Global Digital Store – Ebooks and Softwares

Tag: news

Light, efficient, affordable – the shape of things to come in components

Lightweight technology has long been and is sure to remain a mainstay of automotive and aerospace engineering, shipbuilding and a host of other industries. Lighter materials and components could also help cut emissions that drive climate change. But lighter options are pricier, and the relatively steep cost has impeded their adoption. That is about to change thanks to the efforts of a consortium of automakers, suppliers and research institutes. Called ALLIANCE and coordinated by Daimler and the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF, this project has some good news for designers: As it turns out, it is entirely possible to build components that are up to 33 percent lighter at an added cost of less than three euros per kilogram-saved.

Read More

Views: 0

March 2, 2020
Home genealogy kit sales plummet over data privacy concerns

Surprising news recently emerged from the personal genetics business. The two leading direct-to-consumer companies in North America, 23andMe and Ancestry.com, announced within a week of each other that they were laying off a significant proportion of their workforce as a result of a steep drop in sales.

Read More

Views: 0

March 2, 2020
UN releases US$15 million to help vulnerable countries battle the spread of the coronavirus

UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock today released US$15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help fund global efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus.

The announcement came as the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the global risk of the coronavirus outbreak to “very high” – its top level of risk assessment. The WHO has said there is still a chance of containing the virus if its chain of transmission is broken.

The sudden increases of cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea are deeply concerning. There are now cases linked to Iran in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman, along with cases linked to Italy in Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.

The UN funding has been released to the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It will fund essential activities including monitoring the spread of the virus, investigating cases, and the operation of national laboratories.

The WHO has called for US$675 million to fund the fight against coronavirus. There is a window of opportunity to contain the spread of the virus if countries take robust measures to detect cases early, isolate and care for patients, and trace contacts.

Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock said: “We do not yet see evidence that the virus is spreading freely. As long as that’s the case, we still have a chance of containing it.

“But swift and robust action must be taken to detect cases early, isolate and care for patients, and trace contacts. We must act now to stop this virus from putting more lives at risk.

“This grant from the UN’s Emergency Fund will help countries with fragile health systems boost their detection and response operations. It has the potential to save the lives of millions of vulnerable people.”

This is a critical juncture in the outbreak. The focus is on containing COVID-19 by strengthening surveillance, conducting thorough outbreak investigations to identify contacts and applying appropriate measures to prevent further spread.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said: “The potential spread of the virus to countries with weaker health systems is one of our biggest concerns. These funds will help support these countries get ready for detecting and isolating cases, protecting their health workers, and treating patients with dignity and appropriate care. This will help us save lives and push back the virus”

UNICEF is leading on preventative actions in communities across the affected countries with risk communication, providing hygiene and medical kits to schools and health clinics and monitoring the impact of the outbreak to support continuity of care, education and social services.

“At this pivotal moment, every effort must be made to push back against the outbreak,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “These crucial funds will support our global efforts to bolster weaker health systems and inform children, pregnant women and families about how to protect themselves.”

Since it was launched in 2006, CERF has provided more than $6 billion to over 100 countries and helped hundreds of millions of people.

Read More
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/01-03-2020-un-releases-us-15-million-to-help-vulnerable-countries-battle-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus

Views: 0

March 2, 2020
LSU professor relaunches fake news and disinformation resource website

LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication professor Leonard Apcar is relaunching a website designed to aggregate news, analysis and research about fake news and disinformation for students, academics and citizens to defend themselves against misinformation.

Read More

Views: 1

February 28, 2020
WHO steps up action to improve access to safe blood
The World Health Organization’s new action plan to speed up universal access to safe blood and blood products pulls together existing recommendations and recommends new improved ways of working. It’s the start of a four-year collaborative effort to improve blood transfusion and blood-based therapies in all countries.

Safe blood saves lives in all sorts of circumstances, not least in emergency and epidemic settings. Blood transfusion and blood products are critical for birth delivery for both the mother and baby; the survival and quality of life of patients suffering from life-threatening conditions such as haemophilia, thalassemia, immune deficiency and cancer; treating severe injuries and carrying out medical and surgical procedures.

But progress in blood safety and availability has been slow in many parts of the world, placing patients’ safety at risk and putting undue pressure on health workers. Progress is also mostly restricted to developed countries. Out of the approximate 118 million blood donations collected globally, 42% are collected in high-income countries, home to 16 % of the world’s population. And one out of four low-income countries do not test all donated blood, while 54% of countries do not have surveillance systems to securitise the supply chain from blood donor to patient.

Challenges include: slow implementation of national blood policies and weak blood regulatory systems; insufficient number of voluntary blood donors (who are considered the safest donors); poor quality management of screening tests, blood grouping and compatibility testing; inappropriate clinical use of blood; insufficient national funding for blood safety.

To address these, WHO has set out six key objectives for all countries and in particular those with weak blood systems:
- appropriately structured, well-coordinated and sustainably resourced national blood systems;
- regulatory capacity to ensure the quality and safety of blood;
- functioning and efficiently managed blood services;
- effective implementation of patient blood management to optimize transfusion practices;
- effective surveillance, haemovigilance and pharmacovigilance, supported by comprehensive and accurate data collection systems;
- partnerships, collaboration and information exchange to achieve key priorities and jointly address challenges and emerging threats at global, regional and national levels.
The Organization looks forward to working with partners worldwide to implement the plan, improve blood supply particularly in the low and middle-income countries where this is so urgently needed, and save lives. The plan will run from 2020-2024.

Read More
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/26-02-2020-who-steps-up-action-to-improve-access-to-safe-blood

Views: 0
February 27, 2020
A Joint Statement on Tourism and COVID-19 – UNWTO and WHO Call for Responsibility and Coordination

As the current outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) continues to develop, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) are committed to working together in guiding the travel and tourism sectors’ response to COVID-19.

On 30 January 2020, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of COVID-19 to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and issued a set of Temporary Recommendations. WHO did not recommend any travel or trade restriction based on the current information available. WHO is working closely with global experts, governments and partners to rapidly expand scientific knowledge on this new virus, to track the spread and virulence of the virus, and to provide advice to countries and the global community on measures to protect health and prevent the spread of this outbreak.

Cooperation is key

The tourism sector is fully committed to putting people and their well-being first. International cooperation is vital for ensuring the sector can effectively contribute to the containment of COVID-19. UNWTO and WHO are working in close consultation and with other partners to assist States in ensuring that health measures be implemented in ways that minimize unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade.

Tourism’s response needs to be measured and consistent, proportionate to the public health threat and based on local risk assessment, involving every part of the tourism value chain – public bodies, private companies and tourists, in line with WHO’s overall guidance and recommendations.

UNWTO and WHO stand ready to work closely with all those communities and countries affected by the current health emergency, to build for a better and more resilient future. Travel restrictions going beyond these may cause unnecessary interference with international traffic, including negative repercussions on the tourism sector.

At this challenging time, UNWTO and WHO join the international community in standing in solidarity with affected countries.

Read More
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/27-02-2020-a-joint-statement-on-tourism-and-covid-19—unwto-and-who-call-for-responsibility-and-coordination

Views: 0

February 27, 2020
WHO launch eEML

The World Health Organization has launched a new easy-to-access, digital version of its Model list of Essential Medicines (EML). The move will revolutionize the way this core WHO reference tool is used.

More than 150 countries currently use the WHO list to work out which medicines best meet their national health contexts and priorities, so they can compile their own national essential medicines lists.

Essential medicines are those that satisfy the priority health care needs of a population. They are the medicines that need to be available in a functioning health system at all times, in appropriate dosage forms, of assured quality, and at prices individuals and the community can afford.

Keeping up-to-date lists of the most important medicines a country needs is key to achieving health for all in a sustainable way.

Since 1977, the WHO list has been revised every 2 years (most recently in 2019) by a group of experts and published in print or PDF formats. It includes information about available dose forms and strengths; specifications as to who should take a medicine; what conditions a medicine can treat and how it should be taken, as well as details about the clinical evidence supporting recommendations being made.

The new electronic version brings the traditional EML to smartphones and computer screens in a comprehensive, freely accessible, online database. Instead of flicking through pages of information, users can search by simply clicking on the name of a medicine, for example, or a health issue. They can also make their own customized lists by exporting the list – in full or in part – into an Excel or Word version.

The electronic EML is the latest step in WHO’s effort to harness digital technologies to drive improvements in global public health, and advance progress towards universal health coverage.

Read More
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/27-02-2020-who-launch-e-eml

Views: 0

February 27, 2020
The economic cost of female genital mutilation

An interactive data tool launched by WHO reveals for the first time the current and future financial cost of health care for women living with conditions caused by female genital mutilation (FGM).

The total costs amount to USD 1.4 billion annually.

The FGM Cost Calculator is being launched on this year’s International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM. This new tool shows that if FGM were abandoned now the associated savings
in health costs would be more than 60% by 2050. This data, available for 27 of the 30 countries where FGM is practiced, will strengthen the economic argument of community activists, policy makers, programme planners and donors working to end this
human rights violation.

Q&As on the FGM Cost Calculator
Access the FGM Cost Calculator

A human rights violation with economic costs

FGM includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated.
[1] An extreme form of gender discrimination, it is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women: including the right to health, security and physical integrity and the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment.

FGM has no health benefits and causes only harm. Women and girls who are subjected to FGM are at risk of both short- and long-term negative health consequences – including for their physical, sexual, mental, and social well-being.

The direct financial cost of treating the negative health complications caused by FGM can span generations, starting as early as childbirth. This puts a significant economic burden on health systems and national budgets, especially in countries with rates
of FGM greater than 10%.

Until now, there have been limited data on the financial costs associated with FGM, making it hard to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of programmes and policies that can prevent FGM by 2030 – a global priority in the Sustainable Development Agenda.
The new WHO Cost Calculator now provides an economic argument which can be used by those advocating for an end to FGM.

Calculating health care costs of FGM

Users of the new FGM Cost Calculator can choose a country and identify current costs of treating health conditions caused by FGM. Since the tool is interactive, it produces bespoke graphs showing the potential amount of money saved if FGM is prevented
by a selected percentage.

If no action is taken to prevent FGM, it is estimated that related health costs will soar by 50% by 2050, as populations grow and as more girls undergo the procedure.

How it works

The FGM Cost Calculator combines data on health risk associated with FGM, health costs and national FGM prevalence to analyze the economic impact on national health services of treating the consequences of these harmful practices.

Health risk data were taken from a WHO database created for this analysis, pooling all available information from systematic reviews of health consequences of FGM. The following categories were used, each with a biological link to FGM: gynaecological,
obstetric, urological, mental and sexual, as well as the immediate health complications that can result following the cutting.

To be included in the calculator, a health condition needed to show evidence of increased risk when comparing women with and without FGM. It also needed to have a treatment which could be implemented and costed in the health sector.

Health costs were calculated from the WHO One Health Tool and other data. The financial burden of treating selected health conditions was calculated at a national level.

A strong case for investment in preventing FGM

Rates of FGM have declined over the past 30 years, but not fast enough to keep up with population growth. If trends continue, the number of girls and women undergoing FGM will rise significantly in the next 15 years, in turn raising national health care
costs of caring for them.

Additional resources are urgently needed to scale up interventions that can prevent FGM in the future and reduce health complications.

By providing quantifiable numbers on the cost of treating health conditions directly linked to FGM, for the first time, the FGM Cost Calculator can be a crucial tool in building an investment case for a future where no girl or woman is cut.

[1] Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Global Concern, UNICEF, New York, 2016

Read More
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/06-02-2020-economic-cost-of-female-genital-mutilation

Views: 0

February 27, 2020
WHO EB recommends the adoption of the strategy for elimination of cervical cancer

Co-sponsored by 20 Member States and the EU, the draft resolution for the
Seventy-Third World Health Assembly (WHA) was presented on 5 February,
2020, at EB146.

The proposal followed Executive Board Members’ review of the Director-General’s report.

The proposed resolution recommends that the World Health Assembly adopt the global
strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public
health problem and its associated goals and targets for the period
2020–2030. It also urges Member States to implement the
strategy, calling for the support of international organizations and
other relevant stakeholders, and includes a request for the Director
General to support Member states in this endeavor. The WHA will
consider the resolution when it convenes in May 2020.

Read More
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/05-02-2020-who-eb-recommends-the-adoption-of-the-strategy-for-elimination-of-cervical-cancer

Views: 0

February 27, 2020
E-cigarettes are harmful to health
Globally, there are 1.1 billion adult smokers, 60% of them want or intend to quit. Much has been written and said about the potential of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) such as e-cigarettes to help tobacco users quit. While the evidence is still inconclusive, e-cigarettes are often used along with one or more tobacco products. As this is the practice with many ENDS users, the health effects of two or more products are combined. Governments who want to weigh the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarettes for their population should consider the following:
1. Regarding the potential health effects for which the evidence is mounting, there is insufficient data to understand the full breadth of their impact on health as devices have not been on the market long enough. Especially the long-term effects of using e-cigarettes or being exposed to them are yet unknown.
2. Nevertheless, the evidence is clear that the aerosols of the majority of ENDS contain toxic chemicals, including nicotine and substances that can cause cancer.ENDS on their own are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and lung disorders and adverse effects on the development of the fetus during pregnancy. ENDS are undoubtedly harmful, should be strictly regulated, and, most importantly, must be kept away from children. Nicotine is highly addictive and found in most e-cigarettes. Both tobacco products and e-cigarettes pose risks to health and the safest approach is not to consume either.
3. It is of particular public health concern that increasingly children and adolescents take up the use of e-cigarettes in some countries. Most ENDS can be manipulated by the user. Some manufacturers also hold patents to remotely manipulate nicotine dosages and toxicant delivery. Furthermore, there is a growing body of evidence in some countries that never-smoker adolescents who use ENDS at least double their chance of starting to smoke cigarettes later in life. Exposing children and adolescents to nicotine can have long-lasting, damaging effects on brain development and lead to nicotine addiction.
WHO continues to monitor the evidence and technological developments and will adapt this statement accordingly.

Read More
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/05-02-2020-e-cigarettes-are-harmful-to-health

Views: 0
February 27, 2020