This report has been prepared in response to informal requests by SIDS Member States and territories for WHO assistance in confronting the stark and dire situation which climate change has created in their countries and the impact it is having on their peoples
The aim of this article is to identify the elements behind the country’s successful COVID-19 rollout as well as lessons and chal lenges derived from this process. The analysis is relevant to many countries today—as they keep searching for strategies to cope with the second year of the COVID-19 p...andemic and the challenge of implementing a large-scale vaccine rollout—and in the coming years—as new variants develop and unceertainty about the vaccination strategy increases.
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The report notes that the number of people in need of one or more assistive products is likely to rise to 3.5 billion by 2050, due to populations ageing and the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases rising across the world. The report also highlights the vast gap in access between low- and high-inc...ome countries. An analysis of 35 countries reveals that access varies from 3% in poorer nations to 90% in wealthy countries.
Affordability is a major barrier to access, the report notes. Around two thirds of people with assistive products reported out-of-pocket payments for them. Others reported relying on family and friends to financially support their needs.
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The Lancet Planetary Health Published:May 17, 2022DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00090-0
Every year pollution causes 9 million deaths—1 in every 6 deaths worldwide, according to a Lancet Commission on pollution and health.
While the number of deaths caused by household air pollution a...nd water pollution decreased from 2015 to 2019, overall deaths remain roughly the same because of a 7% increase in deaths caused by air pollution and toxic chemical pollution.
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Rev Panam Salud Publica 45, 2021 |
Epidemics of infectious diseases are occurring more often, and spreading faster and further than ever, in many different regions of the world. The background factors of this threat are biological, environmental and lifestyle changes, among others. A potentially fatal combination of newly-discovered ...diseases, and the re-emergence of many long-established ones, demands urgent responses in all countries. Planning and preparation for epidemic prevention and control are essential. The purpose of this “Managing epidemics” manual is to provide expert guidance on those responses.
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The Committee discussed the implications for preparedness for smallpox-like events reflected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee noted how quickly diagnostics and vaccines could be developed and deployed when resources and political will were abundant. This rapidity was also due to the f...act that the genetic sequence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had been shared worldwide. It was noted that in one country SARS-CoV-2 had been reconstructed in a laboratory from the viral genome sequence before the first case of COVID-19 had been reported, highlighting the benefits of synthetic biology technologies for accelerated development of diagnostics as well as the oft-described potential risks. Lessons learned about clinical care during the COVID-19 pandemic were also discussed.
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Cases of human monkeypox are rarely seen outside of west and central Africa. There are few data regarding viral kinetics or the duration of viral shedding and no licensed treatments. Two oral drugs, brincidofovir and tecovirimat, have been approved for treatment of smallpox and have demonstrated eff...icacy against monkeypox in animals. Our aim was to describe the longitudinal clinical course of monkeypox in a high-income setting, coupled with viral dynamics, and any adverse events related to novel antiviral therapies.
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Lancet 2022; 399: 1155–200 Published Online March 15, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/
S0140-6736(21)02488-0
Global asymmetries influence policies for recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nearly 30 years after the Earth Summit and the global adoption of an international development agenda, in practical terms the environmental pillar of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has not been taken ...into consideration in recovery policies in the region. This has created major problems in terms of the medium- and long-term direction of regional economies.
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Glob Heart . 2020 Oct 13;15(1):69. doi: 10.5334/gh.891.
Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2022; 19(1): 37–45.
Published online 2022 Jan 29. doi: 10.1007/s11904-021-00589-4.
COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the cascade-of-care among PLWH in LAC. There is a need for
longitudinal studies that assess clinic implication of these pandemic interactions in LAC.
During the COVID-19 health crisis, community pharmacists had an enhanced role in supporting health-care systems that were overburdened by managing seriously ill patients. This study was undertaken to determine the patterns of community supply of antiviral and antibacterial agents from community phar...macies during the COVID-19 pandemic in selected countries in eastern Europe and central Asia. Nine countries – Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, North Macedonia, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – participated in this cross-sectional study.
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Lancet Oncol 2022; 23: e251–312Published OnlineMay 9, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00720-8
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), urgent action is needed to curb a growing crisis in cancer incidence and mortality.
Without rapid interventions, data estimates show a major increase in cancer mo...rtality from 520 348 in 2020 to about
1 million deaths per year by 2030. Here, we detail the state of cancer in SSA, recommend key actions on the basis of
analysis, and highlight case studies and successful models that can be emulated, adapted, or improved across the
region to reduce the growing cancer crises. Recommended actions begin with the need to develop or update national
cancer control plans in each country. Plans must include childhood cancer plans, managing comorbidities such as
HIV and malnutrition, a reliable and predictable supply of medication, and the provision of psychosocial, supportive,
and palliative care. Plans should also engage traditional, complementary, and alternative medical practices employed
by more than 80% of SSA populations and pathways to reduce missed diagnoses and late referrals. More substantial
investment is needed in developing cancer registries and cancer diagnostics for core cancer tests.
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During the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s economy slowed. Yet, the global annual average particulate pollution (PM2.5) was largely unchanged from 2019 levels. At the same time, growing evidence shows air pollution—even when experienced at very low levels—hurts human health. T...his recently led the World Health Organization (WHO) to revise its guideline for what it considers a safe level of exposure of particulate pollution, bringing most of the world—97.3 percent of the global population—into the unsafe zone. The AQLI finds that particulate air pollution takes 2.2 years off global average life expectancy, or a combined 17 billion life-years, relative to a world that met the WHO guideline. This impact on life expectancy is comparable to that of smoking, more than three times that of alcohol use and unsafe water, six times that of HIV/AIDS, and 89 times that of conflict and terrorism.
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