History has shown that governments tend to deprioritize environmental commitments during times of financial and public crises as they work to mitigate immediate needs—and the age of COVID-19 has been no different. Even though human interaction with wildlife is believed to be the cause of the pande...mic, the focus on COVID’s fallout has deprioritized the importance of reversing the damage humans have done to the planet.
COVID has had a multifaceted and detrimental effect on environmental conservation. Not only has funding been diverted to deal with the pandemic, conservation-oriented organizations are operating with minimal staff or have closed entirely. People whose daily work it is to advance environmental science and protect the land and water have become ill or have been forced to stay home because of travel restrictions. Plastic use is at an all-time high.
The good news is that there is an unprecedented opportunity for philanthropy to recharge the effort to protect the planet. This Giving Smarter Guide examines the state of environmental philanthropy, and provides an overview of potential strategic starting points for philanthropy and impact capital to play a role in saving the planet. In addition to offering recommendations specific to the COVID-19 response, the Center for Strategic Philanthropy also asks the questions that philanthropists should consider at the start of their journey into the field of conservation philanthropy.
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Primary care represents the first level of personal health care services in the community, which ensures accessible, continual,
whole-person care for health needs throughout an individual’s lifespan. Primary care professionals work with patients and
their families to address their immediate and ...long-term health needs and not just for a set of specific diseases with an
approach that addresses the broader determinants of health and the interrelated aspects that influence people’s physical,
mental, and social well-being.
Nurses have a key role to play in primary care in expanding, connecting and coordinating care. Through their training and
work, they are well placed and have been shown to provide safe and effective care in disease prevention, diagnosis,
treatment, management and rehabilitation. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance and inspiration for
policymakers, instructors, managers and clinicians
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Social and behavior change (SBC) professionals have often been tasked to find ways to influence knowledge, attitudes, and practices, about vaccines. Now that the COVID-19 vaccines are becoming available worldwide, renewed emphasis and urgency for SBC efforts arise.
To that end, WHO has offered thre...e factors that play a role in vaccine hesitancy, the first two of which can be addressed by SBC: Complacency: Low perceived risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, and vaccination not deemed necessary. Other life/health issues are a greater priority.
Confidence: Low levels of trust in vaccines, in the delivery system, and in health authorities
Convenience: Barriers related to geographic accessibility, availability, affordability, and acceptability of services
This resource page provide a selection of SBC research, tools, and examples that aid in understanding this issue, especially in light of the recent availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the urgency for immunization worldwide.
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This page presents all our content related to COVID-19. It aims to: 1. Help people who want to understand or work on COVID-19 right now. 2. Help people who are considering biosecurity careers longer term.
This page will focus on leveraged opportunities in research, policy, technology and startups. ...Many people will find their best opportunities to help in their local community – supporting health workers, driving delivery vans, helping friends and family, looking after neighbours, and so on. If you already play a role in providing essential services it’s likely that working hard at your day job, while making efforts to avoid spreading the virus, is one of the most valuable things you can do.
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The purpose of the WHO Manual for the Public Health Management of Chemical Incidents is to provide a comprehensive overview of the principles and roles of public health in the management of chemical incidents and emergencies. While this information is provided for each phase of the emergency cycle, ...including prevention, planning and preparedness, detection and alert, response and recovery, it is recognized that the management of chemical incidents and emergencies requires a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach and that the health sector may play an influencing, complementary or a leadership role at various stages of the management process. The target audience includes public health and environmental professionals, as well as any other person involved in the management of chemical incidents.
WHO and all those involved in the development of the publication hope that the publication will have wide application, especially in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and that in the future the health sector will be better prepared to acknowledge and fulfill its roles and responsibilities in the management of chemical incidents and emergencies, thereby contributing to the prevention and mitigation of their health consequences.
The publication is also available in French: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/246117/9789242598148-fre.pdf?sequence=1 and in Spanish: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/246118/9789243598147-spa.pdf?sequence=1
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In the last three decades, health financialization has surged in
several creative ways, yet this growing phenomenon remains surprisingly
unknown, and neglected, in the global health arena. Financialization in the
health domain could be described as the uncontrolled expansion of finance along vari...ous lines of healthcare provision. Health has been intentionally transformed into a commodity as private for-profit actors have been allowed freedom to operate - and ultimately play with people’s fundamental right to health - for their vested financial interests, nationally and internationally. Health financialization is thrivingly pursued today for example through the institutionalization of medical knowledge monopolies, the expansion of markets and of financial techniques applied to healthcare insurance schemes, the soaring digitalization of global health interventions and the booming data industry.
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Website last accessed on 07.06.2023
Stopleishmania.org is an initiative of the VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre (UCM), the National Centre of Microbiology (ISCIII), the Animal Protection Centre (Madrid City Council) and the Directorate of Public Health (Regional Government of Madrid). This proj...ect launches the possibility of collaboration with other research centres, feeding the site with updated information on this disease.
Leishmaniosis prevention and control should include novel communication strategies that must be easily accesible and would include new advances in the knowledge of the disease. Recently, other animals different than dogs have been described as competent reservoirs of Leishmania, playing an important epidemiological role in recent outbreaks in Europe and Asia. At the moment, most of the information available is fundamentally devoted to humans and dogs, and there is no a global approach to the disease, taking into account all possible reservoirs.
The contents are available in Spanish and English, and come from the knowledge and experience in the disease of the above mentioned organisms, including research and information outreach.
The result is a website mainly focused on dissemination of the fundamental aspects for the control and prevention of the disease, taking into account that leishmaniosis due to its zoonotic condition, requires a multidisciplinary vision in accordance with the "One Health" principles. The web is complemented by a collaborative tool where the registered research groups can present themselves and disseminate their research results, therefore providing updated information on the scientific advances in the disease control.
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Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are required to stay at home to protect themselves and prevent the spread of the disease, including young people. Children have been out of school and as a result, many of them may be spending more time on screens to complete online activities as part of home...schooling, socializing with peers or playing video games given that outdoor activities may be restricted due to lockdowns. This infographic provides important information on what you need to know in regard to excessive screen use and gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also stresses the importance of recognizing the signs of excessive screen use and taking action to ensure online safety for young people during this pandemic.
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Having completed this course, learners will be able to: Describe and analyze the opportunities, challenges and limits of Global Health Diplomacy. Examine the diplomatic, financial, and geopolitical context that underlies global health decision-making. Explain the role of the many players in the spac...e, including governments, philanthropists, and multilateral institutions . Course Objective The field of global health is often thought of purely in medical or public health terms, but there are important geopolitical and policy dimensions of global health that underlie programmatic responses to global health challenges. By completing this course, learners will be able to explain the specific institutions and initiatives that are fundamental to current global health diplomacy activities and functions, and how these influence global health outcomes. Learners will further be able to summarize real-world examples where global health diplomacy either helped or limited global health outcomes, and explain the reasons for those outcomes.
Accessed July 27th, 2019
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April 2022 Volume 35 Issue 2 e00152-21
Population movements have turned Chagas disease (CD) into a global public health problem. Despite the successful implementation of subregional initiatives to control vectorial and transfusional Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in Latin American settings where t...he disease is endemic, congenital CD (cCD) remains a significant challenge. In countries where the disease is not endemic, vertical transmission plays a key role in CD expansion and is the main focus of its control. Although several health organizations provide general protocols for cCD control, its management in each geopolitical region depends on local authorities, which has resulted in a multitude of approaches. The aims of this review are to (i) describe the current global situation in CD management, with emphasis on congenital infection, and (ii) summarize the spectrum of available strategies, both official and unofficial, for cCD prevention and control in countries of endemicity and nonendemicity. From an economic point of view, the early detection and treatment of cCD are cost-effective. However, in countries where the disease is not endemic, national health policies for cCD control are nonexistent, and official regional protocols are scarce and restricted to Europe. Countries of endemicity have more protocols in place, but the implementation of diagnostic methods is hampered by economic constraints. Moreover, most protocols in both countries where the disease is endemic and those where it is not endemic have yet to incorporate recently developed technologies. The wide methodological diversity in cCD diagnostic algorithms reflects the lack of a consensus. This review may represent a first step toward the development of a common strategy, which will require the collaboration of health organizations, governments, and experts in the field.
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Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease that occurs mainly in the tropics and subtropics but has a high potential to spread to new areas. Dengue infections are climate sensitive, so it is important to better understand how changing climate factors affect the potential for geographic spread and futu...re dengue epidemics. Vectorial capacity (VC) describes a vector's propensity to transmit dengue taking into account human, virus, and vector interactions. VC is highly temperature dependent, but most dengue models only take mean temperature values into account. Recent evidence shows that diurnal temperature range (DTR) plays an important role in influencing the behavior of the primary dengue vector Aedes aegypti. In this study, we used relative VC to estimate dengue epidemic potential (DEP) based on the temperature and DTR dependence of the parameters of A. aegypti. We found a strong temperature dependence of DEP; it peaked at a mean temperature of 29.3°C when DTR was 0°C and at 20°C when DTR was 20°C. Increasing average temperatures up to 29°C led to an increased DEP, but temperatures above 29°C reduced DEP. In tropical areas where the mean temperatures are close to 29°C, a small DTR increased DEP while a large DTR reduced it. In cold to temperate or extremely hot climates where the mean temperatures are far from 29°C, increasing DTR was associated with increasing DEP. Incorporating these findings using historical and predicted temperature and DTR over a two hundred year period (1901-2099), we found an increasing trend of global DEP in temperate regions. Small increases in DEP were observed over the last 100 years and large increases are expected by the end of this century in temperate Northern Hemisphere regions using climate change projections. These findings illustrate the importance of including DTR when mapping DEP based on VC.
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The National AIDS Control Council recognizes the growing, organized and progressive inter-faith religious voice in the spheres of governance and development in Kenya. Across the country, the Faith Sector has been involved in HIV prevention, treatment, care and support to programmes towards... the HIV response.On behalf of the board and the NACC family, I want to thank the Faith Sector Working Group (FSWG) and the Faith Religious Leaders for their contribution in HIV prevention by recognizing their comparative advantage in moulding behaviors among the various populations. We pride in your ability of being able to reach millions of Kenyans at any given time. This is the more reason why NACC wishes to sincerely thank you for working closely with us on the HIV response.We appreciate the Faith Sector support to the provision of HIV and health care services provision which has facilitated access to health services even in the remotest parts our country. The role played by the Religious Leaders in addressing stigma and discrimination as the greatest barrier to access of HIV and Health services by PLHIV and other vulnerable populations is well acknowledged.Finally, our gratitude goes to the theologians who participated in the development of the Faith Sector HIV messages booklet, which provides a tool to facilitate the Religious Leaders with knowledge to address the gaps in the HIV response among the congregants.
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Pathogen genomic surveillance has become a priority for public health systems in recent years. Genomic sequencing is increasingly being used to characterize pathogens and monitor important public health priorities (e.g. poliovirus, influenza virus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Vibrio cholerae, ant...imicrobial resistance (AMR)). The decrease in cost and time of sequencing and the exponential development of bioinformatic pipelines have played a critical role in integrating pathogen genomics into routine public health surveillance. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the role that sequencing plays in the surveillance of infectious diseases. Sequencing facilitates earlier detection, more accurate investigation of outbreaks, closer real-time monitoring of pathogen evolution and tailored development and evaluation of interventions to inform local to global public health decision-making and action. However, there remains a need to coordinate efforts, leverage and link existing surveillance and laboratory networks and capabilities, and systematically integrate genetic sequence data (GSD) with clinical and epidemiological data to strengthen its utility.
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22 Sept. 2021
The rapid development of effective Covid-19 vaccines in 2020 gave hope to the world in the darkest days of the deadly pandemic. However, the vaccine roll-out has been massively skewed towards wealthy nations. While rich states have hoarded vaccines, companies have also played a decisi...ve role in restricting fair access to a life-saving health product. This report focuses on six leading vaccine developers, AstraZeneca, BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Novavax and Pfizer, assessing each company’s human rights policy, pricing structure, records on intellectual property, knowledge and technology sharing, allocation of available vaccine doses and transparency.
Available in Arabic, English, French, German and Spanish
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The Kabeho Mwana project (2006–2011) supported the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MOH) in scaling up integrated community case management (iCCM) of childhood illness in 6 of Rwanda’s 30 districts. The project trained and equipped community health workers (CHWs) according to national guidelines. In p...roject districts, Kabeho Mwana staff also trained CHWs to conduct household-level health promotion and established supervision and reporting mechanisms through CHW peer support groups (PSGs) and quality improvement systems. The iCCM model implemented by Kabeho Mwana resulted in greater improvements in care-seeking than those seen in the rest of the country. Intensive monitoring, collaborative supervision, community mobilization, and CHW PSGs contributed to this success. The PSGs were a unique contribution of the project, playing a critical role in improving care-seeking in project districts. Effective implementation of iCCM should therefore include CHW management and social support mechanisms. Finally, re-analysis of national survey data improved evaluation findings by providing impact estimates.
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As climate change increasingly contributes to migration and displacement in many parts of the world, there is a pressing need for measures that build resilience and prevent displacement as well as those that help climate-affected people move to safety and support receiving communities. Multilateral ...development banks (MDBs) are critical, if sometimes overlooked, players because of their ability to invest in large-scale projects that contribute to sustainable development, primarily in low- and middle-income countries.
This report explores the unique role of MDBs in the climate finance landscape and highlights opportunities for migration, humanitarian, and other key actors to partner with them on projects that effectively target climate-related migration and displacement. After reviewing the evidence on the complex linkages between climate and mobility, the report examines MDBs’ climate-related work to date, challenges they face to scaling up these efforts, and strategies to begin to address hurdles. These recommendations include learning from past MDB investments that have touched on climate migration, funding data collection or sharing to strengthen understanding of climate migration trends, and developing partnerships to support policy and project development, financing, and implementation.
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GO VIRAL! helps protect you against COVID-19 misinformation. You’ll learn about some of the most common ways false and misleading information about the virus are spread. Understanding these tricks allows you to resist them the next time you come across them online. Scientists who worked with us on... the development of GO VIRAL! found that playing the game significantly improves people’s ability to spot misinformation about COVID-19.
The recommended age for GO VIRAL! is 15+. Although the game has received a PEGI-age rating of 3 (i.e., the game has been deemed suitable for persons age 3 and up), the game does include some themes that may be interpreted as sensitive, especially to people under the age of 15. If you are unsure, always ask for parental consent.
Spread the word – fight the spread of misinformation by challenging your friends and family to GO VIRAL!
Available in different languages
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Be a hero, be prepared! Learn with Tanah how to be prepared in case of tsunamis and earthquakes.
Tanah: The Tsunami and Earthquake Fighter is a mobile gaming app developed by UNESCO-Bangkok, the Red Cross Global Disaster Preparedness Center, and USAID. Players can download the game for free on th...eir mobile devices and follow the avatar Tanah through different levels as she prepares for and respond to tsunamis and earthquakes.
It is available in English, Spanish, Nepalese, and Bahasa Indonesian. Android and IOS
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Tobacco has negative implications for the environment, the economy and the health of both smokers and non-smokers. All people have a fundamental right to breathe clean air, and tobacco-free environments are essential to guaranteeing this right. This includes protection in outdoor spaces. Whether sit...ting in class, playing games outside or waiting at the school bus stop, young people should be protected from second-hand smoke and e-cigarette emissions.
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Beat the heat: child health amid heatwaves in Europe and Central Asia finds that half of these children died from heat-related illnesses in their first year of life. Most children died during the summer months.
"Around half of children across Europe and Central Asia – or 92 million children –... are already exposed to frequent heatwaves in a region where temperatures are rising at the fastest rate globally. The increasingly high temperatures can have serious health complications for children, especially the youngest children, even in a short space of time. Without care, these complications can be life-threatening,” said Regina De Dominicis UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.
Heat exposure has acute effects on children, even before they are born, and can result in pre-term births, low birth weight, stillbirth, and congenital anomalies. Heat stress is a direct cause of infant mortality, can affect infant growth and cause a range of paediatric diseases. The report also notes that extreme heat caused the loss of more than 32,000 years of healthy life among children and teenagers in the region.
As the temperatures continue to rise, UNICEF urges governments across Europe and Central Asia to:
- Integrate strategies to reduce the impact of heatwaves including through National Determined Contributions (NDC), National Adaptation Plans (NAP), and disaster risk reduction and disaster management policies with children at the centre of these plans
Invest in heat health action plans and primary health care to more adequately support heat-related illness among children
- Invest in early warning systems, including heat alert systems
- Adapt education facilities to reduce the temperatures in the areas children play in and equip teachers with skills to respond to heat stress
- Adapt urban design and infrastructure including ensuring buildings, particularly those housing the most vulnerable communities are equipped to minimize heat exposure
- Secure the provision of safe water, particularly in countries with deteriorating water quality and availability.
UNICEF works with governments, partners and communities across the region to build resilience against heatwaves. This includes equipping teachers, community health workers and families with the skills and knowledge to respond to heat stress.
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