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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 on 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

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Moving as One. Integrating the Health and Climate Agendas for Planetary Health in a Post-Pandemic World

IASS Potsdam (2020) C2

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, health is receiving unprecedented public and political attention. Yet the fact that climate change also presents us with a health crisis deserves further recognition. From more deaths due to heat stress to increased transmission of infectious diseases, ... more

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Catholic Social Teaching cards

CAFOD (1992) C2

Catholic Social Teaching (CST) has often been called ‘the Church’s best kept secret’. Thankfully, particularly with the release of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, and with the new RE GCSE, this is changing. CST is part of our Catholic young people’s heritage and a treasure they sho... more

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Kenya national guidelines for cardiovascular diseases management. Handbook

Ministry of Health, Kenya (2018) CC

These guidelines for the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases are a critical ingredient for streamlining care across the entire health services provision continuum. They are a strategic component in achieving universal health coverage, securing affordable heal... more

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Nigeria: Humanitarian Response Plan (January - December 2018)

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2017) C1

Now entering its ninth year, the crisis in north-east Nigeria has created vulnerabilities and humanitarian concerns. An estimated 7.7 million men, women, boys and girls are in acute need of protection and assistance. While the humanitarian community has provided life-saving assistance to over 5.6 mi... more

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National Gender Statistics report, 2016

National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) (2016) C2

This third edition of the National Gender Statistics Report provides the updated sex-disaggregated data in twelve fields: Population and Youth; Education; Health and Nutrition; Economic Activity and time use; Poverty & Social Protection; Justice & Human rights; Environment and Natural Resources; Dec... more

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Aide-memoire: Infection prevention and control (IPC) principles and procedures for COVID-19 vaccination activities
recommended

World Health Organization WHO (2021) C_WHO

15 January 2021 This Aide Memoire is for policy makers, immunization programme managers, infection prevention and control (IPC) focal points at national, sub-national, and facility level, as well as for health workers involved in COVID-19 vaccination delivery. This document summarizes the key IPC p... more

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Asbestos-related diseases in mineworkers: a clinicopathological study

Ndlovu, N.; Rees, D.; Murray, J.; et al. ERJ Open Research, part of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) (2017) CC

This study compared clinical and autopsy findings for three asbestos-related diseases (asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer) in former asbestos mineworkers, and explored factors that influenced agreement between clinical and autopsy findings using data from two compensation systems. In South Afr... more

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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 t...he 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

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Needs and barriers for mental health and psychosocial support among syrian refugees in lebanon: perspectives for future interventions

European Union Civil protection and Humanitarian Aid European Union Civil protection and Humanitarian Aid (2018) CC

Results Recommendations• NGOs should provide MHPSS services with a focus on empowerment and self-reliance • Introduce interventions focusing on pain mechanisms, coping strategies and physical resilience • Implement livelihood programmes • Increase service accessibility and outreach activ... more

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FAQs to the 1951 Covention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol

UNHCR (2011) C1

The most frequently asked questions about the treaty and its protocol.

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Security to go: a risk management toolkit for humanitarian aid agencies
recommended

Davis, J.; and L. Reilly European Interagency Security Forum (EISF) (2015) C1

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Convention And Protocol Relating To The Status Of Refugees
recommended

UNHCR (1951) CC2

Refugee law encompasses both customary law, peremptory norms, and international legal instruments. The only international instruments directly applying to refugees are the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Bot... more

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Introduction to HIV, AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infection Surveillance - Surveillance of Most-At-Risk Populations (MARPS)

United States Department of Health and Human Services; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (HHS-CDC); Global AIDS Program (GAP); et al. United States Department of Health and Human Services; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (HHS-CDC); Global AIDS Program (GAP); et al. (2012) C2

Participant Manual September 2012 Surveillance of Populations at High Risk for HIV Transmission

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Integrating palliative care and symptom relief into responses to humanitarian emergencies and crises: a WHO guide

World Health Organization WHO (2018) C_WHO

Humanitarian emergencies and crises (Humanitarian emergencies and crises) are large-scale events that may result in the breakdown of health care systems and society, forced displacement, death, and physical, psychological, social and spiritual suffering on a massive scale. Current responses to Human... more

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Context Analysis: Close-to-Community Health Care Service Providers in Bangladesh

M. SHOWKAT GANI et al. Reach Out; European Union (2014) C1

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South Africa: Disability in the Workplace

Mywage South Africa (2017) C2

Accessed November 2017

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Providing individualized peer support in mental health and related areas WHO QualityRights training to act, unite and empower for mental health (P I L O T V E R S I O N)

World Health Organization WHO (2017) C_WHO

This document has been developed to support countries develop and strengthen individualized peer support services in mental health and related areas. It addresses the provision of individualized peer support in the context of health services and the wider community.

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Minimum standard commitments to gender and diversity in emergency programming

International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (2015) C1

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Step-By-Step Guide to Shelter Construction

Isaac Boyd, Kirtimayi Mishra, and Cassie Dummett Catholic Relief Services (2013)

Aide-memoire: Infection prevention and control (IPC) principles and procedures for COVID-19 vaccination activities recommended

Security to go: a risk management toolkit for humanitarian aid agencies recommended

Convention And Protocol Relating To The Status Of Refugees recommended

Aide-memoire: Infection prevention and control (IPC) principles and procedures for COVID-19 vaccination activities
recommended

Security to go: a risk management toolkit for humanitarian aid agencies
recommended

Convention And Protocol Relating To The Status Of Refugees
recommended