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  • Why Sleep Is So Powerful For Mental Health

    Why Sleep Is So Powerful For Mental Health

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    In this fast-paced western society we are constantly connected and available 247, we have information flowing into us on a daily basis and there’s an increasing expectation for us to respond instantly. Given all of this, there a growing need for us to be operating or functioning in terms of our mental health not just at ‘normal’ or ‘acceptable’ levels, but ‘optimal’ levels.

    Optimal means we are functioning at the highest levels mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, such that we’re able to cope well with the demands of life. If we are operating at sub-optimal level, it’s much harder for us to perform even the basic of life’s functions.

    So how do we ensure our health and wellbeing levels are what they should be?

    One key contributory factor for long-term mental health and wellness is to ensure we have 7-9 hours of good quality sleep per night.

    Repair

    Sleep repairs the body. This has a positive knock-on effect to how you function cognitively the next and following days. When we sleep, we sleep in cycles of 60-90 minutes. During that time we oscillate between deep (so-called delta) sleep where the body repairs itself and the lighter REM sleep.

    Recall

    REM (rapid-eye-movement) sleep, or lighter sleep, moves information from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. This helps you to better recall information you absorb on a daily basis. It is during this REM phase of sleep that your eyes move rapidly from side to side (hence the name) and that you dream.

    Rhythm

    Getting to bed at the right time (ideally 10pm) and getting the right amount of sleep every night keeps your circadian rhythm in check. Your circadian rhythm is your natural body clock that gives you signals when it’s time for you to sleep and when it’s time for you to wake up. Working shift patterns (especially night shifts) can knock this out of balance which can have major consequences not only for your mental and physical health but also for your gut health.

    Lack of good quality sleep means that instead of being fully awake and energised during the day, you may find yourself sleepy, sluggish and unable to focus for any significant length of time. In addition, when you’re in bed at night you may feel ‘tired and wired’ (meaning your body is physically tired, but your mind is wide awake and you’re therefore unable to sleep).

    Melatonin, the hormone that prepares your body for sleep, and serotonin (your awake hormone) need to be in balance for you to function at your best in the day. This means melatonin kicks in naturally from around 9pm (to help you sleep) until about 7am when serotonin is released to take you through the day. When this melatonin, serotonin cycle is in balance you are fully awake during the day and sleepy at night (when you should be). This in turn means you get a better night’s sleep.

    Immune Booster

    So never underestimate the power of sleep if you value your health and wellbeing. Good quality sleep not only helps us function more effectively, it also boosts our immune system, helping us to stave off viruses and other infections that we would more easily catch with an inferior level and quality of sleep.

    Sleep is therefore one of the fundamental pillars of amazing health and wellbeing. Without it we may over time find ourselves not only operating under par but opening ourselves up to chronic exhaustive conditions such as ME, chronic fatigue syndrome, or fibromyalgia. These conditions can be debilitating and could, if not kept in check, leave us either bed bound or wheelchair bound.

    So a key way to look after your mental health over the long term is to ensure that you not only get your 7-9 hours but that you ensure that you go to bed at the right time to increase your chances of getting a much better night’s sleep.

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    Source by Carmen Gilfillan

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  • 50 Percent US Kids With Mental Health Conditions Remain Untreated, Claims Study

    50 Percent US Kids With Mental Health Conditions Remain Untreated, Claims Study

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    Half of the children in the United States suffering from any kind of mental disorder remain untreated, revealed a recently published study. The researchers analyzed data gathered from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health, a nationwide survey administered to the parents of young adolescents.

    The findings revealed that out of the 46.6 million youngsters in the age group of 6 to 18 years, whose parents filled the survey, around 7.7 million teens were suffering from at least one type of mental health issue like anxiety, depression, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Also, a year before this survey was conducted, only half of these children received counselling or any kind of treatment offered by a mental health provider.

    The survey further showed that the percentage of young teens diagnosed with a mental health disorder and not receiving any treatment from a provider fluctuated extensively between 72.2 percent in North Carolina and 29.5 percent in the District of Columbia. The findings featured in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in February 2019.

    What do child and adolescent psychiatrists have to say?

    Co- author Mark Peterson, an associate professor at the Michigan University (Medicine) said that he pondered upon the conditions affecting children at a young age in a comprehensive manner. But he was shocked to see such a high percentage of young teens not receiving mental health treatment in the U.S.

    However, child psychiatrists did not seem too surprised with the results. Dr. Barbara Robles-Ramamurthy, an adolescent and child psychiatrist at the Long School of Medicine at the University of Texas (UT) Health Science Center, San Antonio, said that unfortunately, this was not news to her. In fact, she was well-versed with the fact that the percentage of young teens with mental illness who remained untreated in the U.S. was quite high.

    Explaining further, Dr. Jennifer Mautone, a consulting psychiatrist at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said that the families and the children with mental illness face a number of challenges when it came to accessing mental health treatment services, thus contributing to the high rates of not receiving treatment.

    Extreme dearth of mental health providers

    The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) revealed that the United States was facing an extreme dearth of practicing child and adolescent psychiatrists. According to the available data, there were fewer than 17 health care providers per 100,000 teenagers.

    This indicates that a lot of families needed to wait long to receive treatment, which deteriorated the primary mental health condition of the affected child. Also the qualified providers available faced significant challenges while interacting with other existing systems responsible for the care of these children. Some of these systems included the health care, education, child care, and the adolescent judicial system. All these systems were supposed to take care of the child, but none of them interacted with each other, resulting in half-hearted care.

    A ray of hope

    A lot of pediatric health systems have started integrating mental health services into their practice, to promote timely intervention of mental health services to kids. Even the mental health providers, by integrating themselves with the pediatricians, leverage the already prevalent trust factor of patients and are able to reach out to families in a familiar setting. One such program was the Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids Initiative at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, headed by Dr. Mautone.

    In the last two years, this initiative managed to cater to more than 2,500 patients. Robles-Ramamurthy, considered this as a positive breakthrough. Yet there is a lot more to be achieved, she feels. A lot of families still consider the presence of a mental illness in their family as a personal failure and are scared of addressing them because of the fear of the associated stigma. The work towards destigmatizing mental illnesses has really started only a decade back. Another hurdle that the parents face is insurance cover. Some of the teens are covered, while others are not covered adequately.

    Teen mental health treatment at ADEONA Healthcare

    Mental illnesses, when untreated in young adolescents, pose serious threats to the community, including unemployment, poor performance in school and life in general, and high suicide rates. At ADEONA Healthcare of Rancho San Diego, adolescents aged 12 to 17 receive comprehensive behavioral treatment programs for mental disorders and related issues. The facility offers a combination of individual and group therapies crucial for the successful treatment and recovery from mental disorders.

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    Source by Susan Navarez

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  • Health and Wellness Tips With A Long Fitness Life

    Health and Wellness Tips With A Long Fitness Life

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    Your health is your wealth. A healthy man is a wealthy man, literally. You may think of a tycoon who owns so much material wealth but their health troubles them. What is the point of all the material wealth if you cannot enjoy it? The money spent on doctors could have been channelled in other better avenues. Similarly, ever thought of how quick an employee gets replaced at work? You probably fell ill or a colleague passed on. The job vacancy goes up no sooner than the bad news leaves your mind.

    Therefore, it is important that you take care of your health. It is with this in mind, we have noted down these health tips. There are simply recommendations. We are free to do more or less, as per what we desire.

    1. Drink Water

    This may sound cliché but it is very important. Top of the list in good health tips to practise is staying hydrated. The human body functions mainly on water. Take a person who is fasting, they can do away with food but they are allowed to take water. Water keeps you alert and keeps your body functional. At times, people have headaches simply because of dehydration. However, most people are quick to take paracetamol tablets. It is recommended that you take between 6 – 8 glasses of water every day. Stay hydrated and you definitely will remain rejuvenated.

    2. Work out

    Among daily health tips that we should not compromise is working out. Now, you don’t need to have a gym membership. Life is not as complicated. We all want to have the gym membership but what if you don’t? You can simply buy a skipping rope and put in the cardio at home. Get a comfortable pair of trainers and have a morning or evening run. If that’s too much, walk. If you own a pet, this can be ideal timing for you to bond.

    3. Meditate

    The career woman today has so much going on in her daily activities. She ought to be a wife at home, mother and deliver at work. It is very easy to lose yourself when so much is expected of you. Among the health tips for women would be embracing meditation. Most people say they don’t have time for such but if it is important, you find time for it. Take time alone and just get lost in your positive thoughts. Visualize or even take part in yoga. You take control of your emotional health particularly which is very important.

    4. Sleep well

    Sleep is a very debatable subject. Some people prescribe 8 hours of sleep while others prescribe 6 hours. In the same line of thought, you hear of very successful people who sleep for 4 hours and are very functional. Therefore, my recommendation is sleep well. It is not the quantity but quality of sleep that counts. If you sleep for 10 hours and it’s a noisy place, you won’t rest well. You can however sleep for 2 hours in a very serene environment and get up very energetic. It is the quality that counts, not the quantity.

    A power nap in the afternoon is said to keep one youthful. I don’t know how true it is but there could be truth to it. What I know is that when you feel sluggish in the afternoon, a power nap goes a long way. There is no point of dragging through your tasks yet you can just sleep for ten minutes and be rejuvenated. However, do not be a serial afternoon sleeper and call it a power nap. That is outright laziness.

    5. Eat well

    Among the good health tips to practise on a daily is your diet. Having a balanced diet is very important. Your body will not lack anything. Similarly, with food it is the quality and not quantity that matters. You may eat so much but your body will only take up what it needs. That roast beef can be very tempting but your body will only take up the amount of protein needed. Just have the appropriate serving for you. What is not used up ends up being fat in your body.

    6. Laugh more

    As absurd as it sounds, this is the easiest good health tip you can utilise. We live in a world where everybody is focused on getting things done. People no longer savour the taste of good food. People can’t smell well brewed coffee. It is sad. People’s moods are at an all time low. To avoid this, just afford a good laugh each day. Find humour in the little things. If laughing is tedious, smile. You never know who you will smile at and they will have a great day just because of your smile.

    7. Socialise

    Perhaps you are wondering what this means? In the office setting, people don’t necessarily socialise. Everyone is doing what brought them there and are quick to head home as soon as they are done. Not many people would say they are close to their colleagues. We don’t know what challenges our colleagues may be facing at home. Similarly, people don’t know if you have challenges.

    It is a great daily health habit to socialise especially with your loved ones. Make time to be with your family. This is perfect to get away from the hustle of making a living. Through family and loved ones, you get to appreciate what life has to offer. You count your blessings and just soak in each moment.

    Leading a healthy lifestyle is an option each of us can make. It can be challenging however, since not many people appreciate healthy living. Or maybe they do, they are just not willing to put in the work. Therefore, be the agent of change. You can exemplify what healthy living is like. If you don’t practise any of the above daily healthy habits, there is hope. Just practise with one. Increase your water intake or just sleep a bit better. With time, you will reap the benefits.

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    Source by Arsanious Ayoub Daoud

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  • The Sorry State Of Nigeria’s Judiciary Among Others Makes The Battle Cry For A Revolution Inevitable By Francis Adewale

    The Sorry State Of Nigeria’s Judiciary Among Others Makes The Battle Cry For A Revolution Inevitable By Francis Adewale

    Lawyers
    Lawyers

    “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
                                                   – President John F. Kennedy (1962)

    This week may be one of the worst weeks for Nigerian judiciary and they might have made the much vaunted Sowore’s revolution inevitable. The first salvo was the list of judges released by the National Judicial Council replete with the names of their sons and daughters as well as hangers on. Second is the farcical decision in EFCC vs Kalu where the Supreme Court “suo motu” created a new section to the constitution of Nigeria by vacating a conviction duly given under an extant law. The strange rationale by the Supreme Court is that the presiding judge, now elevated to the Court of Appeal should not have pronounced the sentence. The Court conveniently ignored the fact that the accused counsel had invited the judge to come back and continue the hearing by a formal letter!

    Gone are the days when Nigerian judiciary is famously celebrated as the last bastion of defense for the common man. The days of Kayode Esho, Chukwudifu Oputa, Muhammed Uwais is long gone. Our judiciary is no more like Caesar’s wife, above board. The problem however is not necessarily down to the hydra headed monster of corruption alone but a more sinister evil called, nepotism. It is my humble opinion that an opaque process for selection of judges led us to where we found ourselves this week. And the problem did not start with the current chief justice. The dysfunction and bastardization have been long in coming, and as we will find out in this piece, the cancer has eaten deep into the fabric of this nation. The revolution is inevitable. 

    The Sorry State Of Nigeria’s Judiciary Among Others Makes The Battle Cry For A Revolution Inevitable By Francis Adewale 1Lawyers

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    What precipitate this write up is a social media post by a good friend of mine and I obtained his permission to repost his comment with my personal edits:
    “It took Orji Kalu only 4 months including Covid lockdown challenge to move from the High Court to Supreme Court to get his so called sound judgment from Supreme Court while it took ten years to get his case completed at the High Court level. Ten good years! And we are told justice in Nigeria is not cash and carry? The Supreme Court is preparing the ground for a revolution and very soon something extraordinary will take place. The same Supreme Court that will give 2021 and 2022 court date for poor defendants, sat and summarily decide a case within 4 months while cases of those facing a life sentence languish in the labyrinth of jungle justice!”

    My first response to the post, is to retort that the problem did not start with judiciary, but they seem to have led the “nunc dimitis” for the internment of democracy in Nigeria. The judiciary may have pushed us to the praecipe but they were not the only one. We all recalled the impunity days of PDP rule and how they ride roughshod on people’s right, celebrating acquisition of jets obtained from corrupt practices while hordes of masses suffer the indignity of scrapping for foods from the gutter. Towards the end of that era, we all thought, if we can just get a man of integrity into Aso Rock, someone who will brook no atom of corruption, we will change the country. The election of 2015 seems to have lulled Nigerians into thinking that all we need is someone or a duo with integrity, so we elect Buhari and Osinbajo, a puritan and a pastor and went home satiated. What we were not prepared for or more appositely choose to ignore is the fact that the vehicle that brought them into governance is none other than the decrepit system that PDP used to feather their nest. In the first 4 years, we were told that the problem is with the National Assembly where the legistlooters shifted their control of the vortex of power in Abuja, opposing every anti-corruption moves of the executives. Then come the last election where the ruling party now controls the executive and legislative arm, but corruption runs through the gamut of the judiciary and Aso Rock looks the other way while nepotism festers in its rank.

    It is as if the cancer has completely swallowed up the entire fabric of the nation. Cases involving the poor dragged on for years while those who can afford senior advocate can get quick justice. Many warned that this will sound the death knell of democracy in Nigeria. Every attempt to even build on free and fair election has been truncated by the judiciary. What with the recent confounding judgment from Imo and Bayelsa. Our two gargantuan political parties now owned our judiciary lock, stock and barrel. They sit in smoke filled rooms to determine who will be governors, legislators and judges, and those who will play ball are readily appointed as pawns in the chest board of the Nigerian ruling class, wives, nephews, cousins, sons and daughters are made judges and senior advocates overnight without recourse to any modicum of meritocracy. A friend of mine recently quipped that the problem of nepotism is not just that it defeats meritocracy and breeds mediocrity but that it infects the entire body politics and renders it comatose. Corruption can be traced, and ill-gotten wealth recovered but nepotism is more sinister. Those who obtain position of power and authority through nepotism hold fealty only to their masters who appointed them. Such appointee will readily twist the constitution, made up section that does not exist all at the behest of their “godfather”. It is insidious and evil.

    I graduated from Nigerian Law School 30 years ago, after an excellent stint at Great Ife. My class at Ife, drawn from the north, east, west middle belt and south-south has in its rank some of the best legal minds any country will be proud of. We graduated with high hopes to take on the world and change the land. Few of us found ourselves abroad on scholarship where we flourish and excel. Those in legal practice in Nigeria, either at the federal or state ministry of justice or private practice are the ones my heart bleeds for, especially those without access to members of the National Judicial Council. I have had the privilege to advance my career abroad as an attorney and public defender. I frequently sit on panels that recommend colleagues for appointment as judges in a fair, open and transparent process; something my colleagues in Nigeria could only dream of.

    When I look at the state of Nigerian legal practice my heart bleeds. The career growth of colleagues in the legal profession in Nigeria is stunted not for lack of excellence but influence in the right place. Influence peddling is an art form in Nigeria and politicians used to have the exclusive preserve of selling it to the highest bidder, but our Judicial Council seems to have mastered the art. The problem will not be this pronounced if the sons and daughters they are foisting on Nigerian judiciary are steeped in the Nigerian experience or have a modicum of merit. As many of my colleagues are apt to complain, majority of the recent appointees hardly spend few years in Nigeria. They all went to schools abroad. Totally devoid of the Nigerian experience, and constantly removed from the everyday life Nigerians suffers under. Majority of them lives in the gilded mansions of their forbears in Abuja and other state capitals, where they are rarely touched by the “better angels of our nature” to use the phrase coined by Abraham Lincoln. It is therefore no surprise that they care only for what their “godfather” demand.

    Let me however warns that the biggest mistake we could make is to think that the rot is only in the heart of our judiciary. Think again. Nepotism is next door, next street, next town and everywhere in Nigeria. It rampages through the land, be it North, East or West. Just look at our churches and mosques, who do you see minister or lead the prayers when the founder/visioner is not around? You guess right,  if you say their sons and daughters. Gone are the days when Pa Fadayomi push to have a meritorious doctor of aerodynamics succeed him. Gone are the days when the leader of the faithful in Nigeria is selected by their aptitude in the knowledge of the Quaran. Nowadays, the exit of the leader is the beginning of the reign of the progeny. It has infected our colleges and universities, scholarship and opportunities that used to be available on merit are now exclusive preserve of the vice chancelor’s children and family members. Woe betide the school senate members that dare ask questions. Advertisement for jobs that has already been reserved for the children of the privileged are means to extort money in the form of application fees a la Abba Moro immigration recruitment scheme. A recent recruitment without advertisement at our apex bank reported by Sahara Reporters shows that successful applicants names were picked out of the rolodex of the governor. Commercial Banks staff are not an exemption, they are either recruited based on sex appeal or influential ministers/senators’ “recommendation” which doesn’t come easy for the educated but less privileged applicants.

    A friend concluded an animated discussion on social media on this issue with a distinctively Nigerian resignation: “It is clear that those who do not want things to work properly in Nigeria are more powerful than those who are working towards finding solutions to our problems.” Again, my response is what do we have to lose if we embrace Omoyele Sowore’s revolution, even with its youthful disdain for experience? Especially when our current experienced leadership seems to treat the Nigerian masses with contempt. Look at it this way: They do not need our votes to win election, as they could procure midnight judgment in Abuja a la Bayelsa and Imo. They do not need to legislate to fill any lacunae in our constitutional experience as the Supreme Court proved in Kalu’s case. In fact, as long as oil flows and they have the means to fill their Cayman Island bank accounts, we may as well not exist. Greed and avarice have become the directive principle of Nigerian ruling class. To rescue ourselves from their vice grip, we need revolution now!

    Francis Adewale
    Tioluwanimi@gmail.com

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    The Sorry State Of Nigeria’s Judiciary Among Others Makes The Battle Cry For A Revolution Inevitable By Francis Adewale
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  • Brain cells reach out to each other through miniature cages

    Brain cells reach out to each other through miniature cages

    Mouse neurons trapped inside cages grow long appendages to connect to each other. Trapping the cells allows us to precisely control their growth
    Brain cells reach out to each other through miniature cages
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  • WHO and European Investment Bank strengthen efforts to combat COVID-19 and build resilient health systems to face future pandemics

    • WHO and the European Investment Bank enhance cooperation to support countries in addressing the health impact of COVID-19
    • The first phase will address urgent needs and strengthen primary health care in ten African countries
    • Enhanced WHO-EIB partnership will scale up financing to assure the chain of essential supplies, including personal protective equipment, diagnostics and clinical management
    • New initiative will accelerate investment in health preparedness and primary health care with a focus on health work force, infrastructure, and water, sanitation and hygiene
    • The initiative involves measures to address the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance

    The World Health Organization and the European Investment Bank will boost cooperation to strengthen public health, supply of essential equipment, training and hygiene investment in countries most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The new partnership between the United Nations health agency and the world’s largest international public bank, announced at WHO headquarters in Geneva earlier today, will help increase resilience to reduce the health and social impact of future health emergencies. 

    “Combining the public health experience of the World Health Organization and the financial expertise of the European Investment Bank will contribute to a more effective response to COVID-19 and other pressing health challenges,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. 

    “WHO looks forward to strengthening cooperation with the EIB to improve access to essential supplies including medical equipment and training, and deliver better water, sanitation and hygiene where most needed. New initiatives to improve primary health care in Africa and support the EU Malaria Fund hint at the potential impact of our new partnership,” Dr Tedros concluded.

    “The world is facing unprecedented health, social and economic shocks from COVID-19. The European Investment Bank is pleased to join forces with the World Health Organization as a key part of Team Europe’s efforts to address the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EU Bank’s new partnership with the WHO will help communities most at risk by scaling up local medical and public health efforts and better protect people around the world from future pandemics. This new cooperation will enable us to combat malaria, address anti-microbial resistance and enhance public health in Africa more effectively,” said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.

    Improving local public health efforts to tackle coronavirus

    The WHO and the EIB will increase cooperation to help governments in low- and middle-income countries to finance and secure access to essential medical supplies and protective equipment through central procurement.

    Building resilient health systems in vulnerable countries across Africa

    The WHO and the EIB will reinforce cooperation to support immediate COVID-19 needs and jointly develop targeted financing to enhance health investment and build resilient health systems and primary health care to address public health emergencies as well as accelerate progress towards Universal Health Coverage.

    The partnership will benefit from the EIB’s planned 1.4 billion EUR response to address the health, social and economic impact of COVID-19 in Africa.

    This will address immediate needs in the health sector and provide both technical assistance and support for medium-term investment in specialist health infrastructure.

    The collaboration envisages rapid identification and fast-track approval of financing for health care, medical equipment and supplies. 

    The first phase of the collaboration will see public health investment in ten African countries. 

    Long-term collaboration to overcome market failures in global health

    The agreement signed today establishes a close collaboration to overcome market failure and stimulate investments in global health, accelerating progress towards Universal Health Coverage. Increased cooperation between the WHO and the EIB will strengthen the resilience of national public health systems and enhance preparedness of vulnerable countries against future pandemics, thanks to investments in primary care infrastructure, health workers and improved water, sanitation and hygiene. 

    Future cooperation will strengthen the EIB’s 5.2 billion EUR global response to COVID-19 outside the European Union.

    Scaling up investment to tackle antimicrobial resistance

    The two organisations will also cooperate in an initiative to address investment barriers hindering development of new antimicrobial treatment and related diagnostics. Antimicrobial resistance is amongst the most significant global health threats.

    The WHO and the EIB are working on a new financing initiative to support development of novel antimicrobials and address the estimated 1 billion EUR needed to provide medium-term solutions to antimicrobial resistance. Other crucial partners have been invited to join this discussion. 

    Improving the effectiveness of malaria treatment

    Under the new agreement the EIB and WHO will support development of the EU Malaria Fund, a new 250 million EUR public-private initiative intended to address market failures holding back more effective malaria treatment. 

    Strengthening EIB support for healthcare, life science and COVID-19 investment

    In recent years the European Investment Bank has provided more than 2 billion EUR annually for health care and life science investment.

    In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EIB is currently assessing over 20 projects in the field of vaccine development, diagnostic and treatment, leading to potential investments in the 700 million EUR range. The EIB will also take part in the EU’s rolling pledging effort for the coronavirus global response that is taking place on May 4th.

    Background information

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.

    The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing. For updates on COVID-19 and public health advice to protect yourself from coronavirus, visit www.who.int and follow WHO on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube

    WHO’s information site on the COVID-19 pandemic

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    https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/01-05-2020-who-and-european-investment-bank-strengthen-efforts-to-combat-covid-19-and-build-resilient-health-systems-to-face-future-pandemics

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  • Indonesia firmly committed to eliminating lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem

    Indonesia firmly committed to eliminating lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem

    Indonesia recently completed the last of its annual large-scale treatment for lymphatic filariasis (also known as elephantiasis or Penyakit Kaki Gajah) in Malaka District located in its southernmost province, East Nusa Tenggara. Unprecedented
    progress by the National Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Programme has strongly placed the country on the path to achieving the elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

    “We reached an estimated number of 40.7 million people living in the 118 high-risk districts during this month-long treatment campaign in October 2019” said Dr Anung Sugihantono, who recently retired as Director General of Diseases
    Prevention and Control, Ministry of Health Indonesia. “    Single doses of diethylcarbamazine citrate and albendazole facilitated by WHO were delivered to all eligible populations.”

    In 2010, an estimated 125 million Indonesians were still at risk of the disease and required treatment.

    But things changed considerably in 2015 when Indonesia mounted an annual national campaign to resolutely address transmission of the disease and to tackle the morbidity and disability associated with it. The results were apparent as early as 2017, with
    remarkable progress.

    In Indonesia, LF is considered a significant public health concern. In 2009, risk mapping identified a population of 124.5 million people needing treatment for LF. The country initiated a national level LF elimination campaign in 2015, addressing both
    disease prevention and management. 

    “In 2017 and in just two years we managed to achieve 100% geographical coverage of all people requiring treatment” said Dr Sugihantono. “It meant achieving more than 78% epidemiological coverage – much higher than the generally recommended 65% to stop transmission.”

    Transmission of lymphatic filariasis can be stopped through large-scale treatment (or mass drug administration – MDA) of entire at- risk communities with recommended medicines once a year. These medicines kill the microfilariae in an infected patient’s
    blood preventing mosquitoes to transmit1 the disease to others. Through mass treatment, the aim is to reduce the reservoir of microfilariae in the blood to a level insufficient to maintain transmission by the mosquito vector.

    This strategy to interrupt transmission is the corner-stone of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF). Indonesia has been using the GPELF’s strategy since 2002 using a district or city
    as its implementation unit.

    In 2005, it listed the elimination of LF as a national priority for controlling infectious diseases and the medicines it has been using in large-scale treatment programmes are diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) and albendazole2 which are
    largely distributed by volunteer community health workers3.

    “Community health volunteers are themselves members of the community and know how to reach people effectively to improve compliance” said Dr. Stefanus Bria Seran, the Regent of Malaka District, one of LF endemic district in Indonesia. “Besides ensuring every single person ingests the medicine given to them, these community workers help in disseminating information well before a large-scale treatment campaign and also assist in reporting activities related to each treatment campaign”. 

    Indonesia’s efforts to eliminate lymphatic filariasis began in the 1970s but faced numerous challenges including programme coordination in the many inhabited islands, conducting information, education and awareness programmes, lack of capacity and
    insufficient medicines.

    Furthermore, the situation in Indonesia is unusual than in many other countries endemic for lymphatic filariasis as the country is endemic for all three species of thread-like filarial worms – Brugia malayi, Brugia timori, and Wuchereria bancrofti –
    that cause the disease. Most of the infections in Indonesia, however, are caused by B. malayi.

    In the past, some of the factors that prevented access to the medicines (DEC and albendazole) were social stigmatization linked to the disease, the vast geography of the territory and challenges in reaching remote populations.

    With an estimated population of 242 million, Indonesia is the world’s largest island nation and consists of approximately 17,000 islands, of which 5,000–6,000 are inhabited. It is the fourth most populated nation behind China, India, and the United
    States.

    Indonesia is endemic for many other neglected tropical diseases and an estimated 110 million Indonesians are believed to suffer from at least one neglected tropical disease (NTD), including lymphatic filariasis and soil-transmitted helminth infections.
    Leptospirosis (not classified as NTD) is also widespread.

    Indonesia is the only country of WHO’s South East Asia Region with endemic schistosomiasis. Like many other countries of the Region, it also faces recurrent threats of dengue outbreaks.

    Global progress

    The world has made significant progress towards the elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

    Sixteen countries4 and one territory are now acknowledged by WHO to have achieved elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.  

    Seven additional countries have successfully implemented recommended strategies, stopped large-scale treatment and are under surveillance to demonstrate that elimination has been achieved.

    The disease

    Lymphatic filariasis is caused by infection with parasitic worms living in the lymphatic system. The larval stages of the parasite (microfilaria) circulate in the blood and are transmitted from person to person by mosquitoes.

    Infection involves asymptomatic, acute, and chronic conditions. Most infections are asymptomatic, showing no external signs while contributing to transmission of the parasite. Although asymptomatic, these infections still cause damage to the lymphatic
    system and the kidneys and alter the body’s immune system.

    When lymphatic filariasis develops into chronic conditions it leads to lymphoedema (tissue swelling) or elephantiasis (skin/tissue thickening) of limbs and hydrocele (scrotal swelling). Involvement of breasts and genital organs are common.

    Manifestation of the disease after infection takes time and can result in an altered lymphatic system, causing abnormal enlargement of body parts, and leading to severe disability and social stigmatization of those affected.

     

    1Lymphatic filariasis is transmitted by different types of mosquitoes – e.g the Culex mosquito which widespread across urban and semi-urban areas; Anopheles, mainly found in rural areas; and, Aedes, mainly
    in endemic islands in the Pacific.

    2In 2017, WHO recommended an alternative three drug treatment to accelerate the global elimination of lymphatic filariasis. The treatment, known as IDA, involves a combination of ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine citrate and albendazole.
    It is recommended annually in settings where its use is expected to have the greatest impact.

    3Community health workers, also called ‘cadres’, are volunteers who form part of the communities they serve and work with local
    communities to educate families. Their contribution in promoting health has been significant in the country.

    4Cambodia, The Cook Islands, Egypt, Kiribati, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Niue, Palau, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Wallis and Futuna, and Yemen

    Indonesia firmly committed to eliminating lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem
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  • New estimates highlight need to step up the response to hepatitis D

    Lyon, France, 29 April 2020 – In a study published in the Journal of Hepatology, 1 Professor Anna Maria Geretti and Dr Alexander Stockdale from the University of Liverpool (United Kingdom), in collaboration with researchers
    from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), estimate that worldwide, hepatitis D virus (HDV) affects nearly 5% of people who have a chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and that HDV
    co-infection could explain about 1 in 5 cases of liver disease and liver cancer in people with HBV infection..

    To map the epidemiology of HDV infection in the world, Professor Geretti and Dr Stockdale joined forces with the WHO Global Hepatitis Programme and IARC, alongside investigators in Germany, Malawi, and the United Kingdom. “Infection with HDV occurs
    in about 1 in 22 cases of chronic HBV infection in the world,” Dr Stockdale says. “More high-quality data are needed, but we have identified several geographical hotspots of high prevalence of HDV infection: in Mongolia, the Republic of
    Moldova, and countries in Western and Middle Africa.”

    “Although it is less common than hepatitis B, hepatitis D is a serious disease that often affects underprivileged and vulnerable populations,” says Dr Meg Doherty, Director of the WHO Global Hepatitis Programme. Those who are more likely to
    have HBV and HDV co-infection include people who inject drugs and people with hepatitis C virus or HIV infection. The risk of co-infection also appears to be higher in recipients of haemodialysis, men who have sex with men, and commercial sex workers.
    Dr Doherty points out, “This information helps in identifying the groups with HBV among whom we should be looking for HDV.”

    HDV (formerly known as the Delta agent) is a small virus – one of the smallest that is known to cause disease in humans – and can replicate only in the presence of HBV, from which HDV borrows some of its structures. Compared with people with
    HBV infection alone, those who have a chronic infection with both HBV and HDV have a much higher risk of developing disease in the form of cirrhosis and liver cancer. “HDV is a significant contributor to severe liver disease and liver cancer,”
    says IARC scientist Dr Catherine de Martel. “The findings from this study inform our work on the association between viral infections and cancer, which is focused on developing improved prevention strategies.”

    Professor Geretti concludes, “HDV has long been neglected, because for decades the prevalence of infection remained uncertain and effective treatment was lacking. Mapping the epidemiology of the infection is just the first step. More efforts are
    needed to reduce the global burden of chronic hepatitis B and develop medicines that are safe and effective against hepatitis D and are affordable enough to be deployed on a large scale to those who are most in need.”

    1 Stockdale AJ, Kreuels B, Henrion MYR, Giorgi E, Kyomuhangi I, de Martel C, Hutin Y, Geretti AM (2020). The global prevalence of hepatitis D virus infection: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Hepatol. Published online 23 April 2020;
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2020.04.008

    For more information, please contact

    Véronique Terrasse, Communications Group, at +33 (0)6 45 28 49 52 or terrassev@iarc.fr or IARC Communications, at com@iarc.fr

    The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health Organization. Its mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for
    cancer control. The Agency is involved in both epidemiological and laboratory research and disseminates scientific information through publications, meetings, courses, and fellowships. If you wish your name to be removed from our press release emailing
    list, please write to com@iarc.fr. 

    About University of Liverpool

    Founded in 1881 as the original ‘red brick’, the University of Liverpool is one of the UK’s leading research-intensive higher education institutions. Consistently ranked in the top 200 universities worldwide, we are a member of the prestigious
    Russell Group and have a global reach and influence that reflects our academic heritage as one of the country’s largest civic institutions. For more information please visit us at www.liverpool.ac.uk

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  • WHO calls for healthy, safe and decent working conditions for all health workers, amidst COVID-19 pandemic

    WHO calls for healthy, safe and decent working conditions for all health workers, amidst COVID-19 pandemic

    On World Day for Safety and Health at Work, the World Health Organization calls upon all governments, employers and workers organizations and the global community to take urgent measures for strengthen countries’ capacities to protect occupational health and safety of health workers and emergency responders respect their rights to decent working conditions, and develop national programmes for occupational health of health workers and to provide them with occupational health services. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, ILO has dedicated World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2020 in addressing the outbreak of infectious diseases at work, in particular, on the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Health workers are at the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak response and as such are exposed to hazards that put them at risk of infection. Hazards include pathogen exposure, long working hours, psychological distress, fatigue, occupational burnout, stigma, and physical and psychological violence.

    Infections with COVID-19, insufficient measures for infection prevention and control, occupational safety and health, mental health and psychosocial support for health workers result in high rates of absenteeism and deplete the health workforce – the most precision resources for stopping the COVID outbreak. 

    Key Messages and Facts

    COVID-19 infections among health workers:

    • As of 21 April 2020 countries reported to WHO that over 35, 000 health workers were infected with COVID19. This number is significantly higher because of underreporting.
    • The major occupational risks for COVID19 infection among health workers are: late recognition or suspicion of COVID-19 in patients, working in a higher-risk department, longer duty hours, sub-optimal adherence to infection prevention and control measures, such as hand hygiene practices, and lack of or improper use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Other factors have also been documented, such as inadequate or insufficient IPC training for respiratory pathogens, including the COVID-19 virus, as well as long exposure in areas in healthcare facilities where large numbers of COVID-19 patients were being cared for.
    • The prevention of infections requires the use of appropriate infection prevention and control measures by all health workers, with a special focus on the adherence to hand hygiene and personal protective equipment when caring for COVID-19 patients, as well as a combination of environmental and administrative controls
    • Health workers infected with COVID-19 following exposure in the workplace should have the right to employment injury benefits for occupational disease, including compensation, rehabilitation, and curative services.

    Violence and stigma against health workers:

    • Health workers are at high risk of violence all over the world. Between 8% and 38% of health workers suffer physical violence at some point in their careers. Many more are threatened or exposed to verbal aggression and social stigma because of their work.
    • In the COVID19 crisis, shortage of staff and resources and increasing social tensions result in increased level of violence against health workers and even attacks against health care facilities. Doctors, nurses, security personnel and those who are assisting in testing, tracing contacts and enforcing physical distancing measures to stop COVID-19 experience threats and aggression.
    • WHO calls upon governments, employers and workers organizations to institute measures for zero-tolerance to violence against health workers at the workplace and at the way to and from their workplace, and for intensifying social support and respect for health workers and their families.

    Long working hours and psychosocial hazards for health workers:

    • Many health workers have to work longer or irregular hours because of the increasing demand for health services. In addition, many countries experience shortage of health workers, or junior staff are working in demanding new roles.
    • Health workers face psychosocial hazards, which are exacerbated during emergencies where demands increase and they have to experience risk of infection witness higher suffering or mortality.
    • Long working hours, shift work, high workload and other psychosocial hazards can lead to fatigue, occupational burnout, increased psychological distress or declining mental health – affecting the health of health workers, and the quality and safety of care delivered.
    • WHO calls for adequate staffing levels and clinical rotation in healthcare facilities, measures to minimize psychosocial hazards, and provision of access to mental health and psychosocial support for health workers.

    The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. It is an awareness-raising campaign intended to focus international attention on the magnitude of the problem and on how promoting and creating a safety and health culture can help reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.

     

    WHO calls for healthy, safe and decent working conditions for all health workers, amidst COVID-19 pandemic
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