Fifth interim report to the SMAC program, DFID Freetown
Key strategies for preventing further infection are isolation of the patient in an Ebola care facility, “safe burial”, and quarantine of those exposed to Ebola cases. Equally important is social recognition that isolation, safe burial and ...quarantine are necessary to break the transmission chain. Thus it is important to ask how, and how quickly, communities learn about the risks of infection and the necessity of steps to reduce and eliminate these risks
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Situation analysis
Description of the disaster
An Ebola epidemic that started in March 2014 in Guinea has relentlessly continued to claim lives and to spread to other countries in West Africa. The current Ebola outbreak is the largest in history and the first to affect multiple countries simu...ltaneously. There have been over 24 000 reported confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of EVD in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone (table 1), with almost 10 000 reported deaths (outcomes for many cases are unknown). A total of 58 new confirmed cases were reported in Guinea, 0 in Liberia, and 58 in Sierra Leone in the 7 days to 8 March (4 days to 5 March for Liberia). Many experts believe that the official numbers substantially understate the size of the outbreak because of families' widespread reluctance to report cases. Because of the fluidity of movement of people between West Africa and several countries in the East African countries, especially Kenya and Ethiopia (who in turn have extensive interaction with other countries in the region in terms of human movement), the risk of an outbreak of Ebola in East Africa is as eminent as in any of the countries bordering the affected countries. The IFRC regional office intends to support National Societies to raise their Ebola preparedness and response capacity through training, technical support in planning and implementation of Ebola related activities, and coordination both within and outside the movement.
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Planetary health is a transdisciplinary approach that aims to advance the understanding of the links between human-driven changes to the planet and their consequences, and to develop appropriate solutions to the challenges identified. This emerging movement has not yet agreed upon a code of ethics t...o underpin the rapidly expanding body of research being carried out in its
name. However, a code of ethics might support the principles for planetary health set out in the Canmore Declaration of 2018. Phrases such as “Public Health 2.0”, “Human Health in an Era of Global Environmental Change”, or “A safe and just operating space for humanity” are often used in planetary health discussions, but are not always clearly defined and so far, the field lacks a strong guiding ethical framework. In this paper, we propose a starting point towards a code of ethics for planetary health that builds on the Canmore Declaration.
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Abstract: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic psychological disorder that can develop after exposure to a traumatic event. This review summarizes the literature on the epidemiology, assessment, and treatment of PTSD. We provide a review of the characteristics of PTSD along with associa...ted risk factors, and describe brief, evidence-based measures that can be used to screen for PTSD and monitor symptom changes over time. In regard to treatment, we highlight commonly used, evidence-based psychotherapies and pharmacotherapies for PTSD. Among psychotherapeutic approaches, evidence-based approaches include cognitive-behavioral therapies (e.g., Prolonged Exposure and Cognitive Processing Therapy) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. A wide variety of pharmacotherapies have received some level of research support for PTSD symptom alleviation, although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have the largest evidence base to date.
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The most frequent health problems of newly arrived refugees and migrants include accidental injuries, hypothermia, burns, gastrointestinal illnesses, cardiovascular events, pregnancy- and delivery-related complications, diabetes and hypertension. Female refugees and migrants frequently face specific... challenges, particularly in maternal, newborn and child health, sexual and reproductive health, and violence. The exposure of refugees and migrants to the risks associated with population movements – psychosocial disorders, reproductive health problems, higher newborn mortality, drug abuse, nutrition disorders, alcoholism and exposure to violence – increase their vulnerability to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)
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The Joint Response Plan sets out a comprehensive programme shaped around three strategic objectives – deliver protection, provide life-saving assistance and foster social cohesion. The Plan covers all humanitarian sectors and addresses key cross-cutting issues, including protection and gender main...streaming. The Plan will also strengthen emergency preparedness and response for weather-related risks and natural disasters, with a focus on community
engagement.
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This is the fifteenth edition of the lecture notes. They were first published in 1987 as a summary of the material used in the biannual epilepsy teaching weekend organised under the auspices of the UK Chapter of the International League against Epilepsy.
(Lecture series consist of a total of 59 cha...pters. Section one - introduction (chapter 1-2). Section two - basic science (chapters 3-5). Section (chapters 6-16). Section four - differential diagnosis (chapter 17-19). Section five - investigations (chapter 20-24). Section six - medical treatment of epilepsy (chapters 25-35). Section seven - outcome (chapters 36-40). Section eight - special groups (chapters 41-44). Section nine - surgical treatment of epilepsy (chapters 45-49). Section ten - social aspects (chapters 50-56). Section eleven - provision of care (chapters 57-59). All chapters available at: https://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/lecture-notes-0#.Wq-cn8NubIU)
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Yemen’s war has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes . In September 2014, the Ansarallah (Houthi) movement allied with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to seize control over the capital city Sana’a and renegotiate Yemen’s fragile power-sharing agreement, and then seve...ral months later pursued President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi south to Aden . In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched a military intervention, ostensibly to restore Hadi to power . More than 1,000 days later, that war has settled into a brutal stalemate . Officially, the Houthis remain in control of Sana’a and much of the north, while the Saudi-UAE coalition controls much of the south . A comprehensive Saudi-UAE blockade and air campaign has caused incipient famine conditions, the spread of communicable diseases such as cholera and diphtheria, and a wave of internal displacement .
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Following the declaration of the 9th Ebola Disease Outbreak (EVD) on 8 May 2018 by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health, the WHO has raised the alert for neighbouring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which share extensive borders, hosting DRC refugees and ...are used as corridors for DRC population movement. On 1 August 2018, just one week after the declaration of the end of the Ebola outbreak in Equator province, the 10th Ebola epidemic of the DRC was declared in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, which are among the most populated provinces in the DRC that also share borders with Uganda and Rwanda.
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With this World Health Day, WHO is drawing attention to a group of diseases that are spread by insects and other vectors, the heavy health and economic burdens they impose, and what needs to be done to reduce these burdens. Many of these diseases have been historically confined to distinct geographi...cal areas, but this situation has become more fluid due to a host of ills, including climate change, intensive farming, dams, irrigation, deforestation, population movements, rapid unplanned urbanization, and phenomenal increases in international travel and trade. The control of vector-borne diseases can make a major contribution to poverty reduction, as it precisely targets the poor
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Review of International, Regional and National Policies and Legal Frameworks that Promote Migrants and Mobile Populations' Access to Health and Malaria Services in the Greater Mekong Subregion (Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam)
Migrants and mobile popul...ations face many obstacles in accessing equitable essential health care services due to factors such as living and working conditions, education level, gender, irregular migration status, language and cultural barriers, anti-migrant sentiments, and lack of migrant-inclusive health policies among others. Despite significant progress having been made in the context of malaria control in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), human movements can impact malaria transmission patterns and potentially introduce drug-resistant parasites. This legal framework review therefore serves as a guidance document on approaches to address malaria and malaria elimination for migrant and mobile populations (MMPs) in five countries of the GMS.
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This case study examines the humanitarian response to the conflict-related crisis in the North-East of Nigeria, focusing primarily on the period from 2015 to the end of 2016. The aim is test the central hypotheses of the Emergency Gap project: that the current structure, conceptual underpinning and... prevalent mindset of the international humanitarian system limits its capacity to be effective in response to conflict-related emergencies.
As with many conflict-related crises, the emergency in north-east Nigeria has deep and complex roots in the history of the region. The conflict began in 2009 and quickly developed beyond the control of the authorities. It unfolded in the midst of pre-existing political, social and economic tensions, making an effective humanitarian response exceedingly difficult. Despite this complexity, what is clear is that the crisis has resulted in a sprawling humanitarian disaster that has killed over 25,000 people as a direct result of the violence, and continues to devastate many more lives through hunger, psychological trauma and lack of access to healthcare.
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In many humanitarian emergencies, there is a serious lack of access to even the most basic materials needed for managing the blood in addition to a lack of appropriate sanitation facilities (including water), which are critical for addressing menstrual hygiene. Privacy in emergencies is often scarc...e, and even if toilets are available they often lack locks, functioning doors, lighting and separation between genders. These barriers are often intensified by cultural beliefs and taboos surrounding menstruation which can restrict the movements and behaviors of girls and women
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Strengthening the capacities of SUN Countries by sharing and disseminating good practices in the fight against malnutrition.
This report is a summary of the results of the preparation and implementation of the Learning Route (LR) organized jointly by the SUN (Scaling Up Nutrition) Movement’s S...ecretariat, the Fight Against Malnutrition Unit (CLM, Cellule de Lutte contre la Malnutrition) and PROCASUR Corporation; this Learning Route was held in Senegal from the 26th of May to the 1st of June, 2014. The aim of this publication is to illustrate the experience, its main outcomes, and the lessons learned.
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Putting Human Rights at the Heart of the Response
Topic in Focus: COVID-19 and Women’s Human Rights
15 April 2020
Stay-at-home restrictions and other measures restricting the movement of people contribute to an increase in genderbased violence, a finding confirmed by media reports, official ...statements and information received from OHCHR field presences and human rights defenders in many countries.
Women and girls already in abusive situations are more exposed to increased control and restrictions by their abusers, with little or no recourse to seek support. Hotlines receive reports of women being threatened with being thrown out of their homes, exposed to the infection, or having financial resources and medical aid withheld.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is causing untold fear and suffering for older people across the world. As of 26 April, the virus itself has already taken the lives of some 193,710 people, and fatality rates for those over 80 years of age is five times the global average. As the virus spreads rapidly to devel...oping countries, likely overwhelming health and social protection systems, the mortality rate for older persons could climb even higher.
Less visible but no less worrisome are the broader effects: health care denied for conditions unrelated to COVID-19; neglect and abuse in institutions and care facilities; an increase in poverty and unemployment; the dramatic impact on well-being and mental health; and the trauma of stigma and discrimination.
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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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The Venezuelan refugee and migrant crisis is one of the biggest external displacement crises in the world today. The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded an already desperate situation for many refugees and migrants, as well as their hosts, sorely testing health and social welfare systems and the abilit...y of countries to assist the vulnerable population.
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We as a large world community are facing an extraordinary challenge: keeping healthy against the threat of rapidly spreading novel Covid-19 virus. Starting with flu-like symptoms, the virus attacks the airways leading to severe breathing difficulties in the m ost vulnerable, that is, those whose im ...m unity is decreased because of various reasons: age over 65, living with chronic illness, taking im m unity reducing medicines. Rapid spread of the virus along with severity of its sym ptom s led health specialists to recommend social distancing, confinement and thorough hand washing to our governm ents who took actions to implement these guidelines.
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This joint ECDC-European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) document aims to support Member States in determining a coordinated approach to reduce the risks related to the movement of people by air within and between the EU/EEA countries and the UK in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting th...at the impact of quarantine and testing is likely to vary according to levels of ongoing community transmission, and in the context of ECDC’s current advice that non-essential travel should be avoided during the end-of year festive period
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