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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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Sudan - Country Refugee Response Plan (CRP) - (January - December 2021)

UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR (2021) CC

Sudan has a long history of hosting refugees and asylum seekers with 991,787 individuals, 51 per cent female and 53 per cent children, expected to live in Sudan by the end of 2020.

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Humanitarian Action for Children 2021 - Ukraine

UN Children's Fund UNICEF (2020) C_UNICEF

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RIASCO action plan for Southern Africa - Revised regional response plan for the El Niño-induced drought in Southern Africa December 2016 - April 2017

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Regional Interagency Standing Committee, Southern Africa (2016) C1

El Niño conditions persisting during the 2015/16 planting season have caused the worst drought in 35 years in Southern Africa, resulting in a second consecutive failed harvest. This has created severe food shortages and compounded existing vulnerabilities. Since July 2016, Namibia and Botswana have... more

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Ethiopia: Humanitarian Response Situation Report No.15 (October 2017)

Government of Ethiopia, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2017) C1

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Leveraging the Learning Insights from HIV Programming for Pregnant and Parenting Adolescent Girls

UN Children's Fund UNICEF (2023) CC

Pregnancy and childbirth during adolescence profoundly affects the lives of millions of girls worldwide, and is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity, and infant and child mortality. Every year, an estimated 21 million girls aged 15–19 years old in low- and middle-income countries be... more

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OCHA Policy Brief on Gendered Drivers, Risks and Impacts of Food Insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2023) CC

It is widely understood that the food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing and most neglected crises. It lacks sufficient global focus, resources and urgency. As in so many crises, women and girls are disproportionately affected and shoulder t...he consequences of protracted neglect, with unconscionable impacts on their safety, life chances and agency. Gaining a holistic view of the gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is difficult. This is due to a lack of data and prioritization, and the large geographical and socioeconomic terrain covered by both regions. However, what we do know about this crisis is more than enough to urgently address the needs of women and girls. An OCHA discussion paper on this topic (which will be published imminently, and from which this policy brief is drawn) found that there is: A strong risk of profound regression in gender equality gains made to date in the countries of concern, including on education, sexual and reproductive health, and the economic independence of women and girls (with knock-on effects on broader humanitarian and development outcomes). An increasing challenge to reverse what must be recognized as a protracted and growing gender-based violence (GBV) emergency in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. The food insecurity crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is protracted, multidimensional and highly gendered, with spiralling impacts on gender equality and food security outcomes. It is driven by interwoven and overlapping factors, including climate change, political instability, conflict, socioeconomic conditions, migration and displacement and, more recently, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Interlinked with these factors are gendered structural drivers of food insecurity, including deeply entrenched gender inequalities and harmful social norms. Gendered risks and impacts of food insecurity include alarming limitations on access to education, sexual and reproductive health rights, women’s agency and participation, and dramatic increases in different existing forms of GBV and the emergence of new ones. Recognition of such gendered dimensions of food insecurity and of the need for a multisectoral approach in the response is key to addressing the crisis, along-side sustained commitment and adequate allocation of resources. This policy brief draws out key findings from the OCHA discussion paper on this topic, which includes a desk review of studies, assessments and reports, and interviews with local women’s organizations on the front lines of the food insecurity crisis in communities across both regions. Below are the most pressing gendered drivers, risks and impacts of food insecurity (not in order of priority), as well as key gaps in the current humanitarian response to food insecurity, and recommendations to take forward. more

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The role of Environmental and Spiritual Ethics in Galvanizing Nature Based Solutions

UN Environment Programme (2020) CC

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Confronting the gender impact of Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone

UN Development Programme (2015)

UNDP Africa Policy Note

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Guidelines for Health Staff Caring for Gender-based Violence Survivors: Including Protocol for Clinical Management of Rape [EN]

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Protection Cluster, Health Cluster (2016) C1

Gender-based violence, including rape is a problem throughout the world, occurring in every society, country and region. Refugees and internally displaced people are particularly at risk of this violation during every phase of an emergency situation. The systematic use of sexual violence as a method... more

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Mental Health and Psychosocial Response during COVID-19 Outbreak, June 2020

UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR (2020) C1

Key highlights from January to April 2020 (Syria situation) Across the MENA region, UNHCR is receiving alarming reports of increasing mental health issues among the forcibly displaced. Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) activities are being stepped up by UNHCR and partners to address th... more

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Nutrition Strategic Shift Thin Piece

UN Children's Fund UNICEF (2022) C_UNICEF

UNICEF Syria’s series of think pieces. Every day counts. An outlook on child protection for the most vulnerable children in Syria.To navigate the complex and continuously changing context and attain sustainable results for children, UNICEF – along with other UN agencies - seeks to make a shift i... more

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Strategic Plan for Early Recovery 2015-2017

UN Development Programme, The Global Cluster for Early Recovery (2016) CC

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COVID-19 Global Risk Communication and Community Engagement Strategy

UN Children's Fund UNICEF; GOARN; IFRC; WHO et al. (2021) C_UNICEF

December 2020 — May 2021

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A toolkit on Volunteerism on Disaster Preparedness and Response

Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HP SDMA) Government of India, UNDP India, UN Volunteers (2011) C1

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UNHCR Venezuela Situation Update - March 2019

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (2019) CC

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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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The Handbook on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction

International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies, UN Development Programme (2015) C1

The Handbook on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction (the Handbook) has been developed to provide guidance on how to use the Checklist and conduct related legislative reviews and reform processes. While the methodology for using the Checklist needs to be tailored to each country’s context and respectiv... more

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Population Dynamics in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

NFPA, UNDESA, UN-HABITAT, IOM (2013) C1

Report of the Global Thematic Consultation on Population Dynamics

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Focus Area Strategic Plan for Climate Action 2024-2030 Advance copy, December 2023
recommended

UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR (2023) CC

As a central component of the UNHCR Strategic Directions 2022-2026, UNHCR has identified eight focus areas for renewed attention and accelerated action, including Climate Action. This Focus Area Strategic Plan for Climate Action sets out a global roadmap for prioritized action, providing further cla... more

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

Focus Area Strategic Plan for Climate Action 2024-2030 Advance copy, December 2023 recommended

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

Focus Area Strategic Plan for Climate Action 2024-2030 Advance copy, December 2023
recommended