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Assessing Health Vulnerabilities and Adaptation to Climate Change

Berry, P.; P. M. Enright, J. Shumake-Guillemot et al. (2018) CC

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(12), 2626; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122626 Climate change is increasing risks to human health and to the ... health systems that seek to protect the safety and well-being of populations. Health authorities require information about current associations between health outcomes and weather or climate, vulnerable populations, projections of future risks and adaptation opportunities in order to reduce exposures, empower individuals to take needed protective actions and build climate-resilient health systems. An increasing number of health authorities from local to national levels seek this information by conducting climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments. While assessments can provide valuable information to plan for climate change impacts, the results of many studies are not helping to build the global evidence-base of knowledge in this area. They are also often not integrated into adaptation decision making, sometimes because the health sector is not involved in climate change policy making processes at the national level. Significant barriers related to data accessibility, a limited number of climate and health models, uncertainty in climate projections, and a lack of funding and expertise, particularly in developing countries, challenge health authority efforts to conduct rigorous assessments and apply the findings. This paper examines the evolution of climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments, including guidance developed for such projects, the number of assessments that have been conducted globally and implementation of the findings to support health adaptation action. Greater capacity building that facilitates assessments from local to national scales will support collaborative efforts to protect health from current climate hazards and future climate change. Health sector officials will benefit from additional resources and partnership opportunities to ensure that evidence about climate change impacts on health is effectively translated into needed actions to build health resilience. more

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Official development assistance for health—how neglected are neglected tropical diseases? An analysis of health financing

Liese B; Schubert L. Science Direct (2009) CC

The increasing amounts of official development assistance (ODA) for health have been aimed primarily at fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Neglected tropical diseases (NTD), one of the most serious public ... more

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Guidance on mainstreaming biodiversity for nutrition and health

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

This report aims to support countries in the necessary transition toward healthier, more sustainable diets by integrating biodiversity in food-based interventions to support nutrition and health. It is intended to help guide decision-makers in the ... health, nutrition and other sectors, to: Consider the important role of biodiversity in food systems for the development of integrated interventions to support healthy, diverse and sustainable diets; To focus investments and country support for more comprehensive, coordinated and cross-cutting public health and nutrition projects and policies; and To strengthen the resilience of food systems, health systems, and societies, each of which are each increasingly compromised by widespread ecological degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. Biodiversity at every level (genetic, species and ecosystem level) is a foundational pillar for food security, nutrition, and dietary quality. It is the basic source of variety in essential foods, nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and medicines, and underpins life-sustaining ecosystem services. It is a core environmental determinant of health, often a vital ingredient of healthy nutritional outcomes and livelihoods, gender equality, social equity, and other health determinants. Biodiversity can play a more prominent role in planning for nutritional outcomes in various ways, e.g. by facilitating the production of nutritious fruits and plant products, sustaining livelihoods through more efficient production and increasing the diversity of products available in markets. This Guidance presents and expands on six core building blocks for mainstreaming biodiversity for nutrition and health: Cross-sectoral knowledge development and knowledge co-production; Enabling environments; Integration; Conservation and the wider use of biodiversity; Education and awareness-raising; Monitoring and evaluation; This WHO report builds on an unprecedented opportunity to mainstream biodiversity in order to support healthy and sustainable diets, and offers the necessary technical guidance to catalyze and support a transformation of the global food system and transition to healthier, more sustainable diets. more

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WHO research for hand hygiene in health care 2023–2030: summary

World Health Organisation WHO (2023) C_WHO

Hand hygiene is vital for safe health care delivery, yet practices at the point of care remain suboptimal worldwide. A comprehensive research agenda is therefore necessary to improve our understanding of factors influencing hand hygiene behaviour an ... more

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Health and Environment Project in Benin

R. Edon Field Actions Science Reports (2010) C2

In 1989, the Republic of Benin was facing a great social and economical crisis. Civil servants of all the sectors in public administration were on strike. People did not know where to go for their health care. Salaries were not paid for more than ... more

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Overview of capacity building opportunities in “One Health”, internationally and with focus on Africa

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ (2022) CC2

An interdisciplinary approach to address global health challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, loss of biodiversity, human migration has been framed by the One Health approach. Thi ... more

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The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Health

edX (2019) C1

Learn how to safely and effectively participate in global health rotations, projects, and volunteer work. Accessed 6 March 2019.

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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 o ... n 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

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Major storm on the horizon: Health and macroeconomic burdens of noncommunicable diseases and mental health conditions in South America

Pan American Health Organization PAHO (2025) C_WHO

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases) and mental health conditions (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, depression, anxiety, autism spectrum disorders) are ... more

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Mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies

World health Organization WHO (2025) C_WHO

This is an online orientation to strengthen the competencies of health sector actors working in emergencies to establish, support and scale up Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in count ... more

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A guide to tailoring health programmes: Using behavioural and cultural insights to tailor health policies, services and communications to the needs and circumstances of people and communities

World Health Organization WHO (2023) CC

WHO/Europe has launched a new guide, providing support to countries on how to apply behavioural and cultural insights (BCI) for health. It presents a simple step-wise approach, complemented by a rich collection of detailed considerations, tools and ... more

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Moving as One. Integrating the Health and Climate Agendas for Planetary Health in a Post-Pandemic World

IASS Potsdam (2020) C2

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 furth ... more

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International Religous Health Assets Programme IRHAP

University of Cape Town (2020) CC

An international collaborative working on religion within health and community systems Seeking to strengthen evidence on the functioning of religiously-inspired health institutions and communities ... more

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Malaria Consortium - Disease control, better health

Malaria Consortium (2025) C2

The Malaria Consortium website provides comprehensive information about the organization’s work in preventing, controlling, and eventually eliminating malaria and other communicable diseases. It showcases the organization’s projects, research, p ... more

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Development assistance for human resources for health, 1990–2020

Micah, A.E.; J. Solorio; H. Stutzman et al. Human Resources for Health (2022) C1

Background: Investing in the health workforce is key to achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. However, achieving these Goals requires addressing a projected global shortage of ... more

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Global Development Assistance for Adolescent Health From 2003 to 2015

Zhihzu K.; Mingquiang L.; Patton G. et al. Jama Network (2018) CC

In this quality improvement study, data from the Creditor Reporting System were used to estimate flows of total DAAH and per-adolescent DAAH and to assess its distribution by donors, regions, and countries and the leading causes of burden of disease (ie, disability-adjusted life-years) in 132 devel ... more

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WHO Zika App for Android
recommended

Universal Projects and Tools S.L. World Health Organization (2016) C_WHO

The World Health Organization has created a Zika app. The app gathers all of WHO's guidance for agencies and individuals involved in the response to Zika Virus Disease and its suspected complications such as microcephaly, and for ... more