Boosting developing nations’ access to medical advances is top of the agenda at Berlin’s World Health Summit, but will it improve healthcare for the poorest?
Briefing
Healthcare Innovations Won’t Cure Global Health Inequality – Political Action Will
Topics
Health![A health worker measures the arm of 3-year-old Nyarony Choing as she sits in her mothers lap, inside their familys makeshift shelter at the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site on the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) base in the city of Malakal, capital of Upper Nile State. The measurement, using a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) band, is taken to determine nutrition status during emergencies. The red section of the armband indicates that Nyarony is severely malnourished. Nyarony was admitted to the outpatient nutrition centre at the International Medical Corps clinic at the PoC site two weeks ago. Her mother, Nyabac Chan Yor, originally fled to Malakal from Juba with Nyarony and her three siblings in December 2013. They afterwards travelled to the town of Kodok, where Nyarony was admitted to the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) hospital, with oedema (swelling caused by an excessive build-up of fluid in the bodys tissues) in both feet a sign of severe acute malnutrition. She subsequently was referred to the UNMISS site in Malakal for further medical care. All of Ms. Chan Yors important documents, including her ration card and referral papers, were lost during flooding (from recent heavy rains) at the site. During the rain, this house becomes full of water, she said. My husband is in Juba, and sometimes the money he sends doesnt arrive. I need the food rations. There is no way to change [move from] this place and go to another place. I have nowhere to go, its all I have. The only thing that disturbs me more is the condition of my child.
In mid-August 2014 in South Sudan, 1.3 million people have been displaced since resurgent conflict erupted in mid-December 2013. An estimated 695,172 of the displaced are children. Some 442,600 people have also sought refuge in neighbouring countries. The conflict has also worsened the nutrition situation in South Sudan. Nearly 1 million children under age UNICEF/UNI169688/Nesbitt](https://www.socialscienceinaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/UNI169688_Med-Res-1024x676.jpg)
A health worker measures the arm of 3-year-old Nyarony Choing as she sits in her mothers lap, inside their familys makeshift shelter at the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site on the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) base in the city of Malakal, capital of Upper Nile State. The measurement, using a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) band, is taken to determine nutrition status during emergencies. The red section of the armband indicates that Nyarony is severely malnourished. Nyarony was admitted to the outpatient nutrition centre at the International Medical Corps clinic at the PoC site two weeks ago. Her mother, Nyabac Chan Yor, originally fled to Malakal from Juba with Nyarony and her three siblings in December 2013. They afterwards travelled to the town of Kodok, where Nyarony was admitted to the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) hospital, with oedema (swelling caused by an excessive build-up of fluid in the bodys tissues) in both feet a sign of severe acute malnutrition. She subsequently was referred to the UNMISS site in Malakal for further medical care. All of Ms. Chan Yors important documents, including her ration card and referral papers, were lost during flooding (from recent heavy rains) at the site. During the rain, this house becomes full of water, she said. My husband is in Juba, and sometimes the money he sends doesnt arrive. I need the food rations. There is no way to change [move from] this place and go to another place. I have nowhere to go, its all I have. The only thing that disturbs me more is the condition of my child.
In mid-August 2014 in South Sudan, 1.3 million people have been displaced since resurgent conflict erupted in mid-December 2013. An estimated 695,172 of the displaced are children. Some 442,600 people have also sought refuge in neighbouring countries. The conflict has also worsened the nutrition situation in South Sudan. Nearly 1 million children under age
Related content
Briefing
Key considerations: Mpox in the Busia-Malaba border region linking Uganda and Kenya
This brief summarises how mpox is perceived and managed in the Busia-Malaba border region that links eastern Uganda and western Kenya.
Central and East Africa Hub
2025
Factsheet
Remote response to Ebola outbreak in DRC
The Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform is supporting UNICEF, WHO, IFRC and other partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo to respond to the Ebola outbreak in Equateur Province. The Platform has four key streams of action: 1) Rapid…
Central and East Africa Hub
SSHAP
2018
Briefing
Cross-border dynamics between Burundi and Tanzania in the context of viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks, 2025
This brief summarises key considerations regarding cross-border dynamics between Burundi and Tanzania in the context of viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) outbreaks in Tanzania and Uganda.
Central and East Africa Hub
SSHAP
2025
Briefing
Using social and behavioural science to inform the use of vaccines during health emergencies
This brief synthesises social and behavioural science research on the use of vaccines during health emergencies in sub-Saharan Africa, including experimental vaccines undergoing clinical trials.
SSHAP
2025