The Minimum Standards for Age and Disability Inclusion in Humanitarian
...
Action inform the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian programmes across all sectors and phases of response, and in all emergency contexts, ensuring older people and people with disabilities are not excluded.
more
The CB MHPSS operational guidelines were developed in response to emerging evidence on the determinants of children’s resilience, lessons learned from the evaluation of existing approaches, and th
...
e unique challenges that today’s crises pose for children’s safety, wellbeing and optimal development.
more
arrow country studies
Political developments in Myanmar/Burma prompted the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research
...
Centre for Women (ARROW) in 2013 to undertake a small-scale scoping study to re-evaluate and refine its advocacy strategies for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and to strengthen partnerships for advocacy with civil society organisations (CSO) working on SRHR in the country. The study aimed to identify the status of and the potential for SRHR advocacy by CSOs in Central Myanmar/Burma and in Eastern states along the Thai-Myanmar/Burma border, and increase the current knowledge base on SRHR issues, gaps, and challenges.
more
Education in emergencies is a young area; the evidence of its impact is often anecdotal, and although its status as a
...
humanitarian concern has gained legitimacy in recent years, it has yet to be accepted across the humanitarian community. Much more needs to be done to enhance our understanding of the links between education and child protection in emergency situations.
more
No Public Health without Refugee and Migrant health.
This report, the first of its kind, creates an evidence base with the aim of catalysing progress towards developing and promoting migrant-sensit
...
ive health systems in the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region and beyond. This report seeks to illuminate the causes, conse-quences and responses to the health needs and challenges faced by refugees and migrants in the Region, while also providing a snapshot of the progress being made across the Region. Additionally, the report seeks to identify gaps that require further action through collaboration, to improve the collection and availability of high-quality data and to stimulate policy initiatives
more
Humanitarian emergencies and crises (Humanitarian emergencies and crises) are large-scale events
...
that may result in the breakdown of health care systems and society, forced displacement, death, and physical, psychological, social and spiritual suffering on a massive scale. Current responses to Humanitarian emergencies and crises rightfully focus on saving lives, but for both ethical and medical reasons, the prevention and relief of pain, as well as other physical and psychological symptoms, social and spiritual distress, also are imperative. Therefore, palliative care, should be integrated into responses to Humanitarian emergencies and crises. The principles of humanitarianism and impartiality require that all patients receive care and should never be abandoned for any reason, even if they are dying. Thus, there is significant overlap in the principles and mission of palliative care and humanitarianism: relief of suffering; respect for the dignity of all people; support for basic needs; and accompaniment during the most difficult of times
more
Gender-based violence is a life-threatening, global health and human rights issue that violates international human rights law and principles of gender equality. It is also a threat to lasting peace
...
and an affront to our common humanity. United Nations Member States have called for urgent action to end GBV in emergencies, recognizing that in crises, the risk of GBV is heightened, particularly for women and adolescent girls.
more
At the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016, leaders made over 3,700 commitments to advance the Agenda
...
for Humanity. In their first self-reports against these commitments, 142 stakeholders described the efforts they made from June to December 2016 to realize this ambitious vision.
The 2017 annual synthesis report on progress provides a summary of their collective achievements around the 5 Core Responsibilities and 24 Transformations of the Agenda for Humanity.
Executive summary in
English: https://www.agendaforhumanity.org/sites/default/files/asr/2017/Nov/No%20time%20to%20retreat%20Executive%20Summary_NEW_web_nov27.pdf;
French: https://www.agendaforhumanity.org/sites/default/files/asr/2018/Jan/No%20time%20to%20retreat_Executive%20summary_FRENCH_Final_web.pdf
Spanish: https://www.agendaforhumanity.org/sites/default/files/asr/2018/Jan/No%20time%20to%20retreat_Executive%20summary_Spanish_final_web.pdf
more
Specific action sheets offer useful guidance on mental health and psychosocial support and cover the following areas coordination assessment monito
...
ring and evaluation protection and human rights standards human resources community mobilisation and support health services education dissemination of information food security and nutrition shelter and site planning and water and sanitationthe guidelines include a matrix with guidance for emergency planning actions to be taken in the early stages of an emergency and comprehensive responses needed in the recovery and rehabilitation phases
more
OECD Development Policy Tools
Recognising that donor policies and responses constantly evolve, this guidance recommends that donors operating in situations of forced displacement prioritise thr
...
ee broad areas of work, where they can best contribute to existing capacities at the national, regional and global levels.
more
Responses to epidemics, emergencies and disasters raise many ethical issues for the people involved, including public health specialists and polic
...
y makers. This training manual provides material on ethical issues in research, surveillance and patient care in these difficult contexts.
more
This operational guidance on MHPSS provides a practical orientation and tools for UNHCR country operations. It covers specific points of good practice to consider when developing MHPSS programming
...
and offers advice on priority issues and practical difficulties, while also providing some background information and definitions. Since MHPSS is a cross cutting concept this operational guidance is relevant for programming in various sectors, including health, community based protection, education, shelter, nutrition, food security and livelihoods.
The focus of this operational guidance is on refugees and asylum seekers, but it may apply to other persons of concern within UNHCR operations such as stateless persons, internally displaced persons and returnees. The guidance is meant for operations in both camp and non-camp settings, and in both rural and urban settings in low and middle-income countries with a UNHCR presence.
The guidance should be adapted according to different contexts. A standardized format for programme implementation cannot be offered because this depends to a large extent on existing national capacities and local opportunities.
more
In fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings, delivery of quality health services faces significant challenges, including disruption of a routine health service organization
...
and delivery systems, increased health needs, complex and unpredictable resourcing issues, and vulnerability to multiple public health crises. Despite the difficulty of addressing quality in such settings, the necessity for action is acute, given the significant health needs of the populations in these environments and the increasing numbers of people for whom such settings are home.
This manual has been developed to provide a starting point for multi-actor efforts and actions to address quality of care in the most challenging settings. This includes practical approaches to action planning and implementation of a contextualised set of quality interventions.
more
WHO, in partnership with the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) and the
...
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has published global standards for prosthetics and orthotics. Its aim is to ensure that prosthetics and orthotics services are people-centred and responsive to every individual’s personal and environmental needs. The standards advocate for the integration of prosthetics and orthotics services into health services, under universal health coverage. Implementation of these standards will support countries to fulfil their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and towards the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
The standards provide guidance on the development of national policies, plans and programmes for prosthetics and orthotics services of the highest standard. The standards are divided into two documents: the standards and an implementation manual. Both documents cover four areas of the health system:
policy (governance, financing and information);
products (prostheses and orthoses);
personnel (workforce);
and provision of services.
The Standards have been developed through consultation with experts from around the globe via a steering group, development group and external review group.
more
Health Evidence Network Synthesis Report, No. 47
The increasing number of refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants poses a challenge for mental health services
...
in Europe. This review found that these groups are exposed to risk factors for mental disorders before, during and after migration. The prevalence rates of psychotic, mood and substance use disorders in these groups are variable but overall are similar to those in the host populations; however, the rates of post-traumatic stress disorder in refugees and asylum seekers are higher.
more
This report aims to support countries in the necessary transition toward healthier, more sustainable diets by integrating biodiversity in food-based interventions to support nutrition
...
and health. It is intended to help guide decision-makers in the health, nutrition and other sectors, to:
Consider the important role of biodiversity in food systems for the development of integrated interventions to support healthy, diverse and sustainable diets;
To focus investments and country support for more comprehensive, coordinated and cross-cutting public health and nutrition projects and policies; and
To strengthen the resilience of food systems, health systems, and societies, each of which are each increasingly compromised by widespread ecological degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change.
Biodiversity at every level (genetic, species and ecosystem level) is a foundational pillar for food security, nutrition, and dietary quality. It is the basic source of variety in essential foods, nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and medicines, and underpins life-sustaining ecosystem services. It is a core environmental determinant of health, often a vital ingredient of healthy nutritional outcomes and livelihoods, gender equality, social equity, and other health determinants.
Biodiversity can play a more prominent role in planning for nutritional outcomes in various ways, e.g. by facilitating the production of nutritious fruits and plant products, sustaining livelihoods through more efficient production and increasing the diversity of products available in markets. This Guidance presents and expands on six core building blocks for mainstreaming biodiversity for nutrition and health:
Cross-sectoral knowledge development and knowledge co-production;
Enabling environments;
Integration;
Conservation and the wider use of biodiversity;
Education and awareness-raising;
Monitoring and evaluation;
This WHO report builds on an unprecedented opportunity to mainstream biodiversity in order to support healthy and sustainable diets, and offers the necessary technical guidance to catalyze and support a transformation of the global food system and transition to healthier, more sustainable diets.
more
In the following you can find 51 Planning tools for Mental Health and Psychosocial support in di
...
sasters, that have been derived from an anylsis of 282 Psychosocial Mental Health guidelines and 678 Tools. The single planning tools are structured according to the most relevant topics and can be used individually.
The purpose of the Action Sheets
Each Action Sheet is a planning tool in itself that can be used individually
Each Action Sheet is an entrypoint into the main recommendations for this specific topic and gives information on further readings, tools and practice examples.
Each Action Sheet gives advice on how to plan and enhance quality in the selected area and topic.
more