continues to experience a severe - and worsening - humanitarian and human rights crisis. Conflict and violence have escalated across the country, impacting children and their families and di...splacing more than 1.5 million people. Access of conflict-affected populations to services and delivery of humanitarian assistance has been further constrained by restrictions imposed on movement of both people and goods.
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In Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II ...attribute-to-highlight medbox">to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
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Ethiopia has been repeatedly affected by conflict, flooding, drought, and disease outbreaks in the past years. As of January 2024, the country is a...ctively responding to the longest recorded cholera outbreak which started in August 2022, recurrent measles outbreaks which started in August 2021, and the highest number of malaria cases reported since 2017. The El Niño phenomenon is expected to cause further havoc up to July 2024, by causing drought in some parts of the country, and flooding in others. Food insecurity due to lost harvest and livestock is aggravating already high malnutrition rates, negatively impacting morbidity and mortality.
The Health Cluster is closely collaborating with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to prepare for, prevent, and respond to public health emergencies by mobilizing resources to enable health partners to provide life-saving health services to vulnerable populations.
In an environment with ever-increasing needs and decreased funding, the below priorities for 2024 and 2025 have been identified: 1 Strengthen advocacy for longer-term, development funding to address root causes of recurrent disease outbreaks, including through the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus 2 Advocate for increased access to quality health services, with a strong focus on:
sexual and reproductive health services (including for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence)
inclusion of people with disabilities, older people, and people living with HIV
remote populations through inclusion of Mobile Health Teams (MHT) as part of the health system 3 Standardize health services provided by Health Cluster partners through the implementation of Essential Health Care packages, aligned with existing MOH guidance, aimed at ensuring quality service delivery for affected populations, especially at community level 4 Strengthen quality of, and access to data for needs analysis and informed decision-making 5 Strengthen subnational coordination, with increased focus on zones and local health partners
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WHO, in partnership with the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has published global standards for prosthe...tics and orthotics. Its aim is to ensure that prosthetics and orthotics services are people-centred and responsive to every individual’s personal and environmental needs. The standards advocate for the integration of prosthetics and orthotics services into health services, under universal health coverage. Implementation of these standards will support countries to fulfil their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and towards the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
The standards provide guidance on the development of national policies, plans and programmes for prosthetics and orthotics services of the highest standard. The standards are divided into two documents: the standards and an implementation manual. Both documents cover four areas of the health system:
policy (governance, financing and information);
products (prostheses and orthoses);
personnel (workforce);
and provision of services.
The Standards have been developed through consultation with experts from around the globe via a steering group, development group and external review group.
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Background paper for the Oslo Summit on Education for Development.
This paper covers the four topics ...of the Oslo Summit: investment in education, quality of learning, education in emergencies and girls’ education. Disability continues to be one of the primary causes of educational disadvantage and exclusion,
creating the largest single group of girls and boys who remain out of school. Even in those countries
close to achieving universal primary enrolment, children with disabilities are still not in school,accessing opportunities to meaningful employment and on sustainable routes out of poverty
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The Government of Republic of Zambia reported the first confirmed cases ...o-highlight medbox">of COVID-19 on 18th March 2020. As of April 27th, 2020, there were 89 confirmed cases, three deaths and 42 recoveries. Confirmed cases are located in three provinces: Lusaka (83 cases), Copperbelt province (5 cases) and Central (1 case). Zambia introduced a series of measures including closure of three international airports, closure of all schools, movement restrictions and closure of non-essential services such as restaurant, bar, gym and public gatherings to curb the transmission rate.
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The Government of Republic of Zambia reported the first confirmed cases ...o-highlight medbox">of COVID-19 on 18th March 2020. As of April 27th, 2020, there were 89 confirmed cases, three deaths and 42 recoveries. Confirmed cases are located in three provinces: Lusaka (83 cases), Copperbelt province (5 cases) and Central (1 case). Zambia introduced a series of measures including closure of three international airports, closure of all schools, movement restrictions and closure of non-essential services such as restaurant, bar, gym and public gatherings to curb the transmission rate.
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Large-Scale UN Response Needed to Address Health and Food Crises
This report is based on interviews with more than 150 health care professionals, ...Venezuelans seeking or in need of medical care who recently arrived in Colombia and Brazil, representatives from international and nongovernmental humanitarian organizations. In addition, researchers analyzed data on the situation inside Venezuela from official sources, hospitals, international and national organizations, and civil society organizations.
We found a health system in utter collapse with increased levels of maternal and infant mortality; the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and diphtheria; and increases in numbers of infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis (TB). Although the government stopped publishing official data on nutrition in 2007, research by Venezuelan organizations and universities documents high levels of food insecurity and child malnutrition, and available data shows high hospital admissions of malnourished children.
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Ensuring mental health and well-being has become a worldwide imperative and an important target of the Sustainable Development Goals. But in all countries around ...medbox">the world, our response has been woefully insufficient, and we have made
little progress to advance mental health as a fundamental human right.
One in ten people are affected by a mental health condition, up to 200 million people have an intellectual disability and an estimated 50 million people have dementia. Many persons with mental health conditions, or psychosocial, intellectual, or cognitive disabilities lack access to quality mental health services that respond to their needs and respect their rights and dignity.
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Every year, nearly 250 million people move across borders temporarily or permanently for a job opportunity, studying, to flee a crisis back home, or for other reasons. Another 750 million move for similar reasons within ...hlight medbox">the borders of their countries. With the understanding that human mobility affects public health, and health affects human mobility and migrants, for decades, IOM has been providing critical health services to women, children and men on the move, while standing by governments for technical and operational support as needed. In 2019, in lower-income settings and in complex emergencies, along the world’s most perilous migration routes, in the aftermath of natural disasters or in response to disease outbreaks, IOM’s health teams have provided hundreds of thousands with primary health-care consultations, mental health and psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive health care, pre-migration health services, and much more.
This year, more than ever before, as the world reels from the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19, we have experienced that health is a cross-cutting component of overall human development and well-being.
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The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Union together have called for a New Public Health Order which will safeguard the...span> health and economic security of the continent as it strives to meet the aspirations of the Agenda 2063. A key pillar of this mandate seeks to expand the local manufacture of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Presently, less than one percent of vaccines administered on the continent are manufactured locally. This places a great burden on the health systems of African countries and reduces their ability to respond to pandemics and other health crises.
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Almost half (46%) of the world’s 1.7 million children living with HIV were not on treatment in 2020 and 150 000 children were newly infected with... HIV, four times more than the 2020 target of 40 000
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The World Food Programme (WFP) has taken important steps to progress disability inclusion across its programming and operations. In late 2022, WFP commissioned ...dbox">the Nossal Institute, University of Melbourne in partnership with the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia to identify pathways for increasing disability inclusion in WFP’s emergency preparedness and response (EPR) programming.
The study explored WFP’s programming in Indonesia and the Philippines, including WFP’s advisory, technical assistance and service provision roles to government and partners and informed the development of this guide (see appendix 2). As general guidance on disability inclusion is increasingly available, the purpose of this guide is to contextualize disability inclusion in WFP’s emergency preparedness and response programming. The guide builds on core reference materials, such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, 2019. While of wider relevance, this guide is directed at WFP’s EPR programming in Asia and the Pacific.
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This report is jointly released by the Human Rights Division (HRD)
of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and ...te-to-highlight medbox">the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and focuses on the right to freedom of opinion and expression in South Sudan.
It covers the period from July 2016 to December 2017 and presents
information gathered by HRD on progress and challenges faced by
individuals to freely form, hold and express their opinions and
views on a wide range of issues, including the political and security situation, peace negotiations, and other developments affecting the country.
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A case study from Bosnia and Herzegovina Eurasian Harm Reduction Network
The case study was prepared by Samir Ibisevic, President of PROI betwe...en March and June 2016 and edited by Graham Shaw.
EHRN is grateful to all who contributed to this document, especially: Dr. Serifa Godinjak, Chairperson of Country Coordinating Mechanism; Dr. Zlatko Cardaklija, HIV Coordinator for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH); Dr. Nesad Seremet, Head of the HIV program, United Nations Development Program in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Ms. Gyongyver Jakab, Fund Portfolio Manager, Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Ms. Natalya Bogach, Program Officer, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Dr. Nermana Mehic–Basara, Director of the Institute for Addiction Diseases of Sarajevo Canton; Mr. Denis Dedajic, Director of the Association Margina from the Federation of BiH; Mr. Srdjan Kukolj, Director of Action Against AIDS from the Republic of Srpska.
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