The combination of safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities is a precondition for health and for success in the fight against poverty, hunger, child deaths and gender inequality. It is also central to the human rights and personal dignity of every woman, man and child on earth. Yet 2.6 billion people – half the developing world – lack even a simple ‘improved’ latrine. One person in six – more than 1 billion of our fellow human beings – has little choice but to use potentially harmful sources of water. The consequences of our collective failure to tackle this problem are dimmed prospects for the billions of people locked in a cycle of poverty and disease.
Equity in Health
Meeting the MDG drinking-water and sanitation target
message for WHO member country delegations to 56th World Health Assembly
There is an urgent need for new vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments to address high mortality and morbidity associated with infectious disease. The current system of motivating research and development favours the needs of people in developed countries, while neglecting many diseases that primarily affect people in developing countries. This is according to a message from Medicines Sans Frontiers about access to medicines, made to the 56th World Health Assembly (WHA) to be held between May 19-28.
Migration and health in South Africa: A review of the current situation and recommendations for achieving the World Health Assembly Resolution on the Health of Migrants
Vearey J and Nunez L: Forced Migration Studies Programme, University of the Witwatersrand, 2010
This paper focuses on migration in South Africa, and explores the links between health and the movements of people within the county and across its borders. The authors found that most migrants send remittances to their families back home or provide reciprocal care in times of sickness. Current health system planning within South Africa did not appear to adequately engage with the health of migrants in urban and transition areas. The authors emphasise the importance of engaging with a place-based approach to address the health of those affected by the migration process in South Africa. They argue that South Africa needs to develop, implement and monitor an evidence-based, coordinated, multi-level national response to migration and health, with an emphasis on the role of local government. Planning should address the needs of those who return home to die when they are too sick to work and government should also work towards developing a co-ordinated regional response to migration and health.
Millennium Development Goals still within reach but stronger focus on the most marginalised will be required
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF): 23 September 2008
Significant progress towards reducing child and maternal mortality is being made, but to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4, 5 and 6, strategies aimed at reaching the world’s most inaccessible, marginalised and vulnerable populations will be required, according to Ethiopia’s Minister of Health and the heads of four leading global health organisations – the GAVI Alliance, UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and UNICEF. Many countries are committed to achieving the MDGs but rely largely on donor support for its national health plan to continue its progress. Increased funding has seen improved immunisation rates, more programmes against malaria (by providing insecticide-treated bed nets) and the expansion of anti-retroviral access to two million in sub-Saharan Africa have contributed to an improving health picture for the continent, with reductions in mortality and morbidity rates.
Millennium Development Goals: Progress and prospects for meeting child survival targets in South Africa
Sanders D, Reynolds L, Westwood T, Eley B, Kroon M, Zar H, Davies M, Nongena P, van Heerden T, Swingler G: Critical Health Perspectives 1, 2008
The under-five mortality (U5MR) rate in South Africa in 1990 was 60. South Africa needs to achieve an U5MR of 20 by 2015 to meet its Millenium Development Goal target. Yet, in contrast to most countries, the U5MR in South Africa is rising rather than declining. Based on current trends, unless urgent measures are taken to address the main causes of death, South Africa has little hope of reaching the MDG target. To inform intervention, this article undertakes a critical examination of the determinants of under-5 mortality.
Millennium Development Goals: Progress and prospects for meeting child survival targets in South Africa
Sanders D, Reynolds L, Westwood T, Eley B, Kroon M, Zar H, Davies M, Nongena P, van Heerden T and Swingler G: Critical Health Perspectives 1, 2009
This paper takes a critical look at South Africa's prospects for meeting the Millennium Development targets for child survival. It asks the question: is a return to comprehensive primary health care (PHC) needed right now, as many have been saying? The time is long overdue for energetically translating the rhetorically rich promises of the PHC approach to reality, turning dormant policies into action. The main actions should centre around the development of comprehensive, well-managed programmes involving the health sector, other sectors and communities. The process needs to be structured into functioning district systems. In most countries these need to be considerably strengthened, particularly at the household, community and primary care levels.
Millennium Development Goals: progress towards the health-related Millennium Development Goals
World Health Organisation: Fact sheet 290, May 2011
According to this fact sheet measuring progress towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals, annual global deaths of children under five years of age fell to 8.1 million in 2009 from 12.4 million in 1990. Fewer children are underweight. The percentage of underweight children under five years old is estimated to have dropped from 25% in 1990 to 16% in 2010. More women get skilled help during childbirth. The proportion of births attended by a skilled health worker has increased globally, however, in the WHO Africa and South-East Asia regions fewer than 50% of all births were attended. Fewer people are contracting HIV. New HIV infections have declined by 17% globally from 2001–2009. Tuberculosis treatment is more successful. Existing cases of TB are declining, along with deaths among HIV-negative TB cases. More people have safe drinking-water, but not enough have toilets. The world is on track to achieve the MDG target on access to safe drinking-water but more needs to be done to achieve the sanitation target.
Millions face food shortages in Southern Africa
More than 10 million people will need humanitarian assistance in six countries across southern Africa over the coming year following yet another year of poor agricultural production caused by erratic weather together with late, and in some cases unaffordable inputs, such as fertilizer and seeds, two UN agencies and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) have warned.
Missed opportunity at the first UN High-level Summit on Non-communicable Diseases
Blouin C and Bertorelli E: Health Diplomacy Monitor 2(5): 3-5, November 2011
On 16 September 2011, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly unanimously adopted a political declaration at the end of its High-Level Summit on Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs), the response to which has been largely positive. But the authors of this article argue that the declaration missed a number of opportunities to effect real change in the fight against NCDs. They note that the declaration did not establish a special funding mechanism devoted to improving access to treatment of NCDs globally, nor did it commit donors and international organisations to invest more resources in that area, as was requested by developing country members of the Group of 77. Also, the final document did not include a reference to the Doha declaration on TRIPs and Public Health adopted in 2001, which re-affirmed the right of governments to adopt measures to protect health, despite this issue being emphasised during the process by the G77. Likewise, the declaration does not include new specific targets in reducing NCDs or concrete measures to be undertaken by governments, thanks largely to the United States, the European Union, and Canada, which generally opposed mandatory targets. The influence of the private sector was also clearly felt in this regard, as, in various side-meetings during the Summit, private sector companies argued for a voluntary rather than a regulatory approach for industry practices. Next steps include the development of targets and of a monitoring framework by the World Health Organisation by 2012. So far, the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in 2014 does not appear to include any discussion of NCDs.
Modern food biotechnology, human health and development
This report presents the potential benefits and risks associated with GM foods. It finds that GM foods can increase crop yield, food quality and the diversity of foods which can be grown in a given area. This in turn can lead to better health and nutrition, which can then help to raise health and living standards. The report also recommends that in future, evaluations of GM foods should be widened to include social, cultural and ethical considerations, to help ensure there is no "genetic divide" between groups of countries which do and do not allow the growth, cultivation and marketing of GM products.