Strengthening Preparedness for COVID-19 in Cities and Urban Settings

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This document is to support local authorities, leaders and policy-makers in cities and other urban settlements in identifying effective approaches and implementing recommended actions that enhance the prevention, preparedness and readiness for COVID-19 in urban settings, to ensure a robust response and eventual recovery. It covers factors unique to cities and urban settings, considerations in urban preparedness, key areas of focus and preparing for future emergencies.

Source: Strengthening Preparedness for COVID-19 in Cities and Urban Settings

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    Technical Note on COVID-19 and Harmful Practices

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    COVID-19 has upended the lives of children and families across the globe and is impacting efforts to end child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). Actions taken to contain the spread of the pandemic – such as school closures and movement restrictions – are disrupting children’s routines and their support systems.

    Hundreds of millions of children and adolescents will likely face increasing threats to their safety and well-being, including gender-based violence (GBV), exploitation, abuse and neglect, social exclusion, and/or separation from caregivers and friends. We know from the Ebola outbreaks and from other public health crises that adolescent girls are disproportionally affected by these emergencies. Efforts to stop the Ebola epidemics led to school closures and a loss of education; a decrease in access to reproductive health information and services; a loss of livelihoods and a contraction of social support networks. These undermine strategies to end FGM and child marriage, and threaten the progress that has been made over the past decade.

    This technical note offers a list of effects of COVID-19 on adolescenets as well as program interventions at the national and community level.

    Source: Technical Note on COVID-19 and Harmful Practices

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      Millions More Cases of Violence, Child Marriage, Female Genital Mutilation, Unintended Pregnancy Expected due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

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      The economic and physical disruptions caused by COVID-19 could have vast consequences for the rights and health of women and girls, a new analysis by UNFPA and partners shows.

      Significant levels of lockdown-related disruption over 6 months could leave 47 million women in low- and middle-income countries unable to use modern contraceptives, leading to a projected 7 million additional unintended pregnancies. Six months of lockdowns could result in an additional 31 million cases of gender-based violence.

      The pandemic is also expected to cause significant delays in programs to end female genital mutilation and child marriage, resulting in an estimated 2 million more cases of FGM over the next decade than would otherwise have occurred. These delayed programs, on top of growing economic hardships globally, could result in an estimated 13 million more child marriages over 10 years.

      These figures – produced in collaboration with partners Avenir Health, Johns Hopkins University (USA) and Victoria University (Australia) – are rough estimates. A great deal is still unknown about how the pandemic, and the response to it, will unfold around the world. But together, the projections offer an alarming view of the future that could confront women and girls if efforts are not urgently made to secure their welfare and ensure their rights.

      Source: Millions More Cases of Violence, Child Marriage, Female Genital Mutilation, Unintended Pregnancy Expected due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

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        COVID-19: How to Protect Yourself and Stop the Spread of the Virus Video

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        Using plain language and informative images, this short, animated video about COVID-19 is intended for non-English-speaking audiences with limited or no literacy and highlights the main symptoms of the disease, prevention tips, and steps to take if the viewer feels sick. It is available in 15 languages (Amharic, Arabic, Burmese, Dari, English, Farsi, French, Kinyarwanda, Nepali, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tigrinya, and Ukrainian).

        Source: COVID-19: How to Protect Yourself and Stop the Spread of the Virus Video

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          COVID-19: How to Include Marginalized and Vulnerable People at Risk Communication and Community Engagement

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          The Regional Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Working Group is an inter-agency coordination platform established to provide technical support on risk communication and community engagement to novel coronavirus outbreak (known as COVID-19) preparedness and response in Asia and the Pacific.

          Source: COVID-19: How to Include Marginalized and Vulnerable People at Risk Communication and Community Engagement

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            Identifying and Mitigating Gender-Based Violence Risks within the COVID-19 Response

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            This document is intended to support non-GBV specialist humanitarian actors to identify COVID-19, GBV-specific risks in their sectors, and take actions to mitigate those risks.

            This document does not claim to be an exhaustive set of guidance, nor should the content be treated as static. Instead, it contains an initial summary of potential options for adapting established good practice to this unprecedented situation. It will be treated as a working document that will be further refined as the situation and the response continues to evolve.

            Source: Identifying and Mitigating Gender-Based Violence Risks within the COVID-19 Response

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              A Practical Approach to Prevent, Address and Document Domestic Violence under COVID-19

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              A coalition of leading international organizations has analyzed successful interventions to make key programmatic recommendations for grassroots organizations working on the frontlines of gender and the COVID-19 crisis; as well as policy recommendations for the international community.

              Source: A Practical Approach to Prevent, Address and Document Domestic Violence under COVID-19

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                Pandemics and Violence Against Women and Children

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                In this document, the Center for Global Development explains nine different pathways linking pandemics and violence against women and children. In addition, it suggests eight policy and program responses for action by governments, civil society, international and community-based organizations.

                Source: Pandemics and Violence Against Women and Children

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                  Gender-based violence prevention, risk mitigation and response during COVID-19

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                  This briefing note aims at giving an overview of risks of gender-based violence (GBV) in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. It also includes recommendations to mitigate risks and ensure access to lifesaving GBV services. The last section contains a list of useful resources.

                  Women and girls of concern to UNHCR are likely to experience distinct challenges and risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and as such the outbreak might exacerbate already existing risks of GBV. Confinement is expected to increase risks of intimate partner violence for displaced women and girls, while worsened socio-economic situation will expose refugee women and girls in particular to increased risks of sexual exploitation by community members as well as humanitarian workers. In parallel, access to regular GBV services is likely to become challenging for survivors.

                  Source: Gender-based violence prevention, risk mitigation and response during COVID-19

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                    COVID-19: Emerging gender data and why it matters

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                    UN Women has been closely following the political and economic response to COVID-19 and how it is impacting women and girls. We are working with partners to deliver a more accurate picture of the gender dimension to the response so that it can be more effective for women and girls.

                    Source: COVID-19: Emerging gender data and why it matters

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