Corona and the international cooperation

Medicus Mundi Switzerland The Covid-19 pandemic revealed that no country in the world was adequately prepared for a global health crisis. Thus, in late 2021, the 194 member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) resolved to learn from the experiences of the pandemic and to develop a global agreement that sets out binding cross-border measures to prevent future pandemics. Improving international cooperation, coordination and solidarity, as well as cross-sector cooperation, are key. In this edition of the MMS Bulletin, you can read about the lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic and the concrete measures being implemented to prevent health crises. We also report on an exchange between Swiss members of parliament and Swiss health experts on current health security issues.

• Medicus Mundi Switzerland

Health Policy Watch "Following the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA)’s endorsement of a delay of up to one year for finalizing a pandemic agreement, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) is set to resume talks on 16-17 July 2024. INB member states will face contentious procedural issues and thorny debates over the resolution of substantive matters including a system for Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS), One Health; and a formula assuring more equitable access to pandemic health products, where wide gaps remain. Debate around these outstanding issues is a focus of this latest issue of the Governing Pandemics Snapshot."

• Health Policy Watch

Le Temps "Les pays africains sont dans l’ensemble peu touchés par le Covid-19. La jeunesse de la population et le climat freinent sans doute la transmission du coronavirus mais l’évolution de la pandémie est incertaine, d’autant que le confinement de la population est intenable." (Photo: Social Distancing in the Market/World Bank Photo Collection/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.letemps.ch

British Medical Journal (bmj) "The covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly challenged our previously held assumptions about global disease epidemiology. Classic public health teaching promulgates the theory of a prevailing epidemiologic transition—one in which the burden of disease morphs from predominantly infectious causes to non-communicable causes as countries industrialize. That theory has now been turned on its head as public health campaigns in industrialized countries promote basic hygiene, while restrictive lockdowns upend regular life. For many, these developments feel like regression to a hitherto forgotten era, with industrialized nations now living the contemporary experience of many in developing countries." (Photo: 217 Cuban Health Specialists arriving in South Africa to curb the spread of COVID-19/GovernmentZA/flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

• blogs.bmj.com

Heidi.News "The ​Geneva Health Forum​, created in 2006 in Geneva, was forced to postpone its eighth annual conference, from March to 16-18 November due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But that has not prevented the Forum’s leadership, including GHF Director, Dr Eric Comte, from responding to the unprecedented challenge created by the crisis. From a small and modest gathering of booths and stands, the ​Geneva Health Forum has grown into an international event with a strong array of scientific sessions. ​Geneva Solutions interviewed Comte to hear about the role GHF is playing in the present emergency, and his views gleaned from years in epidemic management." (Photo: DFID - UK Department for International Development/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

• www.heidi.news

MMS Vor allem europäische Tourist*innen und danach Reisende aus den USA haben das Coronavirus in diese Region gebracht, wo sich die Epidemie Ende März 2020 noch weitgehend im Anfangsstadium befindet. Schwache und teilprivatisierte Gesundheitssysteme, in meist hochverschuldeten Ländern mit einem Grossteil der Bevölkerung ohne formelle Anstellung und mit schwachen Sozialversicherungssystemen, lassen für die kommenden Monate Böses ahnen. (Leon Nicaragua. Foto: Massimo Pedrazzini)

• www.medicusmundi.ch

World Health Organisation (WHO) Brazzaville/ Cairo, 7 April 2020 – The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has risen to more than 10 000 and caused more than 500 deaths. While the virus was slow to reach the continent compared to other parts of the world, infection has grown exponentially in recent weeks and continues to spread. Reaching the continent through travellers returning from hotspots in Asia, Europe and the United States, Africa’s first COVID-19 case was recorded in Egypt on 14 February. Since then a total of 52 countries have reported cases. Initially, mainly confined to capital cities, a significant number of countries in Africa are now reporting cases in multiple provinces. (Photo: UN Geneva/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.afro.who.int

The New Humanitarian "NAIROBI Africa was one of the last regions to register a confirmed coronavirus case, but COVID-19 is now spreading fast. There have so far been more than 9,400 confirmed cases in 52 countries, with no sign yet of a slow down. Governments initially responded with travel bans and flight restrictions. As coronavirus cases have climbed, most African countries have implemented social distancing measures – including lockdowns and curfews – to try and contain the secondary spread within communities. But in cities like Nairobi, two-thirds of the 4.4 million people are crammed into informal settlements that lack basic services, and entire families can live in a single room." (Photo: Ben Cappellacci/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

• www.thenewhumanitarian.org

Devex "What do bleeding gums, the heart, and social distancing have in common? Aside from their medical implications, they are all challenging key phrases to translate, highlighting a “blind spot” in emergency responses, experts told Devex. As fears mount over the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on low-income countries, health agencies have been ramping up communications to warn people of the virus and how to stay safe." (Photo: World Bank Photo Collection/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.devex.com

The Washington Post Used in item listings and search results. "How do the world’s poorest nations tackle a global health crisis like the current novel coronavirus outbreak? After the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, the World Bank launched the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) — an insurance-based mechanism to raise money for pandemic responses in low-income countries through “catastrophe bonds” and derivatives. The coronavirus pandemic is exactly the situation for which the PEF was designed. Most of the PEF-eligible countries are reporting cases of covid-19 (the disease caused by this coronavirus) and urgently require billions of dollars to scale up their public health response. So far, the PEF has yet to pay out a single dollar. Here’s what happened and why." (Photo: World Bank Photo Collection/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.washingtonpost.com

SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen "In Afrika wächst die Sorge vor einer ungebremsten Ausbreitung des Virus. Denn die Ärmsten können ihm kaum entfliehen. (...) Ärzte und Pflegekräfte nähern sich Kranken nur in Schutzanzügen, vor den Spitälern reiht sich Sarg an Sarg, das Gesundheitssystem steht am Rande des Kollaps: die Schreckensbilder der Ebola-Epidemie in Westafrika sind uns Europäern derzeit auf schauerliche Weise präsent. Nach konservativen Schätzungen der WHO starben von 2014 bis 2016 über 11'000 Menschen an der Infektionskrankheit. Die Dunkelziffer dürfte weit höher sein." (Foto: MMS)

• www.srf.ch

International Health Policy Blog "WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic. Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous. ” (Munich Security Conference on Feb 15, 2020). (...) In the face of limited resources and weak health systems, the COVID-19 pandemic presented sub-Saharan Africa with new challenges: the urgent need for diagnostics, care and treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, the increased burden on health systems and collapsing economies. (...) To win this virus war and impending social disruption, there is a need for effective risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) – an essential component of health emergency and response activities." (Photo: Prachatai/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.internationalhealthpolicies.org

Foreign Policy (FP) "A poor country succeeded in fighting off Ebola. Wealthier countries should replicate Liberia’s strategy in combating the coronavirus. (...) Those first days of the 2014 Ebola outbreak and Liberia’s response from that point on can offer important lessons to European and North American governments in light of the World Health Organization’s announcement that the new coronavirus is now a pandemic—and the evidence in rising caseloads from Madrid to London to New York." (Photo: USAID U.S. Agency for International Development/flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)

• foreignpolicy.com

tagesschau.de "Auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent gibt es immer mehr Corona-Infizierte. Experten fürchten, ein Ausbruch wie in Europa, werde die fragilen Gesundheitssysteme überlasten - mit schlimmen Folgen." (Foto: Protecting shared Microphones/ MONUSCO/ Radio Okapi/flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

• www.tagesschau.de

British Medical Journal (bmj) "A global expert group on older people might be useful: The global response to covid-19 has been described as being “too little, too late.” National and international efforts are now gathering pace. Those involved in these efforts can draw on a rapidly growing body of research, much summarised in regularly updated guidelines published by national and international authorities, covering the latest information on the virus, its mode of transmission, its spread, and the susceptibility of different groups within the population. Although many aspects of this new infection remain uncertain, one thing is already clear. The risk of dying from covid-19 increases with age, and most of the deaths observed are in people older than 60, especially those with chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease." (Photo: MMS)

• www.bmj.com

Equinet Africa "This brief summarises and provides links to official, scientific and other resources to support an understanding of and individual to regional level responses to the epidemic of ‘novel coronavirus’, also known as COVID-19.On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and on March 11 2020 it declared it a pandemic. The International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 term a PHEIC an extraordinary eventthat constitutes “a risk to other States through the international spread of disease”, requiringa coordinated international response."

• www.equinetafrica.org

Center for Global Development (CGD) "As travelers cancel flights, businesses ask workers to stay home, and stocks fall, a global health crisis becomes a global economic crisis. In any health crisis, our first concern is (and should be) with the health of those affected. More than 4,000 people have died worldwide and more than 113,000 cases have been confirmed in over 110 countries. But unfortunately, the economic impacts also have dramatic effects on the wellbeing of families and communities. For vulnerable families, lost income due to an outbreak can translate to spikes in poverty, missed meals for children, and reduced access to healthcare far beyond COVID-19. While the spread in the United States and Europe absorbs much of the media coverage, confirmed cases from Bangladesh to Brazil, from Cameroon to Costa Rica, and in many other low- and middle-income countries mean that many of the economic impacts may affect the world’s most vulnerable populations." (Photo: Trade for Development/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.cgdev.org

British Medical Journal (bmj) "Principles and methods drawn from decades of work showing that lower socioeconomic status is associated with poorer health should guide efforts to monitor and mitigate the impact of the covid-19 pandemic argue Geoffrey Anderson and colleagues." (Photo: USAID U.S. Agency for International Development/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.bmj.com

International AIDS Society "The International AIDS Society (IAS) is organizing a series of webinars on the topic of COVID-19 and HIV to discuss the pandemic and its impact on people living with HIV. Through these webinar sessions, the IAS would like to provide an opportunity for discussion around the latest science, in addition to sharing learning and best practices in relation to COVID-19 and HIV between countries at different stages of the pandemic, especially in lower- and middle-income countries. The webinars are recommended to HIV professionals, government representatives working in the field of HIV, public health specialists, programme managers, service providers, civil society representatives and members of organizations supporting key and vulnerable populations." (Photo: IAS)

• www.iasociety.org

Health Policy Watch A new survey by WHO has found that the COVID-19 pandemic has ‘severely’ disrupted the delivery of services to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in almost 80% of countries surveyed – or 122 out of 150 countries. This is of “significant concern” WHO said on Monday in a statement, because people with NCDs also are more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection and death. And even prior to the pandemic, some three quarters of all deaths worldwide were due to NCDs. (Photo: World Bank Photo Collection/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• healthpolicy-watch.news

United Nations "Although the COVID-19 crisis is, in the first instance, a physical health crisis, it has the seeds of a major mental health crisis as well, if action is not taken. Good mental health is critical to the functioning of society at the best of times. It must be front and centre of every country’s response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health and wellbeing of whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis and are a priority to be addressed urgently." (Photo: Liberal Democrats/flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

• www.un.org

The Guardian "Ministers and officials from every nation will meet via video link on Monday for the annual world health assembly, which is expected to be dominated by efforts to stop rich countries monopolising drugs and future vaccines against Covid-19. As some countries buy up drugs thought to be useful against the coronavirus, causing global shortages, and the Trump administration does deals with vaccine companies to supply America first, there is dismay among public health experts and campaigners who believe it is vital to pull together to end the pandemic." (Photo: EpicTop10.com/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

• www.theguardian.com

Devex "A few short months ago, we were talking about the 2020s as the “decade of delivery” for the Sustainable Development Goals. Now, we are facing a “lost decade” as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to roll back the hard-won gains of the last 30 years. Can we prevent a great reversal in development? That is the question hanging over millions of the world’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. The health, the hopes, and, in some cases, the lives of these children are on the line — not that you would know it from the international response." (Photo: UNICEF Ethiopia/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.devex.com

The Guardian “In the war against any infectious virus,” says Dr Alan McOwan, “You’re trying to win various battles. You have to keep clobbering it from every direction you can.” That’s true for coronavirus, he says, as well as for other viral conditions. An HIV specialist at London’s 56 Dean Street sexual health clinic, McOwan sees similarities between Covid-19 and HIV. Both are viruses without a working vaccine, you can be infectious without knowing it, and both rely mostly on close human contact to spread." (Photo: NIAID/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

• www.theguardian.com

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) "UNFPA aims to achieve three world-changing results by 2030, the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. These are: Ending unmet need for family planning, ending gender-based violence including harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriage, and ending all preventable maternal deaths. COVID-19 pandemic could critically undermine progress made towards achieving these goals." (Photo: Bread for the World/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.unfpa.org

European Commission "Today, the Commission registered €7.4 billion, equivalent to $8 billion, in pledges from donors worldwide during the Coronavirus Global Response pledging event. This includes a pledge of €1.4 billion by the Commission. This almost reaches the initial target of €7.5 billion and is a solid starting point for the worldwide pledging marathon, which begins today. The aim is to gather significant funding to ensure the collaborative development and universal deployment of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines against coronavirus." (Photo: LIBER Europe/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

• ec.europa.eu

International Health Policy Blog "According to Remco van de Pas, SDG3 on health and wellbeing has been irrelevant to address global challenges in this area. The futility of this SDG and limits of the World Health Organization are today painfully clear in the approach of the covid-19 pandemic. Although the crisis was not unexpected, WHO member states have insufficiently invested and left much scope for charities and private investors. The author scrutinizes global public health policies and advocates the creation of a new Jubilee Campaign for indebted countries."

• www.internationalhealthpolicies.org

www.aidspan.org "Early March, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria recognized the threat that the novel coronavirus that causes the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) poses to the health systems of its beneficiary countries. The Global Fund issued a first guidance note allowing countries to redeploy underutilized assets, repurpose grant savings and, in exceptional cases, reprogram up to 5% funding from existing grants to fight COVID-19. The Secretariat estimates the costs of these flexibilities at $500 million. A month later, the Global Fund announced an additional $500 million to a newly created COVID-19 Response Mechanism."

• www.aidspan.org

International AIDS Society "The International AIDS Society (IAS) is organizing a series of webinars on the topic of COVID-19 and HIV to discuss the pandemic and its impact on people living with HIV. Through these webinar sessions, the IAS would like to provide an opportunity for discussion around the latest science, in addition to sharing learning and best practices in relation to COVID-19 and HIV between countries at different stages of the pandemic, especially in lower- and middle-income countries. The webinars are recommended to HIV professionals, government representatives working in the field of HIV, public health specialists, programme managers, service providers, civil society representatives and members of organizations supporting key and vulnerable populations."

• www.iasociety.org

The Guardian "The government’s plan to exit lockdown through a tracking app will need detailed justification to satisfy human rights and data protection laws, a report has warned. A centralised system for contact tracing, which it is thought the government may well choose, would result in “significantly greater interference with users’ privacy and require greater justification”, the report – given as a legal opinion – concludes." (Photo: Aaron Yoo/flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

• www.theguardian.com

COVID-19 Diaries "Director-General Tedros and other senior officials at WHO have today been retweeting an interview from the Financial Times in which Bill Gates announces that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is refocusing all of its efforts on the COVID-19 response: “We’ve taken an organisation that was focused on HIV and malaria and polio eradication, and almost entirely shifted it to work on this [COVID-19] … This has the foundation’s total attention.” (Photo: UN Geneva/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• covid19healthdiaries.com

La Centrale Sanitaire Suisse Romande (CSSR) Il n’y a pas encore de catastrophe due au COVID-19 en Amérique latine, mis à part en Equateur. Dans tous les pays avec lesquels nous travaillons, il y a confinement, constatation de la fragilité des systèmes de santé, manque de matériel pour contenir l’épidémie. Les projets de la CSSR vont continuer, mais aussi ralentir. C’est le cas au Nicaragua, au Guatemala, au Mexique. (Photo: CSSR)

• css-romande.ch

Enfants du Monde Am 9. März 2020 gab es in Burkina Faso die ersten Fälle von COVID-19. Mit 766 bestätigten Fällen und 52 Todesfällen (Stand am 13. Mai 2020) ist das Land heute eines der am schlimmsten betroffenen in Afrika. Neun der 13 Gesundheitsregionen des Landes sind von der Epidemie betroffen. Um das Gesundheitsministerium von Burkina Faso im Kampf gegen COVID-19 zu unterstützen, stellt Enfants du Monde in Zusammenarbeit mit unserem lokalen Partner IPC/BF (Initiative Privée et Communautaire pour la santé et la riposte au VIH/Sida au Burkina Faso) und mit finanzieller Unterstützung der Schweizer Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und ihrer Geldgeber, Schutzausrüstungen für Gesundheitsdienstleister zur Verfügung und informiert die Bevölkerung. (Foto: Enfants du Monde)

• www.edm.ch

Comundo Comment s'en sortir dans une grande ville comme El Alto / La Paz durant la crise du Coronavirus ? Économie informelle au point mort, violence domestique, système de santé défaillant : Jérôme Gyger relate la situation sur place et explique son projet d'agriculture urbaine, qui donne une partie de la solution. (Photo: Avec Doña Bartolina Ticona dans sa petite serre de production biologique à El Alto/ © Comundo)

• www.comundo.org

Comundo Überforderung, fehlende Betreuung und steigende Gewalt dominieren Städte wie Cochabamba in Bolivien in Zeiten der Coronakrise. Dabei geht vergessen: Kinder sind nicht nur Opfer, sondern besitzen auch Potential zur Krisenbewältigung in Familie und Gesellschaft. (Foto: Ein Mädchen, das an einem Markt in der Nähe von Quillacolo (ausserhalb Cochabamba) trotz Quarantäne versucht ihren Lebensunterhalt zu verdienen. | Lizeth Salazar Bustos/AVE)

• www.comundo.org

Global Disaster Preparedness Center (GDPC) "National Societies' and volunteers' roles will change through the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic in their respective countries and communities, based on which activities to support public health, clinical and health systems activities are likely to be most impactful in their context and with their outbreak dynamics. This Health Help Desk Website provided by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) offers three functions: 1) Huge resource library of all available health documents, guidelines and research. Scroll down the page and click on the bold themes, and further information will open. 2) Pose any question you have to the helpdesk. They try to answer asap 3) Any questions and related answers are available on the Q&A site. Please check the Q&A section, before you pose a new question to the help desk." (Photo: © GDPC)

• www.preparecenter.org

Comundo Viele leiden aktuell unter den weltweiten Quarantäne-Massnahmen. Doch es gibt Menschen, die zu ihrem Eigenschutz zuhause bleiben möchten, dies aber nicht dürfen. Die Psychotherapeutin und Comundo-Fachperson Bitia Vargas unterstützt staatliches Sicherheits- und Gesundheitspersonal in der Krise und gewährt uns einen Blick hinter die Kulissen der bolivianischen Polizei. (Im Bild die bolivianische Polizei mit einer Einheit für Bio-Sicherheit. ©ABI )

• www.comundo.org

rts.ch "Tous les vendredis, "CQFD" reçoit un homme ou une femme de science pour parler de son travail et de ses recherches. Aujourd'hui, Sarah Dirren a invité Vinh-Kim Nguyen, médecin urgentiste, professeur dʹanthropologie et de sociologie de la santé et co-directeur du Centre de santé globale au Graduate Institute de Genève (IHEID), professeur au Département de médecine sociale et préventive de lʹUniversité de Montréal et Research Fellow au Max-Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, à Halle, en Allemagne. - Une heure pour faire connaissance avec ce spécialiste dont les activités se partagent entre action sur le terrain et analyse plus globale des crises sanitaires, du VIH au Covid-19, en passant par Ebola." (Photo: IHEID)

• pages.rts.ch

Graduate Institute Geneva - Global Health Centre "Gian Luca Burci and Jennifer Hasselgard-Rowe examine the rights-related measures that have been adopted by the Swiss Confederation and the Cantons to respond to the current Covid-19 crisis. The main regulatory avenue that Switzerland’s Federal Council has used in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been to issue federal orders effective across the entire Swiss territory." (Photo: GIG_GHC)

• graduateinstitute.ch

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) "Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries have seen an increase in the risk of domestic violence due to the lockdown and limited access to support services. Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis has therefore signed a joint statement with 58 other countries calling to strengthen the protection of women and girls during the COVID-19 crisis. The joint statement calls for international responses to protect women's health and physical safety, but also to ensure women's active participation at all levels of decision-making in relation to the pandemic. It calls on all stakeholders, including the private sector, to come together to provide emergency assistance to the most vulnerable countries and to give full effect to the global commitment to universal access to healthcare."

• www.eda.admin.ch

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Kinderhilfe Bethlehem Die Schweizerin Linda Bergauer arbeitet seit knapp einem Jahr für das Caritas Baby Hospital in Bethlehem. Das Corona-Virus hat ihr Leben vor Ort auf den Kopf gestellt. Ein persönlicher Erfahrungsbericht zur Corona-Krise aus Jerusalem und Bethlehem. (Foto: Leere in der Altstadt Jerusalems/Joan Mas Autonell)

• www.kinderhilfe-bethlehem.ch

Site Suisse-Santé-Haïti La pandémie de Coronavirus prend une dimension particulière dans un pays comme Haïti. Suisse-Santé-Haïti fait le maximum pour prévenir la propagation du virus notamment par la diffusion d'une vidéo de prévention dans ses centres de santé. Nous avons sollicité notre personnel soignant ainsi que certain membres de notre organisation pour réaliser ce message d’information en créole. Nous espérons aussi que beaucoup d’Haïtien.e.s s’enverront cette vidéo par whatsapp.

• suissesantehaiti.ch

Schweizerisches Rotes Kreuz (SRK) Das Schweizerische Rote Kreuz SRK unterstützt den Bund bei der Bewältigung der Corona-Pandemie, unter anderem indem es grosse Mengen von Schutzmasken, Schutzoveralls und Handschuhen aus China importiert. Die Fluggesellschaft Swiss führte dazu bisher sieben Flüge von Shanghai nach Zürich durch. (Foto: Die vom SRK beschafften medizinischen Hilfsgüter werden im Flughafen Zürich ausgeladen. © SWISS)

• www.redcross.ch

Schweizerisches Rotes Kreuz (SRK) Das SRK unterstützt die nationalen Rotkreuz- und Rothalbmondgesellschaften in seinen rund 30 Einsatzländern. In Ghana wird die Bevölkerung über das Radio zu präventiven Hygienemassnahmen sensibilisiert. (Foto: In Radiosendungen geht das Rote Kreuz auf die Sorgen der Bevölkerung ein und klärt sie über das Coronavirus auf. © Ghana Red Cross)

• www.redcross.ch

Comundo Von der Coronavirus-Krise sind auch die Regionen betroffen, in denen Comundo-Fachleute ihre Einsätze leisten. Was genau bedeutet dies für unsere Fachleute, unsere Projekte oder für Einsatzinteressierte? (Foto: Bolivien, Cochabamba: Comundo Fachperson Lisa Macconi und ein Mitarbeiter der „Fundación Estrellas en la calle“ geben Infos über den Corona-Virus an eine Gruppe von Obdachlosen. 16.3.2020 Comundo)

• www.comundo.org

World Health Organisation (WHO) "When health systems are overwhelmed, both direct mortality from an outbreak and indirect mortality from vaccine-preventable and treatable conditions increase dramatically. Countries will need to make difficult decisions to balance the demands of responding directly to COVID-19, while simultaneously engaging in strategic planning and coordinated action to maintain essential health service delivery, mitigating the risk of system collapse. This document expands on the content of the Operational planning guidelines to support country preparedness and response, and provides guidance on a set of targeted immediate actions that countries should consider at national, regional, and local level to reorganize and maintain access to high-quality essential health services for all." (Photo: UN Geneva/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.who.int

Help Age International "This document provides guidance and advice for care homes about coronavirus, or COVID-19. While older people in care homes are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, there are steps that can be taken to reduce their risk, and to ensure they are well cared for and supported. Care home staff must also be looked after and must be equipped with information to protect themselves as well as those in their care. The document includes information on personal behaviour, action to take inside the care home, interaction with the outside environment, management responsibilities, governance, and what to do if someone has COVID-19." (Photo: Katja Busch / Kwa Wazee)

• www.helpage.org

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World Health Organisation (WHO) "All countries should increase their level of preparedness, alert and response to identify, manage and care for new cases of COVID-19. Countries should prepare to respond to different public health scenarios, recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing cases and outbreaks of COVID-19. Each country should assess its risk and rapidly implement the necessary measures at the appropriate scale to reduce both COVID-19 transmission and economic, public and social impacts." (Photo: UN Geneva/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.who.int

World Health Organisation (WHO) "This rapid advice has been updated with the latest information and is intended to guide public health and infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals, health care managers and health care workers (HCWs) when addressing issues related to home care for patients with suspected COVID-19 who present with mild symptoms and when managing their contacts." (Photo: UN Geneva/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• www.who.int

The Lancet "To assist health workers and researchers working under challenging conditions to bring this outbreak to a close, The Lancet has created a Coronavirus Resource Centre. This resource brings together new 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) content from across The Lancet journals as it is published." (Photo: Coronavirus/duncan c/flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)

• www.thelancet.com

Medicus Mundi International (MMI) Basel/Geneva, March 2020. The outbreak of the “coronavirus” (covid19) all around the world is not only feeding headlines and news. It influences very concretely the lives of many of us. But it also raises questions on health systems, health policies, access to health, health governance or international cooperation. (Photo: MMI)

• www.medicusmundi.org

People´s Health Movement This page is a collection of statements and articles that have been prepared by PHM, its regional and country circles and also like minded civil society organisations on the issues around the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

• phmovement.org