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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Burden of T. solium: Neurocysticercosis is a disease induced by T. solium larvae penetrating human tissues, especially the nervous system. Neurocysticercosis burdens economies, societies and individuals because of the impact of epilepsy on wages, health costs and social stigmatization of sufferers. ...Health systems are also burdened as treatments must be tailored to individual needs.
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Myanmar continues to experience a severe - and worsening - humanitarian and human rights crisis. Conflict and violence have escalated across the country, impacting children and their families and displacing more than 1.5 million people. Access of conflict-affected populations to services and deliver...y of humanitarian assistance has been further constrained by restrictions imposed on movement of both people and goods.
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The content of these guidelines goes beyond the technicalities of medical needs with additional insights into community empowerment, possible access to welfare and economic opportunities and similar issues. If these are adequately explored, the health and quality of life of people affected and their... families would be greatly restored.
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The Mapping Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Use Partnership (MAAP) project has conducted a multi-year, multi-country study that provides stark insights on the under-reported depth of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis across Africa and lays out urgent policy recommendations to addr...ess the emergency.
MAAP reviewed 819,584 AMR records from 2016-2019, from 205 laboratories across Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. MAAP also reviewed data from 327 hospital and community pharmacies and 16 national-level AMC datasets.
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UNFPA supports the Youth Health Line (YHL), launched in 2012, as a nationwide, youth friendly health service to provide information and counseling for adolescents and youth on issues related to their health and reproductive health. The YHL is providing a vital service to young people around the coun...try who are dialing the toll-free number ‘120’ from any phone to speak to a professionally trained youth health counselor. These conversations are confidential, free of judgment, and do not require parental consent. The average reach of the YHL per year is 120,000 adolescents and youth served by full-time male and female counselors.
This Standard Operating Procedure for YHL provides a critical resource for the administration and day-to-day management. The SOP is designed to provide direction to all staff responsible for carrying out the administrative and managerial functions of the YHL. The SOP is intended to guide UNFPA Implementing Partners in running the YHL with a consistent approach to ensure improved access and quality of services provided to adolescents and youth in Afghanistan.
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The social protection landscape for people affected by TB in the WHO South-East Asia Region
This special issue on Newborn Health in Global Health Action is being launched to share the experience of how to scale up a cost-effective package of newborn care that involves families, community health workers and health facilities. The results of this community randomized trial, the Uganda Newbor...n Study (UNEST), show that home visits in pregnancy and soon after delivery resulted in improved breastfeeding practices, skin-to-skin care immediately after birth, delaying a baby’s first bath, and hygienic care of the baby’s umbilical cord among the poorest households with lowest access to care.
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The creaNon of ‘friendly spaces’ for women and girls has been a key
strategy in the protecNon and empowerment of women 1 and girls in South
Sudan since conflict re-erupted in the country in December 2013. This
document provides guidance on the aims of these spaces, and how they
can best be e...stablished and managed in the South Sudan context.
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This handbook presents basic content and tips for implementing a school-based risk reduction programme. It is organised into five modules: its importance; approach and process; activities to benefit children up to five years old; activities for students aged 5–17; and activities for young people a...nd volunteers aged 17–24.
A generic framework for school-based risk reduction initiatives is illustrated in a diagram on p.10. The Comprehensive School Safety framework suggests a series of continuing activities that include: identifying the hazards in and around a school; conducting drills; preparing contingency and disaster management plans by involving parents, teachers and students; and building on the capacities of an institution and individuals to cope with the challenges during an unforeseen event. It also consists of three pillars: safe learning facilities; school disaster management; and risk reduction and resilience education.
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The new guide provides practical, first-line management recommendations for mental, neurological and substance use conditions. Contents include modules on assessing and managing conditions such as acute stress, grief, moderate-severe depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, and... harmful use of alcohol and drugs.
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Background paper 8
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response
May 2021
The main aim of these guidelines is to enable the central units of national TB and HIV/AIDS programmes to support districts to plan, coordinate and implement collaborative TB/HIV activities. These guidelines reinforce current medical understanding, that highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART)... has decreased TB incidence of people living with HIV/AIDS. They are comprehensive, giving an overview of the range of activities that could be undertaken in high burden TB/HIV countries or where a rising prevalence of HIV might fuel TB. Activities highlight the need for comprehensive care, prevention and support for adults living with HIV/AIDS. Comprehensive TB and HIV care and prevention rely on full implementation of the DOTS strategy as part of a wide ranging HIV/AIDS care and prevention programme as well as collaborative TB and HIV programme activities.
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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.