The World Health Organization just published a report regarding online junk food advertisements targeted at children, and called for immediate action by policy makers.

The report analyzed the frequency of marketing products targeting children through digital media–finding that children are exposed to these advertisements not only through social media but also on advertisement-based games. Most parents are unaware of the fact that their children are exposed every day to junk food advertisements, which take their toll on kids' minds, WHO reported.

Researchers pegged food advertisements as a consistent influencer on children's food choices. Dr. Emma Boyland of the University of Liverpool said,

The food, marketing and digital industries have access to an enormous amount of information regarding young people's exposure to HFSS (high fat salt or sugar) food marketing online and its influence on children's behaviour, yet external researchers are excluded from these privately held insights, which increases the power imbalances between industry and public health.

The report attacked the way some video bloggers get paid by junk food retailers to promote their food. According to a U.S. analysis, vloggers are now more influential at promoting brands than films or TV shows because of perceived authenticity.

Some countries such as the United Kingdom have introduced rules to protect children from junk food advertising such as bans during children's television shows, however, the report said regulation had "failed to keep up with the pace and scope of change in the media."

To address these challenges, the report suggested a number of recommendations. WHO recommended states acknowledge their duty to protect children from HFSS digital marketing with statutory regulation and extend existing offline protections online.

The organization is currently reviewing what foods and drinks can be advertised to children in order to compel private internet platforms to remove marketing of HFSS foods.

http://lawstreetmedia.com/

Ethiopia's candidate for Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom, shocked many observers when he displayed a complete lack of knowledge about global health strategies during a candidates' forum on November 2, 2016. Though Adhanom has served in the Ethiopian government as both minister of health and foreign affairs, he failed to answer a basic question about his claims that he is running a campaign on a framework that promotes the health needs of the developing world.

"Sorry, the question is not clear, can you clarify?" he answered, when a representative from Brazil asked him to explain why he claims to represent the developing world, when the agenda he advocated in his presentation espoused the health agenda of the developed world. Instead of answering the question, Adhanom tried to engage in a conversation with the Brazilian representative, apparently hoping to grasp what the question meant. Awkwardly, the moderator intervened, trying to help Adhanom understand the question.

Adhanom also stumbled with another question at the same forum, when asked about the technical cooperation of WHO member states:

This embarrassing performance could hurt Adhanom's current political campaign for the post of head of the global health body. Recently, he was relieved of his ministerial duties in the Ethiopian government, following a cabinet reshuffle. During his presentation last week, Adhanom said the Ethiopian government replaced him with a new foreign minister, so he could focus on the campaign.

Though he's endorsed by African Union, Adhanom has been under continuous assault from prominent members of Ethiopian civil society and opposition groups, who argue that his ties with the Ethiopian regime should disqualify him from leading WHO. These groups have also started an online petition.

When Adhanom launched his campaign in April 2016, Ethiopia was beset by anti-government protests. Citing the government's violent actions against protesters, 20 Ethiopian political and civic organizations signed a letter declaring Adhanom unfit to lead the World Health Organization, saying he is the face of the regime.

The letter read: "Mr. Adhanom did not lend confidence as a public health figure while he served as the Minister of Health in Ethiopia. [...] His tenure as head of the Federal Ministry of Health was fraught with mismanagement and incompetence."

The letter refers to an audit conducted by the Office of the Inspector General, which was prompted by reports of "mismanagement of money and incompetence." Subsequent research available on the Internet confirmed that the audit uncovered detailed evidence of financial mismanagement.

In a separate letter, one activist outlined his reasons why Mr. Adhanom should not be allowed anywhere near the World Health Organization.

The human rights website "Al Mariam" also offers a strong denunciation of Adhanom's WHO candidacy:

Adhanom's shallowness and cluelessness in matters of foreign policy and diplomacy are simply incredible.

His public speeches and statements generally lack not only substance and coherence, but are simply nonsensical. In July 2015, Adhanom said Ethiopia is a democracy with one hundred percent of the vote! (Of course, so did Obama. Two "nonsenses" don't make one bit of sense!)

Adhanom's diplomatic speeches are chock full of platitudes, clichés, buzzwords and hokum. He has a distinct proclivity to frame complex issues in worn out and left over phrases from the days of student activism of his late boss, thugmaster Meles Zenawi.

Adhanom manifests little understanding of international diplomacy and appears to lack even an elementary understanding of international law, treaties and conventions.

Meanwhile, Adhanom has been making the case that he would bring a fresh perspective to the WHO's leadership. Other than the African Union, some pro-government diaspora groups and international figures have also backed his candidacy.

Adhanom has relied heavily on social media to build his "brand" in Ethiopia — a country where access to social media is highly limited. Access isn't so restricted, however, that Adhanom's gaffes at the Nov. 2 forum haven't led to mockery online, where critics have enjoyed making fun of his surprising ignorance.

On Twitter, the hashtag #NoTedros4WHO gained popularity, with many users arguing that Adhanom has disqualified himself from holding any position at the WHO.

https://globalvoices.org/

This week, the World Federation for Mental Health met in Cairns, Australia to discuss mental healthcare, particularly suicide and self-harm. Approximately one million people a year lose their lives to suicide, according to the World Health Organization. That's one person every forty seconds dying by their own hands. Yet we have heard almost nothing about mental health in the 2016 US election cycle. With millions of people suffering from a variety of mental health issues in every part of the globe, why are so few talking about access to mental healthcare?

Here are three of the biggest issues that need to be addressed as part of comprehensive health policies:

Addiction: Around the world hundreds of millions of people are currently considered addicts, including 23.5 million people in the United States. Social stigmas suggest that those who abuse alcohol or drugs are morally or ethically reprehensible, but mental health providers know that addiction is often the result of early trauma. It can also be a response to poverty or limited life circumstances. What addiction is at its core is a mental and public health issue, not a choice to behave badly.

There is no question that addicts in almost every country in the world would benefit from healthcare reform, particularly improving access to addiction treatment. We can all learn from Portugal's commitment to helping addicts recover. Connecting those addicted to drugs or alcohol to mental healthcare either through drug courts or individually sought-out therapeutic treatments, including counseling, has been shown to greatly decrease the likelihood that an individual will continue using. We know what good treatment entails, but it takes policy makers willing to invest in it to make it available to those in need.

Depression: The debilitating pain of depression affects an estimated 350 million people worldwide. Unfortunately, too often those who suffer from depression do not have access to quality mental health care. Whether the problem is lack of insurance to cover costs, long-wait periods to see psychotherapists or too few professionals to help those in need, those with depression will often go untreated. This lack of treatment can lead to suicide. World suicide rates have increased 60% in the last 45 years and suicide is now a leading cause of death internationally. Now is the time to invest in mental healthcare to provide treatment to those who suffer from depression.

Displacement: The world is now "home" to more than 65 million refugees, more than after World War II. The need for mental healthcare among this population, which by definition has experienced trauma, has never been greater in anyone's living memory. While xenophobic concerns paint those escaping conflict as possible perpetrators of violence themselves, mental health care professionals and the nations that welcome these individuals, have an obligation to assist displaced persons in their psychological healing, while educating the larger community on the lasting effects of violence and trauma.

Failing to provide refugees with access to mental health care could leave a generation of people with deep psychological wounds. Ensuring refugees and the communities that host them have access to timely mental health services may prevent generational trauma and form meaningful relationships between communities in a time of increasing isolation and fear.

Mental health issues cost more than 2 trillion dollars a year, which is nothing compared to the untold human suffering that mental illness and addiction create. Yet we can do something to help those in need, one person at a time, by advocating for better access to mental health care in our communities. We know how to address this suffering; we simply need to be sure that those who need care can access it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – NGOs, state organizations and the military must coordinate to provide the primary care that people fleeing Mosul will need, the World Health Organization (WHO) said at a conference in Erbil Thursday, as Peshmerga and Iraqi forces tightened the noose on ISIS in its stronghold of Mosul.

"The primary purpose of the meeting was to try to identify who either from the department of health or the NGOs could potentially step up and provide service coverage in those sites and identify where those gaps are," Scott Pendergast, Director of Strategy Planning for Emergency for WHO told Rudaw. "The first stage is to try to match those gaps."

Pendergast said "gaps" referred to the distance from those in need of care, the screening process for health security regulations and receiving the assistance required.

As much as security is a raised concern, health concerns, particularly preventing the spread of disease is just as prevalent.

"As we have been led to believe and understand, should ISIS use a population and as human shields and as the offensive goes on we can anticipate a lot of trauma and injury," Altaf S. Musani, Representative of Mission at World Health Organization told Rudaw.

"That access trauma and injury will need to be managed within hours if not minutes to ensure survival. So an unknown factor is, what is the distance between the mustering side and the screening side and the actual settlement period?" he asked

"If it's short," Musani explained, "then obviously health care providers can easy stabilize and trauma and triage out those who are the most wounded. If it's a distance that is great and a distance that is not accessible, it just lends to the complexity of ensuring survival. This is why we are encouraging the coordination with the military by the departments of health and those NGOs who actually have the appetite to work in conflict zones to close that gap."

"In Mosul, the displacement flows will happen in multiple directions," Musani added. "That is forcing us to plan, not in one governorate but in five. These are just a few complexities that bring concern on how do we better prepositioned health capacity"

Pendergast felt confident in the coordination established from the conference. "From what we did today, there doesn't seem to be enormous gaps," he reflected. "There seems to be enough people around who can provide those services but we just have to make sure we can provide them at the right quantity and that they are supported throughout financing staff or supplies."

"I think this is one of the first times where we are actually creating a structure where we can bring the department of health, the NGOs together with the military to actually plan the health operations," Pendergast relayed. "This needs to be continued primarily at the zone level where they are going to be making day to day decisions about movement of particular capacities to meet moving needs and then we need to bring this up to this level on a regular basis to make sure planning out our resources well."

Since the operation to liberate Mosul commenced Monday morning, 135 buildings have been destroyed crucially damaging the city's infrastructure, according to Anna Soave, Human Settlement Advisor for United Nations Human Settlement Programme. This was particularly true for the city's airport of which there is "nothing left".

From the damage, massive looting has been occurring to the point where there is nothing left from the remaining buildings. "How will things be restarted," she rhetorically asked the attendees at the conference.

http://rudaw.net/

The number of cases of sexually transmitted infections (STI) reported in the US in 2015 is at an all-time high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That's because budget cuts to state and local STI programs have left fewer people with access to testing and treatment, the agency says.

"We're very concerned about these unprecedented high number of cases of STIs in the United States," Gail Bolan, the director of the CDC's Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention, tells The Verge. "These new number are making it really clear that many Americans are not getting the preventive services they need."

In 2015, there were more than 1.5 million reported cases of chlamydia (up nearly 6 percent since 2014), about 400,000 cases of gonorrhea (up nearly 13 percent), and about 24,000 cases of primary and secondary syphilis (up 19 percent), according to a report released today by the CDC. These three diseases are also the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infections (also known as sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs) in the US.

Chalamydia is an infectious disease that affects both men and women, but is particularly dangerous for women. If left untreated, it can make it difficult or impossible for women to get pregnant later on. Gonorrhea can lead to lasting health problems like infertility, long-term abdominal pain in women, and even death if the infection spreads to a person's blood or joints. And syphilis can create skin rashes and sores, and can damage the brain, nerves, and heart if left untreated. (Syphilis is divided into four stages: primary, secondary, latent, and late.)

All three STDs can be cured with antibiotics, but drug-resistant versions of the disease are much more dangerous and harder to treat. In July, the CDC announced that gonorrhea may soon become resistant to the only two antibiotics left to treat it. "We're very concerned about the threat of untreatable gonorrhea," Bolan says. Chlamydia and syphilis are also increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics, according to the World Health Organization.

The uptick in the number of cases is caused by reduced access to STD testing and treatment, the CDC says. More than half of state and local STD programs have experienced budget cuts, the agency says, and more than 20 health department STD clinics closed in one year alone. Sexually transmitted infections cost the US health care system nearly $16 billion each year, according to the CDC.

"We have reached a decisive moment for the nation," Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said in a statement. "STD rates are rising, and many of the country's systems for preventing STDs have eroded. We must mobilize, rebuild and expand services — or the human and economic burden will continue to grow."

Young people, as well as gay and bisexual men, are most at risk of contracting an STD. In 2015, about two-thirds of chlamydia diagnoses and half of gonorrhea diagnoses were among Americans ages 15 to 24 years old. Men who have sex with men accounted for the majority of new gonorrhea and primary and secondary syphilis cases. But women's rate of syphilis diagnosis also increased by more than 27 percent during that period. That's concerning because pregnant women who have syphilis can pass the infection onto babies, causing the baby to be born dead or have developmental problems.

The only way to respond to the increasing number of STD cases is to expand access to screening and treatment, according to the CDC. "STD prevention resources across the nation are stretched thin, and we're beginning to see people slip through the public health safety net," said Mermin. "Turning the STD epidemics around requires bolstering prevention efforts and addressing new challenges — but the payoff is substantial in terms of improving health, reducing disparities and saving billions of dollars."

Update October 19th 04:41PM ET: The story has been updated to include comments from Gail Bolan, the director of the CDC's Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention.

http://www.theverge.com/

The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013–2020 proposes that "as appropriate to national context, countries consider the use of economic tools that are justified by evidence, and may include taxes and subsidies, to improve access to healthy dietary choices and create incentives for behaviours associated with improved health outcomes and discourage the consumption of less healthy options".

The Comprehensive Implementation Plan on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition 2012 also considers that "trade measures, taxes and subsidies are an important means of guaranteeing access and enabling healthy dietary choices". Furthermore the Report of the Commission on Ending Childhood recommends to "implement an effective tax on sugar-sweetened beverages".

To address the increasing number of requests from Member States for guidance on how to design fiscal policies on diet, the World Health Organisation (WHO) convened a technical meeting of global experts in fiscal policies on 5–6 May 2015 in Geneva.

The main objectives of the meeting were to review evidence and existing guidance, discuss country case studies and provide considerations with regards to the scope, design and implementation of effective fiscal policies on diet.

It was concluded that there is reasonable and increasing evidence that appropriately designed taxes on sugar sweetened beverages would result in proportional reductions in consumption, especially if aimed at raising the retail price by 20% or more.

http://www.thedailystar.net/

Mental illness – a sad thing that happens to other people, but not something to worry your head about, right?

Wrong. According to the World Health Organisation, 'if we don't act urgently, by 2030 depression will be the leading illness globally.'

As someone who has bipolar disorder I suppose I have a vested interest in spreading awareness of mental health conditions but, the truth is, statistically speaking, either you, or a great number of your friends or family will be affected by them at some point.

Every October 10 is World Mental Health Day – a time to educate and raise awareness of mental Illness and its major effects on people's lives worldwide.

Here's everything you need to know.

What is World Mental Health Day?

It's a day first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization.

The World Health Organisation recognises World Mental Health Day on 10 October every year.

Every year has a different theme.

This year's is psychological first aid and the support people can provide to those in distress.

What can I do to support it?

You can get involved in Tea & Talk – a national fundraising event which takes place today.

It's pretty chill – friends, family or workmates get together, have tea (and possibly also biscuits or cakes), talk about mental health and potentially donate to mental health research charity, Mental Health Foundation.

To make a donation, text THRIVE to 70300 to give £3 or donate online.

Generally the day is on October 10 but you can organise one any time and request a pack with some ideas here.

Why is it important?

Suicide is the most common cause of death for men aged 20-49 years in England and Wales at present.

While suicide and self-harm are not mental health problems per se, they are obviously linked to mental distress.

Having said that, you shouldn't assume that because someone has depression, or indeed any mental illness, that they are or have ever been suicidal.

Nevertheless, this awful fact shows how much still needs to be done – from improvements in mental health care provision on the NHS through to people having more open conversations about mental health, and beyond.

Some other recent stats to think about or discuss today –

1. Mixed anxiety and depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain.
2. As many as 10 per cent of people in England will experience depression in their lifetime.
3. The poorer and more disadvantaged are disproprotionately affected by common mental health problems and their adverse consequences.
4. Ten per cent of mothers and six per cent of fathers in the UK have mental health problems at any given time.
5. One in five teens experience a mental health problem in any given year.

All statistics from The Mental Health Foundation.

While stats can be a starting point for a conversation, I think it's the conversation – however it begins – that matters.

When you have a mental health condition it's pretty s*** in itself, but to feel like you're the only one going through it, and to deal with it alone, and to feel like it's somehow your fault, something to be ashamed of, that you have to hide, can be just as bad I think.

The Mental Health Foundation's 10 tips on how to look after your mental health

1. Talk about your feelings
2. Exercise
3. Eat well
4. Drink sensibly
5. Keep in touch with loved ones
6. Ask for help
7. Take a break
8. Do something you're good at
9. Accept who you are
10. Care for others

http://metro.co.uk/

The government's decision to raise cigarette duties will not deter tobacco consumption in the country, public health experts and activists say, as the new price will keep cigarettes affordable for smokers, even with the new excise taxes.

The Finance Ministry announced on Friday that it had issued a regulation to increase excise taxes by an average of 10.54 percent next year for several types of cigarettes. The new increase is lower than the increase set by the government for this year, which reaches 11.33 percent.

The new hike will take effect starting in January next year and will increase the retail price of cigarettes by an average of 12.26 percent.

The relatively low increase shows that the government is not particularly interested in reducing the prevalence of smoking in the country, said Tuti Soerodjo, a tobacco control special committee chairwoman at the Indonesian Public Health Experts Association (IAKMI).

"They [smokers] can still afford cigarettes, given the minuscule increase in excise tax," Tuti told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The Excise and Tax Law stipulates that excise taxes on cigarettes are meant to control tobacco consumption, which many believe has reached an alarming level in Indonesia.

Indonesia is home to 72 million smokers aged 15 years and over, according to WHO data. The 2013 Basic Health Survey (Riskesdas) revealed that three out of 10 smokers are between 15 and 30 years of age and most start to smoke before they turn 19.

The cost of treating tobacco-related diseases, meanwhile, is currently estimated at Rp 11 trillion per year, or 0.29 percent of the country's gross domestic product. By contrast, the state capital injection for the Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) in the planned 2017 state budget amounts to Rp 3.6 trillion.

Tuti said smokers would be discouraged from purchasing cigarettes if the excise tax was higher than the sum of the country's inflation rate and economic growth.

"The new cigarette duties are only a little bit higher than the two, supposing we have more than 5 percent economic growth and more than 3 percent inflation next year," Tuti said.

Tuti added that the new excise tax increases were a sign that the government still sided with the tobacco industry. "They [players in the tobacco industry] did not scream at all in response to the new increases."

According to the new regulation, machine-made white cigarettes will be subject to excise hikes of up to 13.46 percent, while two other types, machine-rolled cigarettes and hand-rolled cigarettes, will be subject to excise tax increases of up to 10.42 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively.

The government believes that higher increases might threaten job security in the tobacco industry and create an illegal market, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said.

The ideal excise tax increase average should be 20 percent to prevent low-income citizens from buying cigarettes, said Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI) chairman Tulus Abadi.

A recent study by University of Indonesia surveyed 1,000 smokers and found that they would consider quitting smoking if cigarette prices were Rp 50,000 per pack, double the current average price.

With the new excise rates, it is likely that smokers will purchase cheaper cigarettes rather than reduce their consumption, said Komunitas Kretek general secretary Alfa Gumilang.

He said the new increases would only affect a few, such as low-income smokers who spend majority of their income to purchase cigarettes.

"They [low-income smokers] may reduce their expenditures for cigarettes due to the higher price as a result of a rising excise tax," Alfa told the Post.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/