Infectious diseases like COVID-19 can disrupt the environments in which children grow and develop. Disruptions to families, friendships, daily routines and the wider community can have negative consequences for children’s well-being, development and protection. In addition, measures used to preven...t and control the spread of COVID-19 can expose children to protection risks. Home-based, facility-based and zonal-based quarantine and isolation measures can all negatively impact children and their families.
The aim of this brief is to support child protection practitioners to better respond to the child protection risks during a COVID-19 pandemic. Part 1 presents the potential child protection risks COVID-19 can pose to children. Part 2 presents programmatic options in line with the 2019 Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPMS) and the Guidance Note: Protection of Children During Infectious Disease Outbreaks.
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Deeply concerned by the morbidity and mortality caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the negative impacts on physical and mental health and social well-being, the negative impacts on economies and societies and the consequent exacerbation of inequalities within and between countries.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone, including key populations at higher risk of HIV. And the gains made against other infectious diseases, including HIV, are at risk of being reversed as a result of disruptions caused by COVID-19. This is the background to a new report published by FHI 360,... in collaboration with UNAIDS, which gives advice on how to minimize the impacts of COVID-19 on key populations.
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Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak
Three billion people – 40 per cent of the world’s population – do not have a place in their homes to wash their hands with water and soap. Three quarters of those who lack access to water and soap live in the world’s poorest countries and are amongst the most vulnerable: children and familie...s living in informal settlements, migrant and refugee camps, or in areas of active conflict. This puts an estimated 1 billion people at immediate risk of COVID-19 simply because they lack basic handwashing facilities.
The Hand Hygiene for All initiative aims to move the world towards this goal: supporting the most vulnerable communities with the means to protect their health and environment. It brings together international partners, national governments, public and private sectors, and civil society to ensure affordable products and services are available, especially in disadvantaged areas, and to enable a culture of hygiene.
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ACT Alliance appeal: Global Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic – ACT201 - Sub-Appeal - ACT 201-BGD -
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.
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Severe acute respiratory infections treatment centre: practical manual to set up and manage a SARI treatment centre and a SARI screening facility in health care facilities
The COVID-19 pandemic presents a rare and immediate opportunity for a norm shift towards localisation in the humanitarian architecture. Whils tinternational humanitarian actors are facing constraints in funding and restrictions on movement and travel, national and local level ...humanitarian actors are on the ground to respond. A timely investment in localcapacities and capabilities creates a strong platform for effective, efficientand sustained response and recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the days, months and years ahead.
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Across Zimbabwe, 7 million people in urban and rural areas are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, compared to 5.5 million in August 2019. Since the launch of the Revised Humanitarian Appeal in August 2019, circumstances for millions of Zimbabweans have worsened. Drought and crop failure, exa...cerbated by macro-economic challenges and austerity measures, have directly affected vulnerable households in both rural and urban communities. Inflation continues to erode purchasing power and affordability of food and other essential goods is a daily challenge. The delivery of health care, clean water and sanitation, and education has been constrained and millions of people are facing challenges to access vital services.
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The Government of Republic of Zambia reported the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 on 18th March 2020. As of April 27th, 2020, there were 89 confirmed cases, three deaths and 42 recoveries. Confirmed cases are located in three provinces: Lusaka (83 cases), Copperbelt province (5 cases) and Central ...(1 case). Zambia introduced a series of measures including closure of three international airports, closure of all schools, movement restrictions and closure of non-essential services such as restaurant, bar, gym and public gatherings to curb the transmission rate.
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The WHO Guidance for Conducting a Country COVID-19 Intra-Action Review (IAR) was developed to guide countries to conduct periodic review(s) of their national and subnational COVID-19 response, so countries do not miss critical opportunities for learning and improvement to better respond to the COVID...-19 outbreak in their countries, especially as the possibility of a protracted pandemic becomes increasingly probable. The IAR is a country-led facilitated process conducted during the COVID-19 outbreak in-country, bringing together a small group of COVID-19 responders with knowledge of the public health response pillars under review. Although IARs can be conducted online or face-to-face, the online format is recommended, especially if community transmission remains high in the country. The IAR will identify practical areas for immediate remediation and sustained improvement of the ongoing response.
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Policy brief, 24 July 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected older people disproportionately, especially those living in long-term care facilities. In many countries, evidence shows that more than 40% of COVID-19 related deaths have been linked to long-term care facilities, with figures being as h...igh as 80% in some high-income countries. Concerted action is needed to mitigate the impact across all aspects of long-term care, including home- and community-based care, given that most users and providers of care are those who are vulnerable to severe COVID-19.
This policy brief provides 11 policy objectives and key action points to prevent and manage COVID-19 across long-term care. Its intended audience is policy makers and authorities (national, subnational and local) involved in the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief builds on currently available evidence on the measures taken to prevent, prepare for and respond to the COVID‑19 pandemic across long-term care services including care providers
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Clinical care for severe acute respiratory infection: toolkit: COVID-19 adaptation
Clinical care for severe acute respiratory infection: toolkit: COVID-19 adaptation
This manual presents a compelling case for action on carbapenem-resistant organisms (CROs) and describes the linkages between the prevention and control of CROs and the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). It describes how the eight recommendations contained within the World Health ...Organization (WHO) guidelines for the prevention and control of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in health care facilities relate to general measures (that is, the core components of infection prevention and control [IPC] programmes) that need to be in place in all countries and health care facilities to prevent and control health care-associated infections (HAIs). The use of a stepwise approach is proposed to support implementation and improvement, based on the evidence and experience of what has worked in several health care settings worldwide. The focus is on adoptable and adaptable information.
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This summary assesses the current state of evidence on each approach in tabular form, providing: the definition and objectives; evidence of effectiveness; operational considerations (e.g., training, staffing, and logistics); cost considerations and evidence on cost-effectiveness; operational success...es and challenges; and areas for future research and learning. This document is not intended to endorse any particular approach. Rather, it aims to objectively present the state of the existing evidence on each approach, so as to inform decision-making among practitioners looking to further test, refine and implement such approaches.
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Noma (cancrum oris) is a severe gangrenous disease of the mouth and face. It mostly affects children between the ages of 2 and 6 years living in extreme poverty. In addition to the known factors such as malnutrition, lack of vaccination in children and poor oral hygiene, several social and environme...ntal factors such as maternal malnutrition and close spacing of pregnancies that result in offspring with increasingly weakened immune systems are potentially related to the onset of the disease.
The aim of this guide is to assist the ministries of health (MoHs) to identify a general goal to be attained by the end of five years, with a view to sustainably reducing the incidence of noma as a public health problem through programmes that are fully integrated with national health planning, strengthening of primary health care (PHC) and attainment of UHC.
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La pandemia de COVID-19 está afectando de manera desproporcionada a los pueblos indígenas, exacerbando las
desigualdades estructurales subyacentes y la discriminación generalizada. Estos graves efectos deben abordarse
específicamente en la respuesta y las implicaciones derivadas de esta crisis....
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