A toolkit for behavioural and social communication in outbreak response
Medical care for people caught up in armed conflict and other insecure environments saves lives and alleviates suffering. It is one of the most immediate and high priority needs of an affected population and is often the first type of response activated and/or requested by authorities and affected c...ommunities. Medical teams working in armed conflict and other insecure environments
frequently face serious threats to their security and safety, challenges to patient access, and at times limited acceptance by affected communities in which they work and parties to the conflict. Such difficulties are likely to increase (6) and
thereby creating a critical need to establish contact and trust with all sides in conflicts and in other insecure environments to ensure operational continuity. This trust can best be achieved when all sides perceive the medical teams to be neutral, impartial, and independent, and specifically not aiding (or being perceived to aid) any one party to achieve a military, political or economic
advantage. For medical teams that are deploying increasingly closer to the frontlines, the implications of and consequences for both staff and patients of teams not being fully prepared, and/or not fully comprehending the context in which they work, can be severe. Medical response can easily be hindered or compromised by intentional or unintentional acts and the behaviour and
conduct of the teams themselves
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Analysis of survey data looking at 25 years of progress in and the future challenges for tropical medicine and global health
An interregional meeting on leishmaniasis among neighbouring endemic
countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, African and European regions was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern
Mediterranean in Amman, Jordan, from 23 to 25 September 2018. The meeting w...as attended by representatives from the health ministries of Albania, Georgia, Greece, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Tunisia. Representatives from Afghanistan, Algeria and Libya were unable to attend. The Secretariat comprised staff from WHO headquarters, WHO regional offices in the Eastern Mediterranean, Africa and Europe, WHO country offices in Iraq, Pakistan, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, and WHO temporary advisors from Spain and Tunisia.
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Human rights must be at the centre of all prevention, preparedness, containment and treatment efforts from the start, in order to best protect public health and support the groups and people who are most at risk. States have an obligation to protect and guarantee everyone the right to the highest at...tainable standard of health.
All European states have committed to fulfilling the right to health and have signed international and regional human rights treaties to that purpose. In the context of the current pandemic, authorities should engage all available resources to counter the pandemic while fulfilling the right to health.
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Background paper 9
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response
May 2021
Despite the continuing war in Ukraine, the Government is preparing for the country’s recovery and reconstruction. Given the magnitude of the attacks on the health infrastructure and consequent disruption to health system functioning, reconstruction of the health system is integral to the country...s recovery. The immediate priorities are to restore essential services, respond to new physical and mental health needs, protect public health, and provide a secure and attractive environment for the return of both health professionals and the general population. This policy note identifies strategic directions for post-war health system recovery in the short and longer terms, while sustaining essential health services during the ongoing invasion
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This resource mapping contains signposting and direct links to a range of resource sites and content online; this includes information about the main sources for trustworthy information about the pandemic; sites for e-learning; organisations providing COVID-19 communication response guidance and too...ls; and sites providing downloadable materials such as factsheets and posters and access to material such as videos and audio.
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Child Friendly Spaces (CFSs) are used by humanitarian agencies as a means to promote protection and psychosocial wellbeing for children in emergency settings. World Vision International together with Columbia University is conducting a series of studies to investigate the effectiveness of CFSs in va...rious humanitarian contexts in order to document evidence of the positive effects they have in relation to child wellbeing and protection, to identify good practice in their design and implementation and to develop improved monitoring and evaluation approaches for CFSs. The case studies have so far all been focused on refugee settings and while internally displaced populations (IDPs) share many of the circumstances and challenges of refugees it was decided that CFSs operating in IDP settings warrant a particular investigation in order to assess their relevance and effectiveness in promoting child protection and psychosocial wellbeing. This report thus presents the findings from an IDP focused study on CFS effectiveness in three camps near Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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The Haiti & Dominican Republic Cholera Operation Plan of Action outlines the Red Cross's strategy to combat cholera on the island of Hispaniola following the 2010 outbreak in Haiti. As part of a 10-year national strategy, the plan includes an initial two-year emergency response (2014-2016) with a bu...dget of 9.9 million Swiss francs. The approach focuses on three key areas: improving water and sanitation by repairing and expanding water systems and constructing sanitation facilities, prevention and hygiene promotion through community education and hygiene training, and preparedness and response by strengthening disease monitoring, training Red Cross volunteers, and prepositioning medical supplies. This initiative, led by the Haitian and Dominican Red Cross in collaboration with international partners and local governments, aims to reduce cholera infections and improve public health on the island.
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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.
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Core Knowledge for Emergency Preparedness and Response
Series on Disability-Inclusive Development. This publication introduces the key concepts for disability-inclusive development and highlights practical examples by CBM, to contribute to the dialogue on disability-inclusive development
In disaster preparedness, the participation of women, children, older people, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and other minority groups and sectors is important because they are the most vulnerable against disasters. Inclusive disaster preparedness provides technical and logical frameworks that as...similate the most vulnerable sectors in a community and enhances their capacity against future disasters.
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