Coronavirus outbreak can now be classified as a pandemic, says WHO - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Coronavirus outbreak can now be classified as a pandemic, says WHO.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was troubled by the spread and severity of the outbreak, along with a lack of action taken to combat it.

The new coronavirus outbreak can now be described as a pandemic, the head of the World Health Organization announced Wednesday.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was troubled by the spread and severity of the outbreak, along with a lack of action taken to combat it.
"WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we're deeply concerned, both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction," he told a news conference in Geneva.
"We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic."
The number of cases in over 100 countries around the world has risen to more than 124,000, with over 4,500 deaths, including a jump in fatalities in Iran and Italy in particular, according to an AFP tally.
China remains the worst-affected country with more than 80,000 confirmed cases and over 3,000 deaths.
Tedros said that over the past two weeks, the number of cases outside China had increased 13-fold and the number of affected countries had tripled.
He said he expected the number of cases and deaths would grow in the coming days and weeks.
"Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly," he told reporters, but he stressed that "describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO's assessment of the threat posed by the virus."
It should not be taken by countries as a signal to give up on efforts to contain the virus with methods like contact-tracing, he said.

Tedros pointed out that over 90 percent of cases had been registered in just four countries, and that countries with no or only a few cases could still halt the virus in its tracks.
"We should double down, and we should be more aggressive," Tedros said, adding: "We are not saying the world should move from containment to mitigation... the blended approach should continue.
"It will be a mistake to abandon the containment strategy," he said.
He acknowledged that the world had "never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus," but emphasised that "we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled at the same time." Countries can still change the course of the outbreak, he said.
Michael Ryan, who heads WHO's emergencies programme, insisted on the need to slow the outbreak to give time to hospitals to prepare for more cases, warning that many countries' health systems were showing a lack of resilience.
"If you do not try to suppress this virus it can overwhelm your health system," he said.
Tedros said the WHO was grateful for the measures being taken in countries around the globe and was aware that they were taking a "heavy toll" on societies.
He also said hard-hit Iran was trying its best to control the outbreak but needed more supplies.
Iran is suffering from a shortage of ventilators, oxygen and protective gear for health workers, reporters were told.


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Coronavirus outbreak can now be classified as a pandemic, says WHO.

Why WHO will not declare SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic now - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Why WHO will not declare SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic now.

Globally, there are 82,549 cases and 2,810 deaths as on February 27.

On February 26, for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak began in China on December 8, the number of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases reported in a single day was more outside mainland China than within the country. According to the World Health Organisation, there were 412 newly confirmed cases reported from mainland China while there were 459 cases reported from elsewhere. For the last few days, the number of confirmed cases reported from mainland China has come down even as the spread of the virus has seen a sudden increase outside China. For instance, the total number of confirmed cases in China increased from 74,576 (deaths at 2,118) on February 20 to 78,497 (deaths 2,744) on February 27.

Globally, there are 82,549 cases and 2,810 deaths as on February 27.
As on February 27, 3,346 confirmed cases have been reported from 49 countries.
On February 27, Brazil in South America and Algeria in Africa reported their first infections. Except Antarctica, novel coronavirus cases have been reported from all continents. In the past week, 20 countries have confirmed their first coronavirus cases.
At 16, Europe has the most number of countries that have reported at least one case. In just one day, seven European countries — Estonia, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Georgia, N Macedonia, and Romania — reported their first cases on February 27. As on Thursday, 621 cases and 16 deaths were reported from Europe. While there was a gradual increase in the number of cases in Europe between January 24 (three cases) and February 22 (63 cases), the cases spiked since then — from 63 on February 22 to 621 on Thursday. The numbers nearly doubled from 270 on February 24 to 509 the next day.
Twelve countries/regions — mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Philippines — belonging to the WHO West Pacific region have reported at least one case.
There are nine countries — Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and UAE — in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region that have reported novel coronavirus infections. Only five countries — Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal Taiwan — in the WHO South-East Asia region have reported SARS-CoV-2 infections. In the Americas, cases have been reported from only Canada, the U.S. and Brazil.
Which countries outside mainland China have large number of cases?
South Korea has the most number of confirmed novel coronavirus infections — 1,766 (and 13 deaths) outside mainland China. Italy (528), Iran (245) and Japan (189) are the other countries with most number of cases.
About a week ago Hong Kong and Singapore had the most number of cases but that has since changed. But these two countries appear to have largely contained the spread, with Singapore reporting 93 and Hong Kong with 92 cases as on February 27.
Since the virus has spread globally, will WHO declare COVID-19 as pandemic?
In a press briefing on February 26, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made it abundantly clear that WHO will not declare COVID-19 a pandemic at this moment. He said: “We should not be too eager to declare a pandemic without a careful and clear-minded analysis of the facts. Using the word pandemic carelessly has no tangible benefit, but it does have significant risk in terms of amplifying unnecessary and unjustified fear and stigma, and paralyzing systems.”
He then added: “It may also signal that we can no longer contain the virus, which is not true. We are in a fight that can be won if we do the right things. Of course, we will not hesitate to use the word pandemic if it is an accurate description of the situation.”
By not calling it a pandemic right away, he did clarify that it does not mean WHO considering the spread to be less serious. He said: “I am not downplaying the seriousness of the situation, or the potential for this to become a pandemic, because it has that potential. Every scenario is still on the table. On the contrary, we are saying that this virus has pandemic potential and WHO is providing the tools for every country to prepare accordingly.”
When was the last time a pandemic was declared?
A pandemic is defined as the worldwide spread of a new disease. The last pandemic reported was the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, which killed hundreds of thousands globally. Unless it is influenza, WHO generally avoids declaring diseases as pandemics. This change came about after the lessons learned from the 2009 H1N1 experience.
According to 2017 pandemic influenza risk management guidelines, the WHO uses pandemic influenza phases — interpandemic, alert, pandemic and transition — to “reflect its risk assessment of the global situation regarding each influenza virus with pandemic potential infecting humans”.
Also read | A preprint provides ammunition to conspiracy theories about SARS-CoV-2 origin | Human-to-human transmission in Wuhan started in mid-December | How bats harbour several viruses yet not get sick
Have some countries contained the spread?
All countries that have reported even one case should primarily focus on containing the spread of the virus, the WHO chief said. Fourteen countries have managed to contain the spread of the virus and no new case has been reported for more than a week. And nine countries, including India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, have not reported any additional cases in the last two weeks, he said. This highlights that the virus can be stopped in its track if countries take appropriate and timely actions.
What steps should countries take to stop the virus from spreading?
The priority should be to detect cases early and isolate people who test positive for the virus. Once a case is detected, the focus should be to trace the contacts and treat them if already infected. Since the molecular test is not highly sensitive and can return false negatives, people who have returned to India or have come in contact with people who have tested positive should be made aware to seek immediate medical care once symptoms show up. Though the average incubation period is five-seven days, a few have shown up symptoms at the end of 24 days. Efforts should also be focussed on preventing outbreaks in hospitals and spread in the community. One way to stop the spread in the community is to avoid mass gathering in enclosed spaces.
The Ministry of Health has advised people to avoid all non-essential travel to countries where community spread of the virus is reported, particularly Singapore, South Korea, Iran and Italy. According to February 13 release, the Health Ministry has been following up passengers travelling from China, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea and Japan for a period of 28 days.(Source: The Hindu)


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Why WHO will not declare SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic now.

Why WHO will not declare SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic now - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Why WHO will not declare SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic now.

Globally, there are 82,549 cases and 2,810 deaths as on February 27.

On February 26, for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak began in China on December 8, the number of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases reported in a single day was more outside mainland China than within the country. According to the World Health Organisation, there were 412 newly confirmed cases reported from mainland China while there were 459 cases reported from elsewhere. For the last few days, the number of confirmed cases reported from mainland China has come down even as the spread of the virus has seen a sudden increase outside China. For instance, the total number of confirmed cases in China increased from 74,576 (deaths at 2,118) on February 20 to 78,497 (deaths 2,744) on February 27.

Globally, there are 82,549 cases and 2,810 deaths as on February 27.
As on February 27, 3,346 confirmed cases have been reported from 49 countries.
On February 27, Brazil in South America and Algeria in Africa reported their first infections. Except Antarctica, novel coronavirus cases have been reported from all continents. In the past week, 20 countries have confirmed their first coronavirus cases.
At 16, Europe has the most number of countries that have reported at least one case. In just one day, seven European countries — Estonia, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Georgia, N Macedonia, and Romania — reported their first cases on February 27. As on Thursday, 621 cases and 16 deaths were reported from Europe. While there was a gradual increase in the number of cases in Europe between January 24 (three cases) and February 22 (63 cases), the cases spiked since then — from 63 on February 22 to 621 on Thursday. The numbers nearly doubled from 270 on February 24 to 509 the next day.
Twelve countries/regions — mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Philippines — belonging to the WHO West Pacific region have reported at least one case.
There are nine countries — Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and UAE — in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region that have reported novel coronavirus infections. Only five countries — Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal Taiwan — in the WHO South-East Asia region have reported SARS-CoV-2 infections. In the Americas, cases have been reported from only Canada, the U.S. and Brazil.
Which countries outside mainland China have large number of cases?
South Korea has the most number of confirmed novel coronavirus infections — 1,766 (and 13 deaths) outside mainland China. Italy (528), Iran (245) and Japan (189) are the other countries with most number of cases.
About a week ago Hong Kong and Singapore had the most number of cases but that has since changed. But these two countries appear to have largely contained the spread, with Singapore reporting 93 and Hong Kong with 92 cases as on February 27.
Since the virus has spread globally, will WHO declare COVID-19 as pandemic?
In a press briefing on February 26, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made it abundantly clear that WHO will not declare COVID-19 a pandemic at this moment. He said: “We should not be too eager to declare a pandemic without a careful and clear-minded analysis of the facts. Using the word pandemic carelessly has no tangible benefit, but it does have significant risk in terms of amplifying unnecessary and unjustified fear and stigma, and paralyzing systems.”
He then added: “It may also signal that we can no longer contain the virus, which is not true. We are in a fight that can be won if we do the right things. Of course, we will not hesitate to use the word pandemic if it is an accurate description of the situation.”
By not calling it a pandemic right away, he did clarify that it does not mean WHO considering the spread to be less serious. He said: “I am not downplaying the seriousness of the situation, or the potential for this to become a pandemic, because it has that potential. Every scenario is still on the table. On the contrary, we are saying that this virus has pandemic potential and WHO is providing the tools for every country to prepare accordingly.”
When was the last time a pandemic was declared?
A pandemic is defined as the worldwide spread of a new disease. The last pandemic reported was the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, which killed hundreds of thousands globally. Unless it is influenza, WHO generally avoids declaring diseases as pandemics. This change came about after the lessons learned from the 2009 H1N1 experience.
According to 2017 pandemic influenza risk management guidelines, the WHO uses pandemic influenza phases — interpandemic, alert, pandemic and transition — to “reflect its risk assessment of the global situation regarding each influenza virus with pandemic potential infecting humans”.
Also read | A preprint provides ammunition to conspiracy theories about SARS-CoV-2 origin | Human-to-human transmission in Wuhan started in mid-December | How bats harbour several viruses yet not get sick
Have some countries contained the spread?
All countries that have reported even one case should primarily focus on containing the spread of the virus, the WHO chief said. Fourteen countries have managed to contain the spread of the virus and no new case has been reported for more than a week. And nine countries, including India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, have not reported any additional cases in the last two weeks, he said. This highlights that the virus can be stopped in its track if countries take appropriate and timely actions.
What steps should countries take to stop the virus from spreading?
The priority should be to detect cases early and isolate people who test positive for the virus. Once a case is detected, the focus should be to trace the contacts and treat them if already infected. Since the molecular test is not highly sensitive and can return false negatives, people who have returned to India or have come in contact with people who have tested positive should be made aware to seek immediate medical care once symptoms show up. Though the average incubation period is five-seven days, a few have shown up symptoms at the end of 24 days. Efforts should also be focussed on preventing outbreaks in hospitals and spread in the community. One way to stop the spread in the community is to avoid mass gathering in enclosed spaces.
The Ministry of Health has advised people to avoid all non-essential travel to countries where community spread of the virus is reported, particularly Singapore, South Korea, Iran and Italy. According to February 13 release, the Health Ministry has been following up passengers travelling from China, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea and Japan for a period of 28 days.(Source: The Hindu)


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Why WHO will not declare SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic now.

Explained: How WHO names a new disease - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Explained: How WHO names a new disease.

The WHO had to come up the name in line with the 2015 guidelines between the global agency, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

On February 11, the World Health Organization officially announced COVID-19 as the name for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. This comes more than 40 days after WHO was alerted by China about a cluster of pneumonia-like cases seen in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province.

Announcing the name at a press briefing in Geneva, the Director-General of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “[The name] gives us a standard format to use for any future coronavirus outbreaks.”
The WHO had to come up the name in line with the 2015 guidelines between the global agency, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
What does the name COVID-19 stand for?
The “CO” in COVID stands corona, while “VI” is for virus and “D” for disease. The number 19 stands for the year 2019 when the outbreak was first identified.
Why was WHO in a hurry to name the disease?
The urgency to assign a name to the disease is to prevent the use of other names that can be “inaccurate or stigmatising”. People outside the scientific community tend to call a new disease by common names. But once the name gets “established in common usage through the Internet and social media, they are difficult to change, even if an inappropriate name is being used. Therefore, it is important that whoever first reports on a newly identified human disease uses an appropriate name that is scientifically sound and socially acceptable,” says a May 2015 WHO press release. In May 2015, the WHO came up guidelines on how to name a new disease.
Has the novel coronavirus that caused the outbreak got a name?
The Coronavirus Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, which had assessed the novelty of the human pathogen, has named the virus as “Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2”, or “SARS-CoV-2”. The Coronavirus Study Group is responsible for developing the official classification of viruses and taxa naming of the Coronaviridae family.
Why and how did the WHO come up with guidelines to name new diseases?
Concerned about the stigma that names of new diseases can cause to certain people and religion, the WHO came up with the new guidelines in May 2015. The WHO identified the best practices to name new human diseases in consultation and collaboration with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The main aim behind this exercise was to “minimise unnecessary negative impact of disease names on trade, travel, tourism or animal welfare, and avoid causing offence to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups”.
What best practices did the guidelines suggest?
According to the guidelines, name of a new disease should consist of a combination of terms. These terms consist of a generic descriptive term based on clinical symptoms (respiratory), physiological processes (diarrhoea), and anatomical or pathological references (cardic). It can refer to specific descriptive terms such as those who are afflicted (infant, juvenile, and maternal), seasonality (summer, winter) and severity (mild, severe). The name can also include other factual elements such as the environment (ocean, river), causal pathogen (coronavirus) and the year the new disease is first detected with or without mentioning the month.
The year is used when it becomes “necessary to differentiate between similar events that happened in different years”. In the case of COVID-19, coronavirus has caused other diseases such as the Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
Besides, the WHO has also listed out the terms that should be avoided while naming a new diseasse. This includes, geographic locations, people’s names, species of animal or food, references to culture, population, industry or occupation, and terms that incite undue fear.
What disease names given prior to 2015 violate the guidelines?
There are a few disease names that mentions the geographic location — cities, countries or regions — where the disease was first identified. The Ebola virus disease derives its name from the location from where the virus was first identified — Yambuku in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which is about 100 km from the Ebola River. Likewise, Zika gets its name from the location from where the virus was first identified in rhesus monkeys — Uganda’s Zika forest. The virus spread to humans in Uganda and Tanzania five years after it was discovered in 1947. Japanese encephalitis (first case documented in 1871 in Japan), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Spanish Flu, Rift Valley fever, and Lyme disease are other examples where the disease name carries the location name.
A couple of diseases carry the name of the person who first identified the disease. Chagas disease is named after the Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas, who discovered the disease in 1909. Similarly, the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease refers to the persons who described the disease (German neurologist Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt and in 1920 and shortly afterward by Alfons Maria Jakob).
Some diseases carry the name of animals — bird flu (H5N1) and swine flu (H1N1). The 2009 H1N1 pandemic was commonly referred to as swine flu. It is important to note that the 2009 pandemic virus was not completely derived from swine. The virus contains a combination of flu genes from bird, swine, and human flu types. Calling the 2009 pandemic virus as swine flu caused a major impact on the pork industry.


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Explained: How WHO names a new disease.

WHO to provide technical support for Ayushman Bharat - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

WHO to provide technical support for Ayushman Bharat.

• WHO will support the Union, selected state govts in implementing, scaling up the state-run new health initiatives, programmes
• The WHO will help to turn the blueprints for Ayushman Bharat into action
The World Health Organization (WHO) will now provide technical support to India for government’s ambitious scheme Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).

Under the WHO-India Cooperation Strategy 2019–2023 announced on Wednesday, the apex health agency will support the union and selected state governments in implementing and scaling up the government’s newly established and planned initiatives and programmes. As AB-PMJAY aims to provide Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the WHO under its strategy will help in accelerating the progress on the front.
The WHO will help to turn the blueprints for Ayushman Bharat into action, starting in a few states. In these states, WHO will guide policy discussions and assist in designing, testing and evaluating the implementation of the PMJAY hospital insurance programme; the establishment of the new Health and Wellness Centres; and the setting up of linkages between these primary care facilities and higher levels of care to ensure continuum of care.
A key aim of WHO’s support will be to identify and document successful models of service delivery, best practices and lessons learnt to inform the design of these reforms in other states. The WHO and health ministry officials will also be looking at the challenges in implementing the reforms. “Key challenges in implementing these reforms will include drawing people to the Health and Wellness Centres, given the poor utilization of public sector services in many areas, and developing workable referral systems to prevent PMJAY beneficiaries from bypassing primary care facilities altogether and creating bottlenecks in hospitals," the strategy document said.
“Attracting patients to the Health and Wellness Centres and other public sector primary health-care facilities will hinge on their ability to offer a range of high-quality services. Towards this aim, WHO will be supporting the development of a methodology for defining, coding and pricing of benefit packages based on local and global evidence and will support the Department of Health Research in conducting health technology assessment," the document said. (Source: Livemint)


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WHO to provide technical support for Ayushman Bharat.

Air pollution causing one death in ten among children: WHO - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Air pollution causing one death in ten among children: WHO.

As many as 6 lakhs children died from acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) caused by polluted air in 2016, accounting for almost 10% of all child deaths that year, according to WHO.

One in ten deaths in children across the world is being caused by air pollution, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report.

Air pollution and child health: Prescribing clean air, released on Monday, stated as many as 6 lakhs children died from acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) caused by polluted air in 2016, accounting for almost 10% of all child deaths that year. Of these, at least 5.4 lakh were children under the age of 5 years.

“Polluted air is poisoning millions of children and ruining their lives,” says Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

The report highlights that after premature birth, ALRI is the leading killer of children under 5 years worldwide. And over half of all deaths from ALRI in low and middle-income countries are caused by breathing polluted air.

Globally, 93% of all children live in environments with air pollution levels above the WHO guidelines. India, with 14 out of 20 of the worlds’s most polluted cities in the world, stands as one of the most vulnerable countries.

According to WHO, pollution related mortality and disease burden is one of the highest in India, which accounts for 25% of the global deaths due to air pollution. In 2016, as many as 1 lakh children deaths under the age of 5 years in India were caused due to polluted air.

“Air pollution is stunting our children’s brains, affecting their health in more ways than we suspected,” says Maria Neira, Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, WHO.

Health experts highlight that one reason why children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution is that they breathe more rapidly than adults and so absorb more pollutants.

Pregnant women living in polluted cities are more prone to pregnancy issues, including premature births. A recent study presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress held in Paris also found evidence of tiny carbon particles in placenta for the first time, highlighting the alarming impact that air pollution could have on unborn babies.

Pollution not only triggers asthma but childhood cancer and can impact neuro-development and cognitive abilities. Children who have been exposed to high levels of air pollution may be at greater risk to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease later in life.

“Children have a longer life expectancy than adults, so latent disease mechanisms have more time to emerge and affect their health. A child who is exposed to unsafe levels of pollution early in life can thus suffer a ‘life sentence’ of illness,” stated the report. (Source: Livemint)

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Air pollution causing one death in ten among children: WHO.

Alcohol consumption in India doubled in 11 years: WHO report - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Alcohol consumption in India doubled in 11 years: WHO report.

Indians consumed 2.4 litres of alcohol in 2005, which increased to 4.3 litres in 2010 and scaled up to 5.7 litres in 2016.

The per capita alcohol consumption in India increased two folds between 2005 and 2016, according to the Global status report on alcohol and health 2018 released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday.
Indians consumed 2.4 litres of alcohol in 2005, which increased to 4.3 litres in 2010 and scaled up to 5.7 litres in 2016, the report said.
According to the report, the highest increase in alcohol consumption is expected in South-East Asia, with an increase of 2.2 litres in India alone, from 2005 to 2016.
More than 3 million people died as a result of harmful use of alcohol in 2016, the report said. More than three quarters of those reported dead were men. Overall, the harmful use of alcohol causes more than 5% of the global disease burden.
The report highlighted that 51.1 men per 100,000 population and 27.1 women per 100,000 population suffered from liver cirrhosis. Cancers associated with alcohol abuse resulted in 181 men per 100,000 population and 126.4 women per 100,000 population.
Of all deaths due to alcohol, 28% were from injuries, such as those from traffic crashes, self-harm and interpersonal violence; 21% due to digestive disorders; 19% due to cardiovascular diseases, and the remaining due to infectious diseases, cancers, mental disorders and other health conditions.
“Far too many people, their families and communities suffer the consequences of the harmful use of alcohol through violence, injuries, mental health problems and diseases such as cancer and stroke,” according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general, WHO. “It’s time to step up action to prevent this serious threat to the development of healthy societies.”
According to the report, almost all (95%) of countries globally have alcohol excise taxes, but fewer than half of them use other price strategies such as ban on volume discounts. The majority of these countries have some type of restrictions on beer advertising, with bans most common for television and radio, but less common for the Internet and social media.
“We would like to see member states implement creative solutions that will save lives such as taxing alcohol and restricting advertising. We must do more to cut demand and reach the target set by governments of a 10% relative reduction in consumption of alcohol globally between 2010 and 2025,” according to Tedros.(Source: Livemint)


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Alcohol consumption in India doubled in 11 years: WHO report.

Kuwait tops the list of world’s most inactive nations: WHO report - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Kuwait tops the list of world’s most inactive nations: WHO report.

In the survey of 168 nations, Kuwait ranked as the world’s most inactive, while Uganda came out as the most energetic.

One in four people don’t get enough exercise, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). In the survey of 168 nations, Kuwait ranked as the world’s most inactive, while Uganda came out as the most energetic.
Among developed countries, the US ranked 143rd on the list, the UK 123rd while Australia came in at 97th, with the higher numbers indicating a more inactive population.
In Kuwait, American Samoa, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, more than half of the population doesn’t get enough exercise, according to the WHO. In Uganda, by contrast, just 5.5% are not sufficiently active.
The WHO defines enough exercise as at least 75 minutes of vigorous activity or 150 minutes of moderately intense activity per week, or any combination of the two.
In most countries, women tend to be less active than men. People in poorer nations are more than twice as active as their counterparts in high-income nations. The report’s authors point to sedentary occupations and a higher dependence on automobiles for the slide in activity.
Global exercise levels did not improve significantly between 2001 and 2016, and the WHO is not on track to meet its 2025 target of reducing physical inactivity by 10%. “A significant increase in national action is urgently needed in most countries,” they said. (Source: Livemint)


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Kuwait tops the list of world’s most inactive nations: WHO report.

Nepal first country in south-east Asia to eliminate trachoma: WHO - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Nepal first country in south-east Asia to eliminate trachoma: WHO.

Nepal has become the first country in south-east Asia to eliminate trachoma, world's leading cause of preventable blindness of infectious origin, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a statement today.

Nepal's achievement is commendable and results from a strong political commitment, intense community engagement and impressive leadership demonstrated by civil society," said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia Region.
Trachoma was the second leading cause of preventable blindness in the Himalayan nation in the 1980s.
It is a big step towards the health of everyone and comes at a time when Nepal accelerates its fight against other neglected tropical diseases as well," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said.
A letter acknowledging the validation was presented to Nepal's Minister of State for Health and Population, Padma Kumari Aryal yesterday by Singh and Ghebreyesus at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, where the World Health Assembly is in session.
In 2002, the Government of Nepal had stepped up the efforts to eliminate trachoma with the establishment of a national trachoma programme. The prevalence of active (inflammatory) trachoma in the country fell by 40 per cent following the implementation of sustained control activities from 2002 to 2005, the WHO statement said.
The Nepal government, through the ministry of water supply and sanitation, provided incentives to local communities and districts to build and maintain latrines, measures that were crucial to improve sanitation and reduce the disease carrying flies.
The national trachoma programme in that country also collaborated with the ministry of education to include a module on trachoma in the school curriculum, the statement said.
In 1998, the World Health Assembly had resolved to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem.
Trachoma is a chlamydial infection which happens due to lack of hygiene, unclean water supply and can spread by contact with eye, nose, or throat secretions of a person suffering from the disease or indirectly via flies. The infection is particularly common among children.
The disease puts more than 190 million people in 41 countries at the risk of blindness. It is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of around 1.9 million people worldwide. (Source: The Business Standard)

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Nepal first country in south-east Asia to eliminate trachoma: WHO.

WHO polluted cities list: Government claims pollution dipped in 2017 - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

WHO polluted cities list: Government claims pollution dipped in 2017.

"Data for the year 2017 for PM 2.5 shows an improvement over 2016 and so far in 2018, it shows a further improvement, as compared to 2017,” said a statement from the Environment Ministry.

Responding to the air pollution data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday, the government claimed that various measures have led to pollution levels actually falling in 2017.
At 143 microgrammes/cubic metre, Delhi’s PM (2.5) levels in 2016 — as reported by the WHO — made it the sixth most polluted city in the world. The government, citing Central Pollution Control Board data, said it was 134 microgrammes/cubic metre in 2016 and 125 microgrammes/cubic metre in 2017. “The government has made serious efforts to deal with air pollution. Data for the year 2017 for PM 2.5 shows an improvement over 2016 and so far in 2018, it shows a further improvement, as compared to 2017,” said a statement from the Environment Ministry.
The CPCB data based on Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) also noted that PM (10) figures were 289 microgrammes per cubic metre in the year 2016 and 268 microgrammes per cubic metre in the year 2017. “Therefore, even PM 10 levels have come down in the year 2017 against 2016,” the statement added.
The WHO had cited numbers from CPCB, along with other peer-reviewed sources, to assess pollution levels in Delhi in 2016. WHO’s global urban air pollution database measured the levels of fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) from more than 4,300 cities in 108 countries, according to which ambient air pollution alone caused some 4.2 million deaths in 2016, while household air pollution from cooking with polluting fuels and technologies caused an estimated 3.8 million deaths in the same period. Kanpur and Varanasi led the list of the world’s most polluted cities, with Faridabad, Gaya, Patna, Lucknow, Agra, Muzaffarpur, Srinagar, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Patiala and Jodhpur also figuring in 20 most-polluted cities in the world. (Source: The Hindu)


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WHO polluted cities list: Government claims pollution dipped in 2017.

10 Indian cities out of 20 rank among the most polluted in the world: WHO - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

10 Indian cities out of 20 rank among the most polluted in the world: WHO.

According to report, more than 90 per cent of air pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, including India.

In a data released by World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday, 10 Indian cities figured in top 20 most polluted cities in the world in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2016, where Gwalior ranked second. The national capital Delhi and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh are also among the 20 cities.
The WHO data also said that nine out of 10 people in the world breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. The estimations revealed an alarming death toll of 7 million people every year caused by ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution.
According to the data, other Indian cities that registered very high levels of PM2.5 pollutants were Allahabad, Kanpur, Firozabad, Patna, Muzaffarpur, Ludhiana and Khanna followed by Ali Subah Al-Salem in Kuwait and a few cities in China and Mongolia.
In terms of PM10 levels, 13 cities in India figured among the 20 most-polluted cities of the world in 2016.
The World Health Organisation has called upon member-countries in its Southeast Asia Region to aggressively address the double burden of household and ambient (outdoor) air pollution, saying the region, which comprises India, accounts for 34 per cent or 2.4 million of the seven million premature deaths caused by household and ambient air pollution together globally every year.
Of the 3.8 million deaths caused by household air pollution globally, the region accounts for 1.5 million or 40 per cent deaths, and of the 4.2 million global deaths due to ambient air pollution, 1.3 million or 30 per cent are reported from the region, it said.
The PM2.5 includes pollutants like sulfate, nitrate and black carbon, which pose the greatest risk to human health.
WHO's global urban air pollution database measured the levels of fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) from more than 4,300 cities in 108 countries, according to which ambient air pollution alone caused some 4.2 million deaths in 2016, while household air pollution from cooking with polluting fuels and technologies caused an estimated 3.8 million deaths in the same period.
Since 2016, over 1,000 additional cities have been added to WHO's database, which shows more countries are measuring and taking action to reduce air pollution than ever before.
"WHO estimates that around 7 million people die every year from exposure to fine particles in the polluted air that penetrate deep into the lungs and cardiovascular system, causing diseases including stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and respiratory infections, including pneumonia," the report said.
According to the report, more than 90 per cent of air pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (including India), mainly in Asia and Africa, followed by low- and middle-income countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region, Europe and the Americas.
"Around 3 billion people more than 40 per cent of the world's population still do not have access to clean cooking fuels and technologies in their homes, the main source of household air pollution," it said.
It said the WHO recognises air pollution is a critical risk factor for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), causing an estimated 24 per cent of all adult deaths from heart disease, 25 per cent from stroke, 43 per cent from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 29 per cent from lung cancer.
The report, however, stated countries are making efforts and taking measures and in this context, referred to India's Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which it said, in just two years, has provided 37 million women living below the poverty line with free LPG connections to support them to switch to clean household energy use.
India targets to reach 80 million households by 2020.
All countries in the region are making efforts to expand the availability of clean fuels and technologies, however, over 60 per cent population do not have clean fuel. The combined effects of household air pollution and ambient air pollution become increasingly hard to address if not tackled early, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO Southeast Asia, said.
"Air pollution needs to be brought under control with urgent and effective action. Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of deaths globally and in the region, and air pollution contributes significantly to NCDs such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and lung cancer.
"Cleaning up the air we breathe will help prevent NCDs, particularly among women and vulnerable groups such as children, those already ill and the elderly," Singh said.
"Many of the world's megacities exceed WHO's guideline levels for air quality by more than 5 times, representing a major risk to people's health," Maria Neira, director of the Department of Public Health, Social and Environmental Determinants of Health at WHO, said, adding, there is an acceleration of political interest to deal with this global public health challenge.
"Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalised people bear the brunt of the burden. It is unacceptable that over 3 billion people most of them women and children are still breathing deadly smoke every day from using polluting stoves and fuels in their homes," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO.
Major sources of air pollution from particulate matter include inefficient use of energy by households, industry, agriculture and transport sectors, and coal-fired power plants. In some regions, sand and desert dust, waste burning and deforestation are additional sources of air pollution.
"Air pollution does not recognise borders. Improving air quality demands sustained and coordinated government action at all levels," the WHO said. (Source: The Business Standard)


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10 Indian cities out of 20 rank among the most polluted in the world: WHO.

WHO releases new guidelines on tobacco product regulation - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

WHO releases new guidelines on tobacco product regulation

The new guidelines provide practical, stepwise approaches to implementing tobacco testing.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched new guidelines on the role that tobacco product regulations can play in reducing tobacco demand, saving lives and raising revenues for health services to treat tobacco-related diseases, in the context of a comprehensive tobacco control.
The new guide, titled ‘Tobacco product regulation: Building laboratory testing capacity’, and a collection of country approaches to regulation of menthol in tobacco products, presented in the publication, titled ‘Case studies for regulatory approaches to tobacco products– Menthol in tobacco products’, were launched at the 2018 World Conference on Tobacco or Health recently.
Many countries have developed advanced policies to reduce the demand for tobacco, which kills over 7 million people annually, but governments can do much more to implement regulations to control tobacco use, especially by exploiting tobacco product regulation.
Dr. Douglas Bettcher, WHO’s Director of the Department for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), said: “The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), a global treaty established under the auspices of the WHO to combat the tobacco epidemic, has played a critical role in tobacco control. The launch of these important publications will further aid the implementation of Articles 9 and 10 of the WHO FCTC, contributing to building tobacco product regulation capacity in WHO member states”.
He further said: “Tobacco product regulation is an under-utilised tool which has a critical role to play in reducing tobacco use. The tobacco industry has enjoyed years of little or no regulation, mainly due to the complexity of tobacco product regulation and lack of appropriate guidance in this area. These new tools provide useful resource to countries to either introduce or improve existing tobacco product regulation provisions and end the tobacco industry’s ‘reign’.”
“Only a handful of countries currently regulate the contents, design features and emissions of tobacco products,” said Dr. Bettcher. “This means that tobacco products are one of the few openly available consumer products that are virtually unregulated in terms of contents, design features and emissions.”
Most countries hesitate to implement policies, due in part to the highly technical nature of such policy interventions and the difficulties in translating science into regulation, explained Dr. Vinayak Prasad, who leads WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative.
“Failure to regulate represents a missed opportunity as tobacco product regulation, in the context of comprehensive control, is a valuable tool that complements other tried and tested tobacco control interventions, such as raising taxes, and ensuring smoke-free environments,” he added.
The new guidelines provide practical, stepwise approaches to implementing tobacco testing. Such guidance is relevant to a wide range of countries in various settings, including those with inadequate resources to establish a testing facility.
This laboratory guide is a useful resource for countries, and provides regulators and policymakers with comprehensible information on how to test tobacco products, what products to test, and how to use testing data in a meaningful way to support regulation. (Source: The Hindu)


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WHO releases new guidelines on tobacco product regulation

Bitter medicine for the Centre

 

The Supreme Court has set up a three-member committee headed by former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha to perform the statutory functions of the Medical Council of India.

Issues which needs reform on urgent basis are:

• Need to reduce the cost of medical education and increase access in different parts of the country.
• Need to improve the doctor-to-population ratio, which is one for every 1,674 persons, as per the parliamentary panel report, against the WHO-recommended one to 1,000.
• Need to remove bottlenecks to start medical colleges, such as conditions stipulating the possession of a vast extent of land and needlessly extensive infrastructure, and to considerably rectify the imbalance, especially in underserved States.
• The primary criterion to set up a college should only be the availability of suitable facilities to impart quality medical education.
• The development of health facilities has long been affected by a sharp asymmetry between undergraduate and postgraduate seats in medicine.
• There are only about 25,000 PG seats, against a capacity of 55,000 graduate seats. The Lodha committee will review this gap.
• National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, some States
• Will addresses issues such as the urban-rural divide and language barriers.

The single most important issue that the Lodha committee would have to address is corruption in medical education, in which the MCI is mired.

Appointing prominent persons from various fields to a restructured council would shine the light of transparency, and save it from reverting to its image as an 'exclusive club' of socially disconnected doctors.