Tag: World Health Organization (WHO)

IH News Global Health Weekly News Round-Up

by Vaani, posted in News

Politics and Policies:

  • Medical Insurance bill has been passed by the lawmakers in Rwanda on Friday.
  • Chinese government has signed U.S. $35 million loan agreement with Rwanda which includes the projects for the improvement of health of people.
  • According to the Food and Health Bureau in Hong Kong, the country will not accept any bookings by pregnant non-local women for delivery in Hong Kong starting January1, 2013.
  • Sindh government (Pakistan) has ordered mandatory vaccination of children against measles virus.
  • In order to boost anti-AIDS program and prolong lives Brazil will track the numbers of HIV cases in the country.
  • New air pollution standards for industrial boilers have been issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
  • Alabama (U.S.) to end isolation of inmates with H.I.V.

Programs:

  • The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is giving $5 million to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to promote use of oral cholera vaccine worldwide.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with International Telecommunications union (ITU) has launched “mHeath” initiative to fight diseases in Africa.
  • $40mn health care city project by the UAE based Tasweek Real Estate Marketing and Development is estimated to be completed in 2 years and will be the largest health and tourist project in Morocco.
  • World Vision Rwanda has launched its global advocacy campaign “Child Health Now Campaign” aimed at reducing the preventable deaths of children who are under five years of age.
  • The World Health Organization (The WHO) offers review of key global public health issues- says the key public health milestones were reached in 2012.
  • Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)’s tablet Sirturo wins FDA approval to treat drug – resistant tuberculosis.
  • A free-to-play mobile game available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (THRED) has been launched by Coca-Cola Company with (RED) to raise the awareness and funds for the fight to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015.

Research:

  • A study done in Britain revealed that the female students consume alcohol more than males.
  • A study done by the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) states that to beat AIDS related deaths it is important to improve Tb-HIV collaborative services.
  • A study done by the United Nations (The UN) states that the Philippines has failed to curb the spread of HIV virus. It has reported a 25% increase in the incidence rate of this deadly infection among the adult’s ages 15-49 years from 2001- 2011.
  • A report released by the WHO states that infant mortality rate is high in Uganda. More than 7 million children below the age of five years died in 2011 alone.
  • Researchers from Australia and Britain have found a link between milk producing protein and aggressive breast cancer in females.
  • According to a recent study sleep apnea is as detrimental to heart health as diabetes. The researchers found that snoring could be a warning sign for OSA or even a sign that serious heart problems could be developing.
  • Dutch scientists state that junk food and genes can deliver colon cancer.
  • According to a journal Nature Genetics three uncommon genetic variants influence the production of insulin.
  • Scientists have sequenced the genome of a fungus called Pneumocystis jirovecii , laying the groundwork for new ways to treat a strain of pneumonia.
  • A study published in European Journal of Preventive Cardiology state that the lifestyle parameters are linked to cardiovascular disease.
  • A study published in Diabetes Care stated that women who experienced early menopause have a greater risk of type 2 diabetes.
  • A study reported in British Medically Journal suggests that gluten free diet helps to fight type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Diseases and Disasters:

  • According to the experts the outbreak of yellow fever in Sudan is among the worst faced by it in the past twenty years.
  • Shortage of typhoid vaccine in UK has led the doctors to warn travelers to developing countries in areas with poor sanitation.
  • The Center for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Hong Kong has called on parents to refrain from feeding their babies with an infant formula imported from Japan.
  • According to the Palestinian health official outbreak of swine flu has killed nine people in the country.
  • Japan suspects norovirus outbreak in Yokohama hospital in southern Tokyo. The authorities say that the infection has killed four elderly people.
  • According to the Pakistani authorities, 33 people have been suspected to die due to consumption of a cough syrup.
  • The U.S. State Department has issued a revised travel advisory on the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country- Haiti about violent crime, infectious disease and poor medical facilities in Haiti.

 

Global Health Weekly News Round-Up

by Vaani, posted in News

May 8 is World Red Cross Red Crescent Day.

Politics and Policies:

  • US State Department has issued travel warning for Algeria.
  • Marijuana bill passed by Connecticut. The state has legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes (- like cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy), with tight restrictions.
  • Judge rejects law on Planned Parenthood in Texas. It was ruled out by the judge that Texas could not ban Planned Parenthood from receiving state money as there was sufficient evidence that this law of banning Planned Parenthood from participating in the state’s Women’s health program was unconstitutional.
  • More than 100 people are charged by the United States authorities for trying to defraud the federal Medicare health care program for the elderly and disabled of about $452 million.
  • The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent warning letters to the marketers of dietary supplements. These  ‘workout boosters’ contain an ingredient called dimethyamylamine or DMAA, which could increase people’s blood pressure, potentially causing shortness of breath or heart attacks.
  • A new rule approved by Texas board allows doctors to perform stem cell procedures as long as they are done for research and receive approval from an institutional review board. This rule also requires patients signed informed consent forms.
  • A settlement meant to guarantee alternatives to segregation for mentally-ill inmates in Massachusetts prisons has been approved by a federal judge. It will prevent placing mentally ill inmates with disciplinary problems in small isolation cells for up to 23 hours a day.

Programs

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has released their May 2012 Bulletin chronicling innovations in global health, under the theme of ‘eHealth’.
  • With World Bank support, Benn expands decentralized basic services for poor people and empower communities. Basic services include education, health and water, roads and market infrastructure.
  • The International Rescue Committee is launching an emergency response in Mali, where the drought spreading across the Sahel region has been compounded by political instability. The conflict meets a worsening food crisis.
  • The UNICEF has received two donations from the European Commission’s Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) to provide treatment for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Sahel nutrition crisis in West and Central Africa.
  • A new public health project to reduce maternal and infant mortality in 4 African countries has been inaugurated in Woisso, in Ethiopia. It is funded by the Italian Cooperation and launched in January 2012 by the doctor’s organization with African Cuamm.
  • Red Cross youth use power of music to increase access to health care. They have put together the ‘Humanity Band’, a project aiding the developing music talents of young volunteers of the Banju and Kanifing municipality Red Cross (of Gambia Red Cross Society), fund raising for Red Cross programs and increasing public awareness of disease control and prevention.
  • A UAE- based philanthropic organization, Dubai Cares, has launched Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) program in Ghana reaching over 400,000 beneficiaries.
  • Project HOPE sends UCLA nurse to educate medical staff in Ghana hospital.
  • Ouelessebougou Alliance to host 26th annual dinner auction to raise funds for people of Mali.
  • With World Bank support Mozambique extends Crucial Early Childhood Development Services to 84,000 children in 600 rural communities.
  • India offers $50m credit line, $25m in grant to Seychelles.

Research

  • Global Report says U.S. lags behind 130 other nations in preterm birth rate. The report ‘Born too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth’ ranks the U.S. 131st in the world in terms of its preterm birth rate of 12.0 per 100 live births.
  • A study finds that flash-heating breast milk inactivates HIV which reduces transmission of this virus that causes AIDS to their infants. The technique involves expressing breast milk into a glass jar that is placed in a small pot of water and heated until water boils.
  • A six yearlong study in Rwanda found that funding dedicated to HIV/ AIDS does not undermine funding for other diseases.
  • According to a study, a vast majority of HIV- infected persons in Kenya are unaware of their HIV status, posing a major barrier to HIV prevention, care and treatment efforts.
  • A study shows that mobile phones are transforming the way HIV test results are being transmitted to AIDS patients in Africa.
  • A study shows that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening to detect prostate cancer can be beneficial to younger and at-risk men.
  • According to a Australian research team, elderly people with pre-diabetes and type-2 diabetes suffer from an accelerated decline in the brain size and mental capacity in as little as two years.
  • A long term follow-up analysis of participants in the Step-study, an international HIV vaccine trial has confirmed that certain subgroups of male study participants were at higher risk of becoming infected with HIV virus after receiving the experimental vaccine compared to those who received a placebo.
  • A promising result has been reported from a trial of an experimental vaccine that appears to offer complete protection from the most common type of meningococcal disease.
  • An international study led by the University of Sydney and published by the Annals of Neurology has potential to improve the design of clinical trials for the treatment of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a disorder which affects the peripheral nervous system.
  • A research study shows that an ingredient in curry (curcumin) boosts bowel cancer treatment.
  • Study shows school-based health centers boost vaccination rates.

Diseases & Disasters

  • A tornado has hit the capital city of Japan this Sunday killing one person and injuring atleast 46 other people.
  • Death toll from Kenya flash flood rises to 50. According to a relief agency the number of flash flood fatalities will still continue to rise due to heavy rains that have led to flash floods in several parts of the country.

 

 

 

Global Health Weekly News Round-Up

by Vaani, posted in News
  • April 7th is celebrated every year as World Health Day to mark the founding anniversary of World Health Organization (WHO).

Politics and Policies:

  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns against Japanese weight loss pills. The product contains a suspected cancer-causing agent – Phenolphthalein.
  • Indonesia has won a tobacco dispute with the United States after the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in its favor saying that the US ban on clove cigarettes was discriminatory.
  • The 126th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Kampala, Uganda, adopts Resolution on “Access to Health as Basic Right”.
  • World politicians meeting in the capital of Uganda, Kampala, have agreed on the need to repeal laws discriminating against HIV/AIDS which they say have contributed to an increase in the rate of new infections.
  • Dharamsala (in India) based Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has launched a Medicare system for Tibetans in Exile.
  • The Department of Health (DH) of Hong Kong has appealed the public not to buy or consume an oral product called “Ling Zhi She Xiang Tong Mai Dan”.
  • The Chilean Senate has rejected three bills that would have eased the country’s absolute ban on abortions.

Programs

  • An emergency funding of $26 million has been authorized by President Barack Obama to the United Nations High Commissioner for the Sudanese refugees. This will help to respond to the crisis of health, water and food.
  • Bill Gates- Backed Alliance prepares to fight cervical cancer in the developing world. This program is planned to protect 20 million women in thirty countries by the end of decade.
  • Palmcroft Church of Arizona is organizing a campaign to raise thousands of dollars to bring clean water to the poorest of poor in Haiti and Ethiopia.
  • United States Fund for UNICEF President and CEO, Ceryl Stern joins Royal delegation to UNICEF emergency center.
  • The Kenya Aids Vaccination Initiative (KAVI) is collaborating with Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, South Africa and Gambia to carry out its research to develop biological marker for understanding the diseases among the people in Africa.
  • The Arab bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) has signed loan agreements worth US$ 10 million to improve health services and expanding its coverage in West African region.
  • A meeting organized by the interest groups together for a Stakeholders Consultation on Tuberculosis in the mining sector under the auspices of the South African Development Community (SADC), with the World Bank support.
  • The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRF) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will together begin US$ 10.8 million health care program that will focus on maternal and child health in fifty nine villages in Burundi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
  • The HIV Early Infant Diagnosis Project funded by the Clinton Foundation and Mozambique’s Ministry of Health has saved an estimated 20,000 babies from infection in the first six months of its launch. Sequoia Technology and Telit Wireless Solutions- providers of technology for this project- has developed a way for the rural medical clinics in Africa to wirelessly receive HIV test results of the expectant mothers within days of testing.
  • The UK government is planning to develop a smartphone natural disaster application, to help victims of flood, famines and earthquake.
  • The first Czech clinic of addictology, focused on the treatment and prevention of alcohol and illegal drug addictions and research into them was opened in Prague.

Research

  • Researchers say that fish along the Orange County coast may have been affected by radioactivity that fell in California in the days after Japan’s 2011 nuclear disaster. They also say that small levels of radioactive isotope have accumulated in seaweed along the local shoreline.
  • A research suggests link between an injectable form of progestin-only birth control and an increased risk of breast cancer.
  • A universal cancer vaccine has been developed by a group of researchers. The early clinical trial has shown that it triggers an immune response and targets a molecule found in 90% of all cancers.
  • A remedy consisting of phytonutrients extracted from eggplant have been confirmed to treat and basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma.
  • A study on females in China revealed that the vegetables like mustard and turnip greens, bok choy, cauliflower and green cabbage are protective against breast cancer.
  • According to a study malaria stain resistant to the most effective drug used to treat the disease has spread along the Thai-Myanmar border. If ways are not found to contain it, it might reach India and Africa.
  • According to a recent survey Delhi (in India) has the highest number of corporate employees afflicted with insomnia due to high stress level and demanding schedules in offices. This city is followed by Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai.
  • Type 2 diabetes rising sharply in China. About 30 percent increase in cases in only seven years.
  • Data from 2010 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) shows that 27.1% of obese people above the age of eighteen years with BMI greater than 27.The same data shows obesity among kids below five years olds has increased to 14% from 11% in 2007.
  • Scientists from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore and the National Cancer Center Singapore have identified more than 600 genes that are mutated in stomach cancer, the second most lethal cancer in the world.
  • The blood-pressure medication prazosin was found to be an effective treatment to curb nightmares related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
  • A study shows that most of the fat people think they are not fat.
  • Researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of hypnotism in reducing severe symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
  • A new study suggests a link between obesity during pregnancy and autism.
  • The dengue virus may make mosquitoes even thirstier for human blood according to a study conducted at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
  • According to a new study, waist size helps to predict heart disease risk in teenagers.

Diseases & Disasters

  • The eastern horn of Africa is in famine crisis. About 750,000 people are at a risk of death.
  • H1N1 was detected in a Hong Kong’s slaughter house during regular influenza virus surveillance for pigs.
  • Avalanche in Siachen glacier region claims life of people in India and Pakistan.
  • Nine miners trapped in collapsed mine in Peru.

Global Health Weekly News Round-Up

by Vaani, posted in News

Politics and Policies:

Programs

Research

Diseases & Disasters