Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, health is receiving unprecedented public and political attention. Yet the fact that climate change also presents us with a health crisis deserves furth
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er recognition. From more deaths due to heat stress to increased transmission of infectious diseases, climate change affects the social and environmental determinants of health in ways that are profound and far-reaching. The fundamental interdependency of human health and the health of the environment is encapsulated in the concept of planetary health, a scientific field and social movement that has been gaining force since the 2015 publication of the Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission report “Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch”.
We see an urgent need for strategic communication to raise awareness of climate-health synergies in order to overcome the misperception that climate and health are two independent agendas. The fragmented and sector-focused nature of thinking and action remains a significant barrier to integrating health considerations into climate planning and project development. Inevitably, collaboration across sectors requires a community of practice. Despite recent efforts focused on the climate-health nexus, much work remains to be done to translate scientific findings for policymakers, mobilise climate financing resources in support of health co-benefits, and promote genderjust solutions within climate change projects.
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The Kenyan Health Sector has been playing a critical role in
providing health care services in response to the population
needs in line with the Kenya H
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ealth Policy, 2014-2030’s goal
of attaining the highest possible health standards in a manner
responsive to the population needs.
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There is little doubt that 2019 was a defining year on many fronts for the environment. The repercussions of the climate emergency were experienced across the globe, with floods, devastating wildfires, and unprecedented melting of polar ice sheets and glaciers. While the new decade began with the Au
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stralian bushfires still raging after the hottest and driest year on record, the world was soon (and still is) in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The 2021 WHO health and climate change global survey report provides a valuable snapshot of the overall progress governments have made in addressing the health risks of climate change. The findings
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on key health and climate change indicators aim to empower policy makers to: make informed decisions on the implementation of policies and plans; identify evidence gaps; and better understand the barriers to achieving adaptation and resilience priorities in the health sector while maximizing the health benefits of sector-wide climate mitigation efforts.
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Current evidence that the climate is changing is overwhelming. Impacts of climate change and variability are being observed: more intense heat-waves, fires and floods; and increased prevalence of food- water- and vector-borne diseases. Climate change will put pressure on environmental and
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health determinants, such as food safety, air pollution and water quantity and quality. A climate-resilient future depends fundamentally on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Limiting warming to below 2 °C requires transformational technological, institutional, political and behavioural changes: the foundations for this are laid out in the Paris Agreement of December 2015. The health sector can lead by example, shifting to environmentally friendly practices and minimizing its carbon emissions. A climate-resilient future will increasingly depend on managing and reducing climate change risks to protect health. In the near term, this can be enhanced by including climate change in national health programming and creating climate-resilient health systems.
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The climate crisis has many consequences – among them widespread health impacts that will lead to immense societal, ecological, and economic harm.
Over the past two decades multiple large-scale reviews on climate change and
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health have made clear the need for a multi-sectoral approach to target the drivers and impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation. Despite this abundance of scientific evidence underscoring urgency of action, policy implementation responses lag behind. Even at COP26, itself delayed due to an ongoing pandemic, health continues to be considered by many countries a problem independent from climate and environment.
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Building on our decades of commitment to human rights in medicine and healthcare, we have published a new report on emerging threats in health-related human rights both globally and in the UK.
'Health
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and human rights in the new world (dis)order' outlines a shifting rights landscape in which new technologies, environmental change and geopolitical reconfigurations are putting renewed and at times intense stress on human rights, both in medicine and healthcare more broadly.
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Technical lessons learnt report UNDP GEF Project
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on the mental health of populations in the Americas. Studies
show high rates of depression and anxiety, among other psychological symptoms, particularly among women, young
people, those with pre-exist
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ing mental health conditions, health workers, and persons living in vulnerable condi-
tions. Mental health systems and services have also been severely disrupted. A lack of financial and human resource
investments in mental health services, limited implementation of the decentralized community-based care approach
and policies to address the mental health gap prior to the pandemic, have all contributed to the current crisis. Coun-
tries must urgently strengthen their mental health responses to COVID-19 by taking actions to scale up mental
health and psychosocial support services for all, reach marginalized and at-risk populations, and build back better
mental health systems and services for the future.
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WBCSD Vision 2050 sets out the goal to achieve the highest attainable standard of health and wellbeing for everyone by 2050, calling for a world in which: people live healthy lives; societies promote and protect
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health; everyone has access to robust, resilient and sustainable healthcare services; and all workplaces promote health and wellbeing. Business has a significant role to play in realizing this vision, thereby creating healthier and happier societies and building business resilience.
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Lancet 2022; 399: 1155–200 Published Online March 15, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/
S0140-6736(21)02488-0
Access to health workers who are fit for purpose, motivated and protected is a fundamental force of health service delivery and the achievement of universal
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health coverage and the health and health-related Sustainable Development Goals. Data and knowledge of the distribution, skill mix and future development needs of the health workforce can mean the difference between enabling or impeding health systems performance, inclusive economic growth and global health security preparedness and response
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This thematic brief accompanies the Working for Health 2022–2030 Action Plan, providing a rationale for the related actions of the Working for Health progression model (see Annex). This brief ai
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ms to inform Member States, non-state actors and other stakeholders vested in implementing the Action Plan to consider the context of planning and financing for the health and care workforce, including the relevant policy landscape, key challenges and future directions.
In doing so, it provides an expanded exploration of the themes beyond what is provided in the Action Plan Itself, and reflects the topical issues and considerations that shaped its design, including those issues identified in the World Health Assembly Resolution WHA74.14 to protect, safeguard and invest in the health and care workforce. The importance of these themes was again emphasized at the Seventy-fifth WHA, when Resolution WHA75.17: Human resources for health, was co-sponsored by over 100 Member States, calling for the adoption and implementation of the Working for Health 2022–2030 Action Plan and utilization of the related Global Health and Care Worker Compact.
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The recurrence of severe climate events combined with economic, social, and institutional fragilities leave El Salvador in an utterly critical humanitarian situation and highly vulnerable. Located in a disaster-prone subregion, El Salvador is among the 20 countries at the highest risk of disasters w
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orldwide. The successive hydrometeorological hazards that impacted El Salvador over the past two years include tropical storms Amanda and Cristóbal and hurricanes Eta, Iota, and,
more recently, Julia. These storms profoundly affected the lives and livelihoods of almost 900 000 people and significantly disrupted health services, especially at the first level of care. In addition, the country’s exposure to earthquakes, floods, and droughts is also constant. Infrastructural and institutional limitations to deal with emergencies and
low capacity to respond to adverse events are an additional challenge, which leaves the population—particularly the most vulnerable—at even higher risk.
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Obesity in all age groups, including children and adolescents, is a public health challenge across all settings. Obesity is now classified as a complex multifactorial chronic disease and not just a risk factor for other noncommunicable diseases and
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comorbidities. Recognizing the significance of primary health care for an effective and efficient response to the obesity epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed guidance on how to build capacity in the health system to deliver health services for prevention and management of obesity across the life course. This policy brief discusses the challenges and opportunities for preventing obesity in children and adolescents, and providing health services to treat and manage those already living with obesity. It outlines possible interventions through the primary health care approach.
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UNFPA has been implementing programming for women and girls through Women Friendly Health Spaces (WFHSs), which provide access to critical services, information and support. The WFHS is providing: psychosocial counseling services; awareness raising
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sessions on PSS in the community; and life skills & vocational training opportunities. The WFHS also facilitates referral to other services including Psychosocial Counseling Centers (PSCCs).
The aim of this guidance note is to provide an overview of approaches on how to successfully integrate adolescent and youth (A&Y) programming into the WFHSs. UNFPA activities for women’s and girl’s protection in health facilities aim to protect women and girls including child marriage. Given that vulnerable women and girls in Afghanistan continue to access health facilities, particularly for reproductive health and maternal health services, it is crucial to provide support for survivors in the same location to improve access to essential psychosocial and protection support for women and girls. To support the integration of A&Y in the WFHS programming each WFHS will be supported by two full time Youth Educators. A female Youth Educator who will be working within the WFHS and a male Youth Educator who will be working in the community. The role of the Youth educators is to increase A&Y awareness and knowledge on living healthy lifestyles and ensuring a referral system to services in existing facilities.
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Annual and medium-term budget preparation processes are the platforms through which specific plans are transformed into actual resource allocation decisions. The aim of this Process Guide is to support key stakeholders involved in these processes (such as the Cabinet, Ministries of Finance and
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Health, the Parliament, citizens, media, and civil society organizations) to reorient budgetary arrangements in order to facilitate the ability of national governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering, therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccine services to their populations. Reorienting budgetary arrangements positions governments to sustain the capacity to mitigate and respond to COVID-19 while concurrently delivering other essential health services and working towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The reorientation process is an opportunity to better align budgetary arrangements to sustain systemic capacity to prevent emerging health threats over the short, medium, and long terms.
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