Mounting an effective international humanitarian response to a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) event, especially if the response is undertaken on an ad hoc basis, would be extremely difficult and would pose many risks to the responders. The International Committee of the Red Cro...ss (ICRC) has created a competency-based capacity to respond to at least small-scale CBRN events, including a deployable capability to undertake operational activities. This involves informed assessments of CBRN risks, timely and competent decisions on how to respond, and effectively mobilizing appropriate resources to implement these decisions, through the creation of an emergency roster. In addition to the acquisition of technical expertise and material resources, the creation of such capacity requires the application of central processes, ensuring systematic management of CBRN response (including risk-based decision-making), standing operational procedures, and availability of and access to the necessary resources. Implementation of the ICRC's CBRN response framework as described in this article should be considered by any agency or other stakeholder preparing for international humanitarian assistance in CBRN events – especially if such events are related to armed conflict.
more
Anti-stigma programs have exploded in the United States as well as across
the world in the past decade. Now needed is a more strategic approach to stigma
change, consideration of evaluation strategies that demonstrate its effectiveness.
The issue of Antimicrobial resistance has become one of the most substantial health issues, prompting the World Health Assembly (WHA) to urge Member States to finalise tailor made national action plans by May 2017, aligning them with objectives of the Global Action Plan (GAP). These cover awareness,... surveillance and research, hygiene infection prevention & control, optimal use of antimicrobial medicines and economic case for sustainable investment. Indonesia, by virtue of its geographical terrain and complex interactions with diverse stakeholders, indicates a higher burden of AMR. Most of the country’s data currently relies on local studies conducted by labs and universities. To get a more accurate estimate of the situation, one has to rely on results from the Regional Resistance Surveillance Programme. By undertaking such measure, Indonesia would acquire data to detect AMR trends at a national level.
more
Project Drawdown (2022) provides evidence of how climate solutions can also be win-win opportunities for meeting development and human well-being needs while boosting prosperity for rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The report summarizes the co-benefits of five groups of a subs...et of Project Drawdown climate solutions (28 total solutions) for advancing human well-being in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries
more
Cognizant of the need for standardization of the response for COVID-19, the Federal Ministry of Health prepared this national guideline in an effort to contain the epidemic before it overwhelms the health care facilities. This national guideline is expected to guide policy makers and h...ealth professionals at all level. A standardized approaches to will assist effective and efficient utilization of the limited resource of the country, minimizes dilemma and confusion on case management. To this effect, the FMOH has established National COVID-19 advisory committee. The committee members are from different specialties with very good experiences in disaster management and prevention and treatment of infectious disease epidemics. The input from the committee is used to make decisions at the national level about theepidemics in the weeks and months to come. The FMOH would like to acknowledge the members of the national advisory committee for their commitment and unreserved effort in finalizing the task in a very short period of time and advising the Ministry on various issues related to the epidemics at this critical time.
more
This brief provides key considerations for engaging communities on COVID-19 and tips for how to engage where there are movement restrictions and physical distancing measures in place, particularly in low-resource settings.
World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations & World Organisation for Animal Health. (2021). Antimicrobial resistance and the United Nations sustainable development cooperation framework: guidance for United Nations country teams. World Health Organization
As daily lives and communities are upended by COVID-19, concern is mounting that children’s exposure to violence may increase. Children with a history of abuse may find themselves even more vulnerable – both at home and online – and may experience more frequent and severe acts of violence. Oth...ers may be victimized for the first time.
Understanding the current status of violence prevention and response services is therefore essential to assessing risks to children
more
Conflict
In early October, Ukrainian forces continued recapturing areas of southern and eastern oblasts, notably Lyman (Donetsk oblast). The liberation of thousands of square kilometres resulted in the grim discovery of two new mass graves in Lyman and Sviatohirsk (containing of 120 civilian bodi...es). Shelling and missile strikes continue to cause the majority of casualties with 1,043 civilian casualties registered by OHCHR in October. Five waves of missile attacks on urban centres were recorder in October alone, leading to widespread disruption of energy supply with millions of citizens being deprived from electricity and water at times during the month.
more
The INEE Minimum Standards Handbook is the only global tool that articulates the minimum level of educational quality and access in emergencies through to recovery. The Minimum Standards express a commitment that all individuals—children, youth and adults—have a right to education.
There are... different languages available: Arabic, Azerbajan, Bahsa Indonesia, Bengali, Bosnian, Coratian, Serbian, Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Krygyz, Nepali, Pashto, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Urdu, Turkish, Vietnamese
more
PLoS Negl Trop Dis 11(2): e0005356 -Published: February 23, 2017 21 pp
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste has the highest TB incidence rate in the South East Asian Region - 498 per 100,000, which is the seventh highest in the world. In Timor-Leste TB is the eighth most common cause of death.
The salient observations are as follows:
In 2018, 487 (12.5%) of the... 3906 notified TB patients were tested for RR-TB and only 12 lab confirmed RR-TB patients were initiated on standard MDR-TB treatment of 20-months duration, (a 3-fold increase in RR-TB detection compared with 2017). This amounts to treatment coverage of only 17% of 72 estimated MDR/RR-TB among notified TB patients (3906) and 5% of 240 estimated incident MDR-TB patients as compared to 62% treatment coverage of 6300 incident drug sensitive TB patients estimated in TLS. The treatment success in the 2016 annual cohort of 6 MDR-TB patients has been reported at 83%. 80% of TB patients know their HIV Status with around 1% TB-HIV co-infection, 37/ 77 (48%) TB-HIV Co-infection Detected. Of the 387 PLHIV currently alive on ART, exact status on TB screening and testing is unknown. % of PLHIV newly enrolled in HIV care who received IPT is not known.
In 2018, the mortality rate for TB was 94 deaths per 100,000 people (1200 per annum) in TL with an increasing mortality trend (Figure 1), despite TB services being available for nearly two decades.
A survey of catastrophic costs due to TB (2016) highlights that 83% of TB patients are reported to be facing catastrophic costs due to the disease. This is the highest rate in the world.
more
Recognizing the extent to which the COVID-19 outbreaks affects women and men differently is hugely important. Some preliminary data suggested that more men than women are dying, potentially due to sex-based immunological differences, higher rates of cardiovascular disease for men and lifestyle choic...es, such as smoking. However, the experiences and lessons learned from the Zika and Ebola outbreaks and the HIV pandemic demonstrate that robust gender analysis and informed, gender-integrated response are vital to strengthen the access and acceptability of the humanitarian services needed to meet the distinct needs of women and girls, as well as men and boy and LGBTI people.
more
Vaccines 2021, 9(2), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9020160
This 2011 update of Guidelines for the programmatic management of drug-resistant tuberculosis is intended as a tool for use by public health professionals working in response
to the Sixty-second World Health Assembly’s resolution on prevention and control of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and e...xtensively drug-resistant tuberculosis.
more