“Women, the elderly, adolescents, youth, and children, persons with disabilities, indigenous populations, refugees, migrants, and minorities experience the highest degree
of socio-economic marginalization. Marginalized people become even more vulnerable in emergencies. This is due to factors such as their lack of access to effective surveillance and early-warning systems, and health services. The COVID-19 outbreak is predicted to have significant impacts on various sectors.
The populations most at risk are those that:
- depend heavily on the informal economy;
- occupy areas prone to shocks;
- have inadequate access to social services or political influence;
- have limited capacities and opportunities to cope and adapt and;
- limited or no access to technologies.By understanding these issues, we can support the capacity of vulnerable populations in emergencies. We can give them priority assistance, and engage them in decision-making processes for a response, recovery, preparedness, and risk reduction.”
This guide was developed under the lead of UN Women and Translators Without Borders.
The main aim of the manual is to provide those responsible for MHPSS in emergencies with a reference document that can help them in the practical implementation of their activities with a community-based approach. Some of the activities aimed at strengthening the social fabric and helping people overcome their distress described in the manual include sociocultural, artistic, and educational programs and workshops, sport and play, rituals and celebrations, counselling and clinical and social support for those with severe mental disorders. The manual describes ways to integrate mental health and psychosocial support in other activities, like livelihood support, protection of vulnerable cases, and conflict transformation.
New technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, can make humanitarian work better, faster and more effective, but there are dangers too, which is why the ICRC is proceeding with caution. Various departments across the ICRC – among them Digital Transformation & Data, Protection, Information and Communication Technology, Law and Policy – are grappling with these innovations and their implications in different ways. In this article, ICRC looks at one example.
Good risk communication is crucial for raising awareness among citizens and business about the risks their countries face. However, many countries have seen their risk communication tools fail in the past, leading to persistently low levels of risk awareness, especially in the absence of recent disasters. This OECD report surveys current trends in risk communication policies and practices across OECD and partner countries. It seeks to understand why risk communication tools have failed and what OECD countries can do to improve the effectiveness of their risk communication policies. Based on an OECD-wide survey, the report evaluates the degree to which countries have used risk communication tools to not only increase risk awareness but to inform stakeholders about potential preparedness and prevention measures they can take to boost their resilience to future risks.