COVID-19 has resulted in an unprecedented global crisis. As the pandemic spreads and countries around the world continue to struggle to contain its health and socio-economic consequences, UNRWA is issuing a new humanitarian appeal from August through December 2020 to address the worst impacts of the... pandemic on Palestine refugees across the Agency’s five fields of operation. Through this appeal the Agency seeks US$ 94.6 million. The funds requested in this appeal are additional to the previous UNRWA COVID-19 appeal for March to July.
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With about 24 million of Yemen’s 30 million people in need of some form of assistance, the United Nations calls Yemen the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Cholera and other disease outbreaks are common, malnutrition is widespread, water is scarce, and the healthcare system is crumbling, with o...nly half of the country’s 5,000 or so health facilities fully operational and with massive medical supply and staff shortages. In August 2020, the UN warned the country was again on the brink of full-scale famine.
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UNFPA implements programmes addressing gender-based violence (GBV) in 153 countries and territories, many of which face humanitarian emergencies. Leading resources used by GBV practitioners include the Inter-Agency Minimum Standards for Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies Programming (the GBViE Min...imum Standards) released in 2019 and the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence released in 2015. Experiences across UNFPA have shown that GBV practitioners have faced challenges in determining when and how to use these tools and how to adapt different approaches to diverse contexts.
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The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been facing a prolonged socio-political and economic situation that has profoundly and negatively impacted social and health indicators. The COVID-19 pandemic further aggravated the humanitarian context in the
country, which stretched the limits of an alread...y weakened national health system. Violence and social conflicts, hyperinflation, constant political tensions, the persistence of migratory movements, and intensification of climate threats and natural hazards
have worsened the living conditions and health status of populations in vulnerable situations, including women, children, and indigenous people. A large influx of returnees back to Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) marked the first
two years of the pandemic. However, the country’s continued deteriorating political, socio-economic, and human rights situation resulted in renewed increased migration of Venezuelans in 2022. The profile of Venezuelan migrants has progressively changed
over the years, from single men in search of better economic opportunities to families with women and children in situations of extreme vulnerability. The increasingly irregular and unsafe journeys of those migrants are constantly putting their lives at high risk
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A practioner's guide, based on lessons from Ebola.
This guide is a compilation of best practices and key lessons learned through Oxfam’s experience of community engagement during the 2014–15 Ebola response in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It aims to inform public health practitioners and programme ...teams about the design and implementation of community-centred approaches
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This study aims to analyze national and international stakeholders and their initiatives in Early Warning Systems in Myanmar, to identify priority gaps that need to be addressed by all stakeholders. It is presented as a first step towards supporting GoUM in information-gathering under the Myanmar Ac...tion Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction (MAPDRR), in particular under Components (2) Risk Assessment, (3) Multi-hazard Early Warning System and (4) Preparedness at all levels, and especially in implementing Sub-Component (3.4) Enhanced Flood Monitoring and Forecasting Capacities at Township Levels.
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The Government of Liberia (GoL) reports three additional EVD cases linked to the Margibi County cluster, including one in Liberia’s Montserrado County; new confirmed case total reaches six
Recently extended Operation Northern Push strengthens contact tracing and EVD prevention activities ...in Sierra Leone
The Government of Guinea (GoG) and EVD response actors investigate source of infection for EVD-positive nurse in Forécariah Prefecture, the area’s first confirmed case among health care workers since March
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The audit was undertaken in order to ascertain whether allocations and donations received directly by the Government of Sierra Leone, in the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease were utilised with due regard to economy and efficiency and that internal controls were observed accordingly. The audit f...ound that more than US$ 10 million in spending was inadequately documented and US$ 6 million may have been diverted to non-existent or “ghost” workers. The Quote: “It makes one wonder how a serious humanitarian crisis was used as money-making machine,” said Ibrahim Tommy, coordinator for Sierra Leone’s Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law
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A broad range of UNHCR’s key priorities overlap with MHPSS issues – for example, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence [SGBV] prevention and response.
Despite all these existent synergies, UNHCR’s current policies and guidelines do not sufficiently link with MHPSS principles.... For example, the Community Services section, which is closely aligned to the principles of MHPSS and could be well-positioned to guide the implementation of related programs, has not adopted the MHPSS language or approach.
There are opportunities for UNHCR to engage more strongly and clearly in this field. However, this requires a vision for how the organisation as a whole, and particular sectors within the organisation, will engage within the field of MHPSS activities. For a start, UNHCR can work to improve its understanding and framing of mental health and psychosocial issues, and how these issues fit within its broader mandate.
While the majority of MHPSS activities are delivered by implementing partners, UNHCR staff require familiarity with core principles in the field, such as the Intervention Pyramid contained in the IASC Guidelines, in order to support and monitor quality MHPSS activities.
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Listening to what children in crisis have to say is not only a moral and ethical responsibility for donor and humanitarian actors, it is also a humanitarian obligation. Children’s right to participation is recognised in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (UNCRC), which provi...des rights for children to express their views and ‘be heard and taken seriously’.
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This document presents a consolidated summary of urgent activities
required to advance preparedness, as elaborated in each country's
national plan, with a particular focus on Priority 1 countries. It
presents the estimated requirements, needs, and gaps for each of the
Priority 1 countries and a ...summary for Priority 2 countries, as
aligned for the period of July to December 2019.
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7 June 2020 Version 1
Women in Myanmar have traditionally been underrepresented in public decision-making processes, a trend which is continuing in structures established to respond to COVID-19. This means that even as women are disproportionately affected by the crisis, they have less say in how t...heir communities and country respond to it, increasing the risk of a COVID-19 response that does not adequately address the needs and priorities of the most vulnerable women and girls.
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From Participation to Partnerships (September 2020)
Despite the COVID-19 challenges, children around the world have found meaningful ways to support and protect their peers, families, and communities. Children are on the frontlines of innovative responses and are working closely with their adult al...lies. The leadership demonstrated through these child-adult partnerships is the underlying inspiration for this guide.
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Concentrations of the major greenhouse gases, CO2 , CH4 , and N2 O, continued to increase despite the temporary reduction in emissions in 2020 related to measures taken in response to COVID-19.
2020 was one of the three warmest years on record. The past six years, including 2020, have been the si...x warmest years on record. Temperatures reached 38.0 °C at Verkhoyansk, Russian Federation on 20 June, the highest recorded temperature anywhere north of the Arctic Circle.
The trend in sea-level rise is accelerating. In addition, ocean heat storage and acidification are increasing, diminishing the ocean’s capacity to moderate climate change.
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This information can be used to assess the extent of the damage and the needs of affected communities. Information should be gathered on the extent of damage to infrastructure, housing, and public facilities such as hospitals, schools, and water systems. This information can be used to prioritize th...e response effort and to direct resources to where they are most needed.
In addition to gathering information on the extent of damage, it is also important to gather information on the number of people affected and the types of assistance they need. This may include information on the number of people who are injured, displaced, or in need of shelter, food, and water. This information can be used to prioritize the response effort and to ensure that assistance is provided in a way that meets the specific needs of affected communities.
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The active participation and engagement of health and care workers (HCWs) in health emergency preparedness, readiness and response is crucial to support risk communication, community engagement and infodemic management (RCCE-IM) interventions during emergencies. HCWs hold unique position...s in society – repeatedly being identified among the main influencers of people’s behaviours: they are one of the most trusted sources of health information and advice in communities and role models for the acceptance and uptake of protective measures during health emergencies. On the frontline, HCWs have valuable insights and knowledge that can be harnessed to support health emergencies across the entire emergency cycle. Between October and December 2023, the WHO Regional Office for Europe interviewed key informants on strategies and experiences to meaningfully engage HCWs during emergencies
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The guide aims to provide health and DRM practitioners, planners and policymakers across sectors with targeted information to help them strengthen national health systems and integrate the risks of disease outbreaks in national DRR strategies
The following are some of the principles and approache...s that have been based on lessons learned to date and may be considered to ensure effective all-hazards health EDRM, including prevention and preparedness for disease outbreaks, are addressed as part of the multihazard, multisectoral approach to developing or updating DRR strategies
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In many conflicts around the world, more children die from diseases linked to unsafe water than from direct violence. UNICEF is releasing Water Under Fire volume 3, a report that highlights the issues children face in accessing water in times of war. The report demonstrates the humanitarian impact o...n children through case studies from Iraq, State of Palestine, Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine. Attacks on water, sanitation services and staff must stop.
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The Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia (FMOH), the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) and other government actors together with UN agencies (UNICEF, UNHCR, WHO and WFP) and nutrition development partners call for all parties involved in the response to emergencies in Ethiopia t...o provide appropriate, prompt support for the feeding and care of infants, young children and their mothers. This is a critical for supporting child survival, growth and development and preventing malnutrition, illness and death. This joint statement has been issued to help secure immediate, coordinated, multi- sectoral action on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) in emergencies.
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The goal of the study was to assess the feasibility of the COVID-19 measures and their resultant impact on Persons with Disabilities in Malawi.
Specifically, the study addressed the following objectives:
a) To evaluate Government’s response to COVID-19 following the adoption of the new measures... of COVID-19 in January 2021 in line with principles and norms of human rights. (This includes establishing the extent to which the new measures have been implemented)
b) To assess the extent to which the provision health service delivery specifically access to health for PWDs including vaccine inflammation and facilities.
c) To establish the key COVID-19 related human rights violations during the pandemic period affecting PWDs
d) To assess the extent to which Government (and other nonstate actors) have implemented the recommendations from the preliminary MHRC statement
e) To provide advice and make recommendations to the Executive, Parliament and other stakeholders on how they can improve their response to COVID-19 from a rights perspective with a focus on PWDs.
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