The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched in September 2015, made up of 17 Goals and 169 Targets that set out a plan of action that will shape the mainstream development agenda for the next 15 years1. There has already been much debate about how these Goals will be achieved, but the sig...nificant issue of drug policy reform has so far been ignored. This briefing aims to address this gap, to support discussions and demonstrate how global drug control policies are a cross-cutting development issue that impact upon a number of the SDGs.
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The case is intended to be used as the basis for group work and class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a Medical Peace Work situation. This is one of seven Medical Peace Work courses.
A Field-Based Assessment of Formal and Informal Procedures and Practices
Top 10 hungriest countries contribute just 0.08% of global CO2.
-Climate & Food Vulnerability Index shows 10 most food insecure countries emit less than half a tonne of CO2 per person
-Burundi is the world's most food insecure and smallest per capita emitter
-The average Briton gener...ates as much CO2 as 212 Burundians
-IPCC blockers Russia, USA and Saudi some of the worst offenders
As scientists of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meet in Geneva this week to publish their Special Report on Climate Change and Land (August 8), a new report by the development charity Christian Aid shows that climate change is having a disproportionate impact on the food systems of the country’s least responsible for causing the climate crisis.
The IPCC is expected to show how climate change will affect global food supply, spiking prices and reducing nutrition. It is also likely to recommend that countries will need to drastically cut emissions if global food security is to be protected.
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The devastating impacts of the 2015–16 El Niño will be felt well into 2017. This crisis was predicted, yet overall, the response has been too little too late. The looming La Niña event may further hit communities that are already deeply vulnerable. To end this cycle of failure, there is an urgen...t need for humanitarian action where the situation is already dire, to prepare for La Niña later this year, to commit to comprehensive new measures to build communities’ resilience, and to mobilize global action to address climate change which is creating a ‘new normal’ of higher temperatures, drought and unpredictable growing seasons.
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Antimicrobial Resistance and our Food Systems - Challenges and Solutions
Antimicrobial resistance has become a serious public health threat for effective treatment of an ever increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. When infections can no longer be treated by first-line antibiotics, other antibiotics must be used, which are both mo...re expensive and more toxic. Treatment and hospitalization is prolonged, and patients undergoing operations and other medical procedures are more vulnerable to infections. All this imposes a huge burden on health care systems and on the economy of countries. This is a major challenge to the health system in Mauritius which provides health care free of user cost to the whole population.
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Antimicrobial agents play an indispensable role in animal health and welfare management. At the same time, the need for prudent use is obvious to ensure good food safety outcomes and to manage the potential risk of antimicrobial resistance. The emergence of multi-resistant bacteria is posing challen...ges to health professionals and communities around the world for both human and animal health. These bacteria are not destroyed by the common antimicrobial agents and so pose a risk to people, particularly children, the elderly and those with poorly functioning immune systems, as well as to animals.
Throughout the years, the dairy sector has been very much aware of the need for responsible use and has, in many countries, implemented adequate measures throughout the dairy supply chain.
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As the number of transboundary pest and animal and foodborne disease outbreaks rises, so does the number of people who are chronically hungry due to these and other factors. The correlation can be explained by the link between our health and that of the planet. We rely on land and sea for the produc...tion of safe and quality foods for our daily nourishment. Pests and disease epidemics negatively impact the quality, quantity and safety of our food sources, and cripple economic growth and efficiencies in production. Furthermore, the epidemic and endemic levels of the pathogens and disease vectors can be difficult to control. This is why FAO stresses and promotes the special efforts required for cost-effective preventive measures rather than the more expensive control, disinfestation, treatment and disposal measures. When preventive measures are late or difficult, preparedness and contingency plans must be in place to enable rapid response. Early warning systems, based on close monitoring, surveillance, and timely reporting are fundamental to warn and empower communities to safeguard their livelihoods and assets by enhancing disease and pest prevention measures and for government services to take immediate measures to protect communities and national economies.
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Since the introduction of penicillin in the early twentieth century, antimicrobial treatments have been utilized not only in human medicine but also in veterinary care – initially to ward off diseases, prevent post-surgery infections, and treat sick farm animals.Global food production... has intensified over the past 50 years due to economic expansion and popu-lation growth. The use of antimicrobials in agriculture – in livestock, fish farming, and even on crops – has grown as well. Antimicrobials are not only used as medicines, but are sometimes also added in low concentrations to animal feed as a way of stimulating growth.
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In 1998 the Swedish Veterinary Association decided to adopt a general policy for the use of antibiotics in animals. Since then specifi c policies for the use of antibiotics in dogs and cats have been adopted and in 2011 Guidelines for the use of Antibiotics in Production animals – Cattle and Pigs,... were accepted. By decision of the board of the Swedish Veterinary Society (SVS) these guidelines have been updated. Th e over-arching goal of SVS is to achieve a low and controlled use of antibiotics in Swedish animal production so that the fi rst-hand choices of treatment remain effi cient and that the spread of antimicrobial resistance – among animals and herds as well as in the food chain – is kept at a minimum. Keeping antimicrobial resistance in animals low is important also for human health, since we are all part of the same ecosystem. Th e authors of these guidelines hope that they may be useful for veteri-narians in clinical practice when deciding on treatments for common diseases and ailments caused by bacteria. Sometimes the decision may even be to refrain from use of antibiotics and chose other ways of improving herd health.
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Nepal has only recently started its journey on the path to an integrated response to the challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Despite this, it is notable that the Nepal Health Sector Strategy Plan (HSSP)-2 mentions growing antibiotic resistanceas a public health challenge.
Antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents are invaluable life savers, particularly in resource-limited countries where infectious diseases are abundant. Both uncomplicated and severe infections are potentially curable as long as the aetiological agents are susceptible to the ...antimicrobial drugs. The rapid rate with which antimicrobial agents are becoming ineffective due to resistance acquired as a result of unchecked overuse and misuse threatens to undo the benefit of controlling infections. The evidence for resistant microorganisms, many times to more than a single antimicrobial agent, has been observed globally. In Tanzania, there is evidence in the form of few scattered studies conducted in different parts of the country in a multitude of settings including health care facilities, the community, domesticated animals and wild animals
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South Africa reported it fist case of COVID-19 on 5 March 2020. While the first cases were imported, local transmission has led to a rapid increase in the number of cases. As of 21 April 2020, more than 3,400 cases and 58 deaths had been confirmed. On 15 March, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a n...ational state of disaster, and the government has since taken several measures to curb the spread of the virus, including closing borders, implementing strict social distancing measures and a 35-day nation-wide lockdown. These measures, along with the global economic shock caused by the pandemic, are expected to generate rising needs requiring an immediate and urgent response. Although South Africa is considered an upper-middle-income country, the amount of disparities—social, economic, and gender—make the country particularly vulnerable during this emergency.
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It is too early to know the full impact of COVID-19 on Africa. To date the experience has been varied. There are causes for concern, but also reasons for hope. Early estimates were pessimistic regarding the pandemic’s impact on the continent. But the relatively low numbers of COVID-19 cases report...ed thus far have raised hopes that African countries may be spared the worst of the pandemic. While the virus is present in all African countries, most countries have recorded fewer than 1,000 cases. The African Union acted swiftly, endorsing a joint continental strategy in February, and complementing efforts by Member States and Regional Economic Communities by providing a public health platform.
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ACT Alliance appeal: Global Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic – ACT201 - Sub-Appeal - ACT 201-BGD -