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mhGAP Humanitarian Intervention Guide (mhGAP-HIG): Clinical management of mental, neurological and substance use conditions in humanitarian emergencies
recommended

World Health Organization, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (2015) C_WHO

The new guide provides practical, first-line management recommendations for mental, neurological and substance use conditions. Contents include modules on assessing and managing conditions such as acute stress, grief, moderate-severe depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, and... more

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Humanitarian development peace nexus for health profile: Yemen, October 2020

World Health Organization WHO (2021) CC

The humanitarian-development-peace nexus (‎HDPNX)‎ is a new way of working that offers a framework for coherent joined-up planning and implementation of shared priorities between humanitarian development and peacebuilding actors in emergency settings. To advance the HDPNx in a given country a sh... more

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The responsibility to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence in disasters and crises

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) (2018) C1

Research results of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response before, during and after disasters in Indonesia, Lao PDR and the Philippines
This report contributes new evidence on why and how sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) risks increase during humanitarian disasters... more

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The Sphere Handbook. Interactive Version
recommended

The Sphere Project (2019) CC

Sphere has recently updated its Interactive Handbook, making it quicker and easier to browse and access its content. New features allow users to browse the Handbook in multiple languages, access additional sets of standards, filter and share search results and embed the Handbook into other websites... more

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"I ripped the IV out and started running". Health care attacks in Yemen

Physicians for Human Rights; Mwatana for Human Rights (2020) C1

Indiscriminate attacks on health care have contributed to an epic humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. A new report tracks these attacks in the hope of holding perpetrators on all sides accountable. It details how both Houthi forces—with their use of wide-area impact weapons—and the Saudi-Emir... more

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If not now, when? Keeping promises to older people affected by humanitarian crises. Summary

HelpAge (2020) CC

A new report from aid agencies Age International and HelpAge International, If not now, when? criticises the humanitarian sector for its failure to address the needs of older people in emergencies. This failure contravenes several international commitments made in recent years and flies in the face ... more

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Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Voices of the Rohingya

Plan International (2018) C1

Commissioned by Plan International the report draws on data from research conducted in Bangladesh in April 2018. It explores how adolescent girls within two age brackets (10-14 and 15-19) understand the unique impact the crisis has upon them, and how they have responded to the challenges they face.<... more

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Malaria Control in Humanitarian Emergencies. An Inter-Agency Field Handbook
recommended

Jose Nkuni, Natasha Howard, Abraham Mnzava et al. World Health Organization (2013) C_WHO

2nd edition. The interagency field handbook on malaria control was developed to set out effective malaria control responses in humanitarian emergencies, particularly during the acute phase when reliance on international humanitarian assistance is greatest. This second edition represents a thorough u... more

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“They live in the dark”: Older people’s isolation and inadequate access to housing amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
recommended

Amnesty International (2023) CC

Ukraine: Russian invasion has forced older people with disabilities to endure isolation and neglect – new report Many temporary shelters inaccessible to people with physical disabilities Overburdened care system often provides few alternatives to institutions for older people Authorities ... more

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Vector control interventions designed to control malaria in complex humanitarian emergencies and in response to natural disasters

World Health Organization WHO (2021) C_WHO

“Preferred product characteristics” (PPCs) are key tools to incentivize and guide the development of urgently needed health products. Some of the vector control interventions deployed in complex emergencies and in response to natural disasters – namely insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoo... more

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Repurposing Established Radio and Audio Series to Address the COVID-19 Educational Crises

Richmond, S Education Development Center (EDC) (2020) C2

Reusing a legacy interactive audio instruction (IAI) program to provide education in a humanitarian crisis is a quick solution and a smart use of previous investments (“Learning in the Time of Ebola”). This article highlights and advises on the issues that relate to adapting and updating previou... more

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From emergency response to long-term COVID-19 disease management - Ending the COVID-19 emergency and transitioning from emergency phase to longer-term disease management: Guidance on calibrating the r

World Health Organization WHO (2023) C_WHO

The key actions, activities, and approaches in this document are organized within each of the 5Cs (see Table 1 in the PDF) and those of the Strategic preparedness and response plan (SPRP) pillars as follows: National action plan key activities, prioritized for the current context and the current ... more

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Heat-stability study of various insulin types in tropical temperature conditions: New insights towards improving diabetes care

Kaufmann, B.; Boulle, P.; Berthou, F.; et al. PLoS One (2021) CC

Strict storage recommendations for insulin are difficult to follow in hot tropical regions and even more challenging in conflict and humanitarian emergency settings, adding an extra burden to the management of people with diabetes. According to pharmacopeia unopened insulin vials must be stored in a... more

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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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Water dilemmas: The cascading impacts of water insecurity in a heating world

Oxfam (2023) CC

Climate-induced water insecurity poses one of the biggest threats to humanity and will lead to more hunger, disease and displacement Oxfam water engineers are having to drill deeper, more expensive and harder-to-maintain water boreholes used by some of the poorest communities around the world, mo... more

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10 promising practices from the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) in Europe

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR (2023) CC

UNHCR invested significantly in risk mitigation, prevention and response to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in the Europe region in 2022-2023, in particular in connection with the Ukraine emergency, where the risks were considered high due to the unprecedented scale and speed of displacement, mo... more

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In Venezuela, a pandemic meets years of shortages and a broken health system

The New Humanitarian (2020) C1

Venezuela’s government announced on 24 March that COVID-19 infections had reached 91... “The government says wear masks, wash your hands often, and stay inside,” Gomez said. “But we don’t have water, we often don’t have electricity, and there are no masks.”... [President] Maduro den... more

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Mozambique: Cyclone Idai & Floods Flash Update No. 13, 29 March 2019

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (2019) C1

The official death toll had risen to 493 people as of 29 March, according to the Government. A new cholera outbreak was reported in Nhamatande; nine Cholera Treatment Centres have been established in Beira and other locations. More than 140,000 people were displaced in 161 sites across Sofala (116... more

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Haiti: Cholera figures (18 November 2016)

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2016) C1

This document summarizes Haiti's cholera situation as of November 16, 2016. Between January and October 2016, Haiti reported 35,203 new suspected cholera cases (32% increase from 2015) and 369 deaths (56% increase). After Hurricane Matthew, cases rose dramatically, with 52% of new cases concentrated... more

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Apercu Humanitaire Mondial 2021 (Abridged Version)

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (2020) C1

COVID-19 has triggered the deepest global recession since the 1930s. Extreme poverty has risen for the first time in 22 years, and unemployment has increased dramatically. Women and young people aged 15 – 29 working in the informal sector are being hit the hardest. School closures have affected 91... more

mhGAP Humanitarian Intervention Guide (mhGAP-HIG): Clinical management of mental, neurological and substance use conditions in humanitarian emergencies recommended

The Sphere Handbook. Interactive Version recommended

Malaria Control in Humanitarian Emergencies. An Inter-Agency Field Handbook recommended

“They live in the dark”: Older people’s isolation and inadequate access to housing amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine recommended

mhGAP Humanitarian Intervention Guide (mhGAP-HIG): Clinical management of mental, neurological and substance use conditions in humanitarian emergencies
recommended

The Sphere Handbook. Interactive Version
recommended

Malaria Control in Humanitarian Emergencies. An Inter-Agency Field Handbook
recommended

“They live in the dark”: Older people’s isolation and inadequate access to housing amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
recommended