Every year, nearly 250 million people move across borders temporarily or permanently for a job opportunity, studying, to flee a crisis back home, or for other reasons. Another 750 million move for similar reasons within the borders of their countries. With the understanding that human mobility affec...ts public health, and health affects human mobility and migrants, for decades, IOM has been providing critical health services to women, children and men on the move, while standing by governments for technical and operational support as needed. In 2019, in lower-income settings and in complex emergencies, along the world’s most perilous migration routes, in the aftermath of natural disasters or in response to disease outbreaks, IOM’s health teams have provided hundreds of thousands with primary health-care consultations, mental health and psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive health care, pre-migration health services, and much more.
This year, more than ever before, as the world reels from the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19, we have experienced that health is a cross-cutting component of overall human development and well-being.
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The Central African Republic is at a major turning point in its history. The country
is just emerging from a very violent conflict, during which thousands of human lives were lost and one-third of the population was displaced. After
a three-year transition, and with the support of the internationa...l community, authorities successfully created the conditions required to conduct credible presidential and legislative
elections. Central African citizens mobilized to express their desire for peace and to break
with the cycle of past violence. Their exemplary democratic maturity ensured the electoral
process was peaceful, despite palpable tensions. The welcome given Pope Francis in Bangui in
November 2015 and visible reconciliation efforts demonstrate the population wishes to turn
the page on this conflict.
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Practical guidance on immunization services and the risks they present for both Ebola affected and non-affected countries. The specific purpose of this document is to assist countries to:
- Maintain immunization services and use immunization contacts and surveillance system as opportunities to ...educate and monitor for Ebola;
- Provide guidance on infection prevention and control during vaccination;
- Prepare where there is a potential risk of Ebola (e.g. border, etc.) and low immunization coverage, to implement activities to increase immunization coverage in these areas.
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The context of the Ebola epidemic presented extreme challenges for Oxfam, as it did for many organisations. At the onset of the epidemic, there was a general lack of understanding of the disease and how to respond to it effectively and safely. A pervasive and persistent climate of fear, coupled with... changing predictions about the likely evolution of the epidemic, influenced analysis and response at all levels. There was strong pressure to treat the epidemic as a medical emergency requiring a medical response – organised through topdown processes – rather than standard humanitarian coordination
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A broad range of UNHCR’s key priorities overlap with MHPSS issues – for example, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence [SGBV] prevention and response.
Despite all these existent synergies, UNHCR’s current policies and guidelines do not sufficiently link with MHPSS principles.... For example, the Community Services section, which is closely aligned to the principles of MHPSS and could be well-positioned to guide the implementation of related programs, has not adopted the MHPSS language or approach.
There are opportunities for UNHCR to engage more strongly and clearly in this field. However, this requires a vision for how the organisation as a whole, and particular sectors within the organisation, will engage within the field of MHPSS activities. For a start, UNHCR can work to improve its understanding and framing of mental health and psychosocial issues, and how these issues fit within its broader mandate.
While the majority of MHPSS activities are delivered by implementing partners, UNHCR staff require familiarity with core principles in the field, such as the Intervention Pyramid contained in the IASC Guidelines, in order to support and monitor quality MHPSS activities.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) and United NationsHuman Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) joint globalreport, Hidden cities: unmasking and overcoming healthinequities in urban settings, exposes the extent to whichcertain city dwellers suffer disproportionately from a wide range of diseases and ...health problems. This report provides information and tools to helpgovernments and local leaders reduce health inequities in their cities. The objective of the report is not tocompare rural and urban health inequities. Urban healthinequities need to be addressed specifically for they aredifferent in their magnitude and in their distribution.
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The Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) 2011-2020, endorsed by Member States during the May 2012 World Health Assembly, has set ambitious targets to improve access to immunization and tackle vaccine-preventable diseases. This responsibility has been translated into firm commitments in February 2016, t...hrough the signature of the Addis Declaration on Immunization (ADI) by African Ministers and subsequently endorsed by the Heads of States from across Africa at the 28th African Union Summit held in January 2017. This commitment from the highest level of government comes as a catalyst to immunization efforts on the continent to deliver on the promise of universal immunization
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This case study examines the humanitarian response to the conflict-related crisis in the North-East of Nigeria, focusing primarily on the period from 2015 to the end of 2016. The aim is test the central hypotheses of the Emergency Gap project: that the current structure, conceptual underpinning and... prevalent mindset of the international humanitarian system limits its capacity to be effective in response to conflict-related emergencies.
As with many conflict-related crises, the emergency in north-east Nigeria has deep and complex roots in the history of the region. The conflict began in 2009 and quickly developed beyond the control of the authorities. It unfolded in the midst of pre-existing political, social and economic tensions, making an effective humanitarian response exceedingly difficult. Despite this complexity, what is clear is that the crisis has resulted in a sprawling humanitarian disaster that has killed over 25,000 people as a direct result of the violence, and continues to devastate many more lives through hunger, psychological trauma and lack of access to healthcare.
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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...o obtain an education or
employment. They may have been separated from their family during flight or may be trying to join parents
or other family members. Or they may have become victims of trafficking. Often it is a combination of
factors.
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The results of the report clearly show that in 2020, a year dominated by the emergence of COVID-19 and its associated health and economic crises, governments around the world rose to the challenge. Sharp increases in government spending on health at all country income levels underpinned the rise in ...health spending to a new high of US $9 trillion (approximately 11% of global GDP). Government health spending generally increased and offset declines in out-of-pocket spending. Importantly, the rise in government health spending was part of a much broader fiscal response to the pandemic. In high income and upper-middle income countries social protection spending also increased sharply in as governments attempted to cushion populations from the economic impacts of COVID-19. In contrast to health and social protection, growth in education spending was relatively subdued. Countries face the further challenge of sustaining increased public spending on health and other social sectors in the face of deteriorating macroeconomic conditions and rising debt servicing. This also includes the challenge of sustaining external support for low income countries, which is essential for reducing ensuring poverty, ensuring access to health services and strengthening pandemic preparedness.
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By 2100, new UN figures show that 4 of today’s 10 most populous nations will be replaced by African countries.
Brazil, Bangladesh, Russia and Mexico—where populations are projected to stagnate or decline—will drop out. In their place: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania and E...gypt. All 4 are projected to more double in population.
Top 10 rankings in population growth by 2100 include only 2 non-African nations—Pakistan and the US.
c1China will shrink by 374 million fewer people—more than the entire US population.
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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...streaming in how UNHCR prevents, mitigates and responds to the risks of SGBV;
institutional management and leadership for SGBV in UNHCR;
factors which are contributing to success, including sustainability of services, and those which are inhibiting it;
the extent to which questions on SGBV are part of UNHCR evaluations of emergency responses;
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July 2014
This report was made possible through support provided by the One Million Community Health Workers Campaign, mPowering Frontline Health Workers, Intel, and USAID. This report was authored by Cindil Redick for mPowering Frontline Health Workers under the terms of Contract No. GHS-A-00-08...-00002-00. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID.
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