scholarly journals Coping with COVID-19 in United Nations peacekeeping field hospitals: increased workload and mental stress for military healthcare providers

2020 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001642
Author(s):  
Yongxue Zhang ◽  
D Xiang ◽  
N Alejok
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Medical Staff ◽  
Mental Stress ◽  
South Sudan ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Hospital Length Of Stay ◽  
Total Strength ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
United Nations Peacekeeping ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionThis study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the United Nations peacekeeping field hospitals where medical supply and manpower are extremely insufficient.MethodsA level II hospital was deployed in Wau, South Sudan, as the regional referral centre of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). It had a total strength of 63 personnel with 47 medical staff (average age 38.3±8.0 years, 33 men). A new ‘appointment–triage–disinfection’ work pattern was adopted to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak in the mission. Data on medical service statistics and workload before/after the outbreak were collected and compared. The mental health of staff was analysed from the quarterly psychological survey, including Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)-10, Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7 and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9.ResultsThe number of outpatients decreased slightly after the COVID-19 outbreak (41.9±11.9 to 37.6±11.8 per week, p=0.49), whereas the weekly hospital length of stay of inpatients increased significantly (0.4±1.0 to 3.1±3.9 days, p=0.02). Total weekly working hours increased from 1884.9±34.1 to 2023.5±67.3 hours (p<0.001). Elevated mental stress (PSS-10: 4.3±2.4 in February to 7.5±3.9 in May, p<0.001; GAD-7: 4.0±2.3 to 9.4±4.0, p<0.001; PHQ-9: 2.1±1.2 to 3.2±2.4, p<0.001) was documented among healthcare providers after the outbreak. The threat of COVID-19 infection, delay in rotation and family-related concerns constituted the main stressors.ConclusionCOVID-19 imposes a huge pressure on peacekeeping field hospitals. Increased workload and mental stress among frontline healthcare providers deserve the attention of UNMISS officials. Facilitating the rotation of the medical staff might potentially improve the operational readiness of the hospital by bringing in well-trained personnel and sufficient medical supplies.

Peacekeeping and the Arab World

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachariah Mampilly
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Arab World ◽  
South Sudan ◽  
The United States ◽  
Security Force ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
The Impact

This chapter examines the impact of India's rise on United Nations peacekeeping missions in Sudan. Participation in peacekeeping has always been shaped by broader geopolitical trends. South Asian countries continue to occupy the top three spots on lists of troop-contributing countries (TCCs), while the ability to define the mandate of UN missions has long been controlled by England, France, and the United States. As India seeks a greater role on the global stage, it has destabilized this traditional binary that has defined UN peacekeeping since its inception. This chapter considers Indian involvement in UN peacekeeping in the Arab world, with a focus on the country's involvement in missions in Sudan and South Sudan. The UN currently is involved with three distinct missions in Sudan: the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), and the joint African Union/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). This chapter discusses India's contribution of troops to UNMISS.

The Impact of the Women's Decade on Policies, Programs and Empowerment of Women in Kenya

1989 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-17
Author(s):  
Maria Nzomo
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Women's Organizations ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Women In Development ◽  
The World ◽  
Kenyan Women ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Women’S Organizations

The 1985 Nairobi Conference to close the United Nations decade dedicated to women of the world caught Kenyan women (and men) by storm. Indeed, the majority of Kenyan women did not know, until the eve of this conference, that there had been an entire decade dedicated to them, and committed to the achievement of Equality, Development, and Peace. However, the Kenyan policy makers and the enlightened among Kenyan women, especially leaders of women's organizations, were not only fully aware of the decade's developments, but had in various ways participated and contributed to it. On its part, the Kenya government by the end of the decade, had adopted a Women in Development (WID) policy position and created and/or promoted national machineries to develop and coordinate programs for women.

scholarly journals Implementation in practice: The use of force to protect civilians in United Nations peacekeeping

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 458-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingvild Bode ◽  
John Karlsrud
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
International Relations ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Member States ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
United Nations Peacekeeping ◽  
Normative Foundations

Since the failures of the United Nations of the early 1990s, the protection of civilians has evolved as a new norm for United Nations peacekeeping operations. However, a 2014 United Nations report found that while peacekeeping mandates often include the use of force to protect civilians, this has routinely been avoided by member states. What can account for this gap between the apparently solid normative foundations of the protection of civilians and the wide variation in implementation? This article approaches the question by highlighting normative ambiguity as a fundamental feature of international norms. Thereby, we consider implementation as a political, dynamic process where the diverging understandings that member states hold with regard to the protection of civilians norm manifest and emerge. We visualize this process in combining a critical-constructivist approach to norms with practice theories. Focusing on the practices of member states’ military advisers at the United Nations headquarters in New York, and their positions on how the protection of civilians should be implemented on the ground, we draw attention to their agency in norm implementation at an international site. Military advisers provide links between national ministries and contingents in the field, while also competing for being recognized as competent performers of appropriate implementation practices. Drawing on an interpretivist analysis of data generated through an online survey, a half-day workshop and interviews with selected delegations, the article adds to the understanding of norms in international relations while also providing empirical insights into peacekeeping effectiveness.

scholarly journals Diplomatic protection in international law and the United Nations

2013 ◽  
pp. 667-681
Author(s):  
Bojan Milisavljevic
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Diplomatic Protection ◽  
History Of ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Law Commission

The paper deals with the issue of the diplomatic protection in international law and its development through the history of the international community. In this sense, the author investigates the practice of states regarding the application of diplomatic protection and the steps taken by the International Law Commission of the United Nations on the codification of this area. In 2004 International Law Commission adopted at first reading a full set of draft articles. In this paper is presented judicial practice, especially of the International Court of Justice, in the field of diplomatic protection in order to evaluate whether the approach of the Court to diplomatic protection has become more human-rights oriented in the last few years. Author presents the development of customary law rules relating to diplomatic protection and its transition into a whole system of rules through the work of the International Law Commission. In this sense, these are the basic stages in the codification of rules on diplomatic protection and the United Nations contribution to the protection of the rights of foreign nationals. This article points the development of universal and regional mechanisms to protect human rights and highlights the impact of those mechanisms on traditional measures of diplomatic protection.

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