The 2014–2015 Ebola outbreak was catastrophic in West Africa but the indirect impact of increasing the mortality rates of other conditions was also substantial. The increased number of deaths caused by malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis attributable to health system failures exceeded deaths from ...Ebola.
With a relatively limited COVID-19 caseload, health systems may have the capacity to maintain routine service delivery in addition to managing COVID-19 cases. When caseloads are high, and/or health workers are directly affected, strategic adaptations are required to ensure that increasingly limited resources provide maximum benefit for the refugees and surrounding host population. The following are key considerations for UNHCR operations on prioritized health care services in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak. These are based on WHO Guidance for Maintaining Essential Health Services and UNHCR guidance for operations and where relevant operation or site level outbreak preparedness and response plans.
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This checklist is to accompany the full Interim Technical Note on Protection form Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) during COVIID-19 Response.
The outbreak of COVID-19 comes with unpredictable primary and secondary impacts on vulnerable and food-insecure populations across the world. Mortality and morbidity appear to be most acute for elderly people, and those with underlying health conditions. At the same time, the widely anti...cipated economic downturn could have a more devastating effect on the world’s poor than the virus itself
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he central Sahel region—Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger—is facing a severe humanitarian and protection crisis.
Massive displacement, most of it driven by intense and largely indiscriminate violence perpetrated by a range of armed actors against civilian populations, is taking place across the regi...on. While internal displacement is on the rise substantial numbers of refugees have fled to neighboring countries, and the situation risks spilling over into the coastal countries of Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo.
This context is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is already affecting areas hosting refugees and IDPs
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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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En diciembre del 2019 se comunicó a la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) la ocurrencia de varios casos de neumonía en Wuhan, una ciudad situada en la provincia China de Hubei.
This document presents a brief overview of how UNHCR adapts its activities for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) to the changing context of the pandemic. Staff of UNHCR and partners, in country offices in all regions of the world, have developed innovative field practices to continue pr...oviding essential MHPSS services to refugees. The examples in this document are testimony to the commitment and creativity of our staff and can serve as inspiration and encouragement for others to continue integrating MHPSS in the humanitarian work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Physical distancing measures are important to reduce COVID-19 transmission. However, when stringently applied, they can result in negative health and socio-economic impacts. This report draws on a rapid review of available literature, case studies from across Africa and expert knowledge to make reco...mmendations on adapting classic physical distancing measures to the contextual realities in Africa and on mitigating potential negative impacts.
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In the context of health, stigma is the negative association between a person or group of people who share certain characteristics and a specific disease. In an outbreak, this may mean people are labeled, stereotyped, discriminated against, treated separately, and/or experience loss of status becaus...e of a perceived link with a disease.
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This document is developed using technical input from the Interim Guidance on Scaling-up COVID-19 Outbreak in Readiness and Response Operations in Camps and Camp-like Settings and Key Considerations for Selecting Health Infrastructure for the Response to COVID 19 in addition to other tec...hnical guidance documents developed by WHO and referenced accordingly.
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The “United Nations Framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19: Shared responsibility, global solidarity and urgent action for people in need” calls for protecting jobs, businesses and livelihoods to set in motion a safe recovery of societies and economies as soon as possibl...e for a more sustainable, gender-equal, and carbon-neutral path—better than the “old normal”.
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This What Matters? edition focuses on Covid-19 rumours circulating in the Rohingya camps of Cox’s Bazar. It explores some of the more common rumours, discusses sources and formats of information, presents community perspectives about rumours and communication, and suggests approaches to communicat...ing with the Rohingya community about Covid-19.
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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten health and food systems around the world, the 2020 Global Nutrition Report calls on governments, businesses and civil society to step up efforts to address malnutrition in all its forms.
In April 2020, the UN launched a coordinated global humanitarian response plan (GHRP) to fight COVID-19 in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries and address the needs of the most vulnerable people. This tips sheet provides practical tips to strengthen disability inclusion within the new up...date of COVID-19 Global HRP. The sheet was developed by the Disability Advisory Group for the DFID-UN SBC.
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This document brings to attention key health and human rights considerations with regards to COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the importance of integrating a human rights based approach in response to COVID-19. It provides key considerations in relation to addressing stigma and discrimination, preve...ntion of violence against women, support for vulnerable populations; quarantine and restrictive measures and shortages of supplies and equipment. It also highlights human rights obligations with regards to global cooperation to address COVID-19.
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This document sets out the preparedness and response plan of the Nigerian Primary Health Care System for COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Disease. It outlines the planning scenarios, key areas of work and priority activities required for the Primary Health Care Sector to quickly scale up its core capacity... to prevent, quickly detect, characterize and efficiently respond, in a coordinated manner to the COVID-19 pandemic. These include guidelines for the setup and operationalization of COVID-19 response platforms at the national and state levels, guidelines for the provision of PHC services during the pandemic to minimize transmission in PHCs as well as guidelines for preparedness and response of PHC Centres and communities for COVID-19 case detection and response.
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Constraints, Technologies, Policies and Processes
The purpose of this document is to provide interim guidance for setting up of quarantine facilities
Accessed: 16.04.2020
The Government of India is embarking on a mammoth task to prevent COVID-19 spread among communities. The Rapid Evidence Synthesis team received a request to support the planning and development of resources for ensuring preparedness of FLHWs for COVID-19 . The rapid evidence synthesis was conducted ...in a period of three days.
The findings highlight what we can learn from recent pandemics such that we are prepared for potential scenarios and challenges due to COVID-19. Key issues which decision-makers need to consider, based on available evidence
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