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Making every school in the Region of the Americas a health-promoting school: Implementation guide for educational institutions

Pan American Health Organization PAHO (2024) CC

Every day, schools engage in numerous activities that help promote the health and well-being of students, families, and communities. There is clear evidence of the benefits of the health-promoting schools (HPS) approach, not only for improving overa ... more

Situation Analysis of Children with Disabilities in Myanmar

UNICEF Myanmar (2016)

The study analyses the current situation of children with disabilities in relation to realizing their rights and accessing basic services, as well as their life experiences in their communities. It ... more

UNICEF’s HIV Programming in the Context of COVID-19: Building back better for children, adolescents and women

Unicef (2021) CC2

The coronavirus outbreak that began in 2019 (COVID-19) threatens to reverse years of hard-won gains in preventing and treating HIV. Fragile health systems are further stressed as health workers navi ... more

Antimicrobial Resistance Curriculum Assessment Tool for Medical Education

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2024) C_WHO

The Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) calls for making AMR a core component of professional education and training. In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) published Competen ... more

Strengthening Preparedness for COVID-19 in Cities and Urban Settings
recommended

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

This document is to support local authorities, leaders and policy-makers in cities and other urban settlements in identifying effective approaches and implementing recommended actions that enhance t ... more

Taking Stock: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Climate Commitments - an East and Southern Africa Review

UNFPA (2024) CC

Women, girls and marginalized groups who are largely dependent on natural resources for livelihoods are among the hardest hit by extreme weather patterns. These weather patterns limit their access to food, water, shelter, education and access to ess ... more

The Zanzibar Policy Guidelines for Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing of Workers in the Health System

Ministry of Health Tanzania (2018) C_WHO

Health, safety and wellbeing of the Healthcare workers is a prerequisite for good quality of care and patient satisfaction in health services. Healthcare facilities that are not safe for workers and patients are not resilient to any shock arising fr ... more

HEARTS. Technical package for cardiovascular disease management in primary health care. Evidence-based treatment protocols

World Health Organization WHO, et al. (2018) C_WHO

In many low- and middle-income countries, there is a wide gap between evidencebased recommendations and current practice. Treatment of major CVD risk factors remains suboptimal, and only a minority of patients who are treated reach their target leve ... more

Preventing and responding to gender-based violence in humanitarian crises

Rebecca Holmes; Dharini Bhuvanendra Humanitarian Practice Network at ODI (2014) C3

The aim of this paper is to map and critically analyse evidence of good practice in prevention and response to gender-based violence (GBV) in humanitarian contexts which can support humanitarian pra ... more

Invisible women: A gender analysis of climate-induced migration in South Asia

Action Aid; CANSA; ICMPD; et al. (2021) CC

New research exposes how women and children are disproportionally affected by climate migration, which puts them at greater risk of gender-based violence, child labour and exploitation. Governments must ensure the safety and protection of women and girls ... more

Community health workers at the dawn of a new era: 6. Recruitment, training, and continuing education

Meike J. Schleif, Iain Aitken , et al. Health Research Policy and Systems (2021) CC

This is the sixth of our 11-paper supplement entitled “Community Health Workers at the Dawn of New Era”. Expectations of community health workers (CHWs) have expanded in recent years to encompass a wider array of services to numerous subpopulat ... more

Considerations relating to social distancing measures in response to the COVID-19 epidemic- second update

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control ECDC (2020) C1

Social distancing is an action taken to minimise contact with other individuals; social distancing measures comprise one category of non-pharmaceutical countermeasures (NPCs)1 aimed at reducing disease transmission and thereby also reducing pressure on health services. This document builds upon exi ... more

Building health system resilience to public health challenges: guidance for implementation in countries

World Health Organization WHO (2024) C_WHO

Health system resilience is not an inevitable byproduct of any investment in health but must be intentionally programmed and developed with necessary input, investment and contextualization. This technical product aims to guide national, subnational ... more

Vital Roles of nurses and midwifes in the western pacific region

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

This document outlines why and how nurses and midwives are important, not only for individual health optimization but also to achieve the thematic priorities of For the Future. More specifically, it provides case studies to showcase the amazing work that nurses and midwives across the Region are doi ... more

Working for Health 2022-2030 Action Plan: education and employment

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

This thematic brief accompanies the Working for Health 2022–2030 Action Plan, serving as a background and rationale to the related actions of the Working for Health progression model (see Annex). The brief aims to inform Member States, nonstate actors and other users of the Action Plan on the con ... 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 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

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 the 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

RIASCO action plan for Southern Africa - Revised regional response plan for the El Niño-induced drought in Southern Africa December 2016 - April 2017

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Regional Interagency Standing Committee, Southern Africa (2016) C1

El Niño conditions persisting during the 2015/16 planting season have caused the worst drought in 35 years in Southern Africa, resulting in a seco ... more

Safe & sound: What states can do to ensure respect for the best interests of unaccompanied and separated children in Europe

UNHCRIOM UNICEF (2014)

Unaccompanied and separated children leave their countries of origin for a variety of reasons. They may be fleeing from persecution, armed conflict, exploitation or poverty. They may have been sent by members of their family or decided to leave on their own – be it to ensure their survival, or t ... more

A Toolkit for integrating menstrual hygiene management (MHM) into humanitarian response

r2hc Reserach for Health in Humanitarian Crisis; Elrha; et al. (2017) C1

In many humanitarian emergencies, there is a serious lack of access to even the most basic materials needed for managing the blood in addition to ... more