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Situation of child and adolescent health in Europe (2018)

World Health Organization WHO; Regional Office for Europe (2018) C_WHO

The report focuses on several key areas where health outcomes are falling short, and provides insight into ways in which countries can improve the situation for their children and adolescents. Areas in focus include mental health, overweight/obesity and adolescent risk-taking behaviour. The report ... more

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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 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

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Emergency health response plan for drought in Somalia: Early action to protect health and save lives April-December 2022

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2022) C_WHO

Nearly 260 000 people died in parts of Somalia between October 2010 and April 2012, including 133 000 children under five during the famine and food crisis in Somalia making it the worst famine in history. A study commissioned and funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio... more

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Improving the physical health of adults with severe mental illness: essential actions

Academy of Medical Royal Colleges , England; et al. (2016) C1

This report, written in partnership with various Royal Medical Colleges and Public Health England, sets out the essential actions to improve the physical health of adults with severe mental illness (SMI) across the NHS. The report makes practical recommendations for changes that will help adults wit... more

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Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!): guidance to support country implementation, second edition.

World Health Organization WHO (2023) C_WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) is releasing the second edition of its Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!) guidance. The document aims to equip governments to respond to the health and well-being challenges, opportunities and needs of adolescents. The guidance pro... more

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Cardiovascular disease risk profile and management practices in 45 low-income and middle-income countries: A cross-sectional study of nationally representative individual-level survey data

Peiris, D.; Ghosh, A.; Manne-Goehler, J. et al. PLoS Medicine (2021) CC

Global cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden is high and rising, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Focussing on 45 LMICs, we aimed to determine (1) the adult population’s median 10-year predicted CVD risk, including its variation within countries by socio-demographic char... more

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Comprehensive mental health action plan 2013–2020
recommended

World Health Organization WHO (2021) C_WHO

This updated Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030 builds upon its predecessor and sets out clear actions for Member States, the WHO Secretariat and international, regional and national partners to promote mental health and well-being for all, to prevent mental health conditions for thos... more

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Community-based health care, including outreach and campaigns,in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
recommended

World Health Organization WHO, IFRC; UNICEF (2020) C_WHO

The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging health systems across the world. Rapidly increasing demand for care of people with COVID-19 is compounded by fear, misinformation and limitations on the movement of people and supplies that disrupt the delivery of frontline health care for all people... This g... more

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WHF Roadmap for Digital Health in Cardiology

Tromp, J.; Jindal, D.; Redfern, J. et al. Global Heart (2022) CC

ABSTRACT More than 500 million people worldwide live with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Health systems today face fundamental challenges in delivering optimal care due to ageing populations, healthcare workforce constraints, financing, availability and affordability of CVD medicine, and service del... more

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A framework for mental health and psychosocial support in radiological and nuclear emergencies

World Health Organization (WHO) and InterAgency Standing Committee (IASC) (2020) C_WHO

The health impact of radiological and nuclear emergencies can last for decades. Lessons learned from past radiological and nuclear accidents have demonstrated that the mental health and psychosocial consequences can outweigh the direct physical health impacts of radiation exposure. International rad... more

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Guidelines for Health Staff Caring for Gender-based Violence Survivors: Including Protocol for Clinical Management of Rape [EN]

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Protection Cluster, Health Cluster (2016) C1

Gender-based violence, including rape is a problem throughout the world, occurring in every society, country and region. Refugees and internally displaced people are particularly at risk of this violation during every phase of an emergency situation. The systematic use of sexual violence as a method... more

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Hesitation and Refusal Factors in Individuals' Decision-Making Processes Regarding a Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination

Cerda A. A., Garcia L. Y. (2021) C2

Introduction: Considering the global prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a vaccine is being developed to control the disease as a complementary solution to hygiene measures—and better, in social terms, than social distancing. Given that a vaccine will eventually be produced, informa... more

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Red and processed meat in the context of health and the environment: many shades of red and green: information brief

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

There is growing international consensus that food systems transformation is important to address the challenges of malnutrition in all its forms, the burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), environmental sustainability, increasing inequality and ensuring the welfare of workers and animals. In li... more

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Infection Control Assessment Tool for Primary Health Care Facilities

SIAPS USAID (2013) C1

Nosocomial or health-facility-acquired infections are a serious issue, representing one of the most significant causes of morbidity and mortality in healthcare systems and consuming many scarce resources, especially in developing countries. Although much has been done, particularly in the hospital s... more

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Story of change in four countries Building capacity for integrating mental health care within health services across humanitarian settings

World Health Organization WHO; mGAP (2021) C_WHO

The world is facing an unprecedented range of emergencies. In reaction to these complex adversities, many people experience considerable distress and impairment, and a minority may even go on to develop mental health conditions. Meanwhile, those with pre-existing mental health conditions may experie... more

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Preferred product characteristics for personal protective equipment for the health worker on the frontline responding to viral hemorrhagic fevers in tropical climates
recommended

World Health Organization (2018) C_WHO

The scope of this PPC document is to serve as a guide to address the unmet public health need for a PPE system that protects the HW-F in tropical climate s while caring for patients and providing heavy duty essential health services. The characteristics described in this guidance are targeted fo... more

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A Policy Guide for Implementing Essential Interventions for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH)

World Health Organization (2014)

The Compendium brings together for the first time key consensus-based policy recommendations and guidance to improve the delivery of proven interventions to women and children. The user-friendly format incorporates icons and tabs to present key health-related policies that support the delivery of es... more

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Strengthening and adjusting public health measures throughout the COVID-19 transition phases

World Health Organization (Europe) (2020) C_WHO

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... more

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Impact of health systems strengthening on coverage of maternal health services in Rwanda, 2000–2010: a systematic review

Maurice Bucagu, Jean M. Kagubare, Paulin Basinga, Fidèle Ngabo, Barbara K Timmons & Angela C Lee Reproductive Health Matters (2012) CC

From 2000 to 2010, Rwanda implemented comprehensive health sector reforms to strengthen the public health system, with the aim of reducing maternal and newborn deaths in line with Millennium Development Goal 5, among many other improvements in national health. Based on a systematic review of the lit... more

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SGBV response, risk mitigation and prevention in humanitarian crises: A synthesis of findings from evaluations of UNHCR operations 2019

UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR (2019) C1

The synthesis looked across the evaluations and reviews as mentioned above to draw lessons and conclusions across the different contexts. The synthesis aims to identify: recurrent issues, patterns and trends, and promising initiatives and lessons learned from existing programming including main... more

Comprehensive mental health action plan 2013–2020 recommended

Community-based health care, including outreach and campaigns,in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic recommended

Preferred product characteristics for personal protective equipment for the health worker on the frontline responding to viral hemorrhagic fevers in tropical climates recommended

Comprehensive mental health action plan 2013–2020
recommended

Community-based health care, including outreach and campaigns,in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
recommended

Preferred product characteristics for personal protective equipment for the health worker on the frontline responding to viral hemorrhagic fevers in tropical climates
recommended