The Africa Scorecard on Domestic Financing for Health is a health financing management tool for governments on the African continent. AidSpan, the independent observer of the Global Fund, describes the scorecard as a tool intended to help with financial planning for the health sector and with monitoring government domestic health spending performance against key global and regional health financing benchmarks. It is also intended to help governments compare their performance with each other. The 2018 Africa Scorecard on Domestic Financing for Health was adopted by the African Union Heads of State and Government Assembly on 2 July 2018 during the Summit in Nouakchott, Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The Scorecard can be accessed in English, French and Portuguese.
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At any one time, dozens of infectious disease outbreaks are happening around the world. Those on the frontlines are often more visible, but behind the scenes, many activities are taking place to control the spread of these diseases. In this special feature, the World Health Organisation highlights a series of recent health emergencies, telling the stories behind the headlines and exploring the many different dimensions of an outbreak response. Humanitarian crises, forced migration, environmental degradation, climate change, reduced access to health services and prolonged conflict often provide exactly the right conditions for an outbreak to occur. Diphtheria - a bacterial disease that is preventable through a simple inexpensive vaccine – is one such example. Dr. Khadimul Anam Mazhar working in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, found diptheria to be the main focus of his work. The outbreaks of Ebola in DRC and diphtheria among the Rohingya refugees have starkly different profiles. One was a naturally occurring zoonosis in a remote area, the other the result of a major migration of a highly stressed population. For all the differences, however, they also share similar traits: prolonged conflict, inadequate water and sanitation systems, and struggling health systems. The cases highlight two critical and often overlooked issues: 1) multiple countries around the world are facing severe health crises, and 2) many of these countries have several health crises occurring at the same time. While it is critical to treat patients affected by epidemic diseases, the response is much more than purely medical. The range of necessary expertise includes epidemiologists, logisticians, clinicians, data managers, anthropologists and planners.
This manual provides concise and up-to-date knowledge on 15 infectious diseases that have the potential to become international threats, and tips on how to respond to each of them. The 21st century has already been marked by major epidemics. Old diseases - cholera, plague and yellow fever - have returned, and new ones have emerged - SARS, pandemic influenza, MERS, Ebola and Zika. These epidemics and their impact on global public health have convinced the world's governments of the need for a collective and coordinated defence against emerging public health threats and accelerated the revision of the International Health Regulations (2005), that entered into force in 2007. The diseases covered are: Ebola virus disease, lassa fever, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, yellow fever, Zika, chikungunya, avian and other zoonotic influenza, seasonal influenza, pandemic influenza, Middle-East respiratory syndrome (MERS), cholera, monkeypox, plague, leptospirosis and meningococcal meningitis. Although originally developed as guidance for WHO officials, this publication is available to a wide readership including all frontline responders - communities, government officials, non-state actors and public health professionals - who need to respond rapidly and effectively when an outbreak is detected.
The World Health Statistics series is WHO’s annual snapshot of the state of the world’s health. This 2018 edition contains the latest available data for 36 health-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators. It also links to the three SDG-aligned strategic priorities of the WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work: achieving universal health coverage, addressing health emergencies and promoting healthier populations. The latest data available shows that less than half the people in the world today get all of the health services they need. In 2010, almost 100 million people were pushed into extreme poverty because they had to pay for health services out of their own pockets. 13 million people die every year before the age of 70 from cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and cancer – most in low and middle-income countries.
IHS, the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam is launching their 1st MOOC (Massive Open Online Course): “Planning for Climate Change in African Cities”. Developed in collaboration with the African Local Governments Academy (ALGA), United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG) and Erasmus University Rotterdam, this free MOOC is 5 weeks and it offers the basics of urban resilience and adaptation, climate change planning, and policy assessment tools. The course is open to students and professionals in the fields of urban planning, environmental science, climate change, and other related fields.
This document aims to lead program managers, planners, and decision-makers through a strategic process to identify effective investments for engaging men in efforts to improve sexual and reproductive health. In this guide, male engagement refers to the involvement of men and boys in family planning programs across life stages, including addressing gender norms and gender equality. The guide follows four steps; defining the behavioural aim of the initiative, assessing men’s and boys’ knowledge and attitudes related to reproduction and contraception, assessing how gender norms affect male engagement in family planning, and identifying programming approaches that engage men and boys.
The Local government Community of Practice is a ‘virtual’ community that seeks to enable interaction on various gender and governance issues. Ideal for local government practitioners and academia this platform invokes participants to learn and share best practices, resources and critical thinking on gender and service delivery across the SADC region to bring ‘the local government we want’. Members are encouraged to make use of the Local Government Gender Score Card tool that measures the Centres of Excellence (COE) progress in gender mainstreaming and sensitive service delivery. Aligned is a newly developed Local Government Citizen’s Score Card that provides an opportunity for community members served by COE councils to assess and measure council’s progress towards achieving gender sensitive and responsive service delivery. The results from these tools aim to assist in strengthened policies and development projects that are implemented to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and SADC Gender Protocol Agenda 2030.
This manual is intended for health managers at all levels of the health systems. It is based on World Health Organization (WHO) 2013 guidelines for responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women. The manual primarily addresses public sector health services, but is also relevant for health services in the private sector, including services provided by nongovernmental organizations. It is intended for policy-makers, health services managers at hospital or health facility level who have responsibility for facility level planning as well as day-to-day coordination and management of services, and offers easy steps, practical tips and job aids to help plan and manage services.
Wikipedia is the world’s largest online and user-generated encyclopaedia, and its content has the potential to colour a global view of the world. But women are under-represented there, like in many other parts of society. Sweden is the first country in the world with a feminist foreign policy. The #Wikigap initiative and event is about realising this policy in both word and deed. #WikiGap gathers people around the world to add more content to Wikipedia about women figures, experts, role models and profiles in various fields. Now it is the turn for Zimbabwe. This initiative invites people to help close the internet gender gap by getting more Zimbabwean women featured on Wikipedia. It invites you to nominate a Zimbabwean woman - past and present- who should have a feature/article on Wikipedia.
The Health Systems Governance Collaborative is a group of practitioners, policy makers, academics, civil society representatives, agencies, decision-makers and other committed citizens seeking to connect and engage about important health systems governance issues. The Collaborative fosters creative and safe spaces to address health systems governance challenges and promote real impact on the ground. It offers a place to connect with the great variety of stakeholders in health systems governance worldwide, confront ideas, disseminate knowledge and share experiences. The Collaborative encourages people to engage through this online interactive platform, where they can participate in consultations and discussions.