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<P class=MsoNormal
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lang=EN-GB>WHO highlights threats to global health
security<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
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<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 14.4pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>In its call for the urgent need to improve international health
security in light of growing threats to the global collective health security,
the WHO has identified eight issues which include economic stability; emerging
diseases; chemical, radioactive and biological threats; environmental change;
humanitarian emergencies; and HIV/AIDs. The article below highlights the
problem.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
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lang=EN-GB>It is reproduced </SPAN></B><B><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US">with permission from</SPAN></B><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="COLOR: black">
South-North Development Monitor (SUNS) #6227, 10 April
2007.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Health: WHO highlights
threats to global health security <o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>By Kanaga Raja, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Geneva</st1:place></st1:City>, 5 April 2007</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>The World Health Organization, on the occasion of World Health Day on
7 April, has highlighted the urgent need to improve international health
security in light of growing threats to the global collective health
security.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>Among the threats highlighted by the UN health agency are: emerging
and rapidly spreading diseases, environmental change, the danger of
bio-terrorism, sudden and intense humanitarian emergencies caused by natural
disasters, chemical spills or radioactive accidents and the impact of
HIV/AIDS.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>''Threats to health know no borders. In an age of widespread global
trade and travel, new and existing diseases can cross national borders and
threaten our collective security,'' said WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan,
in her message for World Health Day.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>Threats to health security are many and varied, Dr Chan said, adding
that tackling the health effects of these threats involves working collectively
to improve preparedness and effective responses when they occur.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>A high-level global debate involving political, business and opinion
leaders took place in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Singapore</st1:place></st1:country-region> on 2 April, in advance of
World Health Day, to raise the profile of international health
security.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>In her speech at the high-level debate, Dr Chan said: ''We live in a
world where threats to health arise from the speed and volume of air travel, the
way we produce and trade food, the way we use and misuse antibiotics, and the
way we manage the environment.''</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>''All of these activities affect one of the greatest direct threats
to health security: outbreaks of emerging and epidemic-prone diseases,'' she
added.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>In his message for World Health Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
said that ''health, development and global security are inextricably linked.
Investment in health is a cornerstone of economic growth and development, and a
prerequisite for meeting many of the Millennium Development Goals.''</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>The WHO had prepared a background paper for the high-level debate in
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Singapore</st1:place></st1:country-region> titled "Invest in Health,
Build a Safer Future" that profiled eight issues linked to international health
security.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>The eight issues included emerging diseases; economic stability;
international crises and humanitarian emergencies; chemical, radioactive and
biological terror threats; environmental change; HIV/AIDS; building health
security; and strengthening health systems.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>The WHO paper said that globalization has brought the benefits of
efficient transport and trade to many people across the world. It has also
allowed the rapid spread of diseases that otherwise may have been contained by
geographical boundaries, or that in another era may have travelled slowly enough
to be brought quickly under control.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>In today's world, said WHO, health security needs to be provided
through coordinated action and cooperation between and within governments, the
corporate sector, civil society, media and individuals. No single institution or
country has all the capacities needed to respond to international public health
emergencies caused by epidemics, natural disasters or environmental emergencies,
or by new and emerging infectious diseases.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>In respect of emerging diseases (such as avian influenza and Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome), the WHO document said that since new diseases
partly arise from fundamental changes in the way humanity inhabits the planet,
the emergence of new diseases is likely to continue, if not escalate.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>In the last decades of the 20th century, new diseases began emerging
at the unprecedented rate of one or more per year. From 1973 to 2000, 39
infectious agents capable of causing human disease were newly identified. Even
more worryingly, the rate of drug failure due to the development of microbial
resistance outpaced scientific discovery of replacement drugs.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>The potential inability of affected countries to engage fully in
surveillance and sustain an emergency response system over months, if not years,
in the case of a severe pandemic, is the single most important obstacle to
international health security, the WHO warned.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>Increasing global economic integration has alleviated poverty
significantly in many lower income countries of the world, said WHO. Yet, along
with greater access to commercial and public goods comes exposure to global
public "bads", such as the international transport of tainted food products,
black markets, or the spread of disease.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>SARS did not become a global pandemic, nonetheless it was responsible
for sizeable economic losses and insecurity in markets across <st1:place
w:st="on">Asia</st1:place> and worldwide. With fewer than 10,000 cases, the
outbreak cost Asian countries a dramatic $60 billion of gross expenditure and
business losses in the second quarter of 2003 alone.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>Global public "bads" not only have health consequences; they have
economic ones as well. Controlling the international spread of disease is
therefore good practice for economies as well as for those whose health is at
risk, the health agency emphasised.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>The WHO paper noted that humanitarian emergencies can maim already
stressed health systems that people rely on for maintaining health security. In
2006, 134.6 million people were affected, and 21,342 were killed by natural
disasters.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>''How many residents of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New
Orleans</st1:place></st1:City> would have been saved had the levies not been
breached during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? How many families would not
have been searching for lost loved ones in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka had an
effective early warning system been activated and people known what to do when
they heard it,'' asked the WHO.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>Disaster preparedness strategies and humanitarian response operations
together can create a balanced approach to alleviating the negative impact of
natural disasters.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>The WHO also said that for much of the world, 21st century life has
become greatly dependent on chemical processing and nuclear power. Public health
security in turn relies on the safety of these facilities and the appropriate
use of their products.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>However, incidents such as anthrax-tainted letters being sent through
the US postal system in 2001 and the release of Sarin (a nerve gas) on the Tokyo
subway in 1995 reminds the world that although chemical and biological attacks
are rare, there are individuals and groups who are ready to use this brand of
terrorism.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>The WHO also highlighted the impacts of environmental change on
health, saying that the earth's climate is changing. Temperatures are rising;
tropical storms are increasing in frequency and intensity; and polar ice caps
and permafrost regions are melting. People are dying - upwards of 60,000 in
recent years in climate-related natural disasters, mainly in developing
countries.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>Solutions to the impact of global warming and changes in the
environment can only emerge from collaboration and commitment between
governments, corporations, foundations and non-governmental organizations.
Combating these changes will require policy decisions that will change the way
people and corporations live and work.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>HIV/AIDS continues to pose personal health security threats in many
developing countries striving to provide access to antiretroviral drugs, even
though it has become a manageable, chronic epidemic in many other parts of the
world, said WHO.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>The WHO also noted that some countries would find it difficult to
confront threats to health security effectively. This could be because they lack
the resources needed, because their health infrastructure has collapsed as a
consequence of under-investment and shortages of trained health workers, or
because the infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed by armed conflict or
natural disaster.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>With respect to building health security, the WHO said that the
framework of collaboration laid out by the International Health Regulations
(IHR) and various existing surveillance networks provide an effective early
warning and response system. The IHR aim to achieve maximum protection against
the international spread of disease with minimal disruption to trade and
travel.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>The Regulations work through requiring mandatory reporting by any
country of a "public health event of international concern" that is identified
within its national boundaries. The scope and definition of such an event is
purposely broad and inclusive so as to allow for identification and reporting of
newly emerging as well as existing threats to health.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>Collaboration between states, especially between developed and
developing countries, to ensure the availability of technical and other
resources is a crucial factor not only in implementing the Regulations, but also
in building and strengthening public health capacity and the networks and
systems that strengthen international health security, stressed the
WHO.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB>''The revised International Health Regulations, which will come into
force in June this year, represent a milestone in the world's efforts to build
and reinforce effective mechanisms for disease outbreak alert and response at
the national and international levels. It is essential for all of us that every
country implements fully these regulations,'' said UN Secretary-General
Ban.</SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>