The mission of the Women’s Health Council is to inform and influence the development of health policy to ensure the maximum health and social gain for women in Ireland.
Its membership is representative of a wide range of expertise and interest in women’s health.
The Women’s Health Council ...has five functions detailed in its Statutory Instruments:
1. Advising the Minister for Health and Children on all aspects of women’s health.
2. Assisting the development of national and regional policies
and strategies designed to increase health gain and social gain for women.
3. Developing expertise on women’s health within the health services.
4. Liaising with other relevant international bodies which have similar functions as the Council.
5. Advising other Government Ministers at their request.
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The purpose of this paper is to clarify relevant terminologies and approaches relating to psychosocial well-being and social and emotional learning (SEL) in education in crisis affected contexts, and to explore how psychosocial support (PSS) and social and emotional learning relate to one another.
The purpose of the handbook is to provide those involved in nutrition coordination with relevant tools, guidance, information and resources to support their roles in facilitating predictable, coordinated and effective preparation for, and responses to, nutrition needs in humanitarian emergencies. Ra...ther than being prescriptive, the handbook aims to raises key issues encountered to date.
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In the course of implementing a recently funded network of hubs for building capacities in mental health service development, training, and research (RedeAmericas), the peer support workers are being introduced into the mental health workforce in three Latin American countries for the very first tim...e. They will be part of a team, along with community mental health workers, that provides a modified Critical Time Intervention to individuals with severe psychiatric disorders living in the community. This article reviewed the background of this increasingly widespread development, and discussed its merits, as well as potential obstacles within local contexts.
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The importance of growing up in a nurturing and supportive family environment cannot be underestimated. Raising children in a warm, loving environment sets them on a positive developmental trajectory for later life success (Biglan et al, 2012). Conversely, children raised in homes with inconsistent ...and harsh parenting or with high levels of conflict can be adversely impacted.
Introduction - Chapter A.12
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Good practices from South & South-East Asia in disability inclusive disaster risk management
The purpose of adding the books to the website of MCAI for download, is to make this life-saving, up-to-date information available to all who need it. Fill in a short registration field and you can download the pdf-files.
If you work in a hospital in a low income country - providing free care - y...ou are probably intitled to FREE copies of these books. MCAI will send them to you, all you have to do is to read our Flyer and fill in the request form.
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A lack of knowledge about the threat of vaccine-preventable diseases, risks and benefits of vaccines, mistrust of government and health workers, poor service delivery and alternative health or religious beliefs play a role in lower uptake of some vaccines. These challenges underscore the importance ...of early integration and investment in a thoughtful communication plan for immunization programmes. This World Health Organization (WHO) report presents communication guidance and specific considerations for countries that plan to introduce human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into their national immunisation programme as part of an effort to prevent cervical cancer.
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Inequality of access to palliative care and symptom relief is one of the greatest disparities in global health care (1). Currently, there is avoidable suffering on a massive scale due to lack of access to palliative care and symptom relief in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (1). Yet basic p...alliative care that can prevent or relieve most suffering due to serious or life-threatening health conditions can be taught easily to generalist clinicians, can be provided in the community and requires only simple, inexpensive medicines and equipment. For these reasons, the World Health Assembly (WHA) resolved that palliative care is "an ethical responsibility of health systems"(2). Further, most patients who need palliative care are at home and prefer to remain there. Thus, it is imperative that palliative care be provided in the community as part of primary care. This document was written to assist ministries of health and health care planners, implementers and managers to integrate palliative care and symptom control into primary health care (PHC).
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As part of the Mental Health Gap Action Programme, WHO has developed training manuals (Training of trainers and supervisors training manual and Training of health-care providers training manual) to support implementation of the mhGAP Intervention Guide for mental, neurological and substance use (MNS...) disorders in non-specialized health settings, version 2.0. These manuals can be used to build capacity among non-specialist health-care providers in the assessment and management of people with priority MNS conditions in low resource settings.
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12 April 2020
This Guidance Note on making COVID-19 response Age & Disability-inclusive provides advice for organizations and sectors to ensure essential responses, communication about the outbreak and adapt to services and support are inclusive and accessible for older persons and persons with d...isabilities.
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The focus of the current quarterly edition of Eurohealth (from the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies) is Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and contains the following articles:
• Strengthening implementation of AMR national action plans
• Fostering clinical developmen...t and commercialisation of novel antibiotics
• Tackling AMR in the community
• Quantifying the benefits of vaccines in combating AMR
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A new global Police Handbook aims to address some of the most difficult challenges that survivors of violence face when accessing police and justice sector services around the world.
The purpose of the toolkit is to bring together existing learning and guidance as a starting point for stakeholders to begin SRH preparedness work. Within the SRH sector the field of preparedness is relatively new and growing. More collective effort is required to further evaluate the impact of prep...aredness efforts and push the field forward. This effort is a first attempt at a draft guidance for SRH preparedness, and is intended for field testing. The toolkit recognizes the longstanding work of the field of emergency and disaster risk management, and endeavors to bridge that work with the human rights-oriented and peoplecentered field of sexual and reproductive health.
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This report provides an overview of air pollution levels and associated health impacts in cities around the world. Since urban areas are often hotspots for poor air quality, city-level data can help to inform targeted efforts to curb urban air pollution and improve public health. This report draws o...n data from the Global Burden of Disease project and from peer-reviewed analyses led by Susan Anenberg of the George Washington University.
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The results of the report clearly show that in 2020, a year dominated by the emergence of COVID-19 and its associated health and economic crises, governments around the world rose to the challenge. Sharp increases in government spending on health at all country income levels underpinned the rise in ...health spending to a new high of US $9 trillion (approximately 11% of global GDP). Government health spending generally increased and offset declines in out-of-pocket spending. Importantly, the rise in government health spending was part of a much broader fiscal response to the pandemic. In high income and upper-middle income countries social protection spending also increased sharply in as governments attempted to cushion populations from the economic impacts of COVID-19. In contrast to health and social protection, growth in education spending was relatively subdued. Countries face the further challenge of sustaining increased public spending on health and other social sectors in the face of deteriorating macroeconomic conditions and rising debt servicing. This also includes the challenge of sustaining external support for low income countries, which is essential for reducing ensuring poverty, ensuring access to health services and strengthening pandemic preparedness.
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The development of this Operational Roadmap has been driven by a growing consensus in Ukraine on the need to prioritize activities that are urgently required to address the mental health and psychosocial needs of the country’s population and also the importance of basing the response on existing s...tructures, resources and innovations introduced in reforms in past years.
According to this consensus, new resources mobilized by and for Ukraine should complement existing ones, in line with the national vision and with best international standards, and should be planned in a way that further strengthens the country’s mental health system.
The Government of Ukraine is committed to urgently addressing the mental health and psychosocial needs of the population, under the auspices of the First Lady of Ukraine and the leadership of the recently established Intersectoral Coordination Council for Mental Health and Psychological Assistance to Victims of the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine (referred to in this document as the Intersectoral Coordination Council).
This Roadmap has been developed following a series of consultations with Ukrainian authorities and national and international agencies working in the area of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and engaged in emergency response in Ukraine. The consultation process was organized by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (MOH) and supported by WHO Ukraine, under the auspices of the First Lady of Ukraine and in collaboration with the MHPSS Technical Working Group of Ukraine (MHPSS TWG Ukraine) and the IASC MHPSS Reference Group (IASC MHPSS RG), and building on substantial advances in the mental health sector under existing programmes in the country.
The Roadmap is informed by international technical guidance and national policies and plans, including the IASC Guidelines on MHPSS in Emergency Settings, the Minimum Services Package for MHPSS in Emergencies (MHPSS MSP), the IASC Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013– 2030, the WHO European Framework for Action on Mental Health, the Concept for Development of Mental Health Care in Ukraine until 2030, the National Mental Health Action Plan for 2021–2023 and the National Recovery and Development Plan.
Informed by the overall goal of MHPSS assistance in Ukraine – to reduce suffering and improve the mental health and psychosocial well-being of the affected population – the Roadmap aims to provide a consolidated overview of envisioned MHPSS priorities, informed by the local context and the vision of the Government of Ukraine together with national and international partners, and with the best available evidence and resources, to all MHPSS stakeholders already engaged in or joining emergency response and recovery efforts in Ukraine.
As well as information on the context in Ukraine, the Roadmap includes:
• a list of evidence-based MHPSS interventions and services contextualized and introduced in Ukraine in recent years (described in Table 1) and
• a set of multisectoral actions to scale up MHPSS services in both the short and longer terms, informed by available evidence, international technical guidance and expert consensus (described in Table 2).
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Member States of the Region have initiated processes to strengthen leadership and governance for mental health. Several countries have developed and implemented mental health plans, strategies and legislations. Direct spending on mental health needs to be increased throughout the Region through the ...health sector as well as other relevant sectors.
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The document is part of the briefing package for Ethiopia's Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster, which consists of resources that provide greater clarity and guidance to the cluster partners and other humanitarian actors.
The document is divided into four sections. Each section represen...ts the cluster’s coordination system (i) WASH Cluster coordination management, (ii) HPC process, (iii) Response monitoring, (iv) WASH response, and (v) Cluster meeting coordination.
Cluster Overview
The WASH Cluster in Ethiopia is part of and supports the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE). MoWE leads the WASH cluster emergency task force (ETF), which is co-led by the WASH Cluster secretariat hosted by UNICEF. In Ethiopia, the WASH Cluster was established with the activation of the cluster approach in 2006, and UNICEF, as the global Cluster Lead Agency, was assigned to appoint the WASH Cluster Coordinator.
The WASH Cluster aims to provide guidance and support to its partners to ensure well-coordinated, quality assistance reaches those in need in accordance with humanitarian standards and principles. Conflict, severe drought conditions, seasonal flooding, and Cholera remain the key drivers of WASH needs in Ethiopia.
In 2024, the WASH Cluster aims to work with 79 partners to preserve life, well-being, and dignity and reduce the risk of WASH-related disease through timely interventions to vulnerable populations and preparedness to respond to shocks. Significant humanitarian WASH needs in 2024 are projected with a rigorous HPC process in Ethiopia.
The Humanitarian Program Cycle
The humanitarian program cycle (HPC) is a coordinated series of actions to help prepare for, manage, and deliver humanitarian response. It consists of five coordinated elements, each step logically building on the previous and leading to the next. Successful implementation of the HPC depends on effective emergency preparedness, effective coordination with national/local authorities and humanitarian actors, and information management. Affected people are central to the response; preparedness, coordination, and information management processes continually occur.
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One of the first steps in developing a multisectoral action plan (MSAP) is to use a situation analysis to provide a comprehensive assessment of the health needs, prevailing risks and the context of the area to which the plan will apply. This will help countries, regions, provinces or cities intendi...ng to create a multisectoral action plan to align with the global commitments on targeting the four major NCDs: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases.
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