South Africa reported it fist case of COVID-19 on 5 March 2020. While the first cases were imported, local transmission has led to a rapid increase in the number of cases. As of 21 April 2020, more than 3,400 cases and 58 deaths had been confirmed. On 15 March, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a n...ational state of disaster, and the government has since taken several measures to curb the spread of the virus, including closing borders, implementing strict social distancing measures and a 35-day nation-wide lockdown. These measures, along with the global economic shock caused by the pandemic, are expected to generate rising needs requiring an immediate and urgent response. Although South Africa is considered an upper-middle-income country, the amount of disparities—social, economic, and gender—make the country particularly vulnerable during this emergency.
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Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic on 11 March 2020, and Malawi declared its first case on 2 April. As of 30 April, there were 36 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 and 3 deaths. A State of Disaster was declared by President Arthur Peter Mutharika on 20 March and a 21...-day lockdown was implemented from 18 April to 9 May. The lockdown measures include: bans on public gatherings; closure of schools; and bans on international flights and cross-border passenger buses.
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Pandemics and outbreaks have differential impacts on women and men. From risk of exposure and biological susceptibility to infection to the social and economic implications, individuals’ experiences are likely to vary according to their biological and gender characteristics and... their interaction with other social determinants. Because of this, global and national strategic plans for COVID-19 preparedness and response must be grounded in strong gender analysis and must ensure meaningful participation of affected groups, including women and girls, in decision-making and implementation.
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Guinea’s 450 megawatt Souapiti dam, scheduled to begin operating in September 2020, is the most advanced of several new hydropower projects planned by the government of President Alpha Condé. Guinea’s government believes that hydropower can significantly increase access to electricity in a cou...ntry where only a fraction of people have reliable access to power.Souapiti’s output, however, has a human cost. The dam’s reservoir will ultimately displace an estimated 16,000 people from 101 villages and hamlets. The Guinean government had moved 51 villages by the end of 2019 and said it planned to conduct the remaining resettlements within a year. Forced off their ancestral homes and farmlands, and with much of their land already, or soon to be flooded, displaced communities are struggling to feed their families, restore their livelihoods, and live with dignity.
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While the full effects of COVID-19 remain unknown, the pandemic continues to profoundly impact regional migration and mobility dynamics, with deep health, social and economic consequences for the most vulnerable, including migrants, displaced populations and their host communities, and returnees.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone, including key populations at higher risk of HIV. And the gains made against other infectious diseases, including HIV, are at risk of being reversed as a result of disruptions caused by COVID-19. This is the background to a new report published by FHI 360,... in collaboration with UNAIDS, which gives advice on how to minimize the impacts of COVID-19 on key populations.
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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 around the world. Hundreds of millions of people were already suffering from hunger and malnutrition before the virus hit and, unless immediate action is tak...en, 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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Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak
The arrival of COVID-19 in Afghanistan has brought heartache to millions of people who are now battling a deadly pandemic while simultaneously fighting for their survival amid poverty, disaster and war. Over my three years as Humanitarian Coordinator, I have marvelled at the resilience of the people... of this country to cope with the hardships of life in the world’s deadliest conflict – but even this remarkable strength is now being tested by the health, social and economic consequences of COVID-19. The virus is spreading across the country with frightening speed. Every province is now impacted, and people are understandably frightened.
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The Toolkit for Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings was developed by
the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Reference
Centre for Psychosocial Support and World Vision International. The toolkit provides
a set of materials to assist managers and facilit...ators/animators in setting up and
implementing quality Child Friendly Spaces (CFS). These resources have at their core
the protection of children from harm; the promotion of psychosocial well-being; and
the engagement of community and caregiver capacities. The CFS Toolkit includes:
• Activity Catalogue for Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings
• Operational Guidance for Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings
• Training for Implementers of Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings.
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How to respond to, mitigate, and prevent risks to children’s protection and well-being is a profound, if unanswered, question. Practitioners agree that it is necessary to develop or strengthen protective factors at multiple levels, such as the family, community, and national levels.
Catholic social teaching, integral ecology and sustainable development
This document summarizes preparedness and response activities to address the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in South Sudan through the end of 2020. The addendum includes the activities and financial requirements of the updated National COVID-19 Response Plan. Originally issued in March prio...r to identification of the first person confirmed with COVID-19 in South Sudan and with a focus on preparedness, the updated plan encompasses a significantly scaled-up national response.
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This evaluation is the fifth in a series of structured evaluations of CFS and was completed as part of three-year collaboration with World Vision and Columbia University. It was conducted with Syrian refugees in an urban setting in Zarqa, Jordan during the months of February to August 2014. The CFS ...was implemented through partners and supported and monitored by World Vision Jordan. Interviews were conducted during a one-week registration period hosted by partner staff and preceded by awareness campaigns in the community. Measurement tools were selected to assess impact in three areas in line with the programme’s key objectives: (a) the protection of children from risk, (b) supporting caregivers and communities in strengthening systems of child protection, and (c) the promotion of children’s psychosocial wellbeing (including the acquisition of skills and knowledge).
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This evaluation report of UNICEF’s Psychosocial Support Response for Syrian Children in Jordan was conducted by
Antares Foundation team (Albertien van der Veen, Reem AbuKishk, Shadi Bushnaq, Orso Muneghina, Reem Rawdha
and Tineke van Pietersom) under the supervision of guidance Farhod Kamidov, M...onitoring and Evaluation Officer
and Muhammad Rafiq Khan, Child Protection Specialist (CPiE).This is achieved through community-supported child and
adolescent friendly spaces (CFSs)1 and community-based
child protection mechanisms and processes. Currently,
in its fourth year of operation as part of the Syria crisis,
UNICEF considers it an opportune moment to take stock
of the programme’s overall effectiveness to date and in so
doing to inform its future.
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The document at hand presents key findings from a project undertaken globally between July 2014 and May 2015 to assess progress made by UNHCR country and regional operations to effectively protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) asylum-seekers and refugees. Globally, 10...6 offices, or roughly 90% of eligible country and regional operations, participated in the assessment. The key findings are presented along the following axes: legal, cultural and social context; outreach activities; displacement conditions; asylum and durable solutions; training on issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI); operational guidelines and advocacy efforts.
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The main objective of this guidance is to provide scientific advice on public health principles and considerations for infection and prevention control of COVID-19 in migrant and refugee reception and detention centres in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) and the United Kingdom ...(UK).
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Three billion people – 40 per cent of the world’s population – do not have a place in their homes to wash their hands with water and soap. Three quarters of those who lack access to water and soap live in the world’s poorest countries and are amongst the most vulnerable: children and familie...s living in informal settlements, migrant and refugee camps, or in areas of active conflict. This puts an estimated 1 billion people at immediate risk of COVID-19 simply because they lack basic handwashing facilities.
The Hand Hygiene for All initiative aims to move the world towards this goal: supporting the most vulnerable communities with the means to protect their health and environment. It brings together international partners, national governments, public and private sectors, and civil society to ensure affordable products and services are available, especially in disadvantaged areas, and to enable a culture of hygiene.
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