The following Emergency Response Plan for the COVID-19 pandemic seeks to set out activities that will be undertaken by humanitarian actors in Ukraine over the course of 2020 to respond to the public health impact of the epidemic – as well as the i
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ndirect, socio-economic impact on people’s well-being, which will span across many areas. Given the extensive public exposure of the COVID-19 threat, the response will cover the whole of Ukraine, while providing a distinct focus on Donetska and Luhanska oblasts that have been ravaged by an armed conflict for the last six consecutive years. The planned COVID-19 response in the two conflict-affected oblasts will be treated as an annex to the current Humanitarian Response Plan for Ukraine
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Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease among school-going adolescents worldwide. However, the burden of severe asthma is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of asthma care across six African countries. We conducted focus group discussions
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(FGDs) using a semi-structured interview guide. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. FGDs were conducted in Kumasi(Ghana), Blantyre (Malawi), Lagos (Nigeria), Durban (South Africa), Kampala (Uganda), and Harare (Zimbabwe) between 01 November 2020 and 30 June 2021. We identified two key themes related to asthma care; barriers to asthma care and suggestions to improve the care of adolescents with asthma. Barriers reported by teachers included a lack of knowledge and skills among themselves, adolescents, and caregivers. In addition, some traditional beliefs of teachers on asthma exacerbated challenges with asthma care in schools. Regarding suggestions, most teachers identified a need for all-inclusive asthma training programmes for teachers, adolescents and caregivers, focusing on acute episodes and mitigating triggers. Utilising teachers with personal experiences with asthma to advocate and support these initiatives was suggested. Further suggestions included the need for annual screening to enable early identification of adolescents with asthma and clarify restrictions on teachers administering asthma medications. Teachers across African schools identify multiple barriers to asthma care. Structured school education programs and annual asthma screening are key to addressing some barriers to care.
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This document presents the findings of the National Census of Persons with Disabilities in Rwanda. The preliminary result of this census has been used to produce a summary analysis of tables and figures. It shall be possible to derive basic socio-de
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mographic indicators as well as to obtain the estimate of persons with disability in Rwanda, all of which shall serve as a reference to the categorization activity planned to be done in the near future by a medical committee from the Ministry of Health. The data of this report relate to (1) Persons with disability size for various administrative units (Districts and Provinces), (2) Distribution of Persons with disabilities by sex, age, marital status and type of disabilities.
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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the second common cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounting for about 35% of all deaths, after a composite of communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases. Despite prior perception of lo
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w NCDs mortality rates, current evidence suggests that SSA is now at the dawn of the epidemiological transition with contemporary double burden of disease from NCDs and communicable diseases. In SSA, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the most frequent causes of NCDs deaths, responsible for approximately 13% of all deaths and 37% of all NCDs deaths. Although ischemic heart disease (IHD) has been identified as the leading cause of CVDs mortality in SSA followed by stroke and hypertensive heart disease from statistical models, real field data suggest IHD rates are still relatively low. The neglected endemic CVDs of SSA such as endomyocardial fibrosis and rheumatic heart disease as well as congenital heart diseases remain unconquered. While the underlying aetiology of heart failure among adults in high-income countries (HIC) is IHD, in SSA the leading causes are hypertensive heart disease, cardiomyopathy, rheumatic heart disease, and congenital heart diseases. Of concern is the tendency of CVDs to occur at younger ages in SSA populations, approximately two decades earlier compared to HIC. Obstacles hampering primary and secondary prevention of CVDs in SSA include insufficient health care systems and infrastructure, scarcity of cardiac professionals, skewed budget allocation and disproportionate prioritization away from NCDs, high cost of cardiac treatments and interventions coupled with rarity of health insurance systems. This review gives an overview of the descriptive epidemiology of CVDs in SSA, while contrasting with the HIC and highlighting impediments to their management and making recommendations.
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DHS Analytical Studies No. 41
The purpose of this paper is to clarify relevant terminologies and approaches relating to psychosocial well-being and social and emotional learning
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(SEL) in education in crisis affected contexts, and to explore how psychosocial support (PSS) and social and emotional learning relate to one another.
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Disease Control Priorities, 3rdEdition: Volume 4.
Mental, neurological, and substance use disorders are common, highly disabling, and associated with significant premature mortality. The impact of
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these disorders on the social and economic well-beingof individuals, families, and societies is large, growing, and underestimated
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Transforming the Quality of Health Care in Ethiopia
DHS Working Papers No. 88
education, wealth, mobility, employment, and media exposure