A job aid for non-specialist health professionals
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...nce a worsening of their condition and are at risk of neglect, abandonment, abuse and lack of access to support. Unfortunately, evidence-based mental health care is often extremely limited in humanitarian settings. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) Humanitarian Intervention Guide (mhGAP-HIG) in 2015. This practical tool supports health-care providers in assessing and offering first-line management of mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) conditions in humanitarian emergency settings.
2 December 2021. The current report, Stories of change from four countries: Building capacity for integrating mental health care within health services across humanitarian settings, describes efforts in four countries to build evidence-based mental health systems in humanitarian emergency settings using the mhGAP-HIG. This report includes three sections, the first describing the importance of scaling up mental health care in emergency contexts, the second outlining case studies (“stories of change”) to scale up the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) programme in four settings and the third describing lessons learned by stakeholders.
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This report provides updated data on suicide in the Region of the Americas and is issued every five years, this being the fourth edition. In addition to including analysis similar to previous reports (suicide according to age, sex, as well as methods used), this report includes an expanded set of an...alysis on risk factors for suicide in the Americas: the analysis of the annual age-standardized gender-specific suicide mortality rate trends over time by country and sub-region and to identify points of inflection, and evaluates the association of specific risk factors on country-level suicide mortality rates.
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This factsheet provides five important facts for policy makers, health professionals and the general public about the links between alcohol consumption and a range of cancer types. This affects not only people who drink alcohol but also their families, friends and communities.
- Alcohol causes at l...east seven types of cancer
- The most common types of cancer due to alcohol are different for men and women
- The risk of cancer from alcohol consumption increases from the first drink
- Using tobacco as well as alcohol multiplies cancer risks
- Cancers due to alcohol consumption are preventable
The factsheet emphasizes that implementation of WHO ‘Best Buy’ policies to make alcohol less affordable, to ban or restrict alcohol marketing across all types of media, and to reduce alcohol availability can support the reduction of alcohol consumption and ultimately of cancers due to alcohol consumption. This will help progress towards a WHO SAFER European Region, free from harm due to alcohol. The factsheet was launched as part of European Week Against Cancer 2021.
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The pamphlet "Methamphetamine" provides information about methamphetamine, an illegal stimulant with high abuse potential, though it has limited medical uses for conditions like ADHD and narcolepsy. It explains short-term effects such as appetite suppression, increased heart rate and blood pressure,... and seizures, as well as long-term effects like paranoia, depression, insomnia, and "meth mouth." It also outlines the legal consequences of possession and encourages seeking help for addiction through treatment resources.
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In der von medica mondiale e. V. veröffentlichten Handreichung "Stärkende Gruppenangebote" wird vorgestellt, wie stärkende Gruppenangebote für geflüchtete Frauen* stress- und traumasensibel gestaltet werden können. Auf Grundlage langjähriger Erfahrungen und in Kooperation mit einem Referent:i...nnenpool hat medical mondiale e.V. Konzepte für Gruppenangebote zur Stärkung von geflüchteten Frauen* entwickelt, die in der Handreichung vorgestellt werden: Von einer Einführung des STA – stress- und traumasensibler Ansatz® über die Vorstellung verschiedener Gruppenformate bis hin zu konkreten Praxisbeispielen finden sich hhilfreiche Hinweise zur Gestaltung von stärkenden Gruppenangeboten.
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Available in Russian
A detailed overview is provided of the implementation of alcohol policies described in the 10 action areas of the European Action Plan to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol 2012–2020 (EAPA), including the current status of implementation of the five action areas of the WHO-led... SAFER initiative:
Strengthen restrictions on alcohol availability;
Advance and enforce drink–driving countermeasures;
Facilitate access to screening, brief interventions and treatment;
Enforce bans or comprehensive restrictions on alcohol advertising, sponsorship and promotion; and
Raise prices on alcohol through excise taxes and pricing policies.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on the mental health of populations in the Americas. Studies
show high rates of depression and anxiety, among other psychological symptoms, particularly among women, young
people, those with pre-existing mental health conditions, health workers, and p...ersons living in vulnerable condi-
tions. Mental health systems and services have also been severely disrupted. A lack of financial and human resource
investments in mental health services, limited implementation of the decentralized community-based care approach
and policies to address the mental health gap prior to the pandemic, have all contributed to the current crisis. Coun-
tries must urgently strengthen their mental health responses to COVID-19 by taking actions to scale up mental
health and psychosocial support services for all, reach marginalized and at-risk populations, and build back better
mental health systems and services for the future.
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This fact sheet highlights the relationship between alcohol consumption and COVID-19. Heavy episodic drinking is considered a health risk for COVID-19, and alcohol is used by some to cope with difficult emotions that increased during the pandemic.
The World Happiness Report 2021 focuses on the effects of COVID-19 and how people all over the world have fared. Our aim was two-fold, first to focus on the effects of COVID-19 on the structure and quality of people’s lives, and second to describe and evaluate how governments all over the world ha...ve dealt with the pandemic. In particular, we try to explain why some countries have done so much better than others.
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La presente publicación tiene como objetivo facilitar herramientas para garantizar el abordaje integral del suicidio en la adolescencia, partiendo de la comprensión de que esta problemática trasciende las fronteras de la Salud Mental: requiere de una articulación basada en los principios de inte...rdisciplina, intersectorialidad y corresponsabilidad del conjunto de las políticas públicas destinadas a esta población.
Por ello, el material incluye herramientas para el proceso de atención clínica y, al mismo tiempo, prioriza el abordaje integral y comunitario. En este sentido, se propone como un insumo tanto para las acciones quedesarrollan los equipos de salud de atención primaria como también para la articulación y el trabajo en red con todos los efectores del Sistema de Promoción y Protección Integral de Derechos de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes.
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The technical note calls for raising awareness among practitioners and policymakers about the importance of strong tobacco control measures for protecting the health and development of children, including banning tobacco advertising, implementing 100% smoke-free environments and raising taxes on tob...acco.
Exposure to tobacco smoke has devastating impacts throughout childhood and adolescence, starting from conception.
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The Lancet Published Online
October 8, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1016/ S0140-6736(21)02143-7
Health and Human Rights Series. 6 Tobacco: a rights-based approach.
The story-book, a sequel to the immensely successful ‘My Hero is You: How kids can fight COVID-19!’, is being released in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new story, aimed primarily at children aged 6-11 years, sees the return of Ario, a fantasy creature who travels the world helpin...g children find hope in the future and joy in simple pleasures. Together with old and new friends, Ario addresses the fears, frustrations and concerns faced by children during this phase of the pandemic and explores with them the various coping mechanisms that they can use when faced with difficult emotions like fear, grief, anger and sadness. Through the voices of the children that Ario meets on his travels, the book provides a vivid illustration of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health and well-being of children.
The content of the book drew from survey responses from more than 5000 children, parents, caregivers and teachers from around the world on the challenges they continue to face in the second year of the pandemic.
Over 1,700 children, parents, caregivers and teachers from around the world took the time to shared how they were coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Available in 141 Languages
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Foi produzido um novo livro de histórias que visa ajudar as crianças a compreender e a chegar a um acordo com a COVID-19
Com a ajuda de uma criatura de fantasia, Ario, "My Hero is You, How kids can fight COVID-19!" explica como as crianças podem proteger-se, as suas famílias e amigos do coronav...írus e como gerir emoções difíceis quando confrontadas com uma realidade nova e em rápida mudança.
Disponível em mais línguas
O livro - dirigido principalmente a crianças dos 6-11 anos de idade - é um projecto do Grupo de Referência do Comité Permanente Inter-Agências sobre Saúde Mental e Apoio Psicossocial em Situações de Emergência, uma colaboração única das agências das Nações Unidas, organizações não-governamentais nacionais e internacionais e agências internacionais que fornecem saúde mental e apoio psicossocial em situações de emergência.
Disponível em diferentes línguas
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The harmful use of alcohol causes approximately 3 million deaths every year and the overall burden of disease and injuries attributable to alcohol consumption remains unacceptably high. The pace of development and implementation of alcohol policies has been uneven in WHO regions, and resources and c...apacities for implementation of the WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol 10 years after its endorsement do not correspond to the magnitude of the problems. On this basis, the WHO Executive Board in its decision EB146 (14) called for accelerated action to reduce the harmful use of alcohol.
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A new story book that aims to help children understand and come to terms with COVID-19 has been produced
With the help of a fantasy creature, Ario, “My Hero is You, How kids can fight COVID-19!” explains how children can protect themselves, their families and friends from coronavirus and how to... manage difficult emotions when confronted with a new and rapidly changing reality.
Available in more languages
The book – aimed primarily at children aged 6-11 years old – is a project of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, a unique collaboration of United Nations agencies, national and international nongovernmental organizations and international agencies providing mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings.
Available in different languages
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