The 2012 NDRMP lays out the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) architecture of the country and provides guidance for DRM intervention at all levels. However, implementation has been slow and resource challenges exist throughout the government.
The PNG government’s policy and institutional framework... for DRM still faces numerous obstacles. The main challenges in moving towards a more proactive and systematic approach to manage risks and build resilience include 1.) the limited coordination between DRM and Climate Change Adaptation agencies; 2.) the slow migration from emphasis on response to risk reduction and management; 3.) the limited institutional capacity for planning and design of risk informed investments; and 4.) the lack of available historic natural hazard data, which hinders the assessment of risks.
more
Many countries have made significant progress in the implementation of World Health Organization recommended preventive chemotherapy strategy, to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF). However, pertinent challenges such as the existence of areas of residual infections in disease endemic districts pose... potential threats to the achievements made. Thus, this study was undertaken to assess the importance of these areas in implementation units (districts) where microfilaria (MF) positive individuals could not be found during the mid-term assessment after three rounds of mass drug administration.
more
Humanitarian NGOs have made increased use of Private Security Providers (PSPs) over the last decade. There is a gap between the ways that NGOs actually use PSPs and the regulation of this engagement. These guidelines aim to assist humanitarian NGOs in reaching an informed decision about when, how an...d under what conditions to seek PSP services. The guidelines are aimed at operational managers of NGOs, from headquarter to field level. The guidelines do not only cover armed guarding or armed protection, but can be applied to the wide range of services provided by PSPs. Document also available in French.
more
Despite the significant role of vector control in national leishmaniasis control programmes, the programmatic community perceives vector control as the weakest component of leishmaniasis control strategies in terms of resources, scientific evidence of the usefulness of interventions and capacity for... quality-assured implementation. Therefore, the main objective of this manual is to provide practical tools, techniques and procedures to strengthen sand fly control and surveillance in order to improve implementation of leishmaniasis control programmes. The manual provides a rationale for programme managers in different geographical regions on the types of vector control interventions to be used in different epidemiological and environmental settings and also how to measure their impact.
more
The booklet starts with a general overview of how illicit drugs and the environment are linked within the bigger picture of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change and environmental sustainability. It highlights direct and indirect linkages and gives examples of the significant local and i...ndividual-level impact that drugs can have on the environment. This is followed by a more in-depth overview of the latest scientific evidence for plant-based drugs and for synthetic drugs. For plant-based drugs, for example, this includes an analysis of the relationship between illicit crop cultivation and deforestation. For synthetic drugs, it includes an analysis of waste composition, volumes, and dumping and discharge, as well as the relation with wastewater treatment.
more
As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the people of Ukraine, especially the most vulnerable, are paying an enormous price. Lives and livelihoods are being lost, with more than ten million people forced from their homes— and their country—in search of safety. The war has unleashed catast...rophic damage to the country’s economy and threatens lasting increases in poverty and societal upheaval. The scale of the war and the devastation it has caused have jeopardized Ukraine’s hard-fought development gains, through destruction of production and property, disruption of trade, diminished investment due to amplified uncertainty, and erosion of human capita
more
This study primarily aims to understand how children living in areas of civil strife are denied their basic rights, especially the right to education and protection. For this study, eight districts affected by civil strife across the three states (Chhattisgarh: Dantewada, Bijapur, Bastar and Narayan...pur, Odisha: Gajapati and Kandhamal and Jharkhand: Khunti and Lohardagga) were chosen to understand the landscape of violence and the state of basic services such as education and protection. This study has attempts to explore the impact of long-term violence on children’s lives and learning.
more
Practice paper in Brief 24
Containment strategies for Ebola rupture fundamental features of social, political and religious life. Control efforts that involve local people and appreciate their perspectives, social structures and institutions are therefore vital
Cureus. 2015 Nov; 7(11): e372.
Published online 2015 Nov 3. doi: 10.7759/cureus.372
PMCID: PMC4671837
PMID: 26677422
The aim of the framework is to provide guidance to Member States and partners on region-specific priority actions towards the goals, targets and milestones of the GTS. The central pillar of the framework is the adoption of programme phasing and transitioning, aimed at facilitating a tailored approac...h to malaria control/elimination. This is in response to the increasing heterogeneity of malaria epidemiology among and within countries of the region.
more
The WHO country office for Ghana, began the year 2019 with a 4-day staff retreat at the Busua Beach Resort in the Western Region from 04 to 08 March 2019. The theme for the retreat was ‘Impacting the Health and Lives of the people of Ghana through the Triple Billion Goal”. The staff outlined pri...orities and strategies to strengthen WHO’s contribution to the national health agenda during the year. Working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service and other allied health institutions and stakeholders, the WHO country office, provided support aimed at achieving its
mission which is attaining the highest level of health by the people in the country though its six operational areas which are (i) Communicable Diseases (ii) Non-Communicable Diseases, (iii) Promoting Health through the Life Course (iv), Health Systems, (v) Preparedness, Surveillance and Response (vi) Corporate services and enabling functions.
more
This mapping of community experiences for the defense of the right to adequate housing in situations of risk of eviction or eviction in progress brings together practices and strategies used by families, collectives and community organizations that have different origins and interests in the region,... and also those on other continents.
more
By almost any measure, human health is better now than at any time in history. Life expectancy has soared from 47 years in 1950–1955, to 69 years in 2005–2010, and death rates in children younger than 5 years of age have decreased substantially, from 214 per thousand live births in 1950–1955, ...to 59 in 2005–2010. But these gains in human health have come at a high price: the degradation of nature’s ecological systems on a scale never seen in human history. A growing body of evidence shows that the health of humanity is intrinsically linked to the health of the environment, but by its actions humanity now threatens to destabilise the Earth’s key life-support systems.
As a Commission, we conclude that the continuing degradation of natural systems threatens to reverse the health gains seen over the last century. In short, we have mortgaged the health of future generations to realise economic and development gains in the present.
Despite present limitations, the Sustainable Development Goals provide a great opportunity to integrate health and sustainability through the judicious selection of relevant indicators relevant to human wellbeing, the enabling infrastructure for development, and the supporting natural systems, together with the need for strong governance.
more
The application of digital health technology is growing at a rapid rate in Africa, with the goals of improving the delivery of healthcare services and more effectively reaching out to remote and underserved communities. The lack of enabling guidelines and standards across the continent, on the other... hand, makes it difficult to share data in a meaningful way across the continent.
Considering this, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) established a task force of 24 members to provide expertise and guidance in the development of AU HIE guidelines and standards. Members of the task force were subject matter experts working in Africa and internationally on the collection, analysis, and exchange of health information. Some of these experts had been involved in previous consultations on defining Africa CDC’s health information systems strategy. A chairperson, co-chairperson, and secretary were elected to engage the task force members in different technical working groups.
more
In response to a call by the United Nations Secretary-General and the Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, an international team conducted an Ebola Recovery Assessment.The aim was to contribute towards laying the foundation for short-, medium- and long-term recovery while the medical eme...rgency response continues to tackle the epidemic.
This summary report is based on a full report as well as three detailed reports submitted to each of the three governments as contributions to their national recovery planning processes.
more