Life expectancy for women at 50 has improved, but the gap between poor and rich countries is growing and could worsen without better detection and treatment of cardiovascular disease and cancers, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

A WHO study, one of the first to analyze the causes of death of older women, found that in wealthier countries deaths from noncommunicable diseases has fallen dramatically in recent decades, especially from cancers of the stomach, colon, breast and cervix.

Women over 50 in low and middle-income countries are also living longer, but chronic ailments, including diabetes, kill them at an earlier age than their counterparts, it said.

"The gap in life expectancy between such women in rich and poor countries is growing," said the WHO study, part of an issue of the WHO's monthly bulletin devoted to women's health.

There is a similar growing gap between the life expectancy of men over 50 in rich and lower income countries and in some parts of the world, this gap is wider, WHO officials said.

"More women can expect to live longer and not just survive child birth and childhood. But what we found is that improvement is much stronger in the rich world than in the poor world. The disparity between the two is increasing," Dr. John Beard, director of WHO's department of aging and life course, said in an interview at WHO headquarters.

Beard, one of the study's three authors, said: "What it also points to is that we need particularly in low and middle-income countries to start to think about how these emerging needs of women get addressed. The success in the rich world would suggest that is through better prevention and treatment of NCDs."

In women over 50 years old, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), particularly cancers, heart disease and strokes, are the most common causes of death, regardless of the level of economic development of the country in which they live, the study said.

Health ministers from WHO's 194 member states agreed on a global action plan to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases at their annual ministerial meeting last May.

Developed countries have tackled cardiovascular diseases and cancers in women with tangible results, the WHO study said.

Fewer women aged 50 years and older in rich countries are dying from heart disease, stroke and diabetes than 30 years ago and these improvements contributed most to increasing women's life expectancy at the age of 50, it said. An older woman in Germany can now expect to live to 84 and in Japan to 88 years, against 73 in South Africa and 80 in Mexico.

"That reflects two things, better prevention, particularly clinical prevention around control of hypertension and screening of cervical cancer, but it also reflects better treatment," Beard said.

"I think that is particularly true for breast cancer where women with breast cancer are much better managed these days in the rich world. That also explains the disparity," he said.

Low-income countries, especially in Africa, offer community services to treat diseases like AIDS or offer maternal care but many lack services to detect or treat breast cancer, he said.

In many developing countries, there is also limited access to high blood pressure medication to treat hypertension, one of the biggest risk factors for death, he added.

Women with cardiovascular disease and cancers need the kind of chronic treatment provided to those with HIV/AIDS, he said.

source: www.thestar.com

The World Health Organization has revealed that that medical professionals in hospitals in five countries didn't always wash their hands effectively, thus failing to prevent the spread of infections to patients and other staff members.

WHO's Clean Care is Safer Care program was established to educate doctors and nurses on correct hand-hygiene practices, which can reduce the risk and spread of infections.

A study from the World Health Organization (WHO) found that doctors in several countries don't wash their hands the right way 40 percent of the time, the New York Daily News reported.

Nurses at the 43 hospitals across Costa Rica, Mali, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Italy that were reviewed had the highest compliance rates at 71percent, WHO said.

The study, which took place from 2006 to 2008, was related to WHO's Clean Care is Safer Care program. The organization has set out to teach medical professionals about proper hand hygiene in order to reduce the risk of infection and help prevent the spread of drug-resistant bacteria and viruses.

WHO says doctors and nurses should use alcohol-based rub or soap and water on their hands at five key moments: before touching a patient, before aseptic or sterile procedures, after they come into contact with bodily fluids, after touching a patient and after touching a patient's surroundings.

The findings were recently published in "Lancet Infectious Diseases." (ANI)

source: truthdive.com

A non-governmental organisation, Tobacco Control Nigeria, recently launched its public health and policy change campaign project using social media to advance tobacco control and support the passage of a comprehensive Tobacco Control (TC) law compliant with the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Using dance and drama, performed by university students and a music artist named Vocal Slender, the group began the launch activities of its social media campaign holding crowds bound with its message on the streets of Ajegunle in Lagos.

Speaking about the project, the representative of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Mrs Hilda Ochefu stated that "Smokers are victims and are not bad people, we have a responsibility to educate them and urge them to quit". Mr. Phillip Jakpor, representing Mr. Bode Oluwafemi, Director, Environmental Rights Action (ERA), also lauded the launch of the Tobacco Control Nigeria Social Media Campaign, saying that health must be prioritized over revenue.

"600,000 people are dying annually from second hand smoking" therefore efforts are being made to ensure that the Federal Government signs the bill into law by December 2013."

source: www.channelstv.com

The United Nations and its partners in Sudan are providing emergency support hundreds of thousands of people that have been affected by flooding since the start of the month, the world body said today.

According to Government estimates, as many as 530,000 people have been affected by the floods triggered by heavy rains across the country, and at least 74,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed by the rapidly rising waters. The area surrounding the capital, Khartoum, has been hardest hit, with some 180,000 people affected.

Emergency water and sanitation, health items, food and other support is being provided by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as well as civil society and volunteer organizations, in coordination with Sudanese authorities.

Over 52,000 people have received household items, and water trucks being run by the Khartoum State Water Corporation and the Médecins Sans Frontières are reaching about 110,000 people each day, OCHA said in a news release.

While rains at this time of the year are common, they have been heavier than average this year, having a particularly serious impact in 16 out of the 18 states in the country.

The Sudanese health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO) are also monitoring the situation closely as Government and aid officials have raised concerns that stagnating water in and around the city could lead to outbreaks of water-borne diseases.

In a news briefing, a UN spokesperson said six peacekeepers with the joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) were swept away on Sunday by powerful currents while escorting World Food Programme (WFP) trucks to Masteri, west Darfur.

The incident occurred when the peacekeepers attempted to pull out their truck which was stuck in the mud of a river valley, near Nioro village approximately 30 kilometres southwest of El Geneina. A rescue team found two peacekeepers alive, while the search is ongoing to locate the other four, the spokesperson said, adding that WFP staff members are safe.

source: www.un.org

A few months ago, Bangladesh witnessed a major emergency situation when Rana plaza building at savar collapsed that left thousands dead and many more disable. It had a devastating impact on their mental health also. Situations like these are likely to trigger or worsen existing mental health problems, especially whereas at the same time existing mental health infrastructure is weakened. However, Emergencies, in spite of their tragic nature and adverse effects on mental health are opportunities to build better mental health systems for those who need it.

Mental health is crucial to the overall well-being, functioning, and resilience of individuals, societies and countries recovering from emergencies. During and after emergencies, people are more likely to suffer from a range of mental health problems. A minority develops new and debilitating mental disorders; many others are in psychological distress. And those with pre-existing mental disorders often need even more help than before. When the plight of those suffering becomes known to the nation and the world, others often become motivated to provide assistance.

In spite of their tragic nature, many countries have capitalised emergency situations to build better mental health systems. In order to ensure that those faced with emergencies do not miss the opportunity for mental health reform, World Health Organisation published a new report "Building back better: sustainable mental health care after emergencies. The report documented cases from around the world show that it is possible to build mental health systems in the context of emergencies.

In a matter of years following the tsunami in 2004, mental health services in Indonesia's Aceh province were transformed from a sole institutional hospital to a functioning system of care, revolving around primary health care services and supported by secondary care through general hospitals.

The influx of displaced Iraqis into Jordan enabled pilot community-based mental health clinics to be established. The success of these clinics built momentum for broader reform across the country.

Sri Lanka is another fine example that was able to capitalise on the resources flowing into the country following the 2004 tsunami to leap forward in the development of its mental health services. Today, this community-based mental health system reaches most parts of the country.

Emergencies are not only mental health tragedies, but also powerful catalysts for achieving sustainable mental health care in affected communities. The surge of aid, combined with sudden, focused attention on the mental health of the population, creates unparalleled opportunities to transform mental healthcare for the long term.

We do not know when the next major emergency will be, but we do know that those affected will have the opportunity to build back better. We should take the Rana Plaza tragedy as an opportunity to transform our mental healthcare.

source: www.thedailystar.net

More than 300,000 people across Sudan have been affected by floods which killed almost 50 people this month, the UN's World Health Organisation said in a statement.

The data came as a new thunderstorm and strong winds on Thursday night rattled the Khartoum region, already suffering from what the UN said was the worst inundation in 25 years.

"Heavy rains and floods in Sudan have affected lives and properties of some 65,957 families or 320,000 people," WHO said in a report.

As of Wednesday, 48 people had been killed and 70 injured, while property damage has been reported in 14 of the country's 18 states, WHO said.

Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed gave a higher death toll of 53 last week.

The WHO said one of the major health concerns was the collapse of almost 53,000 latrines.

In addition to damage from the flash floods which struck urban neighbourhoods earlier this month, the Blue Nile river in Khartoum has risen.

AFP reporters on Thursday saw the river had washed over about one kilometre (half a mile) of farmland in the east of the city, but a sand berm appeared to have been erected in an effort to block further intrusion.

"This is a huge disaster," Mark Cutts, who heads the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan, said last week.

He said the UN is ready to support the government to help those affected by the floods, even though UN humanitarian operations in Sudan "have been severely underfunded" in 2013.

Aid workers were also assisting hundreds of thousands displaced this year by worsening fighting in the western Darfur region.

More than one million more have been uprooted or severely affected by war in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Health officials called Thursday for urgent action to tackle "alarming" rates of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Myanmar where nearly 9,000 people catch the strain of the infectious disease each year.

Treatment programs in the impoverished nation — where the healthcare system was left woefully underfunded during decades of military rule — are expensive and ineffective leaving the deadly illness to spread unchecked, experts warned at a Yangon forum on the issue.

"Forms of TB that cannot be treated with standard drugs are presenting at an alarming rate in the country, with an estimated 8,900 people newly infected each year," Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement.

The drug-resistant strain can still be treated, but analysis has shown that patients often have to take up to 20 pills a day and endure months of painful injections — although even up to two years of medication is not guaranteed to work.

"Yet only a fraction — 800 by the end of 2012 — receive treatment. Untreated, the airborne and infectious disease is fatal," it said, adding care for the drug-resistant strain must "scale up country-wide to save lives and stem the unchecked crises."

Myanmar, which is undergoing sweeping political and economic reforms, will publish results of a nationwide TB survey by the end of the year, a health ministry official said, adding currently there is enough medicine for just 500 patients with the drug-resistant strain.

They have been identified in just 38 townships across the vast country and there is so far no accurate measure of the disease's spread.

Resistance to TB drugs develops when treatment fails to kill the bacteria that causes it — either because the patient fails to follow their prescribed dosages or the drug does not work.

"The gap is enormous," said Thandar Lwin who manages the country's TB program for the Ministry of Health.

"We need laboratory facilities, human resources and funding," she said, adding treatment is made more complex because up to 10 percent of people with the illness also suffer from HIV. TB was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) 20 years ago, but remains a leading cause of death by an infectious disease.

On its website, the UN agency says at least $1.6 billion is needed annually to prevent the spread of the disease.

Estimates for 2011 put the prevalence of TB in Myanmar at 506 sufferers per 100,000 of the population, compared to a regional average of 271 and a global figure of 170.

Over 95 percent of TB deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. Global health experts warned in March of the looming risk of an entirely untreatable strain of TB emerging. — AFP

source: www.saudigazette.com.sa

A new World Health Organization's (WHO) report has noted that humanitarian agencies work hard to help people with their mental health and psychosocial needs in the aftermath of emergencies.

It however, said too often opportunities are missed to strengthen mental health systems for the long-term.

The report provides guidance for strengthening mental health systems after emergencies and examples from Afghanistan, Burundi, Indonesia (Aceh Province), Iraq, Jordan, Kosovo, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, and West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The report, "Building back better: Sustainable mental health care after emergencies," released to mark World Humanitarian Day (August 19), was made available to the Ghana News Agency on Monday by Tarik Jasarevic, WHO Communications Officer.

Contributors from each area reported not only their major achievements, but also their most difficult challenges and how they were overcome.

"In spite of their tragic nature, emergency situations are opportunities to improve the lives of large numbers of people through improving mental health services," says Dr Bruce Aylward, WHO's Assistant Director-General overseeing the Organization's work in humanitarian emergencies. "We can do better for emergency-affected populations by working with the government on sustainable mental health care from the outset."

It provides guidance for strengthening mental health systems after emergencies, and focuses on 10 cases, where countries have taken advantage of this opportunity.

It said Aceh like many provinces in Indonesia, had only institution-based care before the tsunami of 2004, however, today, most districts have primary mental health services supported by secondary care at district general hospitals.

The report noted that in Iraq since 2004, significant progress has been made toward the creation of a comprehensive mental health system, with more than 50 per cent of general practitioners having received mental health training.

It said in Sri Lanka, since the 2004 tsunami, a new national mental health policy has guided reform, which now extends to most parts of the country. Several new cadres of community-based mental health workers have been developed.

It held that the possibilities presented by emergency situations are significant because major gaps remain worldwide in the realization of comprehensive, community-based mental health care.

"The current situation is alarming," says Dr Shekhar Saxena, WHO Director for Mental Health. "Health systems have not yet adequately responded to the burden of mental disorders. We know that the vast majority of people with severe mental disorders receive no treatment whatsoever in low-income and middle-income countries."

Transforming the mental health care systems in turn would improve the well-being, functioning, and resilience of individuals, societies, and countries recovering from emergencies, the report notes.

By releasing this report, WHO aims to help guide policymakers to reform their mental health systems, especially those which may be susceptible to future emergencies.

Already in 2013, the world has witnessed numerous emergency situations, from the crisis in Syria and neighbouring countries to heavy fighting in Mali and the Central African Republic, major flooding in parts of the Americas, Africa, and Asia, and others.

source: www.ghana.gov.gh