The Lancet "Malnutrition in all its forms, including obesity, undernutrition, and other dietary risks, is the leading cause of poor health globally. In the near future, the health effects of climate change will considerably compound these health challenges. Climate change can be considered a pandemic because of its sweeping effects on the health of humans and the natural systems we depend on (ie, planetary health). These three pandemics—obesity, undernutrition, and climate change—represent The Global Syndemic that affects most people in every country and region worldwide."(Photo: Kuwaiti NGO Helps Reduce Malnutrition in Darfur/United Nations Photo/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The Guardian The Coca-Cola Company has shaped China’s policies towards its growing obesity crisis, encouraging a focus on exercise rather than diet and thereby safeguarding its drinks sales, an academic investigation has alleged.
(Photo: Mike Licht/flickr, CC BY 2.0)
The Lancet The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent an exponential advance from the Millennium Development Goals, with a substantially broader agenda affecting all
nations and requiring coordinated global actions. The specific references to mental health and substance use as targets within the health SD reflect this transformative
vision. (...) Despite substantial research advances showing what can be done to prevent and treat mental disorders and to
promote mental health, translation into real
world effects has been painfully slow. (Photo: Free Images/flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Medicus Mundi Schweiz The political declaration of the UN high-level meeting on NCDs lacks recognition that medicine prices are excessive and hinder universal access. But a clear reference to public health safeguards was at least included, thanks to the fight back of G77 countries and civil society writes Patrick Durisch. (Photo: Swiss authorities must act to make lifesaving drugs more affordable by introducing compulsory licensing, says NGO Public Eye/ © Sebastien Gerbe)
Medicus Mundi Switzerland A diabetes epidemic in Mexico, cardiovascular diseases in Tanzania – non-communicable diseases have long since arrived in low-income countries and are posing huge challenges for healthcare services there. Politicians have for a long time underestimated the problem and, in doing so, have opened the door for the proliferation of the global food and tobacco industries. Their health-endangering products are significant causes for the spread of non-communicable diseases in developing countries and emerging economies. What options do politicians have left to counter such developments? Which role do civil society organisations play and what responsibility does Switzerland bear in the battle against chronic diseases? In the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases, the international community is being challenged to finally put the necessary political measures in place. In its 2017 Symposium the Medicus Mundi Switzerland network intensively discussed the challenges and responsibilities and we are publishing some of the contributions and debates in our current MMS Bulletin. (Photo: © Vietnam Matthew Dakin/Novartis Foundation)
The Lancet Global pollution has increased dramatically in recent decades, threatening above-average vulnerable populations in middle and low-income countries. 92% of the deaths from environmental pollution occur in these countries, 70% of them due to chronic diseases.
The newly established "Lancet Commission on pollution and health" warns with six recommendations on swift action and criticizes international development and health cooperation for having neglected the problem too long. Also in the current WHO "Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases", so the further criticism, the problem is hardly mentioned. (Photo: Scavengers Burning Trash, Tondo Garbage Dump, Manila Philippines/Adam Cohn/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
World Health Organisation (WHO) "This month’s issue has a special focus on healthy ageing, as introduced by John R Beard et al. in the first editorial. Dulce M Cruz-Oliver et al. expand on this theme in a second editorial with a discussion of end-of-life care in low and middle-income countries. Both editorials obviously focus on health policies & global frameworks in this respect, but it is also worth to draw attention to this paragraph: “ … Perhaps the most important barriers to ensuring that the SDG’s are inclusive of older people are pervasive misconceptions, negative attitudes and assumptions about older age. Ageism remains socially acceptable, strongly institutionalized, largely undetected and unchallenged. Ageism is a powerful barrier to developing good public policy, because it limits the way issues are framed and addressed..." (Editorial by John R Beard et al.) Photo: Peter van Eeuwijk/ Universität Basel
The Guardian The African market with its growing numbers of children and young people and its increasing wealth, represents a huge outlet for the giant tobacco industries. The "British American Tobacco (BAT)" is attempting to capture this market by all means and is not afraid fighting through the African courts in order to avert protections and laws that prevent the population from the harm (and killing) consequences of smoking. Laws that have long been standard in rich countries. The Guardian got undisclosed court documents which reveale these aggressive and intimidatory tactics that tobacco companies are using. (Photo: Lynae Zebest / Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
MMS Globally close to 450 million people have mental health disorders; more than 75% of that number live in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, 85% of patients in developing countries with serious mental disorders receive no treatment at all. For the first time, world leaders are recognizing the promotion of mental health and wellbeing (SDG Goal 3.4) and the prevention and treatment of substance abuse (SDG Goal 3.5) as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unless governments tackle mental health, they will not meet the SDG 3 targets. Medicus Mundi Switzerland addresses the issue of mental health as part of its annual focus on non-communicable diseases. (Illustration: WHO's World Health Day Campaign 2017 "Let's Talk")
The Guardian The newly built wing of the Bugando Hospital in Tanzania's second-largest city is empty and deserted. Built as a modern oncology department, many cancer patients should have been given here an appropriate diagnosis and therapy in order to avoid the cumbersome and expensive way to the therapy center in Dar es Salaam, which is 1000 km away. But the financial resources are lacking in order to employ the medical staff and to put the new X-ray department into operation. A tragic in face of the explosive rise in cancer patients. Meanwhile more women in Tanzanian die due to cervical cancer than during childbirth. (Photo: Direct Relief / Bugando Medical Center, Tanzania / flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
World Health Organisation (WHO) Cancer is diagnosed too late. The new WHO guidelines are intended to improve the early diagnosis of these diseases worldwide. One important step is to educate the population about early symptoms of cancer and encourage them to visit a health care facility in time. (Photo: Community Eye Health / flickr)
The Lancet A tobacco-free world by 2040? The Lancet In it's edition of 14 March 2015 "The Lancet" launches a campaign for a tobacco-free world by 2040. The editors write: "Current global anti-tobacco strategies are failing. We endorse the Series' call for a UN high-level Summit on tobacco use to reinvigorate global and national efforts to achieve a tobacco-free world by 2040. The time has come for not only greater WHO leadership, but also leadership from the UN Secretary-General, because tobacco is not just a threat to health, it is also a threat to sustainable human development." (Photo: Jonathan Kos-Read/flickr)
WHO 38 Millionen Menschen starben 2012 an den Folgen von nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten wie Herz-Lungen-Krankheiten, Diabetes oder Krebs. Davon wären 42% oder 16 Millionen verhinderbar, wie die Weltgesundheitsorganisation in einem neuen Bericht festhält. (Bild: WHO)
The Lancet In it's edition of 14 March 2015 "The Lancet" launches a campaign for a tobacco-free world by 2040. The editors write: "Current global anti-tobacco strategies are failing. We endorse the Series' call for a UN high-level Summit on tobacco use to reinvigorate global and national efforts to achieve a tobacco-free world by 2040. The time has come for not only greater WHO leadership, but also leadership from the UN Secretary-General, because tobacco is not just a threat to health, it is also a threat to sustainable human development." (Photo: Jonathan Kos-Read/flickr)
The Lancet As part of a Lancet's Series on Obesity the authors of this article propose a four step accountability framework for creating healty food environments and reducing global obesity. "The framework identifies multiple levers for change, including quasiregulatory and other approaches that involve government-specified and government-monitored progress of private sector performance, government procurement mechanisms, improved transparency, monitoring of actions, and management of conflicts of interest. Strengthened accountability systems would support government leadership and stewardship, constrain the influence of private sector actors with major conflicts of interest on public policy development, and reinforce the engagement of civil society in creating demand for healthy food environments and in monitoring progress towards obesity action objectives."
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Feb 14, 2019
The Political Economy of Global Health
Reflections from the Prince Mahidol Award Conference, Bangkok
International Health Policy (IHP) "Rachel Thompson is a researcher currently based at a UK think-tank. In this blog she shares her personal reflections from the recent Prince Mahidol Award ...
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Apr 09, 2019 /
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
WHO European High-level Conference on Noncommunicable Diseases
From global commitment to local action on NCDs
World Health Organisation "Time to Deliver – 9-10 April 2019, WHO European High-level Conference on Noncommunicable Diseases “Achieving Sustainable Development Goal targets in the WHO ...
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Jan 30, 2019
The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change
The Lancet Commission report
The Lancet "Malnutrition in all its forms, including obesity, undernutrition, and other dietary risks, is the leading cause of poor health globally. In the near future, ...
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Jan 24, 2019
Asian shipbreaking and toxic African tobacco
The winners of the “Investigation Award” shed light on Swiss companies’ shady activities
Public Eye "Who is enticing young Africans to start smoking particularly harmful cigarettes? (...) Lausanne-based reporter Marie Maurisse examines the secret recipes that ...
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Jan 17, 2019
Coca-Cola influences China’s obesity policy, BMJ report says
Institute funded by Coke promotes exercise over diet to protect sales, academic says
The Guardian The Coca-Cola Company has shaped China’s policies towards its growing obesity crisis, encouraging a focus on exercise rather than diet and thereby safeguarding ...