The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging health systems across the world. Rapidly increasing demand for care of people with COVID-19 is compounded by fear, misinformation and limitations on the movement of people and supplies that disrupt the delivery of frontline health care for all people...
This g...uidance addresses the specific role of community-based health care in the pandemic context and outlines the adaptations needed to keep people safe, maintain continuity of essential services and ensure an effective response to COVID-19. It is intended for decision-makers and managers at the national and subnational levels and complements a range of other guidance, including that on priority public health interventions, facility-based care, and risk communication and community engagement in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic.
more
7 June 2020 Version 1
Women in Myanmar have traditionally been underrepresented in public decision-making processes, a trend which is continuing in structures established to respond to COVID-19. This means that even as women are disproportionately affected by the crisis, they have less say in how t...heir communities and country respond to it, increasing the risk of a COVID-19 response that does not adequately address the needs and priorities of the most vulnerable women and girls.
more
As daily lives and communities are upended by COVID-19, concern is mounting that children’s exposure to violence may increase. Children with a history of abuse may find themselves even more vulnerable – both at home and online – and may experience more frequent and severe acts of violence. Oth...ers may be victimized for the first time.
Understanding the current status of violence prevention and response services is therefore essential to assessing risks to children
more
This research was conducted in March and April 2020 to explore children and young people’s reflections and perceptions on the COVID-19 outbreak. This study was organised in response to the young people’s continued child activism in the face of personal challenges.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated and added yet another layer of vulnerability to an already dire web of vulnerabilities of girls in the African continent, which constitute about 49% of the total child population. Critically, gender equality and girls’ multidimensional vulnerability have been ...accentuated to an unprecedented level. The pandemic has triggered major concerns about the potential reversal of the strides achieved over the years towards gender equality and human development in Africa.
more
Mozambique registered its first COVID-19 case on 22 March 2020 and since then numbers have steadily grown over the following three months with cases now reported in all provinces. In response, a level 3 State of emergency was enacted on 1 April 2020 and has been extended until 29 July 2020, with mea...sures targeting the prevention of COVID-19 transmissions.
more
The COVID-19 pandemic is a multiplier of vulnerability, compounding threats to food insecurity, while exposing weaknesses in food and health systems. It is severely undermining the capacity of communities to cope in times of crisis and has become a stress test for political and economic stability.
Results of rapid assessment
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a new WHO survey. The survey of 130 countries provides the first global data showing the devastating... impact of COVID-19 on access to mental health services and underscores the urgent need for increased funding.
more
COVID-19 has resulted in an unprecedented global crisis. As the pandemic spreads and countries around the world continue to struggle to contain its health and socio-economic consequences, UNRWA is issuing a new humanitarian appeal from August through December 2020 to address the worst impacts of the... pandemic on Palestine refugees across the Agency’s five fields of operation. Through this appeal the Agency seeks US$ 94.6 million. The funds requested in this appeal are additional to the previous UNRWA COVID-19 appeal for March to July.
more
COVID-19 pandemic has taken the entire world by surprise, creating the greatest global catastrophe since WWII, impacting all spheres of our societies, including health, economy, social protection, as well as security, and human rights. The virus affects people and communities indiscriminately in all... parts of the world, with particularly strong impact on poorer communities, especially those already suffering from the humanitarian consequences caused by conflicts, social-economic problems or disasters.
more
Addendum: 2020 mid-year COVID-19 resvision, summary of the reprioritisation & additional requirements in response to COVID-19
In June and July 2020, a mid-year revision of the 2020 South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) was undertaken as an inter-agency consultative process to discuss ...and document the reprioritization of activities and corresponding budgets for the rest of the year, taking into account the impacts of COVID-19 and other developments.
more
With Safety Tips for Conducting Community Meetings
Updated July 2020
This document includes key Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) considerations during shifting lockdown measures, safety measures for conducting in-person community meetings, and a template that brings both of these... considerations together to help agencies adapt their RCCE approaches as these measures shift.
more
5 Nov. 2020
The policy brief provides a concise summary of information and considerations to ensure optimal management of influenza during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes a list of technical guidance and other resources to assist policy makers with monitoring the situation, preventing seasonal i...nfluenza, reducing severe complications and mortality, protecting specific populations and communicating to and engaging with the public.
more
Applying the evidence of what works from HIV-related stigma and discrimination in six settings to the COVID-19 response
This brief provide evidence-informed guidance to countries on the intersection of stigma related to HIV and COVID-19 in national responses.
One booklet is called "Heart-to-Heart with My Child." Published for Rohingya adults and children, it conveys key child protection messages in accessible terms in both Rohingya and in English. The messages are illustrated with embroideries made by Rohingya female artists, engaged with IOM's Rohingya ...Cultural Memory Centre (RCMC).
During focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews with IOM's protection team, refugees often share stories of harassment and physical abuse. The team encountered several protection risks in the camps, which the staff has been gradually mitigating.
more
This report presents examples from different agencies on how they approached community engagement in their Covid-19 responses, the tools and methodologies used, as well as the challenges they encountered and how they attempted to overcome these. It discusses what community engagement means to the va...rious agencies interviewed and in the literature consulted. And it puts forward some reflections on how CCCM and other sector agencies can take steps to ensure community participation in this and future pandemic responses.
more
In 2016, the risk of premature mortality1 from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Ethiopia was 18.3%. The economic costs of NCDs are significant and are due principally to their impact on the non-health sector (reduced workforce and productivity). In this study, it is estimated that NCDs cost Ethiop...ia at least 31.3 billion birr (US$ 1.1 billion) per year, equivalent to 1.8% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Less than 15% of the costs are for health care.
more