scholarly journals The HEED project: Summary of multi-level cross sectional impact.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajar Al-Kaddo ◽  
◽  
Alison Halford ◽  
Jonathan Nixon ◽  
Elena Gaura ◽  
...  

Globally, there are 82.4 million displaced people and 26.4 million refugees[i]. An estimated 7 million displaced people in camps have access to electricity for less than four hours a day[ii], making them among the most likely groups left behind in the global drive for improved energy access. In settings that are both precarious economically and politically, humanitarian actors need access to design protocols and pathways for energy products and services that deliver inclusive, affordable, and sustainable energy systems that benefit camp-based populations now and in the future. This briefing paper overviews three impacts that emerged from the project outcomes that can aid short and long-term improved access to energy and sustainability of energy systems for refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin van Zandvoort ◽  
Mohamed Omer Bobe ◽  
Abdirahman Ibrahim Hassan ◽  
Mohamed Ismail Abdi ◽  
Mohamed Saed Ahmed ◽  
...  

Background Populations affected by humanitarian crises experience high burdens of acute respiratory infections (ARI), potentially driven by risk factors for severe disease such as poor nutrition and underlying conditions, and risk factors that may increase transmission such as overcrowding and the possibility of high social mixing. However, little is known about social mixing patterns in these populations. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional social contact survey among internally displaced people (IDP) living in Digaale, a permanent IDP camp in Somaliland. We included questions on household demographics, shelter quality, crowding, travel frequency, health status, and recent diagnosis of pneumonia, and assessed anthropometric status in children. We calculated age-standardised social contact matrices to assess population mixing, and conducted regression analysis on risk factors for recent self-reported pneumonia. Results We found crowded households with high proportions of recent self-reported pneumonia (46% in children). 20% of children younger than five are stunted, and crude death rates are high in all age groups. ARI risk factors are common, but we did not find any significant associations with self-reported pneumonia. Participants reported around 10 direct contacts per day. Social contact patterns are assortative by age, and physical contact rates are very high (78%). Conclusions ARI risk factors are very common in this population, while the large degree of contacts that involve physical touch could further increase transmission. Such IDP settings potentially present a perfect storm of risk factors for ARIs and their transmission, and innovative approaches to address such risks are urgently needed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-59
Author(s):  
Saad Ahmed Ali Jadoo ◽  
Yaseen Taha Sarhan ◽  
Mustafa Ali Mustafa Al-Samarrai ◽  
Mahasin Ali Al-Taha ◽  
Ban Nadhum AL- Any ◽  
...  

Background: Internally displaced people in Iraq are still suffering because the solutions were not radical. This study aims to assess the impact of displacement on the socio-economic, well-being and mental health status of internally displaced families in Anbar province, Iraq. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from 3rd to 17th April 2017. Data was collected using a universal sampling technique. A total of 355 households interviewed with a modified questionnaire consisting of 26 close-ended questions related to the socio-economic, demographic, wellbeing and the mental health characteristics. Results: At the time of the study, about 55.5% of the surveyed displaced families have not returned home yet. Big families of more than seven members (59.4%) and residency in renting houses (82.8%) are two variables that may contribute to an economic burden. Mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety spread among 62.3% of surveyed families. Significant rise in chronic diseases from 64 (18.0%) cases before displacement to 102 cases (28.7%) after displacement. Few of them (21.6%) were able to access public health services. People who experienced violence are verbally abused at 52.1%. Lack of the services (50.3%), the inability to repair the destroyed houses (26.4%) and the loss of house due to complete destruction (23.3%) were the significant factors inhibited families to return home back. Conclusion: Our findings indicate the need for urgent and strategic plans to improve the quality of logistics, health and infrastructure services to motivate the displaced families to return back to their homes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (08) ◽  
pp. 600-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qasim B. Abdulla ◽  
Nazar P. Shabila ◽  
Tariq S. Al-Hadithi

Introduction: This study aimed to identify the sociodemographic factors associated with the occurrence of an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Erbil governorate and to determine the geographical distribution and clinical pattern of the disease during this outbreak. Methodology: This cross-sectional study involved 234 cutaneous leishmaniasis cases from Erbil governorate. A questionnaire completed in an interview provided data on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, risk factors, and preventive measures. Results: About 60% of participants were younger than 35 years; 59.4% were living in urban areas. Most cases (40.2%) were from Maxmur district, while 20.9% were internally displaced persons and 7.7% were refugees. Nearly 70% of the cases had a low socioeconomic status. Cases with multiple lesions constituted 65.5%. Upper limb lesions constituted 44.7%. Most lesions were 1-5 cm in size (64.7%) and were wet (63.6%). Nearly three-quarters of the cases had a history of traveling to endemic areas; most (49.7%) to Maxmur district. Around 80% reported fogging around the houses and 44.4% in the working area. The peak incidence of the cutaneous leishmaniasis cases was in December, with a total of 115 cases. Conclusions: Cutaneous leishmaniasis was not endemic in Erbil governorate, but it became a public health challenge in 2015. Most of the cases were reported in Maxmur district and among internally displaced people and military personnel deployed there. Control and prevention activities, including fogging and spraying, face important challenges and need strengthening, especially in Maxmur district.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaregal Fufa Eba ◽  
Jemal Ebrahim Shifa

Abstract Background: Mental health problems in internally displaced people (IDP) can be triggered by either collective effect or individual effect of traumas experienced during Preflight, Flight, and Resettlement time. Higher level of depression and anxiety has been reported among IDPs globally while little is known in Ethiopia.Aims: To assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety among internally displaced people in Gedeo zone, Ethiopia, 2019.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among internally displaced communities settled in Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Regional states (SNNPR) among randomly selected 421 displaced individuals. Data were collected using standard and structured tools and entered into Epi info version 7 and exported to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 for analysis and descriptive statistics have been used to report the magnitude of the outcome. Logistic regression was considered to evaluate association between variables. Results: A total of 421 displaced persons completed the survey constituting a 99.5% response rate, of which 232 (55.1%) were males. Age of the study subjects ranged between 19 and 80 years, with a median of 33 years and ±11.8 SD. Higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders were found: depression 18.5% ((95% CI: (15.0, 22.3)), and anxiety 59.1% ((95% CI: (54.6, 63.9)). Tobacco use, female gender and age range from 19-30 years had statistically significant effect on the mental health outcomes of IDPs in the current study. Respondents’ marital condition, educational status, occupation, current living condition, social support status, as well as exposure status to physical and sexual violence were not significantly associated with both depression and anxiety. Conclusions: This assessment identified that the prevalence of depression and anxiety was high among internally displaced populations in the Gedeo zone. Clinical and psychosocial intervention is required.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2128
Author(s):  
Amollo Ambole ◽  
Kweku Koranteng ◽  
Peris Njoroge ◽  
Douglas Logedi Luhangala

Energy communities have received considerable attention in the Global North, especially in Europe, due to their potential for achieving sustainable energy transitions. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), energy communities have received less attention partly due to the nascent energy systems in many emerging SSA states. In this paper, we argue that these nascent energy systems offer an opportunity to co-create energy communities that can tackle the energy access challenges faced by most SSA countries. To understand how such energy communities are realised in the sub-region, we undertake a systematic review of research on energy communities in 46 SSA countries. Our findings show that only a few energy projects exhibit the conventional characteristics of energy communities; In most of these projects, local communities are inadequately resourced to institute and manage their own projects. We thus look to stakeholder engagement approaches to propose co-design as a strategy for strengthening energy communities in SSA. We further embed our co-design proposal in energy democracy thinking to argue that energy communities can be a pathway towards equity and energy justice in SSA. We conclude that energy communities can indeed contribute to improving energy access in Africa, but they need an enabling policy environment to foster their growth and sustainability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Alexandra Titz

Disaster-related internal displacement is on the rise in many countries and is increasingly becoming an urban phenomenon. For many people, as in the case of the earthquake disaster 2015 in Nepal, protracted or multiple disaster displacements are a lived reality. While the drivers of displacement are relatively well understood, significant uncertainties remain regarding the factors that trigger prolonged or secondary displacement and impede ending of displacement or achieving durable solutions. The purpose of this article is to illustrate and theorise the discourse of reconstruction and return that shapes experiences, strategies, and policies in order to gain a better understanding of the obstacles to pursuing durable solutions that are still shaping the reality of life for urban internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kathmandu Valley. I use the concepts of ‘fields of practice’ and ‘disaster justice’ to provide insights into the theorisation of the links between social inequality, structural forms of governance, and the reconstruction process itself. Findings demonstrate that the application of these concepts has great potential to expand our understanding of ‘realities of life’ and practices of IDPs, and thus contribute to a more differentiated evidence base for the development and implementation of appropriate disaster risk reduction policies and practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Perjan Hashim Taha ◽  
Nezar Ismet Taib ◽  
Hushyar Musa Sulaiman

Abstract Background In 2014, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) took over one-third of Iraq. This study measured the rate of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Iraqi Yazidi internally displaced persons (IDPs) and examined associated demographic and traumatic risk factors. Methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out in April–June 2015 at the Khanke camp, northern Iraq. Trauma exposure and PTSD were measured by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (Iraqi version). Results Of 814 adult Yazidi IDPs, 34% screened positive for PTSD. Avoidance and intrusion symptoms had the highest means (M = 3.16, SD = 0.86 and M = 2.63, SD = 0.59 respectively). Associated factors of PTSD included exposure to a high number of traumatic events, unmet basic needs and having witnessed the destruction of residential or religious areas (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.02–1.9 and OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.01–1.53 respectively). Being a widow was the only linked demographic factor (OR = 15.39, 95% CI: 3.02–78.39). Conclusions High traumatic exposure, specifically unmet basic needs and having witnessed destruction, was an important predictor of PTSD among Yazidi IDPs. These findings are important for mental health planning for IDPs in camps.


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