As the number of transboundary pest and animal and foodborne disease outbreaks rises, so does the number of people who are chronically hungry due t...o these and other factors. The correlation can be explained by the link between our health and that of the planet. We rely on land and sea for the production of safe and quality foods for our daily nourishment. Pests and disease epidemics negatively impact the quality, quantity and safety of our food sources, and cripple economic growth and efficiencies in production. Furthermore, the epidemic and endemic levels of the pathogens and disease vectors can be difficult to control. This is why FAO stresses and promotes the special efforts required for cost-effective preventive measures rather than the more expensive control, disinfestation, treatment and disposal measures. When preventive measures are late or difficult, preparedness and contingency plans must be in place to enable rapid response. Early warning systems, based on close monitoring, surveillance, and timely reporting are fundamental to warn and empower communities to safeguard their livelihoods and assets by enhancing disease and pest prevention measures and for government services to take immediate measures to protect communities and national economies.
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It is our hope and prayer that the guidance and multiple tools provided herein to manage
the entire lifecycle of a food security program are usefu...l to our food security staff, our
local partners, and our fellow international Cooperating Sponsors throughout the world.
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This guide focuses on three main areas: how to support a person whose condition warrants home care because of non-severe symptoms and home care is recommended by local jurisdictions; how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in ...-highlight medbox">the home; and how to provide emotional support to family members. While this manual provides information on danger signs of COVID-19, it should not be used as a guide for when and how a person who has COVID-19 (or its symptoms) should seek medical care. All content adapted to different countries should reflect local policy guidelines and recommendations.
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2nd edition
WASH FIT is a risk-based, continuous improvement framework with a set of tools for undertaking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) improvements as part of wider quality improvements in health care facilities. It is aimed at small prima...ry, and in some instances secondary, health care facilities in low and middle income countries.
An app, for front line data collection is also available in the Android Google Play store or as a web app
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After five consecutive below-average rains, the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa is expanding and deepening.
Combined with insecurity and macroeconomic volatility, ...-to-highlight medbox">the impact of the drought on food and nutrition security has been devastating. Across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, an estimated 22 million people are now acutely food insecure because of the drought. The malnutrition situation is also critical. Some 5.1 million children across drought-affected areas of the three countries are acutely malnourished in 2023, with dire implications for their health, growth and survival. Concerningly, the upcoming March-May 2023 rains are also forecast to be below-average. Should these rains fail, and humanitarian assistance not be delivered at scale, food insecurity will continue to deteriorate.
Regardless of how the 2023 rains perform, extremely high humanitarian needs will persist through 2023 while a full recovery from a drought of this magnitude will take years. To address the devastating drought-induced hunger and malnutrition across the region, WFP is pursuing an integrated dual track approach; meeting immediate life-saving food and nutritional needs while simultaneously building resilience to extreme climate variability.
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Adolescence is a critical stage in life for physical, cognitive and emotional development, shaping future health and well-being. Comprehensive measurement of adolescent health is essential to prioritize health issues, guide interventions and track p...rogress. However, global, regional and national adolescent health measurement has historically been inconsistent and incomplete.
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CORE Group has developed a module to improve preparedness for and response of communities in countries at risk of a cholera epidemic. The module consists of four lesson plans with accompanying flipc...harts, intended to be delivered through community health workers. The lessons target mothers and caregivers of children under age five, a group that is at particular risk of death if infected. The module shares information about symptoms and risks; what families can do to prevent infection; how, when, and where to seek care; and what actions to take in the aftermath of an outbreak.
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In 1998 the Swedish Veterinary Association decided to adopt a general policy for the use of antibiotics in animals. Since then specifi c policies <...span class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">for the use of antibiotics in dogs and cats have been adopted and in 2011 Guidelines for the use of Antibiotics in Production animals – Cattle and Pigs, were accepted. By decision of the board of the Swedish Veterinary Society (SVS) these guidelines have been updated. Th e over-arching goal of SVS is to achieve a low and controlled use of antibiotics in Swedish animal production so that the fi rst-hand choices of treatment remain effi cient and that the spread of antimicrobial resistance – among animals and herds as well as in the food chain – is kept at a minimum. Keeping antimicrobial resistance in animals low is important also for human health, since we are all part of the same ecosystem. Th e authors of these guidelines hope that they may be useful for veteri-narians in clinical practice when deciding on treatments for common diseases and ailments caused by bacteria. Sometimes the decision may even be to refrain from use of antibiotics and chose other ways of improving herd health.
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The outbreak of COVID-19 comes with unpredictable primary and secondary impacts on vulnerable and food-insecure populations across the world. M...ortality and morbidity appear to be most acute for elderly people, and those with underlying health conditions. At the same time, the widely anticipated economic downturn could have a more devastating effect on the world’s poor than the virus itself
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The war in Ukraine has had devasting impact on women and girls
worldwide, widening gender gaps and increasing rates of food insecurity, malnutrition and energy poverty. This brief reviews ...ss="attribute-to-highlight medbox">the available evidence of that impact, recommending urgent attention to its consequences for women and girls. Its findings underline the global impacts on gender equality and women’s rights that have been compounded by climate change, environmental degradation and the COVID-19 pandemic,
demonstrating further entrenched inequalities and human rights violations.
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Policy Brief 2 June 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is a health and human crisis threatening the food security and nutrition of millions of people arou...nd the world. Hundreds of millions of people were already suffering from hunger and malnutrition before the virus hit and, unless immediate action is taken, we could see a global food emergency. In the longer term, the combined effects of COVID-19 itself, as well as corresponding mitigation measures and the emerging global recession could, without large-scale coordinated action, disrupt the functioning of food systems. Such disruption can result in consequences for health and nutrition of a severity and scale unseen for more than half a century.
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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched a new Framework for E...nvironmental and Social Management (FESM) to ensure that both people and the environment are protected from any potential impacts of FAO programmes and projects.
“This Framework ensures that our projects do both “no harm” and support the transformation to more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agrifood systems by upholding the highest international standards for risk management,” FAO Director-General QU Dongyu explained during a virtual event.
The Framework, which includes key elements of a people-centered approach and establishes environmental and social performance requirements for FAO programming, is also intended to ensure that all stakeholders, including local and indigenous communities, have ample opportunities to actively participate in projects’ activities and to voice their concerns about them.
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The report – the first of its kind – shows how the pandemic has driven up food insecurity a...nd increased vulnerability among migrants, families reliant on remittances and communities forced from their homes by conflict, violence and disasters.
The two UN agencies warn the social and economic toll of the pandemic could be devastating and call on the world to prevent it by stepping up support in response to immediate and rising humanitarian needs, addressing the socioeconomic impacts of the crisis and ensuring that the most vulnerable are not forgotten.
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Chapter 9: Public health guide for emergencies
Guidance to implement the Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Cri...ses (CFS-FFA) | Background Note
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Food and nutrition security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is subject to the relentless... impact of conflict, epidemics and climate events that have persisted in the country for decades, further compounded by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Lack of infrastructure and investment in agriculture, health and human capital development combine to impede progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17. While there are several legal instruments and policies that promote food and nutrition security, poor coordination, weak national capacity and exponential population growth present serious obstacles to the achievement of zero hunger. Political instability and siloed sectoral responses to humanitarian and development needs have also affected results to date.
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This factsheet provides base level information to practitioners for awareness raising, training, advocacy, project design and proposal writing. The information may be used and sent out widely, with ...reference to the Kenya Red Cross, The Association of the Physically Disabled of Kenya, CBM and Handicap International. The overall information in this factsheet is also applicable to older persons and other vulnerable groups
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A joint FAO/WFP update for the United Nations Security Council, January 2018. ISSUE N.3. Six months on from the last joint report ...ibute-to-highlight medbox">for the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC), this report by the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP)
provides an update on the acute food insecurity
situation in most of the conflict-affected countries
currently being monitored by the UNSC.
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Humanitarian crises exacerbate nutritional risks and often lead to an increase in acute malnutrition. Emergencies include both manmade (conflict) and natural disasters (floods, drought, cyclones, typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.). Complex emergencies are combinations of both manmade a...nd natural disasters, often of a protracted nature. Millions of people are affected by humanitarian crises every year. The increasing frequency and scale of emergencies requires nutrition to be addressed in all phases of a response.
Crisis situations, whether acute or protracted, impact on a range of factors that can increase the risk of undernutrition, morbidity, and mortality. They may involve: the large-scale destruction of property and infrastructure; the erosion of livelihood strategies and purchasing power; a breakdown of and reduced access to essential services, including health services, water supply, and sanitation; and the displacement of large numbers of people. Emergencies can also disrupt social systems and the quality of care/feeding practices. Household access to food may be negatively affected and people may find themselves in overcrowded settlements with their families divided. As a result, at the individual level, there is often an increased risk of deteriorating health and nutritional status, resulting in a greater likelihood of death.
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A global hunger crisis -- fuelled by conflict, economic turbulence and climate-related shocks -- has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of people experiencing ...te-to-highlight medbox">food insecurity and hunger has risen since the onset of the pandemic. The IRC estimates that the economic downturn alone will drive the number of hungry people up by an additional 35 million in 2021. Without drastic action, the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 will suspend global progress towards ending hunger by at least five years.
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