Milestone reached in Measles vaccination

The United Nations Foundation reported today that one billion children in more than 60 developing countries have been immunized against measles since 2001 — the start of the Measles Initiative.

In 1980, before widespread vaccination, measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year. With accelerated immunization activities spearheaded by governments and the Measles Initiative, global measles mortality has decreased by an impressive 78 percent worldwide from 733,000 deaths in 2000 to 164,000 in 2008. Reductions in measles-related deaths during that same time period accounts for nearly a quarter (24 percent) of the overall decrease in childhood mortality, representing significant progress toward Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG4).

 

UN releases 2011 report on MDGs

Today, the UN released The Millennium Development Goals Report 2011, highlighting progress and key areas for improvement as we get closer to the 2015 deadline.

Some of the areas of progress cited were:

• The number of deaths of children under the age of five declined from 12.4 million in 1990 to 8.1 million in 2009, which means nearly 12,000 fewer children die each day.
• Increased funding and intensive control efforts have cut deaths from malaria by 20 per cent worldwide – from nearly 985,000 in 2000 to 781,000 in 2009.
• New HIV infections have declined steadily. In 2009, some 2.6 million people were newly infected with HIV – a 21 per cent drop since 1997, when new infections peaked.
• The number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV or AIDS increased 13-fold from 2004 to 2009, thanks to increased funding and expanded programs.

Resolutions and highlights from the 2011 World Health Assembly

An interesting synopsis of key resolutions, decisions and highlights from the 2011 World Health Assembly, courtesy of World Health Advocacy.  The World Health Assembly, held in Geneva Switzerland, started May 16th and closed today.

This year’s World Health Assembly saw an unprecedented social engagement, with updates and discussions being shared via twitter, facebook and other media. The global discussion was significant enough to cause Dr. Chan to comment on it in her closing speech – “tweets about events over the past several days, on topics ranging from the reform agenda for WHO to pandemic influenza preparedness, reached more than three million people.”

More than 2700 delegates, including Health Ministers and senior health officials from 192 WHO Member States, NGOs and civil society groups attended the World Health Assembly in person. Following a week’s worth of discussions, the following are some of the key resolutions and highlights:

Non-communicable diseases

Countries unanimously approved a resolution on the preparations for the United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases being held this September. Some 47 countries and 16 observers, including civil society, commented on the resolution, which urges heads of state and governments to attend the UN meeting in New York and calls for steps against the NCD challenge through an action-oriented outcome document.

Read the WHO report.

Working together to stop HIV/AIDS

The Global Health Sector Strategy on HIV/AIDS, 2011-2015 was approved, and will guide actions by WHO and governments around the world to dramatically increase innovation, integration and efficiencies of HIV programmes. If all countries implement these guidelines, at least 4.2 million new HIV infections could be prevented and 2 million lives saved between 2011-2015.

Global immunization vision and strategy

In a great show of support, many delegates and global health partners in Committee A spoke in favour of the Global Immunization Vision and Strategy. Delegates applauded strides in saving lives around the world through vaccines, noting key challenges such as eradicating polio and increasing measles vaccination coverage to prevent dangerous outbreaks.

Read the report and strategic direction for the Decade of Vaccines.

The final mile in polio

Delegates described significant advances in polio eradication over the past year. In India and Nigeria, polio cases plummeted by 95% between 2009 and 2010. Highlighting the necessity of routine immunization, delegates pointed to the funding gap of US$ 665 million, and warned that a lack of resources could lead to dangerous backslide. Several delegates called for political and financial commitments, noting that low-income countries could save US$ 40-50 billion over the next 25 years.

Maternal, infant and young child nutrition

More than 100 million children under five were underweight in 2010. Additionally, more women are becoming overweight, increasing the risk of birth complications. Delegates in Committee B discussed a progress report on a plan to tackle problems of poor nutrition through awareness campaigns, and policies involving health, education and agriculture.

Resolutions and reports support health-related MDGs

Health-related MDGs received support with resolutions and reports on immunization strategy, infant and young child nutrition, child injury prevention, safe management of drinking water, malaria, and the presentation of the final report of the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health.

Cholera: mechanism for control and prevention

Delegates agreed that cholera is a public health threat for many countries and the incidence is on the rise. They expressed the urgent need for effective public health interventions, such as solid surveillance systems, improved environmental management, access to clean water and proper sanitation, and the adequate use of cholera vaccines as a complementary measure. Cholera was recognized as a clear marker of environmental management. Member States underscored the need to revitalize the Global Task Force on Cholera Control and emphasized the need to scale up advocacy measures.

Annual report on the eradication guinea-worm disease

The delegates adopted a resolution paving the way for an annual report on the eradication of dracunculiasis (more commonly known as guinea-worm disease) to be presented every year beginning with the next Health Assembly. Dracunculiasis is the second disease which is approaching eradication (the first being smallpox) and it occurs only after people drink contaminated water. Previously it was responsible for millions of infections across Africa and Asia. The disease mainly occurs in remote poverty-stricken areas, with limited or no access to safe drinking water.

Sources:

• Sixty-fourth World Health Assembly: daily notes on proceedings
• Historical agreements at the Sixty-fourth World Health Assembly

WHO releases 2011 world health statistics

The World Health Organization today released their 2011 report on World Health Statistics.  The report highlights the increasing burden of chronic disease and the struggles faced by many countries as they are still working to reduce the impact of infectious diseases.

Many countries hit by health threats from both infectious and chronic diseases

13 MAY 2011 | GENEVA – An increasing number of countries are facing a double burden of disease as the prevalence of risk factors for chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases and cancers increase and many countries still struggle to reduce maternal and child deaths caused by infectious diseases, for the Millennium Development Goals, according to the World Health Statistics 2011 released by the WHO today.

Noncommunicable diseases such heart diseases, stroke, diabetes and cancer, now make up two-thirds of all deaths globally, due to the population aging and the spread of risk factors associated with globalization and urbanization. The control of risk factors such as tobacco use, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet and excessive use of alcohol becomes more critical. The latest WHO figures showed that about 4 out of 10 men and 1 in 11 women are using tobacco and about 1 in 8 adults is obese.

In addition many developing countries continue to battle health issues such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria that are most likely to kill children under the age of five. In 2009, 40% of all child deaths were among newborns (aged 28 days or less). Much more needs to be done to achieve the MDGs by the target date of 2015, but progress has accelerated.

• Child mortality declined at 2.7% per year since 2000, twice as fast as during the 1990s (1.3%). Mortality among children under five years fell from 12.4 million in 1990 to 8.1 million in 2009.
• Maternal mortality declined at 3.3% per year since 2000, almost twice as fast in the decade after 2000 than during the 1990s (2%). The number of women dying as a result of complications during pregnancy and childbirth has decreased from 546,000 in 1990 to 358,000 in 2008.

“This evidence really shows that no country in the world can address health from either an infectious disease perspective or a noncommunicable disease one. Everyone must develop a health system that addresses the full range of the health threats in both areas.” says Ties Boerma, Director of WHO’s Department of Health Statistics and Informatics.

The report also shows that more money is being spent on health and people can expect to live longer (life expectancy in 2009 was 68 years, up from 64 years in 1990); but the gap in health spending between low- and high-income countries remains very large.

• In low-income countries, per capita, health expenditure is an estimated US$ 32 (or about 5.4% of gross domestic product) and in high-income countries it is US$ 4590 (or about 11% of gross domestic product).
• High-income countries have, per capita, on average 10 times more doctors, 12 times more nurses and midwives and 30 times more dentists than low-income countries.
• Virtually all deliveries of babies in high-income countries are attended by skilled health personnel; but this is the case for only 40% of deliveries in low-income countries.

World Health Statistics 2011 is an annual report based on more than 100 health indicators reported by WHO’s 193 Member States and other reliable sources. These data provide a snapshot of the global health situation and trends. However, timely, accurate health information is hard to obtain in some parts of the world, because the country health information systems are weak.

World Malaria Day 2011

Today (April 25) is World Malaria Day — a day to commemorate global efforts to control malaria.  According to the World Health Organization, “the key is to maintain the financial and political commitments to fighting malaria over the next 5 years so that we can reach these ambitious RBM targets and the health-related Millennium Development Goals.”

WHO reports that over 780,000 people died of malaria in 2009, most of them children under the age of five. The disease perpetuates a vicious cycle of poverty in the developing world and malaria-related illnesses and mortality cost Africa’s economy alone approximately USD 12 billion per year.

Key Facts About Malaria (Source:  WHO)

• Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
• Malaria is preventable and curable.
• In 2008, malaria caused nearly one million deaths, mostly among African children.
• Malaria can decrease gross domestic product by as much as 1.3% in countries with high disease rates.
• Non-immune travelers from malaria-free areas are very vulnerable to the disease when they get infected.

Image Source:  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

New global partnership to focus on reducing maternal and newborn mortality

USAID, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Government of Norway, Grand Challenges Canada, and the World Bank will announce tomorrow a new partnership that will seek innovative solutions to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in developing countries.

The launch event will be webcast live tomorrow (March 9) at 9:00am EST.

GAVI offers new opportunity to apply for life-saving vaccines

The GAVI Alliance has issued a new call for applications from developing countries keen to protect more of their children from disease with new vaccines.

Studies have shown that immunisation not only saves lives, but also boosts economies, acting as a key driver of development.3  Increasing immunisation rates is vital to meet the health Millennium Development Goals, particularly MDG 4 on reducing child mortality.

GAVI estimates that a fully-funded programme would prevent approximately 4 million future deaths by 2015, and enable the introduction of new vaccines including importantly those that tackle major causes of the world’s two biggest killers of children, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

To continue its mission to save lives and protect people’s health by increasing access to immunisation, GAVI needs to raise approximately US$3.7 billion more within the next five years.

UN Secretary-General urges increased funding for life-saving immunizations

Stressing the vital role immunizations play in improving the health of millions worldwide, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for increasing funding for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) – an innovative United Nations-backed initiative that has reached some 257 million children with new and under-used vaccines since it’s creation in 2000.

Increased use of vaccines can help prevent millions of deaths worldwide and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for child health – a two-thirds reduction in the number of deaths in children under five by the target date of 2015.

(Source:  UN Daily News)

Immunization and the MDGs – report from the Red Cross/Red Crescent and GAVI Alliance

A new joint report (Immunization:  unfinished business) from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Socieities (IFRC) and the GAVI Alliance highlights the health impacts of vaccines and the value of partnerships in achieving complex goals such as Millennium Development Goal 4 — the reduction of childhood mortality.

The report highlights that:

• Immunization is a public health ‘best buy’ and significant contributor to the health-related Millennium Development Goals.
• There is untapped potential within vaccination, and millions more lives could be saved.
• A balanced immunization investment strategy with sustained funding is needed.

The Red Cross (IFRC) is convening a side event today (Sept. 20, 6:30 – 8:00 pm) at the forthcoming MDG Summit entitled “Unfinished business: reaching the MDGs with lessons learned from global polio eradication” to promote the lifesaving power of vaccination and the key lessons from polio eradication. The event will address

1. the GPEI lessons learned and their application to the MDGs;
2. the challenges and opportunities for applying these lessons to other global health initiatives; and
3. the collaboration and partnership required to accelerate progress towards the MDGs.

Co-hosting organizations include the Government of Nigeria, WHO, Rotary International, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GAVI Alliance and the Afghan Red Crescent Society.

Sub-Saharan countries are leading the way in HIV prevention

Between 2001 and 2009, 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have seen a decline of more than 25% in new HIV infections.  According to new UNAIDS data, the number of new HIV infections is steadily falling or stabilising in most parts of the world.

The data shows that countries with the largest epidemics in Africa—Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe—are leading the drop in new HIV infections.

There are now 5.2 million people on HIV treatment, which is a 12-fold increase in six years. AIDS deaths have dropped significantly since the widespread availability of treatment—there were 200,000 fewer deaths in 2008 than in 2004. Young people are leading the prevention revolution by choosing to have sex later, having fewer multiple partners and using condoms, resulting in significantly fewer new HIV infections in many countries highly affected by AIDS.

Among adults, male condom use has doubled in the past five years. Tradition is giving space to pragmatism, as communities embrace male circumcision. Research has shown that male circumcision has the potential to reduce HIV infection among men by nearly 60%. New HIV prevention research reported efficacy in a microbicide controlled and initiated by women.