In: Schweizerische Ärztezeitung: SÄZ ; offizielles Organ der FMH und der FMH Services = Bulletin des médecins suisses : BMS = Bollettino dei medici svizzeri
The humanitarian system is struggling to adapt to changes in the global political environment, trends in armed conflict and displacement, and advances in science and technology. In recent years, the international community has undertaken a number of efforts to overcome these challenges, such as the Agenda for Humanity, a plan that outlines the changes needed to alleviate suffering, reduce risk, and lessen vulnerability on a global scale. This article reviews recent evidence from a range of disciplines to inform these efforts, especially as they relate to the protection of children. Early childhood and adolescence constitute two critical periods of child development that lay the foundations for future health and wellbeing. Exposure to adversity in crisis contexts can compromise this development, with potentially life-long consequences. Evidence suggests that relationships with caregivers and peers play a central role in mediating childhood experiences of adversity. Unfortunately, interventions for children affected by crises are usually too fragmented to maximize the protective effects of healthy relationships. This article stresses the importance of developing multisectoral and relational interventions capable of promoting healthy development across the life course. Given the central role of caregivers, the household is an especially powerful level of intervention for combining approaches from different sectors. More concerted efforts are needed to develop household interventions that combine traditional sectoral approaches with innovative, cross-cutting measures, such as cash transfers and parental support. Household interventions should also be an integral part of broader community and society level actions, which together form more comprehensive systems of care.
The humanitarian system is struggling to adapt to changes in the global political environment, trends in armed conflict and displacement, and advances in science and technology. In recent years, the international community has undertaken a number of efforts to overcome these challenges, such as the Agenda for Humanity, a plan that outlines the changes needed to alleviate suffering, reduce risk, and lessen vulnerability on a global scale. This article reviews recent evidence from a range of disciplines to inform these efforts, especially as they relate to the protection of children. Early childhood and adolescence constitute two critical periods of child development that lay the foundations for future health and wellbeing. Exposure to adversity in crisis contexts can compromise this development, with potentially life-long consequences. Evidence suggests that relationships with caregivers and peers play a central role in mediating childhood experiences of adversity. Unfortunately, interventions for children affected by crises are usually too fragmented to maximize the protective effects of healthy relationships. This article stresses the importance of developing multisectoral and relational interventions capable of promoting healthy development across the life course. Given the central role of caregivers, the household is an especially powerful level of intervention for combining approaches from different sectors. More concerted efforts are needed to develop household interventions that combine traditional sectoral approaches with innovative, cross-cutting measures, such as cash transfers and parental support. Household interventions should also be an integral part of broader community and society level actions, which together form more comprehensive systems of care.
Background:Timely strategic information is essential for decision makers to mount an effective public health response to infectious disease outbreaks, and public health actors must find an effective way to supply it. The Centre for International Health Protection at the Robert Koch Institute (Germany's national public health institute) developed a three-pronged approach to processing and supplying strategic information on the international state of the COVID-19 pandemic to the German Federal Ministry of Health: monitoring and analysis of international public health and social measures (PHSM); screening, validating, analysing and reporting the global epidemiological situation; and in-depth analyses and syntheses of COVID-19 evidence. Aims and objectives:We discuss the approach taken by the Centre to provide strategic information and challenges and adaptations during the information provision process. We then distil lessons that will be critical to improve strategic information provision for evidence-informed decision making in future public health emergencies. Key conclusions:Several lessons can be derived from the Centre's experience. Timeliness of evidence is essential for enabling decision makers to tailor a public health response to an outbreak, and requires sufficient and skilled staff to process evidence. Evidence formats should be adapted to decision makers' information needs; this requires open channels of communication to understand needs. Access to high-quality international data hinges on data sharing across countries and the capacity to collect and process such data in many countries. Heeding the lessons will strengthen pandemic response.