Data on the essential building blocks of mental health systems, including mental health
governance, financing, service delivery, human resources and information, are reported. For
mental health planning, it is important to know not only the level of resources in these six areas,
but also how thos...e resources are being organized and utilized. Thus, data on efficiency, access,
equity, linkages with other sectors and respect for human rights are reported as well.
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Rising levels of inflation, debt and macrofiscal tightening are putting expenditures on the social sectors including health under immense scrutiny. Already, there are worrying signs of reductions in social sector investments. However, even before the pandemic, evidence showed the significant returns... on investments in health equity and its social determinants. Emerging data and trends show that these potential returns have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic - investments in social determinants can mitigate widespread reductions in human capital and the increasing likelihood of costly syndemics, while promoting access to healthcare innovations that have thus far been inequitably distributed. Therefore, we argue that, despite immediate fiscal pressures, this is exactly the time to invest in health equity and its broader social determinants, as the returns on such investments have never been greater.
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The purpose of this Strategy is to set out the way to meet the needs of the rural populations for improved domestic water supply services, access to and use of improved sanitation with elimination of open defecation, and improved hygiene behaviour by the Year 2030. It also addresses water, sanitatio...n and hygiene in schools up to high school level and health facilities up to township hospital level. The Strategy is supported by Investment Plans covering a financing period 2015 to 2030 in order to ensure sufficient funding for development and operation of services in accordance with the Strategy.
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Jordan has more than 3 million migrants (one third of the country's total population) and has witnessed three major waves of refugees in its modern history: Palestinians (1948 and 1967), Iraqis (1990 and 2000) and Syrians (since 2010). Under its commitment to achieving universal health coverage (UHC...), Jordan has been continually supporting vulnerable populations such as refugees and migrants by offering subsidized access to essential health services.
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Last accessed on 21.12.22
IPCHS is a new concept for Zambia and has been implemented in limited proportions. The WHO global strategy on IPCHS reported that in Zambia there is limited focus on integrated community case management for malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea to reduce child mortality.
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The Ministry of Health (MoH) in Zambia aims at attaining Universal Health Coverage in which all Zambians have access to essential health services. But, despite the Zambian health sector implementing the Sexual Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child Adolescent and Nutrition (SRMNCAH&N) services, the sector continues to face challenges and needs to continue devising solutions to address them.
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Glob Ment Health (Camb). 2015; 2: e12. Published online 2015 Jul 14. doi: 10.1017/gmh.2015.10
Low and middle income countries (LMICs) are facing an increase of the impact of mental health problems while confronted with limited resources and limited access to mental health care, known as the ‘me...ntal health gap’. One strategy to reduce the mental health gap would be to utilize the internet to provide more widely-distributed and low cost mental health care. We undertook this systematic review to investigate the effectiveness and efficacy of online interventions in LMICs.
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This research report offers community perceptions of COVID-19 from migrants, refugees, host communities and indigenous populations in nine countries in the Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.
It reveals the myriad impacts ...that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations. And it offers hands-on recommendations around the impact and usefulness of health information; trust, awareness and access to vaccines; and the socio-economic impact of the pandemic.
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In 2015, member states of the United Nations adopted the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which included 17 global goals that targeted economic and social development.1 Goal 3, “to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages,” targets specifically marked progre...ss in universal health coverage; improved access to safe, effective, and affordable medicines; and the end of the HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis epidemics by 2030. Although these goals can spur innovation, social and political commitment, and a drive to achieve greater health gains for less money, financial support is necessary to achieve them.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on ambient (outdoor) air quality and health highlights the significant health risks posed by outdoor air pollution. It reports that in 2019, ambient air pollution was responsible for approximately 4.2 million premature deaths globally, primarily due to ...exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which leads to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as cancers. The fact sheet emphasizes that 99% of the global population lived in areas exceeding WHO air quality guidelines in 2019, with low- and middle-income countries bearing the highest burden. To mitigate these health impacts, WHO advocates for policies and investments that promote cleaner transportation, energy-efficient housing, improved waste management, and access to clean household energy.
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In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), one maternal death was registered every hour in 2020. That same year, the trend in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) for the Region of the Americas regressed alarmingly and unprecedentedly to the levels seen two decades ago. In addition to indicating a wors...ening of health outcomes, these figures also signal a deepening of inequalities, representing thousands of individual, unacceptable tragedies that in most cases could have been preventable. Maternal death is the result of a multifactorial process in which structural elements such as the economic system, environmental conditions, and culture interact. Other factors related to social inequality are also present, such as racism, poverty, gender inequality, and lack of access to the education system. The current situation calls for urgent mobilization of the health systems of LAC countries in order to strengthen efforts to combat maternal mortality, especially in countries that are still far from achieving the SHAA2030 regional target. For this reason, a preventive, health-promoting, life-course-based approach is needed, with models of care centered on women, families, and the community Scientific evidence shows that health systems with a solid foundation in primary health care (PHC) achieve better outcomes, greater equity, and reduced health expenditures. To address this, PAHO proposes a strategy, aimed primarily at women who are in the most vulnerable situation, who are the ones who represent the greatest burden of maternal mortality, to accelerate the reduction of maternal mortality in the Region of the Americas, based on the expansion and strengthening of PHC.
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The Americas region hosts more than 18.4 million refugees, asylum-seekers, displaced and stateless people, representing some 20 per cent of persons of concern to UNHCR worldwide. During the last two years, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on refugees and ...migrants in host communities, including loss of livelihoods opportunities, an increase in evictions, engagement in negative coping mechanisms, discrimination and xenophobia. Further compounded by limited access to regularization and documentation in some countries, these impacts have contributed to onward movements of people in search of protection and/or better opportunities elsewhere.
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During the Programme Managers’ Review Meeting of Central and East Africa and South-East Asia (online meeting, June 2022), experts proposed additional regional and national subtargets related to VL incidence, as defined below. These targets can be revisited as progress is reviewed and access to dia...gnosis and treatment and surveillance improves.
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Case Study. The surprising link between logging and healthcare in Indonesia. You can download the teaching material and the case study after filling in a free registration form.
his case study examines a connection between rainforest conservation and affordable healthcare access in communities surr...ounding Gunung Palung National Park (GPNP) in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It recognizes that human and environmental wellbeing cannot be seen as separate from one another. Specifically, it explores how deforestation impacts human health and well-being, and how implementing co-beneficial solutions can improve human health while protecting natural ecosystems. Finally, this case study highlights the importance of collaboration to achieve planetary health, both within communities and within organizational teams.
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The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines and Model List of Essential Medicines for Children are updated and published every two years, intended as a guide for countries or regional authorities to adopt or adapt in accordance with local priorities and treatment guidelines for the development and upd...ating of national essential medicines lists. Selection of a limited number of essential medicines as essential, taking into consideration national disease burden and clinical need can lead to improved access through streamlined procurement and distribution of quality-assured medicines, support more rational or appropriate prescribing and use and lower costs for both health care systems and for patients.
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The postpartum period is a critical time for mothers and newborns, who require essential hygiene and personal items, such as menstrual pads, clothes, and diapers, to ensure their well- being and health. Although these items are simple, they can significantly enhance well- being. Conversely, lacking ...these essentials can increase the risk of infections for mothers and newborns.
In Gaza, the current emergency situation has meant women face significant limitations in accessing these essential items due to market unavailability, financial constraints, high security risks, and border closures.
In response, organizations working in sexual and reproductive health in Gaza have united to provide postpartum kits (PPKs) to mothers and newborns effectively.
With approximately 4,000 live births occurring in Gaza each month, it is crucial for partners to collaborate in advocating for resources and ensuring timely procurement and distribution of these kits.
Moreover, to ensure equitable access and consistent quality of the kits for all women, partners have agreed on a unified set of criteria for their composition and distribution.
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A global shortage of an estimated 18 million health workers is anticipated by 2030, a record 130 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and there is the global threat of pandemics such as COVID-19. At least 400 million people worldwide lack access to the most essential health service...s, and every year 100 million people are plunged into poverty because they have to pay for healthcare out of their own pockets. There is, therefore, an urgent need to find innovative strategies that go beyond the conventional health-sector response.
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Healthy communities rely on well-functioning ecosystems. They provide clean air, fresh water, medicines and food security. They also limit disease and stabilize the climate. But biodiversity loss is happening at unprecedented rates, impacting human health worldwide, according to a new state of knowl...edge review of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and WHO.
The report synthesizes the available information on the most important inter-linkages between biodiversity, ecosystem stability, and epidemic infectious diseases such as the Ebola virus; and the connection between biodiversity, nutritional diversity and health. It also covers the potential benefits of closer partnerships between conservation and health, from improved surveillance of infectious diseases in wildlife and human populations, to promoting access to green spaces to promote physical activity and mental health. It also highlights the many areas in which further research is needed.
The Joint report hopes to provide a useful reference for the Sustainable Development Goals and post-2015 development agenda, which represents an unique opportunity to promote integrated approaches to biodiversity and health by highlighting that biodiversity contributes to human well-being, and highlighting that biodiversity needs protection for development to be sustainable.
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Uganda is Africa's largest refugee-hosting country and ranks fifth globally. Over the decades, Uganda has hosted refugees from nations including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Burundi, and Rwanda. As of early 2024, it hosts 1 600 000 refugees, primarily in re...fugee settlements in northern and southwestern Uganda, and in Kampala City. Thirteen districts accommodate 94% of these refugees.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and Uganda’s Ministry of Health conducted a joint review mission to provide a comprehensive overview of the health system's response. The aim was to understand service delivery challenges and identify opportunities to further support Uganda in strengthening health system capacity and ensuring continued access to health services for refugees, migrants and host communities.
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The Lancet Regional Health - Americas 2022;00: 100248 Published online xxx https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2022.100248.
The Lancet Countdown report, discuss the overlapping social, climate and health challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean, and urge multisectoral and political action to trans...form these challenges into opportunities through adaptation and mitigation measures that place peoples’ health and wellbeing at the centre of public policies. Latin American and Caribbean governments are called upon to promote climate-resilient health care systems with adaptation plans that are tailored to guarantee quality access to care for all in this viewpoint.
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UNFPA supports the Youth Health Line (YHL), launched in 2012, as a nationwide, youth friendly health service to provide information and counseling for adolescents and youth on issues related to their health and reproductive health. The YHL is providing a vital service to young people around the coun...try who are dialing the toll-free number ‘120’ from any phone to speak to a professionally trained youth health counselor. These conversations are confidential, free of judgment, and do not require parental consent. The average reach of the YHL per year is 120,000 adolescents and youth served by full-time male and female counselors.
This Standard Operating Procedure for YHL provides a critical resource for the administration and day-to-day management. The SOP is designed to provide direction to all staff responsible for carrying out the administrative and managerial functions of the YHL. The SOP is intended to guide UNFPA Implementing Partners in running the YHL with a consistent approach to ensure improved access and quality of services provided to adolescents and youth in Afghanistan.
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