A crucial lever is improving access to clean energy for Three billion people. Getting renewable energy on small local distribution grids will help people phase out fossil and polluting fuels. The Climate and Clean Air Coalition(CCAC) has worked with development banks and micro-finance institutions to develop programs to support impoverished communities and enable them to get access to renewable energy. One example is XacBank, in Mongolia. In this country, the smoke from coal and wood burning is a major contributor to black carbon and Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 air pollution,…
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PRICE OF HUMAN LIFE: MEDICAL, LEGAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS
The price of a human life has never been properly assessed, and a man as a value has neither been sufficiently learned nor protected. Though seeming illogical but, if the human life is under-evaluated, more extensively and lethally endangered, then it gives way to different approaches and methods to be developed in order to determine the man like a value (price) of material and social substance. Extensive research is being carried out in different countries on the value of a statistical life (VSL). Determination of material values of a human’s…
Read MoreADULT VACCINATION: AN OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPE, EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN AND SOUTH EAST ASIA : PART II
The increase of life expectancy in Europe renders older people an important proportion of the general population and healthy aging is being increasingly incorporated into modern healthcare systems. In 2019 persons ≥65 years old accounted for approximately 20% of the European population, and this is expected to increase to approximately 30% by 2050. The region has had a comprehensive adult immunization schedule, which is likely related to lesser vaccine hesitancy as well as larger acceptance for adult immunization. A 2019 analysis of vaccination policies for adults in 42 European countries…
Read MoreADULT VACCINATION: AN OVERVIEW OF THE REGION OF AMERICAS, THE WESTERN PACIFIC AND AFRICA: PART I
The emergence of new pathogens and the re-emergence of old ones has made life course immunization an urgent priority, especially in view of rapidly ageing populations. After the coronavirus pandemic, a life cycle approach to vaccinations for all ages and against all vaccine-preventable diseases has emerged as the main strategy to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, control infectious disease outbreaks and build herd immunity against common infections. The Region of the Americas adopted the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in 1974. The long-term commitment to pediatric immunization has made this region a…
Read MorePRIORITY NEEDS OF CHILDREN IN GAZA OVERVIEW OF CONSTRAINED FOOD SECURITY AND HUMANITARIAN AID
Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) needs among children in Gaza are high. Since 7th October 2023, most of the children in the Gaza Strip have been through traumatic events, including grief, widespread destruction, forced displacement, and severe shortages of food, water, and medicine. The absence of safe spaces and playgrounds and the closure of schools are also factors that cause mental health and psychosocial issues among children. They are reported to be suffering from anxiety, fear, emotional withdrawal, and nightmares. Israel has bombed Gaza’s only psychiatric hospital, and air…
Read MoreARM CONFLICT IN 21ST CENTURY : THE RIGHTS OF VICTIMS AND LEVELS OF RESPONSIBILITY
In International Human Rights Law(IHRL), victims have been defined as persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violation of criminal laws operative within Member States, including those laws proscribing criminal abuse of power. Offences in contravention of the laws of war are considered criminal offences and therefore, those who have suffered as a result of any offences conducted in the course of an armed conflict as…
Read MoreFOUR CONVENTIONS IN THE WORLD OF GLOBAL HEALTH: SURVIVAL , FAIRNESS , PRODUCTION , AND SPIRIT
To justify policies, allocate resources, and assign different roles in the field of global health, the participating actors and institutions refer to a plural yet limited set of conventions. Their specific characteristics echo elements of the conventions that researchers identified in their studies of western culture, even if they are not identical with them. Elements from the spheres of international security, development, and medical discourses have given rise to distinct conventions in the world of global health. Yet, their basic structure as conventions, or “orders of worth,”: Each of them…
Read MoreHUMANITARIAN GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES FOR HUMANITARIAN AID AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Our notion that humanitarian governance must be understood as the interplay of different actors tallies with theories on governance. However, writing about humanitarian governance tends to overly focus on the international humanitarian system, neglecting local and national actors’ involvement. Also, governance theories of the 1990s show that state power is layered and fragmented, and that attaining collective purposes is not solely the domain of the state. The shift from ‘government’ to ‘governance’, showed how “the state becomes a collection of inter-organizational networks made up of governmental and societal actors with…
Read MoreTHE GLOBALISATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND GLOBAL HEALTH GOVERNANCE
It is widely recognized that contemporary globalization is having a profound impact on the health of populations everywhere. Although increasing global integration is not an entirely new phenomenon, contemporary globalization has had an unprecedented impact on global public health and is creating new challenges for international law and policy. Globalization can be broadly understood as a process characterized by changes in a range of social spheres including economic, political, technological, cultural and environmental. These processes of global change are re-structuring human societies, ushering in new patterns of health and disease…
Read MoreWORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION 75TH ANNIVERSARY: CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON GLOBAL HEALTH LAW
The political, legal, economic and social contours of the current international landscape present major challenges for global health governance. If ameliorating the most common causes of disease, disability and premature death require global solutions, then the future is demoralizing. The states that bear the disproportionate burden of disease have the least capacity to do anything about it. And the states that have the wherewithal are deeply resistant to expending the political capital and economic resources necessary to truly make a difference to improve health outside their borders. When rich countries…
Read MoreBIOLOGICAL ARMS CONTROL AND DISARMAMENT REVIEW AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARES FUTURE
Negotiations to prohibit biological weapons became part of the agenda of the international community with the organization of the United Nations. Initial discussions focused on a treaty aimed at both chemical and biological weapons, but little progress was made until the mid-1960s. At the insistence of the British, negotiators began to focus on a treaty limited solely to biological weapons. The result was the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which prohibited possession of any biological and toxin weapons. Although the treaty does not define what constitutes a biological weapon, subsequent deliberations…
Read MoreGLOBAL GOVERNANCE REFORMING UNITED NATIONS
Since its foundation in 1946, the United Nations has undergone a continuous process of reform, each phase reflecting the renewed priorities of its membership. The decolonization period and the subsequent independence of numerous States in Africa and Asia provided a unique opportunity for the United Nations to address the needs of the newly independent nations. Within twenty years of its creation, UN membership more than doubled reaching 118 by 1965. The emergence of new States showed the need for a strengthening of the United Nations system in the area of…
Read MoreDISEASE CHARACTERISTICS, INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENT AFFECT SURVEILLANCE QUALITY
Variation in the quality of global surveillance systems can be attributed in large measure to disease characteristics. Under certain circumstances— for example, if a disease can be eradicated or if it poses a high risk of a global pandemic—disease-specific control programs have attracted broad support and have employed this support to create comparatively effective surveillance systems. Surveillance for other diseases, including emerging infections has received less international support and is more limited. The best surveillance systems have been established to support international campaigns aimed at eradicating or eliminating certain diseases,…
Read MoreYOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CURRENT USE DEVELOPMENT AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERVENTION AND DESIGN
The growing reliance of youth on online support for mental health represents an opportunity for providers of mental health services, apps, and other supports. Online spaces offer unique affordances that can help create scalable, personalized, and timely interventions. For example, we may be able to reach youth who are difficult to reach through more traditional clinical supports or in moments when current providers do not have visibility. Many people, especially youth, may not want traditional mental health support. An online screening platform hosted by Mental Health America, which has screened…
Read MoreDRUG DEVELOPMENT FOR COVID – 19 : CHALLENGES AND KEY CONSIDERATION FOR CLINICAL TRIAL DESIGNS
Identification of the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the associated coronavirus disease (COVID- 19) global pandemic is the foremost human tragedy affecting our life today. This disease has reached nearly every country, causing significant morbidity and mortality as it continues to spread. The development of drugs and vaccines is critical to win the battle against the COVID-19 virus. At present, although different countries have employed different methods of controlling COVID-19 based on their national conditions and health-care systems, the general strategy is consistent: Flatten the growth curve of COVID-19 infections…
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