Cholera is an acute gastrointestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio Cholerae serogroup O1 or O139, and is often linked to unsafe drinking water, lack of proper sanitation and personal hygiene. It adversely affects mostly the poor and vulnerable populations in countries, which are already d...eprived of proper health facilities and conducive environmental conditions. The disease spreads through oro-fecal transmission by the ingestion of contaminated food or water or by person-to-person contact. It has a short incubation period of 2 hours to 5 days and the number of affected cases can rapidly increase across large regions. Cholera is a significant threat to global public health leading to an estimated 3-5 million cases per year worldwide, with an annual toll of 100,000 deaths. The disease was first reported in 1817 from the Ganges Delta of India and since then the ongoing 7th pandemic has emerged from Indonesia, reached Africa in 1970 and Somalia happens to be one of the early affected countries. Over the past few decades,
Somalia has witnessed the occurrence of repeated AWD/Cholera disease outbreaks that have caused high morbidity and mortality across the country.
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This brochure presents a summary of the situation of health systems and services in the Americas as they progress toward the achievement of universal access to health and universal health coverage (universal health). The information provided presents an overview of the situation before the COVID-19 ...pandemic, how the pandemic has impacted health systems, and recommendations to address current and future challenges for building resilient health systems to advance toward universal health in the Americas.
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The overall objective of the framework is to support WHO and Members States in meaningful engagement of people living with NCDs, and mental health and neurological conditions to co-create and enhance related policies, programmes and services. This framework will contribute to advancing understanding..., knowledge and action on meaningful engagement and related participatory approaches from an evolving evidence base. It provides practical guidance and actions for transitioning from intention to action to operationalize meaningful engagement.
The aim of the framework is to guide people working at WHO and in Member States in ensuring meaningful engagement with individuals with lived experience. WHO will advocate for, provide technical assistance and operationalize implementation at its three levels (headquarters, regional and country offices) and will support Member States in implementation at national level through established processes and procedures.
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The Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT) is a software application for use on desktop or laptop computers and mobile devices (minimum screen size of 7.9 inches recommended). It was developed to facilitate the assessment of within-country health inequalities. The Built-in Database Edition, Version... 1.0 is available as an online application and as a standalone version for download
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The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) is a global federation of national associations of pharmacists and
pharmaceutical scientists. In order to support these associations in their fight against AMR, FIP has prepared this
briefing document. It is an overview of the different activities ...that community and hospital pharmacists are involved
into prevent AMR and to reverse AMR rates.
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The Government of the Republic of Zambia has placed priority on ensuring that Zambians are healthy and productive as a catalyst to the attainment of socioeconomic development . The Vision 2030 aims to transform Zambia into a prosperous middle-income country as articulated also in the 7th National De...velop-ment Plan (7NDP) and National Health Strategic Plan 2017 – 2021 (NHSP 2017-2020). However, this aspiration is threatened by the double burden of Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseas¬es. Zambia has been recording an increase in morbidity and mortality due to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as cancers, diabetes, chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. According to the 2016 WHO NCD country profiles, 29% of all deaths in Zambia are attributed to NCDs. This is unacceptably high, considering that most of these diseases can be reduced by modifying four main behavioural risk factors for NCDs which are tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity.
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After ten years of war, the vast majority of Syria’s children cannot imagine a future in their country, according to a new report by Save the Children. On average, 86% of Syrian refugee children surveyed in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and the Netherlands said they would not want to return to their cou...ntry of origin. Of children displaced inside Syria, one in three would rather be living in another country. Children who fled their homes are struggling to feel safe where they are now, as around two in five children of those surveyed by Save the Children said they face discrimination and a lack of education. Many feel they have no say over their future.
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The identification of Priority Areas for Multisectoral Interventions (PAMIs, sometimes referred to as ‘hotspots’) for cholera control is among the first steps for a cholera-affected country to develop or revise a National Cholera Plan (NCP) for cholera control. PAMI identification is critical to... maximize the potential impact of NCP implementation on cholera control.
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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 document is part of the briefing package for Ethiopia's Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster, which consists of resources that provide greater clarity and guidance to the cluster partners and other humanitarian actors.
The document is divided into four sections. Each section represen...ts the cluster’s coordination system (i) WASH Cluster coordination management, (ii) HPC process, (iii) Response monitoring, (iv) WASH response, and (v) Cluster meeting coordination.
Cluster Overview
The WASH Cluster in Ethiopia is part of and supports the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE). MoWE leads the WASH cluster emergency task force (ETF), which is co-led by the WASH Cluster secretariat hosted by UNICEF. In Ethiopia, the WASH Cluster was established with the activation of the cluster approach in 2006, and UNICEF, as the global Cluster Lead Agency, was assigned to appoint the WASH Cluster Coordinator.
The WASH Cluster aims to provide guidance and support to its partners to ensure well-coordinated, quality assistance reaches those in need in accordance with humanitarian standards and principles. Conflict, severe drought conditions, seasonal flooding, and Cholera remain the key drivers of WASH needs in Ethiopia.
In 2024, the WASH Cluster aims to work with 79 partners to preserve life, well-being, and dignity and reduce the risk of WASH-related disease through timely interventions to vulnerable populations and preparedness to respond to shocks. Significant humanitarian WASH needs in 2024 are projected with a rigorous HPC process in Ethiopia.
The Humanitarian Program Cycle
The humanitarian program cycle (HPC) is a coordinated series of actions to help prepare for, manage, and deliver humanitarian response. It consists of five coordinated elements, each step logically building on the previous and leading to the next. Successful implementation of the HPC depends on effective emergency preparedness, effective coordination with national/local authorities and humanitarian actors, and information management. Affected people are central to the response; preparedness, coordination, and information management processes continually occur.
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The recurrence of severe climate events combined with economic, social, and institutional fragilities leave El Salvador in an utterly critical humanitarian situation and highly vulnerable. Located in a disaster-prone subregion, El Salvador is among the 20 countries at the highest risk of disasters w...orldwide. The successive hydrometeorological hazards that impacted El Salvador over the past two years include tropical storms Amanda and Cristóbal and hurricanes Eta, Iota, and,
more recently, Julia. These storms profoundly affected the lives and livelihoods of almost 900 000 people and significantly disrupted health services, especially at the first level of care. In addition, the country’s exposure to earthquakes, floods, and droughts is also constant. Infrastructural and institutional limitations to deal with emergencies and
low capacity to respond to adverse events are an additional challenge, which leaves the population—particularly the most vulnerable—at even higher risk.
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The Handbook on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction (the Handbook) has been developed to provide guidance on how to use the Checklist and conduct related legislative reviews and reform processes. While the methodology for using the Checklist needs to be tailored to each country’s context and respectiv...e needs, the Handbook is intended to provide general guidance on key steps to consider.
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This third booklet of the World Drug Report 2022 has a dual focus: opioids and cannabis.
The first chapter of the booklet provides an overview of opioids as a group of substances and their patterns of non-medical use at the global level. It also reviews the latest trends in the global supply of opi...ates and synthetic opioids and the availability of pharmaceutical opioids for medical consumption. Issues specific to regional patterns and trends in opioid markets are also analysed, including the opioid crisis in North America and in Africa and the Middle East. The chapter also includes a discussion of the potential impact, in the region and worldwide, of changes in opium poppy cultivation and opium production in Afghanistan. reireg
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The document at hand presents key findings from a project undertaken globally between July 2014 and May 2015 to assess progress made by UNHCR country and regional operations to effectively protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) asylum-seekers and refugees. Globally, 10...6 offices, or roughly 90% of eligible country and regional operations, participated in the assessment. The key findings are presented along the following axes: legal, cultural and social context; outreach activities; displacement conditions; asylum and durable solutions; training on issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI); operational guidelines and advocacy efforts.
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A WHO Guideline for Emergency Risk Communication (ERC) policy and practice.
Recent public health emergencies, such as the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa (2014–2015), the emergence of the Zika virus syndrome in 2015–2016 and multi-country yellow fever outbreaks in Africa in 2016, h...ave highlighted major challenges and gaps in how risk is communicated during epidemics and other health emergencies. The challenges include the rapid transformation in communications technology, including the near-universal penetration of mobile telephones, the widespread use and increasingly powerful influence of digital media which has had an impact on ‘traditional’ media (newspapers, radio and television), and major changes in how people access and trust health information. Important gaps include considerations of context – the social, economic, political and cultural factors influencing people’s perception of risk and their risk-reduction behaviours.
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The arrival of COVID-19 in Afghanistan has brought heartache to millions of people who are now battling a deadly pandemic while simultaneously fighting for their survival amid poverty, disaster and war. Over my three years as Humanitarian Coordinator, I have marvelled at the resilience of the people... of this country to cope with the hardships of life in the world’s deadliest conflict – but even this remarkable strength is now being tested by the health, social and economic consequences of COVID-19. The virus is spreading across the country with frightening speed. Every province is now impacted, and people are understandably frightened.
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The content of the tool has been updated to reflect new WHO technical guidance and new evidence on both COVID-19 pandemic and mass gatherings, as well as feedback from end-users. This revision of the risk assessment tool was developed and reviewed by the WHO Mass Gathering Technical Expert Group wit...h input from WHO area-specific technical teams. The expanded tool includes eight tabs: 1. Instructions; 2. Assessment Overview; 3. Decision Tree; 4. Risk Evaluation; 5. Risk Mitigation; 6. Decision Matrix; 7. Risk Communication; and 8. Reviewer Sign Off. There as an additional tab with a glossary and list of abbreviations.
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The EYE communication strategy is intended for use by all EYE partners and respective communication teams, as well as regional and country colleagues who will need to communicate about the work of EYE. It will also be publicly available for others, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and p...rivate sector organizations, who may wish to read or share content published about EYE.
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Findings on maternal and child health in Nepal, Mozambique and
Rwanda, and neglected tropical diseases in Cambodia and Sierra Leone | This report synthesises findings from five country case studies from the health dimension of this project, which focus on maternal and child health (MCH) (Mozambique...,Nepal, Rwanda) and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)(Cambodia, Sierra Leone). MCH was selected given its centrality in two of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and its ability to act as a proxy for strengthened health systems. NTDs, while until recently relatively neglected in global policy debates, are now attracting more interest, not least because they are viewed as diseases of the poor whose treatment could positively impact on most of the other MDGs.
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The following protocol has been designed to investigate the extent of infection, as determined by seropositivity in the general population, in any country in which COVID-19 virus infection has been reported. Each country may need to tailor some aspects of this protocol to align with public health, l...aboratory and clinical systems, according to capacity, availability of resources and cultural appropriateness. However, using a standardized protocol such as this one below, epidemiological exposure data and biological samples can be systematically collected and shared rapidly in a format that can be easily aggregated, tabulated and analyzed across many different settings globally for timely estimates of COVID-19 virus infection severity and attack rates, as well as to inform public health responses and policy decisions. This is particularly important in the context of a novel respiratory pathogen, such as COVID-19 virus
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