the aid library

LIST OPTIONS

Filter

7044

Challenges and Opportunities for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in the COVID-19 Response in Africa: A Mixed-Methods Study

Walker, A. et al. (2022) CC

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 9313. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159313. A mixed-methods study, using an online survey and in-depth interviews, was conducted. Participants included Mental Health Focal Points at the Ministries of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO) country ... more

Download (129)

View PDF (117)

NAPHS for all: a country implementation guide for national action plan for health security (‎NAPHS)‎ - Second edition
recommended

World Health Organization WHO (2025) C_WHO

Lessons learned from recent public health events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola virus disease, Zika virus disease outbreaks, and other public health threats, including earthquakes and floods, have highlighted the need for countries to continuously develop, strengthen, and maintain capacities r... more

Download (460)

View PDF (336)

Managing epidemics: key facts about major deadly diseases, 2nd edition

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

Epidemics and pandemics of infectious diseases are occurring more often, and spreading faster and further than ever, in many different regions of the world. The background factors of this threat are biological, environmental and lifestyle changes, among others. A potentially fatal combination of new... more

External Link

Environmental Stewardship and Climate Action Handbook

World Vision (2023) CC

Climate change presents the single biggest threat to human development, and its widespread impacts disproportionately burden the poorest and most vulnerable households in fragile and rural developing contexts – particularly women and children. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate C... more

Download (279)

View PDF (265)

Managing epidemics: key facts about major deadly diseases, 2nd edition

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

Download (332)

View PDF (441)

OCHA Policy Brief on Gendered Drivers, Risks and Impacts of Food Insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2023) CC

It is widely understood that the food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing and most neglected crises. It lacks sufficient global focus, resources and urgency. As in so many crises, women and girls are disproportionately affected and shoulder t...he consequences of protracted neglect, with unconscionable impacts on their safety, life chances and agency. Gaining a holistic view of the gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is difficult. This is due to a lack of data and prioritization, and the large geographical and socioeconomic terrain covered by both regions. However, what we do know about this crisis is more than enough to urgently address the needs of women and girls. An OCHA discussion paper on this topic (which will be published imminently, and from which this policy brief is drawn) found that there is: A strong risk of profound regression in gender equality gains made to date in the countries of concern, including on education, sexual and reproductive health, and the economic independence of women and girls (with knock-on effects on broader humanitarian and development outcomes). An increasing challenge to reverse what must be recognized as a protracted and growing gender-based violence (GBV) emergency in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. The food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is protracted, multidimensional and highly gendered, with spiralling impacts on gender equality and food security outcomes. It is driven by interwoven and overlapping factors, including climate change, political instability, conflict, socioeconomic conditions, migration and displacement and, more recently, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Interlinked with these factors are gendered structural drivers of food insecurity, including deeply entrenched gender inequalities and harmful social norms. Gendered risks and impacts of food insecurity include alarming limitations on access to education, sexual and reproductive health rights, women’s agency and participation, and dramatic increases in different existing forms of GBV and the emergence of new ones. Recognition of such gendered dimensions of food insecurity and of the need for a multisectoral approach in the response is key to addressing the crisis, along-side sustained commitment and adequate allocation of resources. This policy brief draws out key findings from the OCHA discussion paper on this topic, which includes a desk review of studies, assessments and reports, and interviews with local women’s organizations on the front lines of the food insecurity crisis in communities across both regions. Below are the most pressing gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity (not in order of priority), as well as key gaps in the current humanitarian response to food insecurity, and recommendations to take forward. more

Download (211)

View PDF (163)

Human Resources for Health in Ethiopia

The Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI) (2016) C1

Ethiopia has seen high economic growth over the last decade, but remains a poor country with a high burden of disease. It has made considerable health gains in recent years, mainly by having health policies that focus on extending primary healthcare, using health extension workers. It... more

External Link

Water dilemmas: The cascading impacts of water insecurity in a heating world

Oxfam (2023) CC

Climate-induced water insecurity poses one of the biggest threats to humanity and will lead to more hunger, disease and displacement Oxfam water engineers are having to drill deeper, more expensive and harder-to-maintain water boreholes used by some of the poorest communities around the world, mo... more

Download (109)

View PDF (108)

Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: Guidelines for assessment and management of cardiovascular risk

World Health Organization WHO (2007) C_WHO

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of disability and premature death throughout the world, and contributes substantially to the escalating costs of health care. The underlying pathology is atherosclerosis, which develops over many years and is usually advanced by the time symptoms occur, genera... more

Download (102)

View PDF (64)

Africa’s Health Financing in a New Era

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) (2025) CC

Africa’s health sector is facing an unprecedented financing crisis, driven by a sharp decline of 70% in Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 2021 to 2025 and deep-rooted structural vulnerabilities. This collapse is placing immense pressure on Africa’s already fragile health systems as ODA ...is seen as the backbone of critical health programs: pandemic preparedness, maternal and child health services, disease control programs are all at risk, threatening Sustainable Development Goal 3 and Universal Health Coverage. Compounding this is Africa’s spiraling debt, with countries expected to service USD 81 billion by 2025—surpassing anticipated external financing inflows—further eroding fiscal space for health investments. Level of domestic resources is low. TThe Abuja Declaration of 2001, a pivotal commitment made by African Union (AU) member states, aimed to reverse this trend by pledging to allocate at least 15% of national budgets to the health sector. However, more than two decades later, only three countries—Rwanda, Botswana, and Cabo Verde—have consistently met or exceeded this target (WHO, 2023). In contrast, over 30 AU member states remain well below the 10% benchmark, with some allocating as little as 5–7% of their national budgets to health. In addition, only 16 (29%) of African countries currently have updated versions of National Health Development Plan (NHDP) supported by a National Health Financing Plan (NHFP). These two documents play a critical role in driving internal resource mobilisation. At the same time, public health emergencies are surging, rising 41%—from 152 in 2022 to 213 in 2024—exposing severe under-resourcing of health infrastructure and workforce. Recurring outbreaks (Mpox, Ebola, cholera, measles, Marburg…) alongside effects of climate change and humanitarian crises in Eastern DRC, the Sahel, and Sudan, are overwhelming systems stretched by chronic underfunding. The situation is worsened by Africa’s heavy dependency with over 90% of vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics being externally sourced—leaving countries vulnerable to global supply chain shocks. Health worker shortages persist, with only 2.3 professionals per 1,000 people (below the WHO’s recommended 4.45), and fewer than 30% of systems are digitized, undermining disease surveillance and early warning. Without decisive action, Africa CDC projects the continent could reverse two decades of health progress, face 2 to 4 million additional preventable deaths annually, and a heightened risk of a pandemic emerging from within. Furthermore, 39 million more Africans could be pushed into poverty by 2030 due to intertwined health and economic shocks. This is not just a sectoral crisis—it is an existential threat to Africa’s political, social, and economic resilience, and global stability. In response, African leaders, under Africa CDC’s stewardship, are advancing a comprehensive three-pillar strategy centered on domestic resource mobilization, innovative financing, and blended finance. more

Download (198)

View PDF (336)

Considerações sobre o impacto da covid-19 na relação indivíduo-sociedade: da hesitação vacinal ao clamor por uma vacina

Couto,M.T.; Carolina L.A. Barbieri, C. Carvalho de Souza Amorim Matos (2021) CC

Saúde Soc. São Paulo, v.30, n.1, e200450, 2021 Desde março de 2020, quando a Organização Mundial de Saúde declarou que o mundo vivia uma pandemia de covid-19, acompanhamos um quadro sanitário sem precedentes nos últimos 100 anos. As medidas atuais contra a ... more

Download (247)

View PDF (372)

Agenda para as Américas sobre Saúde, Meio Ambiente e Mudança Climática 2021–2030

Pan American Health Organization (2021) C2

Esta publicação apresenta a Agenda para as Américas sobre Saúde, Meio Ambiente e Mudança Climática 2021–2030 (a Agenda). Esta Agenda é um apelo ao setor da saúde para que se posicione na vanguarda da abordagem aos determinantes ambientais da saúde nas Américas. A Organização Pan-Americ...ana da Saúde (OPAS) trabalhará com os Estados Membros para alcançar a meta e objetivo desta agenda: assegurar uma vida saudável e promover o bem-estar para todos, em todas as idades, usando um enfoque sustentável e equitativo que priorize a redução das iniquidades em saúde. A Agenda foi desenvolvido sob a égide da Estratégia Mundial da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) sobre a Saúde, o Meio Ambiente e a Mudança Climática e se baseia nos compromissos estabelecidos na Agenda de Saúde Sustentável para as Américas 2018–2030 e no Plano Estratégico da OPAS 2020–2025. A Agenda foi desenvolvida em consulta com o Grupo Técnico Assessor (GTA), por meio de um processo decisório consensual com os Estados Membros, durante os anos de 2019 e 2020. Para alcançar o Objetivo de Desenvolvimento Sustentável 3, a Agenda enfoca: melhoria do desempenho dos programas e instituições de saúde pública ambiental; promoção de sistemas de saúde ambientalmente resilientes e sustentáveis; e promoção de cidades e comunidades ambientalmente saudáveis e resilientes. A implementação da Agenda deverá ser contextual, com base nas necessidades e realidades de cada país. Ela beneficiará países e territórios ao promover boas práticas de governança; fortalecer as funções de liderança e coordenação do setor da saúde; favorecer ações intersetoriais; focar na prevenção primária; e melhorar as evidências e a comunicação. Facilitará o acesso aos recursos humanos, técnicos e financeiros necessários para abordar os determinantes ambientais da saúde e garantir que a Região esteja totalmente engajada nos processos e acordos globais de saúde, meio ambiente e mudança climática. O objetivo desta Agenda é fortalecer a capacidade dos atores da saúde, tanto no setor da saúde quanto em outros setores, para abordarem e se adaptarem aos determinantes ambientais da saúde (DAS), priorizando as populações que vivem em condições de vulnerabilidade, a fim de atingir o Resultado Intermediário 18 do Plano Estratégico da OPAS 2020–2025, diretamente, e vários outros resultados do Plano, indiretamente. Para enfrentar e se adaptar aos desafios dos DEA na Região, será necessária uma abordagem integrada e baseada em evidências dentro do setor da saúde e entre os setores, possibilitada e favorecida por boas práticas de governança, mecanismos de gestão adequados, vontade política de alto nível e dotação adequada de recursos humanos, técnicos, tecnológicos e financeiros. more

Download (358)

View PDF (326)

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities on her visit to Zambia

UN General Assembly (2019) CC

Download (257)

View PDF (457)

Un rayo de luz en la ensombrecida Venezuela - Informe sobre América Latina N°75 | 15 de julio de 2019

International Crisis Group (2019) C1

Download (275)

View PDF (351)

Philanthropic Power and Development. Who shapes the agenda?

Jens Martens and Karolin Seitz Bischöfliches Hilfswerk MISEREOR, Brot für die Welt, Global Policy Forum (2015) C2

Download (468)

View PDF (1174)

Articulo 12. El derecho a la Salud

CODEVIDA, Coalición de Organizaciones por el Derecho a la Salud y a la Vida; PROVEA , Programa Venezolano de Educación - Acción en Derechos Humanos (2015) C1

Informe Conjunto de Organizaciones de Defensa del Derecho a la Salud al Comité de Derechos Económicos y Sociales de las Naciones Unidas, con motivo del Examen del 3er Informe Periódico del Estado Venezolano en el Período de Sesión 55° del Pacto Internacional de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y... more

Download (399)

View PDF (787)

Namibia Report NCPI

Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) (2012) C1

Download (231)

View PDF (208)

Politique pour l’amélioration de la santé mentale

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

Ce document présente une politique pour orienter et soutenir les États Membres de l’Organisation panaméricaine de la Santé, ainsi que le Bureau sanitaire panaméricain, dans leur coopération technique visant à améliorer la santé mentale en tant que priorité pour faire progresser le dével... more

Download (234)

View PDF (356)

EU supports Venezuelan refugees, migrants and host communities

European Union EU (2019) CC

Download (393)

View PDF (697)

El éxodo Venezolano

Human Rights Watch (2018) C1

Urge una respuesta regional ante una crisis migratoria sin precedentes

NAPHS for all: a country implementation guide for national action plan for health security (‎NAPHS)‎ - Second edition recommended

NAPHS for all: a country implementation guide for national action plan for health security (‎NAPHS)‎ - Second edition
recommended