Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, health is receiving unprecedented public and political attention. Yet the fact that climate change also presents us with a health crisis deserves further recognition. From more deaths due to heat stress to increased transmission of infectious diseases, ...climate change affects the social and environmental determinants of health in ways that are profound and far-reaching. The fundamental interdependency of human health and the health of the environment is encapsulated in the concept of planetary health, a scientific field and social movement that has been gaining force since the 2015 publication of the Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission report “Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch”.
We see an urgent need for strategic communication to raise awareness of climate-health synergies in order to overcome the misperception that climate and health are two independent agendas. The fragmented and sector-focused nature of thinking and action remains a significant barrier to integrating health considerations into climate planning and project development. Inevitably, collaboration across sectors requires a community of practice. Despite recent efforts focused on the climate-health nexus, much work remains to be done to translate scientific findings for policymakers, mobilise climate financing resources in support of health co-benefits, and promote genderjust solutions within climate change projects.
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There has been no systematic comparison of how the policy response to past infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics was funded. This study aims to collate and analyse funding for the Ebola epidemic and Zika outbreak between 2014 and 2019 in order to understand the shortcomings in funding reporting... and suggest improvements. Methods: Data were collected via a literature review and analysis of financial reporting databases, including both amounts donated and received. Funding information from three financial databases was analysed: Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Development Assistance for Health database, the Georgetown Infectious Disease Atlas and the United Nations Financial Tracking Service. A systematic literature search strategy was devised and applied to seven databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, HMIC, Global Health, Scopus, Web of Science and EconLit. Funding information was extracted from articles meeting the eligibility criteria and measures were taken to avoid double counting. Funding was collated, then amounts and purposes were compared within, and between, data sources.
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As a central component of the UNHCR Strategic Directions 2022-2026, UNHCR has identified eight focus areas for renewed attention and accelerated action, including Climate Action. This Focus Area Strategic Plan for Climate Action sets out a global roadmap for prioritized action, providing further cla...rity on UNHCR’s role and direct contribution, its asks of others, and the immediate actions the organization will take to be optimally calibrated to advance this agenda.
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24 April 2020
Policy considerations
for the WHO European Region
This document provides key considerations for Member States to help them to decide on the modulation
of large-scale restrictive public health measures
(i.e. movement restrictions and large-scale physical distancing), while at the... same time strengthening core public health service capacities (to identify, isolate,
test and treat every patient and quarantine contacts) together with personal protective measures (hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette) and individual physical distancing (>1 metre distance). The transition should be informed by national, subnational or even community-level risk assessments as the transmission of COVID-19 is typically not homogeneous within a country.
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Produced by UNICEF and IRC, with the support of the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ) and the generous funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Caring for Child Survivors of Sexual Abuse (CCS) Resource Package (Second Editi...on, 2023) is a revision of the original CCS Guidelines and associated Training (First Edition, 2012). The Second Edition offers an up-to-date global technical guidance on providing a model of quality care for children and families affected by sexual abuse in humanitarian settings. The new resources include both revised and content additions based on practitioner feedback, the most recent evidence and learning. In particular, the Guidelines aim to bring a stronger focus on gender inequality, intersectionality, as well as the connections between the best interests of the child and a survivor-centered approach.
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To enhance health co-benefits across urban policies which tackle air pollution and climate change, WHO, in cooperation with various international, national, and local partners, implemented the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) pilot project in Accra, Ghana. The Initiative prompted the health sector to u...se its influential position to demonstrate to decision-makers and the public the full range of health, environmental and economic benefits that can be achieved from implementing local emission reduction and energy access policies and strategies. Policy tracking, although not always considered, is a fundamental component of this procedure. It assesses the planning, implementation and progress of a policy to refine or adjust policies with the final objective of increasing the likelihood of the policy being successful. This report is an outcome of the last component of the UHI model process, Policy tracking and monitoring outcomes. The report proposes a framework for tracking urban health policies, with a special focus on the impacts of air quality and energy access on human health and well-being in African countries, giving some examples from the pilot project in Accra. The report also provides resources to survey air quality in cities and other tools to assess public health and the environmental impacts of urban policies and monitor or track their effects.
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From policy to practice: how the TB-HIV response is working
“The HIV community must place much more focus on TB co-infection than
it has done to date. TB takes the lives of over 1000 people living with HIV
every day, a number which is absolutely unacceptable. This report highlights that
TB d...oesn’t have to be a death sentence for people living with HIV, but we need
more action. By joining forces, the HIV and TB community can finally give this
deadly issue the attention it deserves.”
– Mike Podmore, Director STOPAIDS
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Policy Brief
Accessed: 20.11.2019
The Ministry of Health together with its partners realizes that efficient and effective
delivery of clinical care is highly dependent on the availability of appropriately
upgraded environment, which is in well facilitated space. Such facilities and utilities
should always be properly designed, bu...ilt, and maintained, so as to ensure efficient
treatment in clean and safe from infection.
The main challenges in achieving this include the lack of, appropriate holistic and
futuristic management plans, human resource for facility/utility management and
maintenance, adequate budget funds for renovation/maintenance activities at all
levels which means daily and long-term of facility maintenance plans and executions.
It is hoped that the guidelines will help to standardise
design of medical facilities and utilities country wide and result in efficient and
effective establishment of these life-saving function
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Consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for treating and preventing HIV infection
Accessed: 26.02.2020
The Toolkit for Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings was developed by
the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Reference
Centre for Psychosocial Support and World Vision International. The toolkit provides
a set of materials to assist managers and facilit...ators/animators in setting up and
implementing quality Child Friendly Spaces (CFS). These resources have at their core
the protection of children from harm; the promotion of psychosocial well-being; and
the engagement of community and caregiver capacities. The CFS Toolkit includes:
• Activity Catalogue for Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings
• Operational Guidance for Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings
• Training for Implementers of Child Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings.
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The WHO Global research agenda on health, migration and displacement identified the health of displaced and migrant populations in the context of climate change as one of the most pressing, yet under-researched, topics.
English Analysis on World and 26 other countries about Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Drought, Epidemic and more; published on 26 Oct 2021 by WMO
This report reviews the latest evidence on what works to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination through key programmes to reduce stigma and discrimination and increase access to justice in the six settings of focus for the Global Partnership. It includes guidance for national governments and k...ey stakeholders on how stigma and discrimination harm; how the stigmatization process operates and how we can stop it; key principles of stigma- and discrimination-reduction efforts; an overview of common intervention approaches; recommendations based on the latest evidence for reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination in the six settings; and an overview of considerations for monitoring the success of the programmatic interventions recommended for each setting.
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