This report is not a country scorecard. Rather, its purpose is to act as a compass to guide progress towards health in the SDGs.
There has been a significant improvement in the state of health in the region with healthy life expectancy - time spent in full health - in the region increasing from 50....9 years to 53.8 between 2012 and 2015 - the most marked increase of any region in the world.
What is making Africans sick is changing. The top killers are still lower respiratory infections, HIV and diarrhoeal disease and countries have routinely focused on preventing and treating this trio, often through specialized programmes. The payoff has been significant declines in deaths due to these diseases. There has been a 50% reduction in the burden of disease caused by what have been the top 10 killers since 2000 and death rates have dropped from 87.7 to 51.1 deaths per 100,000 persons between 2000 and 2015...
Chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer are now claiming more lives with a person aged 30 to 70 in the region having a one in five chance of dying from a noncommunicable disease (NCDs).
Countries are specifically failing to provide essential services to two critical age groups – adolescents and the elderly...
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This scoping study done in Myanmar offers the chance for FoodSTART+ to explore prospects for future partnerships in another important country of the region. The study was done from October 2016 to February 2017 and included visits to selected major potato and cassava production areas to meet with re...spective stakeholders and market actors.
Although root and tuber crop (RTC) production in Myanmar has gradually increased since the late 1990s, they still lag behind the other major crops like rice. No RTCs are included in the country’s list of primary important crops even though potatoes are regularly consumed in daily meals while other common RTCs like cassava, elephant foot yam and sweetpotato are consumed occasionally. RTCs primarily contribute to food security and livelihoods through the income generated from their sale, whether fresh or processed, rather than directly through consumption.
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Based on the Vulnerability Index developed in this review, an estimated 22.7 million persons in Myanmar, or 44% of the population, were found to have some form of vulnerability related to human development and/or exposure to active conflict/violence. These people experience varying combinations of p...oor housing, lack of education, poor educational attainment, lack of access to safe sanitation and improved drinking water, and direct exposure to conflict.
Shan and Ayeyarwady have the largest populations of vulnerable persons, a function of both their size and relative vulnerability in comparison to other States and Regions. Yangon and Shan show the widest variation in vulnerability across townships (in terms of the number of vulnerable persons and their level of vulnerability), followed by Mandalay, Chin and Rakhine.
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The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) showed
that global commitment and collective action
could significantly reduce the disease burdens of
three deadly communicable diseases: HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. The MDGs helped
focus efforts on these three deadly diseases
and leveraged ...disease-specific programmes and
financing, thus achieving significant progress.
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The Philippine Government, International Non-government Organizations (INGOs) and local NGOs are all making attempts to address the impact of disasters and climate change at various levels. The Philippine Government has made significant strides in the implementation of disaster risk reduction (DRR) ...planning and activities through the development of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) which acts as the lead agency for DRR in the Philippines. The disaster focal points are the NDRRMC and the Office of Civil Defence (OCD). The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is responsible for leading immediate disaster relief efforts.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is a primary responder in disasters and have been deployed frequently to several disaster relief operations in the country in recent years. The Philippines has endured disasters that involve national and international assistance.
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- Twenty-two joint integrated rapid response mechanism (IRRM) missions were conducted in 11 counties and reached 305,887 people including 65,432 children under 5 years of age.
- UNICEF’s Integrated Community Mobilization Network reached 345,219 households (total population 2.1 million) advoca...ting for child rights focused on child survival, birth notification, education and protection. Three million people have been reached with advocacy and life-saving messages through radio and community engagement activities, including activities focused on youth and faith leaders.
- On 27 June, discussions between President Salva Kiir and former First Vice President Riek Machar in Khartoum culminated in agreement to a permanent ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors, effective 30 June.
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Research results of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response before, during and after disasters in Indonesia, Lao PDR and the Philippines
This report contributes new evidence on why and how sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) risks increase during humanitarian disasters.... It details how humanitarian actors can better prevent and respond to such escalation of SGBV, and better meet the needs of affected women, girls, men and boys. This research is based on community views of disaster-affected women, adolescent girls, men and adolescent boys in three South-East Asian countries: Indonesia, Lao PDR and the Philippines.
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In this contingency planning guidance, a set of actions to prepare for emergencies from all hazards and to help minimize their impact, is proposed. These actions include the development, implementation, simulation, monitoring and regular update of risks-based contingency plans.
UNICEF CHILD ALERT May 2018
As part of a UNICEF series highlighting the challenges faced by children in current crisis situations, this Child Alert examines the situation of children affected by violent conflict in Kasai region, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The alert outlines what UNICEF a...nd its partners have achieved to date in providing humanitarian assistance to children in Kasai affected by malnutrition and lack of access to health care, safe water and education. It calls upon all parties to the conflict – and the international community – to take urgent action protecting the lives and futures of children at risk, before it is too late.
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This report is primarily intended for the community of policymakers and researchers concerned about the rising risks of domestic, regional, and global infectious disease epidemics, and the collective failure to take the coordinated actions required to reduce such risks. These risks include the expec...ted health, economic, and societal costs that are borne by countries, regions, and even all nations in the case of pandemics (which are worldwide epidemics). These risks also include the consequences of increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and its spread within regions and globally. A necessary first step is to monitor whether a broad range of stakeholders are acting to prevent outbreaks from becoming epidemics, whether their capacities to respond to epidemics are robust, and whether preparedness to respond to pandemics and limit the resulting economic and health damage is improving. Analyzing the adequacy of these efforts is vitally important for the decisions of policymakers to invest in the public health and disaster-risk management capacities. Early and effective control of disease outbreaks prevents substantial health and economic costs whether or not the disease can spread globally and become a pandemic.
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A publication about girls escaping natural disasters and violent conflict in Eastern Africa
Children are on the move. In East Africa region, it is estimated that over 5 million children have migrated across borders or been forcibly displaced in their own country.
Forcable displacement is p...ushing more and more children out of their homes and communities, escaping the violence of war and conflict, only to fall vulnerable to other forms of violence. Girls are particularly vulnerable and need extra protection.
Every day, girls on the move in East Africa face a variety of rights violations, including:
• Exploitation and violence
• Being separated from their families
• Deprivation of essential services
• Use and recruitment by armed groups
• Sexual abuse
• Child marriage
This report highlights concerns that girls in eastern Africa face and calls on international and national decision makers to prevent and end violence that children face when they are forced to flee their homes.
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The National Guidelines for HIV-1 Viral Load Laboratory Testing support plans to scale up viral load (VL) testing to reach the 90-90-90 targets in India. This phased scale-up includes the setup of 70 additional VL testing laboratories nationally. These guidelines include laboratory design considerat...ions, a summary of VL technologies, and specimen collection and handling as well as transportation and storage guidance. Quality control and quality assurance requirements are described as well as laboratory safety issues. The guidelines also describe the VL laboratory network to be developed with supply chain management issues and commodities described. Annexes include laboratory registers and reporting forms.
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Reflections and a call for action after a two-year exploration of emergency response in acute conflicts
There is general consensus that the humanitarian sector is failing to mount timely and adequate responses in the acute phase of conflict-related emergencies, according to the two-year Emergen...cy Gap Project by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The Project has explored what works for or against effective emergency responses. Its final report, Bridging the emergency gap, draws on the Project’s thematic papers and case studies, and consultations with more than 150 senior-level representatives from 60 key organisations across the humanitarian sector.
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2018 monitoring report: current status and strategic priorities
The report sets out the status of women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, and on health systems and social and environmental determinants. Regional dashboards on 16 key indicators highlight where progress is being made o...r lagging. There is progress overall, but not at the level required to achieve the 2030 goals. There are some areas where progress has stalled or is reversing, namely neonatal mortality, gender inequalities and health in humanitarian settings.
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Epidemic meningitis is a major public health challenge in the African 'meningitis belt', an area that extends from Senegal to Ethiopia with an estimated total population of 500 million. Since 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with its collaborating centres for meningitis, h...as progressively supported countries in implementing a strategy of ES for meningitis. The strategy is the recommended standard for all countries of the Belt and it is now actively being implemented at different levels in all countries.
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