With the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) across Myanmar, many children and caregivers are required to stay in quarantine centres, in isolation and in hospitals, and special attention is needed to ensure children’s rights are protected in these settings. Violence, exploitation, abuse and negle...ct still occurs despite COVID-19 and continuity of the child protection case management system is essential to protect all children, including the most vulnerable. UNICEF’s Child Protection support focuses on mitigating the secondary impacts of physical distancing measures by ensuring children, parents and caregivers continue to have access to child protection services.
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: interim guidance, 17 February 2021
This document provides interim guidance on the management of the blood supply in response to the pandemic outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It emphasizes the importance of being prepared and responding quickly and outlines key actions and measures that... the blood services should take to mitigate the potential risk to the safety and sufficiency of the blood supplies during the pandemic.
It should be read in conjunction with WHO Guidance for National Blood Services on Protecting the Blood Supply During Infectious Disease Outbreaks, which provides general guidance on the development of national plans to respond to any emerging infectious threats to the sufficiency or safety of the blood supply.
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Spiritual care has formed an integral part of palliative care since its inception. People with advanced illnesses, however, frequently report that their spiritual needs are not attended to by their medical care team. The present study examines and describes the impact of a spiritual care training pr...ogram on practice and cultural change in our Canadian hospice.
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Our spiritual health profoundly impacts our physical health, well-being, and quality of life. Just as medical professionals care for our bodies and minds, spiritual care practitioners care for our spirits. The increasing need for spiritual care makes these practitioners even more crucial. However, m...any of us have limited access to quality, professional spiritual care. At times of struggle, this lack of spiritual care can have a negative impact on our health and well-being.Investigators and researchers are creating a growing body of evidence for the innumerable benefits of professional spiritual care, yet many people still do not have a lot of accurate information about these practitioners. To create this publication, the six largest healthcare chaplaincy organizations in North America collaborated to share the facts about spiritual care and practitioners’ roles, training, and standards.By providing evidence and dispelling myths, the thousands of spiritual care practitioners represented by these organizations hope to increase access to spiritual care for the benefit of all.
accessed July 2020
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The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. As a community composed of men, united in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit toward the Kingdom of their Father. They have welcome...d the news of salvation, meant for every man. This community realizes its link with mankindand its history by the deepest of bonds
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A new reportshows that people in some 25 countries are set to face devasting levels of hunger in coming months due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the greatest concentration of need is in Africa, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and in the Middle East and Asia – inclu...ding middle-income countries - are also being ravaged by crippling levels of food insecurity
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The UNAIDS 2020 global report is a call to action. It highlights the scale of the HIV epidemic and how it runs along the fault lines of inequalities.
COVID-19 is a serious disease and all people living with HIV should take all recommended preventive measures to minimize exposure to, and prevent infection by, the virus that causes COVID-19. As in the general population, older people living with HIV or people living with HIV with heart or lung prob...lems may be at a higher risk of becoming infected with the virus and of suffering more serious symptoms.
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UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic shows that 2020 targets will not be met because of deeply unequal success; COVID-19 risks blowing HIV progress way off course. Missed targets have resulted in 3.5 million more HIV infections and 820 000 more AIDS-related deaths since 2015 than if the world w...as on track to meet the 2020 targets. In addition, the response could be set back further, by 10 years or more, if the COVID-19 pandemic results in severe disruptions to HIV services.
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Right now, we are facing an unpredictable and highly dynamic situation as a global community. However, as we have seen from the solidarity, support and power of communities in the HIV epidemic and already in communities responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the response must not be fear and stigma. W...e need to build a culture of solidarity, trust and kindness. Our response to COVID-19 must be grounded in the realities of people’s lives and focused on eliminating the barriers people face in being able to protect themselves and their communities. Empowerment and guidance, rather than restrictions, can ensure that people can act without fear of losing their livelihood, sufficient food being on the table and the respect of their community. Ultimately it will give us a more effective, humane and sustainable response to the epidemic.
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During theC OVID-19 crisis, the hospital observed a reduction of about 50% in inpatient visits for palliative care. Some patients postponed appointments given the risk of potential infection. Instead of in-person visits, weekly phone calls and remote follow-up were given priority.Palliative care is ...also needed for COVID-19 patients. It is of utmost importance for humanizing care so that it is effective and aligned with the expectations of patients.
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Catholic hospitals and other health services provide invaluable care to many in the community. This article accentuates the pastoral nature of Catholic health care, which is definitive to its Catholic identity. Discussing contemporary Catholic health care in conjunction with the works of Henri Nouwe...n we explore the challenges faced by today’s Catholics in Catholic health care and respond to these issues. In support of the discussion are the results of qualitative research into the perceptions Perth parishioners have of Catholic health care’s pastoral nature and Catholic identity. This research aims towards understanding the challenges facing Catholic health care providing pastoral care within its Catholic identity.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is having a profound negative effect on the global economy and is occurring in the context of a rapidly changing climate. This year is expected to be the second hottest in recorded history. Weather forecasts for 2020 indicate a high probability that extreme weather will adverse...ly affect food production in many countries. This brief draws on historical evidence and demonstrates that reductions in national food availability caused by severe weather events tend to be considerably larger in magnitude when they occur during global economic downturns. The risks posed by this dual threat are particularly high for poorer countries that are net food importers. Taking actions to mitigate these adverse effects in the short-term, while building the resilience of agri-food systems to future shocks is critical for avoiding major contractions in food availability and associated risks of food insecurity.
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The COVID-19 pandemic presents a rare and immediate opportunity for a norm shift towards localisation in the humanitarian architecture. Whils tinternational humanitarian actors are facing constraints in funding and restrictions on movement and travel, national and local level ...humanitarian actors are on the ground to respond. A timely investment in localcapacities and capabilities creates a strong platform for effective, efficientand sustained response and recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the days, months and years ahead.
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Across Zimbabwe, 7 million people in urban and rural areas are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, compared to 5.5 million in August 2019. Since the launch of the Revised Humanitarian Appeal in August 2019, circumstances for millions of Zimbabweans have worsened. Drought and crop failure, exa...cerbated by macro-economic challenges and austerity measures, have directly affected vulnerable households in both rural and urban communities. Inflation continues to erode purchasing power and affordability of food and other essential goods is a daily challenge. The delivery of health care, clean water and sanitation, and education has been constrained and millions of people are facing challenges to access vital services.
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This paper poses two applications of Catholic social teaching’s concepts of subsidiarity and participation to academic community engagement. The first pertains to the very general use of the term community. The second refers to a distinction between reciprocity and collaboration.