On 30thJanuary 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the People’s Republic of China to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the international Health Regulations. The following day, the Italian Governm...ent declared a state of emergency, stopping all flights to and from Chinese airports. 1.2On 7th April the foreign, interior, transport and health ministers signed a decree under theInternational Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue stating that Italian ports could no longer be classified as places of safety for foreign naval units, including NGO-run migrantrescue ships, operating outside the Italian Search and Rescue (SAR) area. Despite the national lockdown and the closure of ports to international rescue vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, small ships departing from Libya and Tunisia have continued to sail towards the Italian coastline. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), during the period 1stJanuary –12thApril, 2020 there were an estimated 3,229 sea arrivals in Italy
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Key Considerations
This brief focuses on cross-border movement in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) and its implications for development of risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies aimed at preventing transmission of COVID-19 in the ESA region. Given the extensive risk of cross...-border transmission of the virus and the imminent reopening of borders, such strategies are essential to containment efforts
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This document describes the essential interventions in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) that should be developed on an intersectoral basis in countries and communities. Its frame of reference is the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) intervention pyramid for MHPSS services. The pyr...amid shows different levels of support, ranging from social considerations, safety, and basic needs, to the provision of specialized services for the management of more severe conditions, as well as the probable volume of demand at each established level.
Available in Spanisch, Portuguese and English
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Summary of the Ethopian country office of WHO on COVID-19 activities.
Health Situation
Health policies and systems
Cooperation for Health
WHO Country Cooperation Strategic Agenda (2008-2013)
VOX Sanguinis, 2021:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected millions of people worldwide and caused disruptions at the global level including in healthcare provision. Countries of the WHO African region have put in place measures for the COVID-19 pandemic containment that may adversely a...ffect blood system activities and subsequently reduce the supply and demand of blood and blood components. This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood supply and demand in the WHO African Region and propose measures to address the challenges faced by countries.
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This assessment tool is to support municipalities and local authorities in identifying the risks and vulnerabilities that refugees and migrants face and to identify gaps where possible methods to minimize the impact of the pandemic exist so that they can be prioritized within local policy processes.
25 February 2021
This technical guidance is a living document that builds on guidelines and reports of the UNAIDS Joint Programme. The definitions contained herein are working definitions that are subject to change. Updates will also be added further to the work of the multistakeholder Task Team on... community-led AIDS responses that was recently established by the UNAIDS Executive Director and the UNAIDS Joint Programme, and which will conclude its task in December 2021.
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Technical Note
Recently, the approach to hazardous events has undergone a considerable shift, away from reactive activities focused on managing and responding to events and towards a more proactive process of emergency and disaster risk management (DRM). The ultimate goal of this shift in focus is ...to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks, a process known as disaster risk reduction (DRR), while strengthening individual, community, societal and global resilience.
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This guide is intended to support national governments developing their national deployment and vaccination plans (NDVPs) for COVID-19 vaccines by outlining the roles, needs and opportunities for community health workers (CHWs) to contribute. This note builds on and is structured to align with the G...uidance on developing a national deployment and vaccination plan for COVID-19 vaccines. By providing CHW-relevant considerations for the VIRAT Tool, this document aims to support national governments in developing robust NDVPs for introducing COVID-19 vaccine(s) that leverage all the community-based deployment, implementation and monitoring tools at their disposal.
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Recognizing the importance of the critical role of community health in disaster management, the Amref health Africa has
developed this operational guide to provide policy direction on COVID-19 response at community level. This guide has
been developed in collaboration with all the implementing cou...ntries in supporting prevention and control of COVID-19.
With a strong community COVID-19 response system at community level, we can all contribute to prevention and control
of COVID-19, and thereby improve health and livelihoods for all people
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Why bold action against inequalities is needed to en AIDS, stop COVID-19 and prepare for future pandemics
Joint actions by the Global Fund and UNAIDS are guided by a strong alignment of strategies, goals and targets. UNAIDS has worked with all stakeholders to set a common agenda and targets within the Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026, and the United Nations General Assembly confirmed this strategy and i...ts ambitious targets within its 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030.
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The Manifesto was launched at a High Level Event in London on the 31st July 2019, where Emergency response mechanisms to address the Climate and Environmental Crisis are being explored. The Manifesto has been developed in response to the increasing international and United Nations evidence and under...standing of the severity of our global climate and environmental crisis. This builds upon collaborative action to advance the InterAction Council's Dublin Charter, endorsed at its Plenary Session in 2017. The overall aim is to secure a healthy planet for the wellbeing of future generations for all, by placing the health of the planet at the heart of decision making and establishing emergency response mechanisms at global, national and community levels.
Now more than ever, we need courageous leadership to take crucial decisions and actions to secure a healthy planet for all, including the very existence of human civilization. The InterAction Council is encouraged by the boldness and energy of our younger generations, as well as the commitment expressed by the 30 organisations endorsing the Manifesto. The establishment of the Digital Platform for Planet, Place and People, a Hub of the Commonwealth Centre for Digital Health, will act as a collaborative mechanism to promote innovation and rapid responses as a common good. Going forward, we welcome everyone to become a Guardian to Secure a Healthy Planet for All, and to support this initiative in scaling up the ambitions laid out in the Manifesto.
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As a lower-middle-income country (LMIC), South Africa (SA) bears
the burden of maternal and neonatal mortality similar to other sub-
Saharan African countries. According to the Saving Mothers Report
2017/19, there has been a progressive and sustained reduction
in institutional maternal mortality... (iMMR) in the past three triennia
(2010-2019), from 320 per 100,000 live births to 120 per 100,000 live
births.
According to the Rapid Mortality Survey, the country’s infant mortality
rate has declined from 29 deaths per 1000 live births in 2014 to 25
deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018. The institutional neonatal death
rate showed a slight decrease from 12,7 deaths per 1,000 live births in
2016 to the current level of 12 per 1,000 live births and has remained
static at this level for the past three years (saDHIS).
Working towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of reducing maternal mortality to below 70 per 100 000 live births and neonatal mortality to 12 deaths per 1000 live births, South Africa aims to reduce institutional maternal mortality, neonatal mortality and stillbirths by 50% by 2030.
This Maternal, Perinatal and Neonatal Health Policy provides a
framework for the delivery of quality, comprehensive, and integrated
MNH services and will guide the development and review of guidelines
and related MNH interventions, including strengthening of the service
delivery platform, governance, leadership and accountability for
the provision of quality MNH services, development of advocacy
messages, and guiding civil society priorities and community
initiatives. The policy will also guide the development and review of
academic curricula and the setting of research priorities.
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23 February 2022
A summary of the commitments and targets within the United Nations General Assembly’s 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS.The United Nations General Assembly’s 2021 Political Declaration on AIDS features bold global commitments and targets for 2025 that are ambitious but... achievable if countries and communities follow the evidence-informed guidance within the Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026. This UNAIDS publication provides a summary of those commitments and targets to get every country and every community on-track to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030
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