A fact sheet from the National Academies and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on human pathogens, biotoxins and agricultural threats
As a lower-middle-income country (LMIC), South Africa (SA) bears
the burden of maternal and neonatal mortality similar to other sub-
Saharan African countries. According to the Saving Mothers Report
2017/19, there has been a progressive and sustained reduction
in institutional maternal mortality... (iMMR) in the past three triennia
(2010-2019), from 320 per 100,000 live births to 120 per 100,000 live
births.
According to the Rapid Mortality Survey, the country’s infant mortality
rate has declined from 29 deaths per 1000 live births in 2014 to 25
deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018. The institutional neonatal death
rate showed a slight decrease from 12,7 deaths per 1,000 live births in
2016 to the current level of 12 per 1,000 live births and has remained
static at this level for the past three years (saDHIS).
Working towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of reducing maternal mortality to below 70 per 100 000 live births and neonatal mortality to 12 deaths per 1000 live births, South Africa aims to reduce institutional maternal mortality, neonatal mortality and stillbirths by 50% by 2030.
This Maternal, Perinatal and Neonatal Health Policy provides a
framework for the delivery of quality, comprehensive, and integrated
MNH services and will guide the development and review of guidelines
and related MNH interventions, including strengthening of the service
delivery platform, governance, leadership and accountability for
the provision of quality MNH services, development of advocacy
messages, and guiding civil society priorities and community
initiatives. The policy will also guide the development and review of
academic curricula and the setting of research priorities.
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In northern Myanmar, nearly 100,000 people continue to live in displacement camps in Kachin and northern Shan States. Most were first displaced by fighting between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army in 2011, and many have been displaced multiple times, including in recent months. ...Approaching seven years of displacement, and despite ongoing and often increasing needs, displaced persons in northern Myanmar face decreasing aid and protection services. Over the past two years, the Government of Myanmar has dramatically increased restrictions on delivery of aid to this displaced population at the same time that the overall amount of aid provided by international donors has decreased.
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Since the beginning of December a significant increase in the incidence of new cases has been observed particularly along the corridor towards the large urban center of Butembo (health zones of Butembo and Katwa) and beyond in the zone of Kayna health center located about 150 km from Goma. In additi...on, active outbreaks have emerged to the north, particularly in the health zones of Komanda and Oicha.
The third strategic response plan (SRP-3), which covers February through end July 2019, considers the salient points and recommendations made during the operational review of the implementation of the SRP-2 and other guidance based on lessons learned and risk analysis.
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The present report, which covers the period from January to December 2018, is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2427 (2018). The preparation of the report involved broad consultations within the United Nations, in the field and at Headquarters, and with relevant Member States. It hig...hlights global trends regarding the impact of armed conflict on children and provides information on violations committed from January to December 2018, as well as related protection concerns. Where possible, violations are attributed to parties to conflict and, pursuant to resolutions of the Council, the annexes to the present report include a list of parties that, in violation of international law, engage in the recruitment and use of children, the killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, attacks on schools and/or hospitals and attacks or threats of attacks against protected personnel,1 and the abduction of children.
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Reducing the humanitarian impact of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas is a key priority for the United
Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), civil society and an increasing number of Member States.
The United Nations Secretary-General has expressly called on... parties to conflict to avoid the use in populated areas of
explosive weapons with wide-area effects.
While the use of explosive weapons in populated areas may in some circumstances be lawful under international
humanitarian law (IHL), empirical evidence reveals a foreseeable and often widespread pattern of harm to civilians,
particularly from explosive weapons with wide-area effects.
Many types of explosive weapons exist and are currently in use. These include air-delivered bombs, artillery projectiles,
missiles and rockets, mortar bombs, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Some are launched from the air and
others are surface launched. Whilst different technical features dictate their accuracy of delivery and explosive effect,
these weapons generally create a zone of blast and fragmentation with the potential to kill, injure or damage anyone
or anything within that zone. This makes their use in populated areas – such as towns, cities, markets and camps for
refugees and displaced persons or other concentrations of civilians – particularly problematic. The problems increase
further if the effects of the weapon extend across a wide-area either because of the scale of blast that they produce; their
inaccuracy; the use of multiple munitions across an area; or a combination thereof.
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In an environment of stagnant donor funding and increasing private sector investment in low- and middle-income countries, actors in both the public and private sectors are increasingly interested in using blended finance approaches to catalyze new funding for global health and achieve health outcome...s. As USAID moves towards greater engagement with the private sector, blended finance will be an important component to help achieve development objectives.
Accessed 19th May 2019.
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Climate change threatens to undermine the past 50 years of gains in public health. In response, theNational Health Service (NHS) in England has been working since 2008 to quantify and reduce its carbon footprint.
This Article presents the latest update to its greenhouse gas accounting, identifying ...interventions for mitigation efforts and describing an approach applicable to other health systems across the world.
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Ensuring mental health and well-being has become a worldwide imperative and an important target of the Sustainable Development Goals. But in all countries around the world, our response has been woefully insufficient, and we have made
little progress to advance mental health as a fundamental human ...right.
One in ten people are affected by a mental health condition, up to 200 million people have an intellectual disability and an estimated 50 million people have dementia. Many persons with mental health conditions, or psychosocial, intellectual, or cognitive disabilities lack access to quality mental health services that respond to their needs and respect their rights and dignity.
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Environmental pollution, protection, quality and sustainability
Developed in collaboration with the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO)
The Committee discussed the implications for preparedness for smallpox-like events reflected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee noted how quickly diagnostics and vaccines could be developed and deployed when resources and political will were abundant. This rapidity was also due to the f...act that the genetic sequence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had been shared worldwide. It was noted that in one country SARS-CoV-2 had been reconstructed in a laboratory from the viral genome sequence before the first case of COVID-19 had been reported, highlighting the benefits of synthetic biology technologies for accelerated development of diagnostics as well as the oft-described potential risks. Lessons learned about clinical care during the COVID-19 pandemic were also discussed.
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