India has the largest number of
child brides in the world — one
third of the global total.1
Yet, recent data indicates that
in the last decade there has
been a significant decline in the
prevalence of child marriage
from 47 per cent to 27 per cent
of the proportion of women aged
20-24 yea...rs who were married
before age 18 from 2005/2006
to 2015/2016.2 Child marriage
among young men and boys has
also seen a positive change.
National and state averages,
however, mask realities at the
district level, and despite the
overall decline, a few districts
continue to have very high rates
of child marriage. (Child marriage
rates among women in a few
districts of Rajasthan and Bihar,
continue to be in the range of 47
per cent to 51 per cent).
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WASH FIT Digital is a free, open-access digital tool, based on the WASH FIT guide developed by WHO and UNICEF. WASH FIT is designed to help health care facilities improve quality of care through improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Built on the mWater digital monitoring platform, WASH FIT... Digital includes a set of forms for implementing a risk-based management approach developed by WHO and UNICEF. The site also includes a dashboard to visualize the process and keep track of progress
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This guide focuses on the evaluation of psychosocial programs that are aligned with two main goals: - To promote psychosocial wellbeing by promoting an environment that provides appropriate care, opportunities for development and protects children from exposure to situations that are harmful to thei...r psychosocial wellbeing, and - To respond to psychosocial problems by strengthening social and psychological supports for children who have been exposed to situations that affect their psychological development.
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The duration of breastfeeding and support from health services to improve feeding practices among mothers living with HIV
This operational guidance, developed by WHO, UNICEF and ENN, outlines the duration of breastfeeding and support from health services to improve infant feeding practices amon...g mothers living with HIV. It is intended to be used to complement emergency and sectoral guidelines on health, nutrition and HIV, including specifically infant feeding, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and paediatric antiretroviral treatment.
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The Ministry of Health is working with WHO, Gavi, MSF, UNICEF and other partners to ring vaccinate high-risk populations in Ebola-affected health zones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As vaccine supplies arrive in Geneva ahead of deployment to Kinshasa, WHO’s Dr Peter Salama explains what... ring vaccination means.
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This page describes ten immediate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) actions that low-resource healthcare facilities can undertake with limited budget in the near-term (0-3 months) to prepare for and address COVID-19. On the second page, WHO and UNICEF have provided input on how to best adapt thei...r Eight Practical Steps in the midst of COVID-19. Finally, we have compiled resources for action. While some activities may be temporary stopgaps, the goal is to provide incremental improvements that can be sustained and built upon after the outbreak subsides. In particular, the proper management of WASH will be critical to protect healthcare workers and prevent infections.
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All health workers involved in implementation of COVID-19 vaccination need to have adequate knowledge and skills in order to ensure safe and efficient COVID-19 vaccine administration. The COVID-19 vaccination training for health workers package is developed for frontline health workers in countries.... The package, developed in collaboration with UNICEF, consists of 6 modules, which include video lectures, quizzes, job aids, interactive exercises and downloadable presentations with the available information.
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The Minimum Standards and Indicators for Community Engagement were developed through an inter‑agency consultation process that engaged a large number of experts from around the world. UNICEF wishes to acknowledge the contribution of all those that participated, and who share a passion for placing ...communities at the centre of development and humanitarian action. The consultation process consisted of a series of interviews, meetings and workshops over an 18‑month period. Representatives from countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America contributed input and feedback based on their experiences of designing, implementing and measuring community engagement approaches
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Primary health care, as outlined in the 1978 Declaration of Alma-Ata and again 40 years later in the 2018 WHO/UNICEF document A vision for primary health care in the 21st century: towards universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals, is a whole-of-government and whole-of-society a...pproach to health that combines the following three components: multisectoral policy and action; empowered people and communities; and primary care and essential public health functions as the core of integrated health services.(1) Primary health care-oriented health systems are health systems organized and operated so as to make the right to the highest attainable level of health the main goal, while maximizing equity and solidarity. They are composed of a core set of structural and functional elements that support achieving universal coverage and access to services that are acceptable to the population and that are equity enhancing. The term “primary care” refers to a key process in the health system that supports first-contact, accessible, continued, comprehensive and coordinated patient-focused care.
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Today’s children, and their children, are the ones who will live with the consequences of climate change.
Today’s children, and their children, are the ones who will live with the consequences of climate change.
This booklet presents key messages for action, summarized from a set of chapters on different environmental health issues, available at www.who.int/ ceh/publications/healthyenvironmentsforhealthychildren. The work is a result of an on-going partnership between WHO, UNEP and UNICEF in the area of chi...ldren’s environmental health, and seeks to update the 2002 joint publication “Children in the New Millennium: Environmental Impact on Health.”
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Female genital mutilation (FGM), a violation of girls’ and women’s human rights, is becoming less common, and opposition to the practice is growing — in the last two decades, the proportion of girls and women who want the practice to stop has doubled.
However, progress is not universal. In s...ome countries, FGM is as common today as it was three decades ago. Even in places where the practice is on the decline, progress would need to be at least 10 times faster to meet the 2030 target for elimination. Additionally, an alarming trend is emerging: around 1 in 4 girls and women who have undergone FGM, or 52 million worldwide, were cut by health personnel. This proportion is twice as high among adolescents, indicating growth in the medicalization of the practice.
This brochure explores the global FGM trends — progress made in the past three decades, shifts in attitudes, and changes in the circumstances surrounding the practice.
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Ethiopia is home to 25 million girls and women who have experienced FGM. More than half are in the regions of Oromia and Amhara. Overall, 65 per cent of girls and women aged 15 to 49 have undergone FGM. The highest prevalence is in the Somali (99 per cent) and Afar (91 per cent) regions
This document is produced with the intent of strengthening the assessment mechanisms for the Ethiopian WASH cluster and to ensure data is available to identify needs (who, where, what, how many) and to inform response planning accordingly. It will present the existing data environment in the country... and outline key steps in coordinating and planning assessments.
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Developmental disabilities are common. Yet, children with developmental disabilities have been neglected in health systems planning and policy provisions for health and continue to experience stigmatization, institutionalization, barriers to access health care and inequalities in health and educatio...n outcomes.
Using findings from research and practice and guided by the tenets of international human rights conventions, this WHO-UNICEF Global Report on children with developmental disabilities provides principles and approaches to intentionally include the needs and aspirations of children and young people with developmental disabilities in policy, programming and public health monitoring. It makes the case for greater accountability and proposes 10 priority actions to accelerate changes towards inclusive environments and responsive multisectoral care systems for children with developmental disabilities.
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Pregnancy and childbirth during adolescence profoundly affects the lives of millions of girls worldwide, and is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity, and infant and child mortality. Every year, an estimated 21 million girls aged 15–19 years old in low- and middle-income countries be...come pregnant, and approximately 12 million give birth.
For many adolescent girls, the ability to control their sexual lives remains limited. Long-standing gender inequalities and discrimination, marginalization, harmful social and gender norms, and denial of rights, compounded by poverty and violence, render them vulnerable to early pregnancy, HIV and other health threats. Lack of age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and services create additional barriers to care and support; as a result, adolescent girls who become pregnant are much more likely to go on to have rapid repeated births.
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Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions (EASE) is an evidence-based group psychological intervention to help 10–15-year-olds affected by internalizing problems (e.g. stress and symptoms of anxiety, depression) in communities exposed to adversity. Published by the World He...alth Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), EASE aims to support adolescents and their caregivers with skills to reduce distress. The intervention consists of 7 group sessions for adolescents and 3 additional group sessions for their caregivers. It is based on adapted aspects from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and has been designed to be suitable for delivery by trained and supervised non-specialist helpers.
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The Framework serves to guide efforts to deliver safe and sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health care waste management and reliable electricity in all health care facilities. The ultimate aim is to provide quality care for all. The Framework reflects a global consultative process a...nd includes data and recommendations articulated in recent WHO/UNICEF global reports on WASH, waste and electricity in health care facilities. It also provides an operational roadmap for implementing the 2023 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on WASH, waste and electricity in health care facilities. The target audiences for this Framework include health leaders and programme managers at the global and national levels; policymakers; WASH, waste and energy leaders and technical experts; development partners and finance institutions; and actors and experts on gender equality, disability and social inclusion and climate; and, more generally, civil society. The Framework addresses the WASH, waste and electricity elements of the WHO comprehensive approach to build safe, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities.
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“We must not forget that no matter where we are or how old we are, we can all work for life and take action.” Francisco Vera, 15, UNICEF Child Advocate
The Young Climate Activists toolkit was created by advocates of all ages who, like you, are deeply concerned about our planet's future. Havin...g faced numerous challenges in advocacy and action, our aim is to provide clear, concise and easily understandable information about global, regional and national climate action. This will equip you for meaningful and informed participation. The toolkit booklets are designed to be read sequentially to build a comprehensive understanding of each topic, though they can also be consulted independently based on your needs.
This is the global volume of the Young Climate Activists Toolkit and is designed to complement the regional toolkits for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa Region.
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