the aid library

LIST OPTIONS

Filter

1021

NAPHS for all: a country implementation guide for national action plan for health security (‎NAPHS)‎ - Second edition
recommended

World Health Organization WHO (2025) C_WHO

Lessons learned from recent public health events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola virus disease, Zika virus disease outbreaks, and other public health threats, including earthquakes and floods, have highlighted the need for countries to continuously develop, strengthen, and maintain capacities r... more

Download (192)

View PDF (182)

Assessing health systems in Guinea for prevention and control of priority zoonotic diseases: A One Health approach

Standleya C. J., Carlinb E. P., Sorrella E. M. et al. Elsevier (2019) CC

To guide One Health capacity building efforts in the Republic of Guinea in the wake of the 2014–2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak, we sought to identify and assess the existing systems and structures for zoonotic disease detection and control. We partnered with the government ministries resp... more

Download (242)

View PDF (160)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about COVID-19 Candidate Vaccines and Access Mechanisms. Version 3, 6 January 2021

Pan American Health Organisation PAHO (2021) C_WHO

Will COVID-19 vaccines be safe? Will all the COVID-19 candidate vaccines be successful? What are the different phases a vaccine must go through to be approved? This document provides responses to the most frequently asked questions about candidate vaccines and access to COVID-19 vaccination.

External Link

Guidance on Law and Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies IFRC (2023) CC

The domestic regulation of public health emergencies (PHEs) is inextricably linked to the regulation of other types of disaster. PHEs are usually governed at least partly by general disaster and emergency laws. Moreover, there is significant overlap in the legal mechanisms used to respond to PHEs an... more

Download (211)

View PDF (272)

Christian Responses to Health and Development

German Institute for Medical Mission (2014) C2

In 1964 medical mission was challenged and called to define its distinctiveness and its special role in the context of that particular time. The consultation "Tuebingen I" clearly stated: "The Christian church has a specific task in the field of health and healing"1, and developed a conce... more

Download (224)

View PDF (251)

Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health

World Health Organization WHO (2015) C_WHO

Healthy communities rely on well-functioning ecosystems. They provide clean air, fresh water, medicines and food security. They also limit disease and stabilize the climate. But biodiversity loss is happening at unprecedented rates, impacting human health worldwide, according to a new state of knowl... more

Download (165)

View PDF (167)

Prioritising the role of community health workers in the COVID-19 response

M. Ballard, Bancroft E., Nesbit J., et al. BMJ Global Health (2020) CC

COVID-19 disproportionately affects the poor and vulnerable. Community health workers are poised to play a pivotal role in fighting the pandemic, especially in countries with less resilient health systems. Drawing from practitioner expertise across four WHO regions, this article outlines the targete... more

Download (38)

View PDF (32)

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

Download (650)

View PDF (1374)

Liberia: Investment Plan for Building a Resilient Health System 2015-2021

Ministry of Health, Government of Liberia (2015) C1

Download (1421)

View PDF (2840)

Facts on Ebola Hemorrhagic fever (Liberia)

United Nations Liberia; Health Life; Plan, et al. (2014)

Accessed 1 July 2014

Download (703)

View PDF (1629)

Unlocking the community health workforce potential, post-Ebola: what models and strategies work?

Wilton Park mPowering; USAID; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, et al. (2016) CC

There is strong evidence of the impact CHWs can have on health outcomes for their communities. Justification for investment in in CHWs has been well established, but there remain questions about how to find the resources to do this sustainably. Real and practical challenges to building and supportin... more