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Coronavirus in Sub-Saharan Africa - How africans in 12 nations are responding to the COVID-19 outbreak

GeoPoll (2020) C2

The spread of COVID-19 poses a challenge for emerging markets such as those in Africa and Latin America. While governments around the world are suffering from a shortage of ventilators, hospital beds, and personal protective equipment, availability of these items is already extremely limited in some ... more

A preventable crisis - El Niño and La Niña events need earlier responses and a renewed focus on prevention

Oxfam (2016) C2

The devastating impacts of the 2015–16 El Niño will be felt well into 2017. This crisis was predicted, yet overall, the response has been too little too late. The looming La Niña event may further hit communities that are already deeply vulnerable. To end this cycle of failure, there is an urgen ... more

COVID-19 Vaccination, Country Readiness and Delivery: Supply and Logistics Guidance
recommended

World Health Organization WHO; UNICEF (2020) C_WHO

Working Document Nov. 2020 The COVAX Supply and Logistics workstream lead by UNICEF, Gavi and WHO have released a working copy of the COVID-19 Vaccination, Country Readiness & Delivery: Supply and Logistics Guidance. Countries might find this Guide useful when developing and strengthening their sup ... more

China’s hidden role in malaria control and elimination in Africa

Odhiambo J.N., Dolan C., Malik A.A., et al. BMJ Global Health (2023) CC

Insufficient funding is hindering the achievement of malaria elimination targets in Africa, despite the pressing need for increased investment in malaria control. While Western donors attribute their inaction to financial constraints, the global health community has limited knowledge of China’s ex ... more

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

Integrated Outbreak Analytics Toolkit

Global Outbreak Alerts Response Network GOARN (2025) CC

Integrated Outbreak Analytics (IOA) applies a multidisciplinary approach to understanding outbreak dynamics and to inform outbreak response. It aims to drive comprehensive, accountable, and effective public health and clinical strategies by enabling communities, and national and subnational health a ... more

Roadmap towards zero leprosy, Pakistan

World Health Organization WHO (2025) C_WHO

The World Health Organization recently redefined leprosy elimination as a phased process, with the first milestone being the interruption of transmission, achieved when no new child cases (defined as younger than 15 years) are reported for five consecutive years. In Pakistan, the well-functioning ... more

Saving lives, spending less: the global investment case for noncommunicable diseases

World Health Organization WHO (2025) C_WHO

Drawing on the World Health Organization’s package of NCD best buys, the report demonstrates how these evidence-based measures can help countries reduce premature deaths, strengthen health systems, and advance progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. It provides policymakers, donors, ad ... more

Strategic plan for the WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health (2025-2030)

World Health Organization WHO (2025) C_WHO

The health impacts of climate change are no longer a distant threat. They are being felt here and now and becoming more extreme. To address these threats, the WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health in the Western Pacific Region (ACE) was established in 2019 through a partnership with ... more

Tracking universal health coverage: 2025 global monitoring repor

World Health Organization WHO (2025) C_WHO

The window to 2030, the SDG target year, is closing. Without accelerated and sustained progress, hard-won UHC gains risk being lost. Using revised and improved UHC indicators the report presents the latest available UHC data and concludes with a call to shared ... more

Heat Exposure and Cardiovascular Health: A Summary for Health Departments

Halaharvi, H.; Schramm, P,J.; Vaidyanathan, A.; et al. (2020) C_CDC

Extreme heat events (EHEs) are a leading cause of weather-related injury and death in the United States, and under a changing climate, these meteorological episodes are predicted to increase in both frequency and intensity. Prolonged heat exposure from EHEs places an increased strain on the heart an ... more

The impact of transition from global fund support to governmental funding on the sustainability of harm reduction programs

S. Ibisevic; G. Shaw; Dr. S. Godinjak; Dr. Z. Cardaklija; et al. Eurasian Harm Reduction Network; ICASO (2016) C2

A case study from Bosnia and Herzegovina Eurasian Harm Reduction Network The case study was prepared by Samir Ibisevic, President of PROI between March and June 2016 and edited by Graham Shaw. EHRN is grateful to all who contributed to this document, especially: Dr. Serifa Godinjak, Chairperson ... more

Compendium of forgotten foods in Africa: A companion publication for Integrating Africa’s forgotten foods for better nutrition
recommended

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO (2024) CC

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has launched a new Compendium of forgotten foods in Africa which is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive collection of 100 African forgotten food crops. Also referred to as neglected, underutilized or orphan crops, these species offer valua ... more

Humanitarian Action for children 2021 - overview

UNICEF (2020) C1

This edition of UNICEF’s annual Humanitarian Action for Children highlights UNICEF’s funding appeal, which sets out an ambitious agenda to address the major challenges facing children and young people living through conflict and crisis. It prese ... more

Humanitarian Accountability Report

James Darcy, Jessica Alexander, Maria Kiani et al. Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) (2013)

The report offers an overview of the progress the humanitarian sector has made and the obstacles it has faced over the past 10 years. Accountability is no longer just a fashionable term, there is now a shared understanding of what it takes to be accountable. From changes at policy level, to concrete ... more

Too important to fail - addressing the humanitarian financing gap

High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing Report to the Secretary-General World Humanitarian Summit (2016) C1

Consolidated Humanitarian Health Guidelines

ECHO EU (2014)

These Guidelines comprise a General Guidelines document that provides the basic parameters of DG ECHO humanitarian health assistance, complemented by specific Technical Guidance in annex.

IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. Checklist
recommended

Inter-Agency Standing Committee IASC (2008) C1

Armed conflicts and natural disasters cause significant psychological and social suffering to affected populations. The psychological and social impacts of emergencies may be acute in the short term, but they can also undermine the long-term mental health and psychosocial well-being of the affected ... more

ICRC operational security: staff safety in armed conflict and internal violence

Patrick Brugger ICRC (2009)

International Review of the Red Cross Volume 91 Number 874 June 2009

The world's most neglected displacement crisis

Norwegian Refugee Council (2018) C1