Public health emergencies: COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic
Public health emergencies of international concern indicating health risk beyond borders, requiring coordinated international response. Pandemics involve global spread of a new disease, while epidemics exceed normal expectancy in a specific region.
Global Humanitarian Response Plan COVID-19
2020United Nations Coordinated Appeal
COVID-19 is having an unprecedented impact on all countries, both in terms of prompting the scaling of public health preparedness and response and protection of vulnerable populations, and in terms of requiring mitigation of broader social and econom...
The Right to Health
World Health Organization, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
First of all, we need to be reminded of the fundamental human right to health, meaning that every human being has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. As stated by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros...
EPI-WIN: WHO Information Network for Epidemics
WHO
Our work aims to make scientific information accessible, understandable and meaningful to all communities during emergencies so that their decisions, policies and actions are evidence-informed.
Policy Brief: Covid-19 and the Need for Action on Menta...
2020United 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 ...
Situation reports, WHO African Region COVID 19
WHO Regional Office for Africa
In Africa, the virus has spread to dozens of countries within weeks. Governments and health authorities across the continent are striving to limit widespread infections. Since the start of the outbreak the World Health Organization (WHO) has been sup...
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Regional Office for the ...
WHO
World Health Organization official information page in English and Spanish about the pandemic in North and South America, including Latin America and the Caribbean. Includes interactive map with updated number of reported cases, technical guidelines,...
Official WHO EMRO webpage with information on COVID-19
WHO
The past weeks have seen some of the most developed health systems in the world struggle with their response to COVID-19. The emergence of the virus in much more vulnerable countries with fragile health systems in the Region, including Syria and Liby...
COVID-19: The Pandemic and The Response in the WHO-Sout...
WHO
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, WHO is supporting countries in their containment and mitigation efforts such as by providing technical guidance, laboratory capacity strengthening for testing, equipment for hospitals and healthcare workers, and cre...
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Regional Offic...
WHO
Since 2 January 2020, the three levels of WHO (China country office, Regional Office for the Western Pacific and headquarters) have been working together to respond to this outbreak of COVID-19. On 30 January, WHO declared the outbreak a Public Healt...
Advice of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture to ...
2020UN
Within the space of a few short weeks, Coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a profound impact on daily life, with many impositions of severe restrictions upon personal movement and personal freedoms to enable the authorities to better combat the pandemic t...
National Preventive Mechanisms relating to the Coronavi...
2020The UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture (SPT),
Persons deprived of their liberty comprise a particularly vulnerable group owing to the nature of the restrictions which are already placed upon them and their limited capacity to take precautionary measures. Within prisons and other detention settin...
COVID-19: Focus on Persons Deprived of their Liberty
2020OHCHR and WHO,
COVID-19 has been declared a global pandemic and as it is spreading, identified vulnerabilities such as the situation of persons deprived of their liberty in prisons, administrative detention centres, immigration detention centres and drug rehabilita...
Mental Health and Psychosocial Considerations During CO...
2020World Health Organization,
WHO and public health authorities around the world are acting to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. However, this time of crisis is generating stress in the population. These mental health considerations were developed by the WHO’s Department of Mental H...
Addressing mental health and psychosocial aspects of CO...
2020Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC),
This briefing note (Version 1.5) summarizes key mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) considerations in relation to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Identifying & Mitigating Gender-based Violence Ris...
2020IASC, Global Protection Cluster
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present an array of challenges, forcing nearly all types of basic service delivery – including, but not limited to, humanitarian response – to drastically adapt. Given how quickly the outbreak continues to evolve; t...
Ongoing emergencies
WHO
We are currently responding to ongoing emergencies in multiple countries, working to keep people safe while they are on the move and displaced from their homes.
Tools & Resources COVID-19
2020Gender Based Violence AoR,
Resource page for the COVID-19 pandemic including: Case study/best practices/examples from the field (Mozambique, Sudan, Libya, Iraq, South Sudan, Myanmar). Helpdesk Products. Report/literature review/research paper. Manual and toolkit. E-learnings, ...
GENDER IMPLICATIONS OF COVID-19 OUTBREAKS IN DEVELOPMEN...
2020CARE
Until recently, the transmission of COVID-19 to developing countries or those experiencing ongoing humanitarian emergencies had been limited,3 but such transmission is now occurring. Development and humanitarian settings pose particular challenges fo...
GBV Case Management and the COVID-19 Pandemic
2020GBV AoR Helpdesk by Robyn Yaker and Dorcas Erskine,
This note aims to provide practical support to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) practitioners to adapt GBV case management service delivery models quickly and ethically during the current COVID-19 pandemic. It does not address all aspects of a gendered an...
CP AoR Child Protection Resource Menu for COVID-19
Child Protection
The CP AoR Help Desk is managing a dropbox folder with collected global, regional, and country-level resources for COVID-19, and this document will be a living document stored in the dropbox folder.
Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Schools
2020UNICEF, WHO, IFRC
The purpose of this document is to provide clear and actionable guidance for safe operations through the prevention, early detection and control of COVID-19 in schools and other educational facilities. The guidance, while specific to countries that h...
Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and...
National Institute of Mental Health, USA
The purpose of this fact sheet is to tell what is known about the impact of violence and disasters on children and adolescents and suggest steps to minimize long-term emotional harm.
What can we say to children about Coronavirus (COVID-19...
Clinic for crisis psychology, Norway
Since we made the first and second edition of these guidelines, much has happened. A new update is needed. In several countries schools and kindergartens are now closed. Adults and children in these countries are taking a collective responsibility to...
Speaking of Psychology: Coronavirus Anxiety – Bonus Epi...
2020 American Psychological Association,
Fear about the coronavirus has gripped the world. While nearly all cases have been in China, that has not stopped people in other countries from worrying. This new illness certainly is frightening and needs attention, but it’s important to note that ...
Five Ways to View Coverage of the Coronavirus
2020American Psychological Association,
New reports about COVID-19 are becoming more widespread and are making some people anxious. Here are some tips to help you manage your anxiety, put news reports in perspective and maintain a positive outlook. You can access the list of recommendation...
COVID-19 Operational Guidance Note: Mental Health and P...
2020International Rescue Committee
This guidance summarizes the key actions for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We anticipate that pre-existing mental health conditions will be exacerbated, and that new mental health problems...
COVID-19: Operational Guidance for Migrant & Displ...
April 2020Save the Children
COVID-19’s rapid spread poses particular challenges for vulnerable populations, especially migrants and displaced (M&D) children. Over 180 countries – and rising – have identified cases of COVID-19, and migration is often cited as the reaso...
COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak
2020Clare Wenham, Julia Smith, Rosemary Morgan, on behalf of the Gender and COVID-19 Working Group, the Lancet
If the response to disease outbreaks such as COVID-19 is to be effective and not reproduce or perpetuate gender and health inequities, it is important that gender norms, roles, and relations that influence women’s and men’s differential vulnerability...
AMERICAS AT A CROSSROADS IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19
2020Amnesty International
Blog post Faced with an unprecedented pandemic, governments across the Americas have begun to respond to COVID-19 in a variety of ways, ranging from calling for states of emergencies, to imposing travel bans, to implementing quarantines. Stakes are h...
Human Rights Dimensions of COVID-19 Response
2020Human Rights Watch
International human rights law guarantees everyone the right to the highest attainable standard of health and obligates governments to take steps to prevent threats to public health and to provide medical care to those who need it. Human rights law a...
Guidelines and manuals on Disasters
Natural disasters have significant psychological and social impacts on affected populations. Protecting and improving mental health requires coordinated action and a multi-sectoral framework. These guidelines aim to fill that gap by reflecting good practices and recommending interventions.
DISASTERS
nc
This is the main page of NCTSN concerning Natural Disasters. It provides the most important links under this topic – earthquakes, epidemics, fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and tsunamis. Under each of these pages, you will find lots of very use...
Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7
OCHA
This section provides an overview of OCHA’s mandate, its leadership and how it is funded. It also includes a detailed section on OCHA’s flagship and thematic publications, and on the Agenda for Humanity – a plan put forward by the UN Secretary-...
Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in...
2007IASC
Reading the full IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings from cover to cover may not be possible during an emergency. This limitation led to the development of this field version, which may be used as a check-l...
IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Suppo...
2007IASC
These guidelines reflect the insights of practitioners from different geographic regions, disciplines and sectors, and reflect an emerging consensus on good practice among practitioners. The core idea behind them is that, in the early phase of an eme...
Disaster Mental Health Handbook Disaster Services
2012American Red Cross
An educational resource for mental health professionals involved in disaster management.
Disaster Psychosocial Response – Handbook for com...
2005Academy for Disaster Management Education, Planning, & Training, India
More than 100,000 people have been unsettled in the Tsunami hit Cuddalore district in Tamilnadu, India. The Academy for Disaster Management Education, Planning & Training (ADEPT) coordinated with a group of major charitable hospitals from all ov...
Coping With Disasters – a Guidebook to Psychosoci...
2001John H. Ehrenreich
This manual is a guide to psychosocial interventions to help people cope with the emotional effects of disasters.
The Humanitarian Emergency Settings Perceived Needs Sca...
WHO
The HESPER Scale was developed to fill the gap between the population-based objective indicators (for example malnutrition or mortality indicators), and the qualitative data based on convenience samples (for example through focus groups or key info...
Mental health and social health after acute emergencies
2005Ommeren, Saxcena & Saraceno, Round Table WHO Bulletin
This represents a short overview and consensus about best to cope with disasters, both practical topics and mentioning the necessary social support.
Post-traumatic stress disorder in children following na...
2015Terasaka, Tachibana, Okuyama, and Igarashi
The objective of this article was to conduct a systematic review of long-term follow-up studies on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms in children and adolescents. The MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases were searched from 1980 through January ...
Natural disasters: Overview
American psychological association
This website under the American Psychological Association provides a good overview of the effects of disasters on people’s psyche. It gathers lots of relevant links under the topics of coping with disaster, how psychologists help, and some updated ne...
Mind/body health: The effects of traumatic stress
2010American psychological association
his article is a “fact sheet” presenting to the target group of survivors an overview about symptoms, effects otherwise, and coping strategies.
Psychosocial aspects of the Tsunami
2005IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support
Factsheet (1 p.) ”what you can do right now to support wellbeing” – very practically how-to-do after a disaster had occurred, f.e. how to talk to survivors. Not only after Tsunamis.
Psychosocial interventions – training manual
Save the children UK, Fouzia Yasmin
This training workshop module intended as a guide to train people in how to respond to the psychosocial effects of disasters. It aims to help psycho-social program administrators and trainers to give training to their staff in understanding how disas...
Psychosocial interventions – A handbook
2009IFRC
This handbook (198 p.) presents very solid information and how-to-do about coping with disasters and their psychological effects. Focus on psychosocial support and how to organize: assessments, planning, implementation, training, and monitoring. Targ...
Psychological first aid: Guide for field workers
2011WHO
This guide covers psychological first aid which involves humane, supportive and practical help to fellow human beings suffering serious crisis events. It is written for people in a position to help others who have experienced an extremely distressing...
Handbook for Coordinating Gender Based Violence interve...
2010Gender-based Violence Area of Responsibility Working Group
This handbook is meant to be a quick-reference tool that provides practical guidance on leadership roles, key responsibilities and specific actions to be taken when establishing and maintaining a GBV coordination mechanism in an emergency. The handbo...
Psychological First Aid Field Operation Guide
National Child Traumatic Stress Network – National Center for PTSD.
Gives guidance on responding to disaster or terrorism events using the Psychological First Aid intervention. This evidence-informed approach helps to assist children, adolescents, adults, and families in the aftermath of disaster and terrorism. The m...
Field Manual for Mental Health and Human Service Worker...
2000SAMHSA
This Field Manual is intended for mental health workers and other human service providers who assist survivors following a disaster. This pocket reference provides the basics of disaster mental health, with numerous specific and practical suggestions...
Five manuals to help children cope with their reaction ...
Children and War Foundation
This manual and accompanying workbook will help you to provide assistance for large numbers of children as quickly as possible. It is designed to help you teach children in a step by step practical way to develop some skills and techniques which are ...
Guidelines for psychological services in disasters
Emergency Management Australia
The Guidelines have been developed to offer service providers, managers and practitioners with insights, principles and strategies in key facets of assessment and delivery of psychological services in the disaster context. Their aims are to facilitat...
Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and...
National Institute of Mental Health, USA
The purpose of this fact sheet is to tell what is known about the impact of violence and disasters on children and adolescents and suggest steps to minimize long-term emotional harm.
Implementation Guidelines for Psychosocial Support in D...
2008Turkish Red Crescent
This guideline aim to provide guidance to field relief workers and volunteers. Being a reference work prepared based on the experiences and assessments of our specialists, these guidelines draw the general framework of psyscho-social support and prov...
Managing Traumatic Stress: Tips for Recovering From Nat...
2005APA Help Center
When a natural disaster affects a community, the resulting trauma can reverberate even with those not directly affected by the disaster.Disasters of this type can be sudden and overwhelming. In addition to the often catastrophic toll on lives and pro...
Building Back Better: Sustainable Mental Health Care af...
World Health Organization (WHO), 2013
This WHO report shares detailed accounts from 10 diverse emergency-affected areas, each of which built better-quality and more sustainable mental health systems despite challenging circumstances. Cases originate from countries small to large; low to ...
Caring for Kids After Trauma, Disaster and Death
2006Changing the Face of Child Mental Health
What to Expect After Trauma: Possible Reactions in Elementary School Students.
Disaster Mental Health Services: A Guidebook for Clinic...
National Center for PTSD
Each day disasters occur, and each year millions of people are affected. Whether natural or human-made, the extreme and overwhelming forces of disaster can have far-reaching effects on individual, local community, and national stability.
Protecting Persons Affected By Natural Disasters
Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)
Floods, earthquakes and storms have routinely displaced tens of thousands around the world. Over the past few years, the international communitys response to these catastrophes has become ever swifter and more sophisticated. Until very recently, how...
Rapid Assessments of Mental Health Needs After Disaster...
Derrick Silove and Richard Bryant
Screening for PTSD among survivors of disasters in developing countries, especially in acute situations, has faced a number of common criticisms; psychological trauma is a western concept that may be unfamiliar to other cultures. PTSD has limited dia...
Children and disaster
Children exposed to extraordinary events like disasters may struggle to understand and cope, experiencing trauma, depression, anxiety, and bereavement. Psychosocial manifestations vary based on the nature of the disaster, exposure level, personal impact, and individual resilience.
Caring for Kids After Trauma, Disaster and Death
2006Changing the Face of Child Mental Health
What to Expect After Trauma: Possible Reactions in Elementary School Students.
Inter-Agency Guiding Principles on unaccompanied and se...
2014Inter-agency Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children, UNICEF
Children separated from their parents and families because of conflict, population displacement or natural disasters are among the most vulnerable. Separated from those closest to them, these children have lost the care and protection of their famili...
Save the Children Psychological First Aid Training
2013Save the Children
The Psychological First Aid Training Manual for Child Practitioners (PFA), aims to develop skills and competences of Save the Children staff, partners, and professionals in reducing the initial distress of children who have recently been exposed to a...
Emergency mental health and psychosocial support
The Johns Hopkins and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Public health guide for emergencies Chapter 5 This chapter is as a guide for setting up mental health and psychosocial programmes for vulnerable populations in developing countries who are or have been exposed to crisis events. It describes the psyc...
DiHealing after Trauma Skills – a Manual for Profession...
2005 Gurwich & Messenbaugh, Univ. of Oklahoma,
Very good manual (104 p.) with a description of symptoms that may occur in children after the disaster, identifying the severity of the disease, and suggestions on how to cope/treat. Detailed instructions, how-to-do step-by-step, can be used as a wor...
Children In Disasters: Teachers and Childcare
2021CDC
Emergencies and disasters can happen during the school day. Taking steps now can help protect the students in your care.
Your Child Is At Risk for Mental Health Issues After a ...
2018National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
After a disaster, children may experience anxiety, fear, sadness, sleep disruption, distressing dreams, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and anger outbursts. Learn the signs of children’s mental stress to help them cope after a disaster.
Five manuals to help children cope with their reaction ...
Children and War Foundation
This manual and accompanying workbook will help you to provide assistance for large numbers of children as quickly as possible. It is designed to help you teach children in a step by step practical way to develop some skills and techniques which are ...
Helping Children After a Natural Disaster: Information ...
P.J. Lazarus, S.R. Jimerson, S. E. Brock, NCSP
Natural disasters can be especially traumatic for children and youth. Experiencing a dangerous or violent flood, storm, or earthquake is frightening even for adults, and the devastation to the familiar environment (i.e., home and community) can be lo...
Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and...
National Institute of Mental Health, USA
The purpose of this fact sheet is to tell what is known about the impact of violence and disasters on children and adolescents and suggest steps to minimize long-term emotional harm.
Helping children overcome disaster trauma through post-...
Robert Henley, SAD
The primary aim of this report is to review possible theoretical underpinnings and practical methods utilized by psychosocial sports programs in helping children traumatized in disaster. The method of assessment will be to examine existing research a...
Mental health and psychosocial care for children affect...
2005WHO
This document contains information for humanitarian aid workers, health professionals, teachers, and parents to support them in their efforts to provide sensitive and appropriate care for children affected by natural disasters. An integrated, communi...
Reactions and Guidelines for Children Following Trauma/...
2006American Psychological Association
What to Expect After Trauma: Possible reactions in elementary school, middle school and high school students and teachers Guidelines for teachers.
Organisations and sites
Some useful links to organisations and web sites distributing information and working in disaster areas.
Center for disease control and prevention
This is a very central site where you can find an overview of preparedness for all hazards (with the preparation and planning of the topics, surveillance, training and education, coping with a disaster, clinicians, healthcare facilities, labs, and re...
The Sphere Project
The Sphere Project provides “humanitarian charter and minimum standards in disaster response”. This is a great international collaboration where hundreds of national and international NGOs, UN agencies, academic institutions as well as individuals ca...
Disaster Mental Health Institute (DMHI)
The DMHI was founded in 1993, and was designated a South Dakota Board of Regents Center of Excellence in 1997. The mission of the DMHI is the promotion, development, and application of both practice and research in disaster mental health.
Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7
OCHA
This section provides an overview of OCHA’s mandate, its leadership and how it is funded. It also includes a detailed section on OCHA’s flagship and thematic publications, and on the Agenda for Humanity – a plan put forward by the UN Secretary-...
Relief Web
This site is administered by the UN Office for coordination of human affairs OCHA, and defines itself as an “independent vehicle of information, designed specifically to assist the international humanitarian community in delivering of emergency assis...
HumanitarianResponse
The HumanitarianResponse.info platform is provided to the humanitarian community by OCHA as a means to help responders coordinate their work on the ground. This site is administered by the UN Office for coordination of human affairs OCHA, and defines...
IFRC emergencies
The Psychosocial Centre of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies focuses on contemporary psychosocial support programs and activities, including specific projects, assessments and evaluations. New initiatives and develo...
UNICEF
UNICEF provides assistance to children and families affected by emergencies, including natural disasters and conflicts.
UNHCR The United Nations Refugee Agency
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a serious violation of human rights and a life-threatening health and protection issue. When people flee their homes, they are often at greater risk of physical, sexual and psychological violence, such as rape, sexual a...
Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
MSF provides medical assistance during emergencies and disasters in affected regions.
ICRC International Committee of The Red Cross
Page on Addressing sexual violence Sexual violence – this remains widespread and prevalent during armed conflicts and other situations of violence, as well as in detention despite being prohibited by international and national laws. It occurs i...
Save the Children
This organization works to protect and support children affected by disasters and emergencies worldwide.
CARE International
CARE responds to disasters and emergencies, providing humanitarian assistance and supporting long-term recovery efforts.
Mercy Corps
At Mercy Corps, we seek solutions to the world’s toughest challenges. To take on the consequences of conflict and climate change, we bring together bold ideas and the lived experience of people who know their communities best—scaling what works to ac...
Plan International
We are relentless in driving change to advance children’s rights and equality for girls by working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners.
Oxfam
Oxfam responds to emergencies and disasters, providing essential aid and working on long-term recovery and development projects.
ActionAid
ActionAid is a global federation working for a world free from poverty and injustice.
The International Rescue Committee IRC
Responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future.
Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS)
GDACS is a cooperation framework between the United Nations, the European Commission, and disaster managers worldwide to improve alerts, information exchange, and coordination in the response phase of emergencies.
ShelterBox
Shelter is so much more than just a roof. It’s the foundation for life, families and communities. It is a place to feel safe after days or weeks of fear. It offers protection from harsh weather, privacy, and helps to preserve dignity. It’s a space to...
WHO – Health and Human Rights
WHO is actively strengthening its role in providing technical, intellectual and political leadership in the field of health and human rights. The main objectives are to: * Strengthen WHO`s capacity to integrate a human rights-based approach in its wo...