Cholera which disproportionally impacts poor countries and the most vulnerable continues to affect at least 47 countries across the globe, resulting in an estimated 1.3 – 4 million cases, and 21,000 - 143,000 deaths per year worldwide. In Ethiopia, despite major improvements seen in the increasing... access to healthcare, clean water, and improvement in maternal and child health, the country continues to be significantly affected by cholera outbreaks. From 2015 – 2021 for example, several outbreaks of cholera have occurred in multiple parts of the country resulting in over 105,000 cases and thousands of deaths. Some of the risk factors associated with cholera in Ethiopia include inadequate access to clean water, practice of open defecation, poor household and environmental sanitation, unhygienic latrine and weak sanitation practise among communities.
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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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Full Report.
In response to a call by the United Nations Secretary-General and the Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, an international team conducted an Ebola Recovery Assessment. The aim was to contribute towards laying the foundation for short-, medium- and long-term recovery while ...the medical emergency response continues to tackle the epidemic. This report is a contribution to ongoing efforts by the Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to design their national Ebola virus disease recovery strategies
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Many of the countries that faced cholera outbreaks in 2022 were badly affected by extreme weather events.
As the climate emergency worsens, human displacement will intensify, along with droughts and flooding – all
conditions that give rise to cholera outbreaks. Unless we invest in systems that b...uild preparedness and
resilience among at-risk populations, the cholera burden will continue to rise
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The 2014-2015 outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Liberia resulted in over 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths. Recognizing the importance of addressing children’s trauma, the Ebola recovery and restoration trust fund (EERTF) funded the implementation of a Comfort for kids (C4K) program which encou...rages psychological healing, and promotes resilience in children who have experienced a crisis or disaster. The C4K program in Liberia was implemented between January 2015 and December 2016 in fifteen townships in Montserrado County through a collaboration between Mercy Corps Liberia, the World Bank’s Liberian health task team, and the government of Liberia. C4K primarily centers on the My Story workbook and associated classroom activities, which provide children with the opportunity to express their emotions about their experiences through drawing, writing, and facilitated discussion. C4K also provides capacity building for parents, teachers, and other caretakers on how to identify and more effectively respond to children’s trauma responses and to support their recovery
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A One Health Response. A Briefing Note
The framework sets out a response to current mental health challenges arising from the negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on population mental health and well-being. The EFAMH provides a coherent basis for intensified efforts to mainstream, promote and safeguard mental well-being as ...an integral element of COVID-19 response and recovery; to counter the stigma and discrimination associated with mental health conditions;
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An update of Yellow Fever outbreak in Nigeria, regularly updates
Contact tracing is a key component of the COVID-19 response, particularly as societies begin to lift non-pharmaceutical interventions. However, it is a time-consuming and resource-intensive effort that depends on a trained and motivated workforce. Emergent digital contact tracing and quarantine (...DCTQ) tools offer the potential to complement and strengthen conventional contact tracing initiatives on an unprecedented scale. Despite their visibility throughout the pandemic
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The following checklist can help hospitals assess and improve their preparedness for responding to a community-wide outbreak of COVID-19. Each hospital will need to adapt this checklist to meet its unique needs and circumstances. This checklist should be used as one of several tools for evaluating c...urrent plans or in developing a comprehensive COVID-19 preparedness plan.
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This document aims to support public health preparedness planning and response activities on the safe handling of bodies of deceased persons with suspected or confirmed COVID-19: at the site of death, during transport, storage and preparation before burial/cremation, and during burial/cremation.
Large-Scale UN Response Needed to Address Health and Food Crises
This report is based on interviews with more than 150 health care professionals, Venezuelans seeking or in need of medical care who recently arrived in Colombia and Brazil, representatives from international and nongovernmental humani...tarian organizations. In addition, researchers analyzed data on the situation inside Venezuela from official sources, hospitals, international and national organizations, and civil society organizations.
We found a health system in utter collapse with increased levels of maternal and infant mortality; the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and diphtheria; and increases in numbers of infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis (TB). Although the government stopped publishing official data on nutrition in 2007, research by Venezuelan organizations and universities documents high levels of food insecurity and child malnutrition, and available data shows high hospital admissions of malnourished children.
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Plos Current Outbreaks November 21, 2014
WHO guidelines for pandemic preparedness and response in the nonhealth sector
Human rabies remains a significant public health problem in Africa with outbreaks reported in most countries. In Nigeria–the most populous country in Africa–rabies causes a significant public health burden partly due to perennial obstacles to implementing a national prevention and control progra...m.
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MEDBOX Issue Brief 26. Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with the
bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Cholera remains a global threat to public health and is an indicator of inequity and lack of
social development. Researchers have esti...mated that every year, there are 1.3 to 4.0 million cases of cholera, and 21
000 to 143 000 deaths worldwide due to the infection.
However, cholera remains a neglected and underreported disease. Many cases are not recorded due to limitations in
surveillance systems and fears of potential impact on trade or tourism.
Today cholera affects 47 countries across the globe. Almost every developing country faces cholera outbreaks or
the threat of cholera. Major ongoing outbreaks are being reported from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Nigeria. Major outbreaks are currently in Syria and Haiti.
Therefore, MEDBOX decided to produce issue briefs on cholera and available resources in Arabic, English and
French.
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COVID-19 has heavily emphasized how contact tracing is crucial for managing outbreaks, and as part of the strategy for adjusting, and eventually lifting, lockdowns and other stringent public health and social measures. As the pandemic develops further, it will be a core measure to manage further wav...es of infection. In early June 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened an online global consultation on contact tracing in the context of COVID-19, looking at the lessons of the pandemic to date; known and emerging best practices; and the measures necessary for urgent implementation, scale-up, maintenance and enhancement of contact tracing activities.
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Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak
The document covers: introduction on contact tracing in the Ebola response; general considerations for contact tracing; case definition; planning and preparation; personnel; implementation, and tools for contact tracing.
This brief summarises key considerations about the social, political and economic context of Goma in relation to the outbreak of Ebola in the DRC as of March 2019. Goma is the administrative capital of North Kivu province and a major urban centre in the Great Lakes Region. The city is home to an est...imated 1.5 million people and serves as an important economic and transportation hub that links eastern Congo to the broader East African sub-region. The arrival of Ebola in Goma would substantially increase the at-risk population and heighten the potential for cross-border transmission to neighbouring countries, particularly Rwanda. This brief therefore focuses on local social and political structures that can be leveraged to promote preparedness and readiness actions.
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