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Beat the heat: Child health amid heatwaves in Europe and Central Asia

UN Children's Fund UNICEF (2024) CC

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. more

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Health Preparedness For El Niño Event 2015-2016

World Health Organization (WHO) (2015) C_WHO

The WHO report on health preparedness for El Niño 2015-2016 describes the impact of this weather phenomenon on global public health. Strong El Niño events lead to extreme weather conditions, including droughts, floods, and storms, which increase the risk of diseases such as cholera, malaria, and d... more

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WHO Bangladesh Country Cooperation Strategy: 2020–2024

World Health Organization (WHO), Regional Office for South-East Asia (2022) C_WHO

Notable progress has also been made on other key health indicators such as reducing maternal, infant and child deaths and malnutrition, increasing immunization coverage, eliminating infectious diseases such as polio and reducing the incidence of malaria, tuberculosis and diarrhoeal diseases. But ... more

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Scenarios: El Niño/La Niña Impact on Indonesia

acaps (2016) C1

The report covers possible developments in Indonesia over the next 10 months (to end 2016). Four scenarios are outlined: Delayed Second Crop Harvest Delayed and Reduced Second Crop Harvest La Niña disrupts main rural sources of income Soaring rice prices The scenarios wer... more

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Clinical Management of Yellow Fever in the Region of the Americas. Experiences and Recommendations for Health Services

Pan American Health Organisation PAHO (2023) CC

The waves of yellow fever transmission in the Region of the Americas in 2016–2018 involved the largest number of human and epizootic cases to be reported in several decades. Yellow fever is a serious viral hemorrhagic disease that poses a challenge for health professionals. It requires early recog... 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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Guidelines for Tsunami Warning Services, Evacuation, and Sheltering during COVID-19

UNESCO (2020) C1

This document is aimed at national authorities responsible for the organisation of tsunami warning and emergency response. It clarifies the status of the regional tsunami services for the Indian Ocean and suggests best practices for national and local actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Vietnam: Disaster Management Reference Handbook

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (2015) C1

The National Strategy for Natural Disaster, Prevention, Response and Mitigation to 2020, which outlines Vietnam’s main disaster risk management objectives and the National Target Program (NTP) form the overarching policy framework for disaster risk management and climate change adaption activities... more

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Survive, Thrive, Transform — Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016–2030)

Joint United Nations Programme on HIVAIDS (UNAIDS) (2018) C1

2018 monitoring report: current status and strategic priorities
The report sets out the status of women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, and on health systems and social and environmental determinants. Regional dashboards on 16 key indicators highlight where progress is being made o... more

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Panduan Perencanaan Kontijensi Menghadapi Bencana (Edisi Kedua)

Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (2011) C1

Guidelines of Contingency Planning for Disaster Management in Indonesia

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Health Resources Availability Mapping System (H e RAMS)

IASC; Global Health Cluster (2009)

Accessed June 2014

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Health Resource Availability Mapping System (HeRAMS) - Health Services Checklist

World Health Organization (2012)

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Changing state of the climate system

Gulev S. K., Thorne P. W. et al. (2021) C2

Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

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Ebola Response System Strengthening along Western Area Peninsula Coastline

Laura Sustersic Welthungerhilfe; UKAid (2015)

Social Mobilization in the Freetown Peninsula during the Ebola Epidemic 2014-2015

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Health Information System Strategic Plan 2008-2015 , accountability, efficiency, quality, equity

Ministry of Health, Cambodia (2008) CC

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Food Control System Assessment Tool, Introductory Booklet

World Health Organization (WHO) (2021) C_WHO

FAO and WHO jointly developed a comprehensive tool to assist Member states in assessing the effectiveness of national food control system. The FAO/WHO Food Control System Assessment Tool comprises 162 assessment criteria under 25 system competencies over 4 Dimensions. This introductory booklet is de... more