Health & Well Being

Photo: A health worker administers a vaccination against cholera to a young boy in Yemen. Credit: UNICEF/Saleh Bahless

Urgent Health Challenges Facing the World

By Sean Buchanan

GENEVA (IDN) – A list of urgent, global health challenges released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the beginning of 2020 reflects deep concern that leaders are failing to invest sufficient resources in core health priorities and systems. This, says the Geneva-based UN agency, is putting lives, livelihoods and economies in jeopardy.

Recommending that countries spend one percent of their gross domestic product on primary health care, to give more people access to the quality essential services they need, close to where they live, WHO has identified a series of priorities for the decade, covering a wide range of issues affecting people across the planet.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 17 January 2020

Photo: Collage of Kaveh Zahedi and Van Nguyen. Credit: ESCAP.

Urgent Need for Accelerating SDG Progress in Asia-Pacific

Viewpoint by Kaveh Zahedi* and Van Nguyen**

BANGKOK (IDN) – “The 2030 Agenda is coming to life”, declared the Secretary-General at the opening of the first SDG Summit [September 24-25], a quadrennial event for the follow up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As leaders from Asia-Pacific took the floor, they highlighted country progress of SDG implementation and reaffirmed commitment to achieve the 2030 Agenda. Statements reflected different approaches across the region. Yet all converged on one priority: accelerated actions and transformative pathways.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 11 December 2019

South Africans Mark World Aids Day With New ‘Wonder’ Drug

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – On the occasion of World Aids Day on December 1, South African health minister Zweli Mkhize announced the roll-out of a new state-of-the-art antiretroviral drug which, he said, should drastically reduce the number of people living with HIV.

The roll-out could start as soon as this month. A modified three-in-one pill was hailed as a ‘game-changer’, much needed in South Africa where 7.7 million South Africans are living with HIV.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 03 December 2019

Communities at The Forefront in the HIV/AIDS Response

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) – Since the first identification of HIV/AIDS in the United States of America (USA), in 1981, approximately 80 million people have been infected with HIV, and over 40 million have died of AIDS – the highest global death toll of all time – and also one of the world’s most serious public health challenges.

Each year, on December 1, the world commemorates World AIDS Day to show support for people living with HIV and to remember those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses.

: Somar Wijayadasa; OPINION; 24 November 2019

Photo: Collage of the drone releasing sterile male mosquitoes (left) and TDR global scientists team Credit: WHO

Insect Birth Control to Combat Mosquito-Borne Diseases

By Kwame Buist

GENEVA (IDN) – A form of insect birth control – Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) – that sterilises male mosquitoes using radiation will soon be tested as part of global health efforts to control diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika.

The technique involves the mass production, sex-separation and sterilisation of male mosquitoes by exposing them to low doses of radiation. Sterile males released into the wild mate with wild female mosquitoes of the same species, resulting in the production of unviable eggs that lead to a decline in wild mosquito populations.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 18 November 2019

Photo: Omid, ten months malnourished child suffering from pneumonia is treated in Mofleh Pediatric Hospital in the province of Herat province, west of Afghanistan on January 29, 2019. © UNICEF/UN0280720/Hashimi AFP-Services

Pneumonia the Number One Killer Disease of Children

By Sean Buchanan

NEW YOK (IDN) – Pneumonia, an entirely preventable disease, claimed the lives of 800,000 children – or one child every 39 seconds – under the age of five last year, but funding to improve survival rates continues to lag, according to a new analysis.

Most deaths occurred among children under the age of two, and almost 153,000 within the first month of life, says a UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) analysis produced in September 2019, based on estimates from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Maternal and Child Epidemiology Estimation Group (MCEE) and the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 13 November 2019

Stress Epidemic Now Reaching Global Proportions

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – By next year, stress-related mental health conditions will be prevalent across the globe and will be second only to ischemic heart disease in scope of disability, as reported by the World Health Organization. In part, the problem has to do with work.

A survey by business consultancy firm, Regus, found that 50% of all workers worldwide are more stressed than they were a mere 18 months ago, with 59% chalking it down to their job.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 02 November 2019

More Than $10 Million Raised at Diwali Gala for Medical Equipment, Patient Care Spaces and Research

By Sahana Rangnekar

TORONTO (IDN) – For the 18th year, Trillium Health Partners (THP)’s annual Diwali gala filled with fusion food, dancing and entertainment by Bollywood singing sensation Kanika Kapoor was celebrated in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario, on October 18, 2019 to raise funds for combating cancer. The annual gala has raised more than $10 million for medical equipment, patient care spaces and research at THP.

: Suresh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 01 November 2019

Photo: Air pollution from a coking oven. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Breaking New Ground in the Fight Against Air Pollution

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – Air pollution is by far the world’s largest single environmental health risk and a leading cause of death by cancer. It kills 7 million people every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Closely linked to climate change, air pollution is a major cause of environmental degradation. It is also threatening almost two-thirds of Europe’s ecosystems. This makes air pollution a critical barrier for sustainable development.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 15 October 2019

Photo: Kenyan Senator Isaac Mwaura. Source: Standard Digital

What a Kenyan Senator Attending UN Meeting Experienced in US

By Isaac Mwaura

The writer is a Nominated Senator and chairman of the Albinism Society of Kenya. @mwauraIsaac1 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This article was first published in Standard Digitial.

NEW YORK (IDN) – It is Wednesday September 25, 2019, and I am rushing to take my seat at a Kenyan side event on peace, organised by our permanent mission in New York and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was during the United Nations General Assembly meeting. I get into the building and check in at security.