Overwhelming evidence shows that a range of health concerns—mental illness, substance dependence, HIV/AIDS, and noncommunicable diseases—affect prisoners disproportionately. But, while incarceration poses risks to health—including inadequate nutrition and exposure to violence—prisons also pr...esent important opportunities to promote health and risk reduction that need to be tapped.
Some recommended remedies:
Health ministries, not ministries of justice, should manage health care responsibilities
Ensure that testing is available, but not mandatory, for infectious diseases
Make prison health part of the broader public health agenda
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War Trauma Foundation strengthens mental health care and psychosocial support through capacity building and development and dissemination of expertise through the implementation of programmes in (post) conflict areas. We develop and evaluate new methods in close cooperation with (local) partner orga...nisations ensuring the inclusion of cultural and context aspects as well as long term sustainability. A couple of programmes will always be highlighted on our website.
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The Government of Republic of Zambia reported the first confirmed cases 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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2 March 2021
Protracted displacement, socio-economic crises aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, dire humanitarian needs and protection threats continue to affect the Palestine refugees in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
In Syria, the protracted conflict has left 91 per cent of the 438,000 Palestine re...fugees1 estimated to remain in the country in absolute poverty2 and 40 per cent displaced.
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The COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErs Study (HEROES): Regional Report from the Americas is a multicenter prospective cohort study to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of health care workers in 26 countries on four continents and how it is affected by several factors at diffe...rent interrelated levels: individual, family, occupational, and social. This brief report presents the evidence generated from the baseline survey of 11 participating countries in the Region of the Americas. Using validated scales, the findings show high rates of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and psychological distress in several countries of the Region. The spirit of the project is not only to generate quality scientific evidence on the mental health of health care workers, but also to help develop interventions (both individual and institutional) and policies to address the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health.
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At present at least 2.2 billion people around the world have a vision impairment, of whom at least 1 billion have a vision impairment that could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed. The world faces considerable challenges in terms of eye care, including inequalities in the coverage and qua...lity of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services; a shortage of trained eye care service providers; and poor integration of eye care services into health systems, among others. The World report on vision aims to address these challenges and galvanize action.
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Based on WHO South-East Asia Regional Strategy on Autism Spectrum Disorder
The collaborative framework for implementation of the “WHO South-East Asia Regional Strategy on Autism Spectrum Disorders” articulates to Member States: the nature of autism spectrum disorder and the issues faced by ...PwASD and their caregivers; the foundation on which the Regional Strategy and the collaborative framework is based; desired outcomes against each objective of the ASD Regional Strategy; recommended actions to fulfill each objective; requisite parameters that should govern the recommended actions; and suggested guidelines for monitoring, evaluating and reporting a Member State’s progress towards fulfilling the objectives. It encourages Member States to share best practices and information for promoting cooperation and partnerships for development of effective and sustainable programmes.
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This ten year global plan for measles and rubella outlines the strategy that needs to be fully implemented to achieve the measles and rubella goals endorsed by the World Health Assembly. The plan sets out the: vision, goals and targets for the 2011-2020 period, recommended strategies, guiding princi...ples, priorities, costing of reaching the targets, and the challenges as well as ways to overcome them.
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Oral diseases are among the most common chronic diseases worldwide and constitute a major public health problem due to the huge health and economic burden on individuals, families, societies, and health care systems. The recent emphasis on the role of determinants of health, common risk factors and ...their recognition in the context of the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) provides good opportunities for integrating oral health into NCD prevention and control efforts. This Strategy for oral health in South-East Asia, 2013-2020, presents guidance to Member States in developing national policy and action plans to improve oral health within existing socioeconomic, cultural, political and health system contexts. It expresses the consensus on major strategies in the area of oral health promotion as well as oral disease prevention and control for the South-East Asia Region aiming at reducing the health and socioeconomic burden resulting from oral diseases, reducing oral health inequities, and improving the quality of life of the population.
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This document is written for local and international staff running nutrition programmes in emergencies, and for local, regional and national authorities and donors involved in such programmes.
The note explains why nutrition programmes need to include early childhood development (ECD) activities t...o maximize the child’s development.
It provides practical suggestions as to what simple steps are necessary to create integrated programmes in situations of famine or food insecurity and it gives examples of how such integrated programmes have been established in other situations.
This document is also available in Arabic: http://www.who.int/mental_health/emergencies/ecd_why_what_how_arabic.pdf?ua=1
;and in French: http://www.who.int/mental_health/emergencies/ecd_why_what_how_french.pdf?ua=1
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The CBDRR Manual is a practical ‘how-to’ guide on community-based disaster risk reduction for government and non-government agencies in Lao PDR. It is a commonly agreed document to be referred to by agencies working on CBDRR in Lao PDR. It provides guidance and support for systematic implementat...ion of CBDRR programs by explaining each of the steps as well as tools used.
The manual will also support the Government of Lao PDR (GoL) to monitor CBDRR activities, oversee progress of activities implemented by different actors and locations, provide necessary support on CBDRR technical knowledge as well as provide a reference point for replication of initiatives for local government and implementing agencies.
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Just about everyone has experienced the joy that a healthy newborn child brings to parents, families and communities. But the arrival of a newborn who is small or sick often results in immediate worry and sadness. When the infant is at high risk of death or disability, these concerns can be a tremen...dous additional burden.
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This report, which involved input from across WaterAid, in particular from the Programme Support Unit (PSU) of WaterAid UK, includes case studies from a variety of countries, including Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, India and Nepal, each demonstrating what must be done now to i...mprove WASH services and address current challenges, in order to increase community resilience to climate change.
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Between 1992 and 2012, disasters caused more than 1.3 million deaths, affected more than 4.4 billion people and led to US$ 2 trillion in economic damages and losses around the world. This Disaster Risk Management Strategy explains how the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) anti...cipates disasters and advocates for more upstream consideration of their occurrence. There are sections on community based disaster risk management and ecosystem based disaster resilience, as well as a look to the future
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2nd edition. The interagency field handbook on malaria control was developed to set out effective malaria control responses in humanitarian emergencies, particularly during the acute phase when reliance on international humanitarian assistance is greatest. This second edition represents a thorough u...pdating and revision of the first edition. The structure remains similar, but includes an additional chapter on humanitarian coordination. All chapters have been revised to reflect changes in best practices, improvements in technologies, availability of new tools, and changes in WHO recommendations.
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Infectious disease outbreaks are periods of
great uncertainty. Events unfold, resources
and capacities that are often limited
are stretched yet further, and decisions
for a public health response must be
made quickly, even though the evidence
for decision-making may be scant. In
such a... situation, public health officials,
policy-makers, funders, researchers, field
epidemiologists, first responders, national
ethics boards, health-care workers, and public
health practitioners need a moral compass
to guide them in their decision-making.
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The strategy focuses on mobilizing and coordinating partners, experts and resources to help countries enhance surveillance of the Zika virus and disorders that could be linked to it, improve vector control, effectively communicate risks, guidance and protection measures, provide medical care to thos...e affected and fast-track research and development of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics
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