News Flash 515: Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

News Flash Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Egg Jellyfish (Cotylorhiza Tuberculata)

News Flash 515

Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

 

Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) 20–24 February 2023

The Future of Health: Public or Profit? It can’t be both

APPLY: WHO Technical Briefing Seminar 8-12 May 2023

UN: Call for Contributions: Good practices to ensuring access to medicines, vaccines and other health products (HRC resolution 50/13) ISSUED BY Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights DEADLINE 09 March 2023

Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation is taking AbbVie to court over excessive pricing of Humira – AbbVie overcharged the Dutch health care system by as much as €1.2 billion

Webinar registration: CSO – WHO DG Dialogue: Priorities on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) at global, regional and country levels Mar 3, 2023 02:00 PM in Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna

LAPaL, the Long-Acting Therapeutics Patents and Licences Database, is now available with enhanced features to track new drug development

NIH waste far over $100 million in medical research funding every year – new study

Is the New Pandemic Fund Where Vertical Can Finally Meet Horizontal?

Scientists Launch R&D Plan to Develop Broad Vaccine for Coronaviruses

KFF Global COVID-19 Vaccine Coverage Tool: Current and Projected Coverage

Natural Immunity Against COVID-19 ‘At Least’ On Par With Vaccination in Preventing Death

Comorbidities, multimorbidity and COVID-19

Prepare bird flu vaccines now before virus jumps to humans, top scientist warns

Commission harmonises rules on animal vaccination to tackle bird flu

A new era in the fight against measles and rubella

Polio Eradication Programme in Pakistan: Critical Analysis from 1999 to 2023  by Muhammad Noman

Death by Cough Mixture: Global Scandal Exposes India’s Weak Drug Regulations

WORLD TB DAY 2023 CAMPAIGN

Africa: Congolese Dr Jean Kaseya Takes Over Leadership of Africa CDC

Health Care Policy In 2023: Five Areas To Watch

George Soros’ Remarks Delivered at the 2023 Munich Security Conference February 16, 2023

Prime Minister Mia Mottley Urges Action To Address Hunger Crisis And Food Insecurity

EU agency backs cage-free farming for chickens

A woman dies every two minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth: UN agencies

HRR 666 INEQUALITY IS NOT A FLAW, BUT A FEATURE!

Tanzania Should Halt Plan to Relocate Maasai Pastoralists

People’s Health Dispatch Bulletin #44: Health systems in the Global South stagger under impact of earthquakes and outbreaks

Epidemic fears after health teams die in Syria quake

At Munich Security Conference, climate change demands attention

EC: Fisheries, aquaculture and marine ecosystems: transition to clean energy and ecosystem protection for more sustainability and resilience

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Polio Eradication Programme in Pakistan: Critical Analysis from 1999 to 2023

An article here on the progress and changes in the Polio Eradication Programme in Pakistan from 1999 to 2023. The Author provides a comprehensive overview of the systematic changes made to the Programme over the past two decades, and highlights the impact these changes have had on reducing the burden of polio in the country

By Muhammad Noman

Healthcare System, CHIP Training and Consulting

Quetta, Balochistan Pakistan

The Polio Eradication Programme in Pakistan 

Systematic Critical Analysis from 1999 to 2023

                                         

This article turns the spotlight on the Polio Eradication Programme in Pakistan, whereby the various strategies and approaches used to address the complex challenges of polio eradication in the country are highlighted, including the engagement of community health workers, the use of new communication and vaccination strategies, and the strengthening of surveillance and laboratory capacity. The Programme also underscores the importance of sustained commitment and collaboration among all stakeholders in achieving the goal of a polio-free Pakistan.

Given the complexity of the global strategy, a comprehensive overview of the systematic changes made to the Programme over the past two decades could be of interest. In this connection, a bulleted list is provided as follows:

  1. Establishment of a National Immunization Coordination Committee (NICC) to oversee polio eradication efforts.
  2. Development of a National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) to guide polio eradication activities and adapt to changing circumstances.
  3. Creation of a Polio Eradication Cell within the Ministry of Health to coordinate polio eradication efforts at the national level.
  4. Introduction of new technologies, including geographic information systems (GIS) and mobile data collection tools, to improve surveillance and monitoring.
  5. Implementation of a national Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan (PEESP) to guide the final stages of polio eradication.
  6. Strengthening of the routine immunization system to increase overall vaccination coverage and provide a platform for delivering polio vaccines.
  7. Establishment of a network of social mobilizers and community-based organizations to promote vaccine uptake and address vaccine hesitancy.
  8. Engagement of religious leaders and scholars to promote vaccine acceptance within communities.
  9. Development of an e-registry system to improve the monitoring and evaluation of vaccination activities.
  10. Deployment of mobile vaccination teams to reach children in hard-to-reach areas, including nomadic populations and those affected by conflict.
  11. Introduction of the bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) to improve vaccine efficacy and reduce the risk of vaccine-derived polio.
  12. Collaboration with neighbouring countries, including Afghanistan and Iran, to strengthen cross-border surveillance and vaccination activities.
  13. Strengthening of the cold chain system to ensure the safe storage and transportation of vaccines.
  14. Expansion of the use of environmental surveillance to detect the presence of poliovirus in sewage samples.
  15. Development of a national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to coordinate polio eradication activities during outbreaks and other emergencies.
  16. Introduction of the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) to provide additional protection against polio and reduce the risk of vaccine-derived polio.
  17. Strengthening of partnerships with the private sector to improve vaccine access and delivery.
  18. Implementation of a national Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) to provide oversight and accountability for polio eradication efforts.
  19. Development of a Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategy for the Post-Polio Certification Era (2023-2030) to guide the final stages of polio eradication and prevent re-emergence.
  20. Integration of polio eradication activities with other health programs, including routine immunization, maternal and child health, and disease surveillance.
  21. Strengthening of laboratory capacity to improve the quality and speed of poliovirus testing.
  22. Introduction of new communication strategies, including social media and digital campaigns, to increase awareness and acceptance of polio vaccination.
  23. Expansion of the role of community health workers in delivering polio vaccines and promoting vaccine acceptance.
  24. Introduction of new training programs for health workers and volunteers to improve their skills and knowledge related to polio eradication.
  25. Development of a national surveillance system to detect and respond to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio.
  26. Strengthening of partnerships with civil society organizations and other stakeholders to promote community engagement and ownership of polio eradication efforts.
  27. Introduction of new approaches to monitor and address vaccine hesitancy and refusal, including community engagement and social marketing.
  28. Implementation of targeted vaccination campaigns in high-risk areas and populations to maximize the impact of vaccination efforts.
  29. Introduction of new approaches to monitor vaccine coverage and identify underserved populations, including the use of mobile phone-based surveys and satellite mapping.
  30. Establishment of a polio certification commission to verify the absence of wild poliovirus in Pakistan and other countries in the region.
  31. Increased focus on the involvement of women in polio eradication efforts, including as health workers and community mobilizers.
  32. Expansion of the role of local government officials in supporting polio eradication efforts at the community level.
  33. Implementation of a national communication strategy to counter misinformation and rumours about polio vaccination.
  34. Introduction of new approaches to reach children in urban areas, including through mobile vaccination teams and school-based vaccination campaigns.
  35. Expansion of the use of social franchising models to improve the quality and availability of health services, including polio vaccination.
  36. Introduction of new approaches to monitor vaccine safety and detect adverse events following vaccination.
  37. Strengthening of the supply chain system to ensure the timely and efficient delivery of vaccines and other supplies.
  38. Implementation of a national emergency response plan to respond quickly to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio.
  39. Integration of polio eradication activities with broader efforts to strengthen the health system and improve overall health outcomes.
  40. Continued engagement with international partners, including the World Health Organization and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, to leverage technical and financial resources to support polio eradication efforts in Pakistan.
  41. Implementation of a national polio eradication emergency action plan to accelerate progress towards eradication.
  42. Development and implementation of new tools and technologies to improve polio vaccination and monitoring, including the use of mobile phone-based data collection and analysis.
  43. Strengthening of cross-border coordination and collaboration to prevent the importation of poliovirus from neighbouring countries.
  44. Expansion of the role of civil society organizations in promoting polio vaccination and community engagement.
  45. Introduction of new approaches to address the challenges of reaching populations living in conflict-affected and hard-to-reach areas.
  46. Establishment of a national laboratory network to improve the capacity for poliovirus testing and surveillance.
  47. Expansion of the role of private sector actors, including pharmaceutical companies and corporate foundations, in supporting polio eradication efforts.
  48. Introduction of new approaches to address the challenges of vaccine access and distribution, including the use of innovative cold chain technologies.
  49. Development of a national vaccine waste management strategy to reduce the wastage of polio vaccines and other vaccines.
  50. Strengthening of the national immunization program to ensure the sustainability of polio eradication efforts and the delivery of other vaccines and health services.

 

Overall, the systematic changes made to the Polio Eradication Initiative in Pakistan over the past two decades have been extensive and multifaceted, involving a broad range of stakeholders and approaches. While there have been challenges and setbacks along the way, the initiative has made significant progress in reducing the burden of polio and improving the overall health system in the country. The continued commitment and engagement of all stakeholders will be critical to achieving the goal of a polio-free Pakistan.

 

News Flash 514: Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

News Flash Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Red starfish (Echinaster Sepositus)

News Flash 514

Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

 

Webinar registration: Make Way website launch: Learn about intersectional SRHR lobby and advocacy February 21st, 2023

Webinar registration: AMEF report webinar Feb 22, 2023 02:00 PM in Amsterdam

Meeting registration: Unpacking the Summit of the Future Feb 27, 2023 02:30 PM Feb 28, 2023 02:30 PM Time shows in Amsterdam

Apply by 17 March 2023: Google.org is commiting $25M to fund solutions that accelerate progress towards the Global Goals

Leading and Coordinating Global Health: Strengthening the World Health Organization

Last call: Have your say about the European Citizens’ Initiative before 28/2

Health Taxes: Policy and Practice

THREATENED SCHOLARS INITIATIVE Afghan Challenge Fund Call for Proposals Deadline: March 15, 2023

ZERO-DRAFT PANDEMIC ACCORD: PROMISING FOR ACCESS TO MEDICINES, DISAPPOINTING ON ADEQUATE FINANCING

Effective Communication in Pandemics: Lessons Learned from Covid 19  by Nighat Khan

Have Questions About the Bivalent Booster? We Have Answers

Audio Interview: What to Expect from Covid-19 Vaccines

Divided We Survive? Multilevel Governance during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy and Spain

New Marburg outbreak sparks race to test vaccines

Fourth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee on the Multi-Country Outbreak of monkeypox (mpox)

A Constellation of Storms: The Threat of Infectious Diseases

New Gavi CEO must prioritise catch-up vaccination and increase inclusive engagement

Opportunities and Challenges for the New Gavi CEO

Ahead Of Print: Vulnerabilities In The Global Generic Drug Supply Chain

New Challenges: Working towards better experiences of child maintenance

Outlook for 2023: Children in ‘Polycrisis’

WHO’s Updated Guidance for NCDs Is a Great Start, But Must Steer Clear of Corporate Interference

UNMET HEALTHCARE  by Kirubel Workiye Gebretsadik

How Pakistan’s community health workers use telemedicine for women’s health 

Q&A: Science is a public good, not a business

Nigerians’ quest for participatory (health) governance on Twitter and beyond

HRR 665: A DETAILED CHARACTERIZATION OF THE NON-PERFORMING RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS: A FEMINIST HUMAN RIGHTS AGENDA

Earthquakes in Turkey: reflections from past experience

Syrian rescue efforts slowed by bureaucracy and regime

European Green Deal: Commission proposes 2030 zero-emissions target for new city buses and 90% emissions reductions for new trucks by 2040

Climate crisis and health: a call for papers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNMET HEALTHCARE

A short reflection here on the impact of unmet healthcare in Africa and on the radical change of direction governments should embrace to ensure healthy lives for all

By Kirubel Workiye Gebretsadik

Medical Doctor, Ras Desta Damtew Memorial Hospital

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  

UNMET HEALTHCARE 

 

According to recent report from Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC), only 52% of Africans, or 615 million people, have access to the healthcare they require, the quality of the continent’s health services is often subpar, and only 50% of the continent’s women and girls have access to the family planning services they require. 8.2% of the people on the continent, or 97 million people, experience “catastrophic healthcare costs” every year, mainly in Sierra Leone, Egypt, and Morocco. Due to these out-of-pocket expenses, 15 million individuals would be forced into poverty every year.

World Health Organization defines, access to health care as the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes. The health care need is considered unmet if individuals could not receive required treatment that was believed to improve their health condition. People may face financial and non-financial barriers to receiving needed health care. Delays or failure to receive necessary care can lead to poorer health outcomes. Medicine, diagnostic tests, medical supplies, inpatient care, outpatient care, and dental care are just a few examples of the necessary cares.

Unmet healthcare demands are determined by a variety of factors, including service quality, geographic accessibility, availability, financial accessibility, and acceptability of services. People from low and middle-income nations are continually at a disadvantage in each of the access dimensions, despite the fact that this is a complex, multifaceted global problem.

There are ways to improve healthcare or lessen the unmet medical need in poor countries. The most important aspect is long-term economic growth, which is measured by variables like life expectancy, the newborn mortality rate, the death rate, and the prevalence of a certain disease. The second option is a biomedical intervention that includes a widespread immunization campaign. Additionally, it entails improving diets, women’s rights, maternal health, political solutions (ending conflict and corruption), and providing more inexpensive drugs. Access to effective healthcare by those in need improves health, prolongs life and prevents suffering, improves population health and drives greater labor force participation, economic growth and higher productivity.

 

 By the same Author on PEAH

 Malaria Eradication and Prevention through Innovation

 ONE HEALTH ONE WORLD

  Social Innovation in Healthcare

 

Effective Communication in Pandemics: Lessons Learned from Covid 19

Covid deniers and anti-vaccine groups will continue to spread false messaging. Continuous science-based evidence must be propagated and such elements can only be countered with hard evidence. 

Health agencies must track misinformation associated with the COVID-19 in real time, and engage local communities and government stakeholders to debunk misinformation. 

The scientific community members involved in advising their governments must deliver public health risk communication clearly and transparently. Research has shown that where public health messages were clear and simple, better compliance was observed. 

The government leaders must lead by the example

By Nighat Khan

Visiting Professor

Barret Hodgson University, Pakistan 

Effective Communication in Pandemics

Lessons Learned from Covid 19

 

Coronavirus Disease 2019, caused by an infection with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged as one of the largest outbreaks globally in recent years. To this date 663,640,386 confirmed cases have been reported with 6,713093 deaths across the globe (1).  It posed one of the biggest challenges for health systems in both the developed and developing world. As the cases spread rapidly and disease severity was observed, the World Health Organization declared it as global health emergency on January 30, 2020 (2).

To prevent SARS-CoV-2 from spreading, various steps such as quarantining the infected patients and their close contacts, school and workplace closure and social distancing were taken. Despite these efforts transmissions could not be contained worldwide. The WHO finally on March 11, 2020 declared it as pandemic (3) almost over 12 weeks since it was initially reported leading to massive case numbers and fatalities across all the continents.

While weeks were lost in realizing impact of Covid-19 on global health by the health organizations like WHO, governments and  health ministries, the scientific community came together to collaborate and collate the data and to ramp up the efforts to find treatments and to make the production and availability of effective vaccines a possibility in a record times.

However the scientists and health workers were at the mercy of their governments to combat several challenges in effective communication. This space was claimed by several conspiracy theorists.

As the WHO was contemplating on how to communicate the very little clinical information available to its member states, a wave of misinformation and disinformation spread across the globe (4). Internet was rife with all sorts of conflicting advices and hear say. Unscientific claims like Covid being a hoax and even role of technologies like 5G in spreading this viral infection. Genuine scientists and health workers who were trying to disseminate correct scientific information faced abuse and trolling over various social media platforms. These waves of false information caused erroneous appraisals of the threat as well as maladaptive coping responses leading to fatal consequences (5, 6, 7). One of the biggest challenges during this pandemic was sifting the relevant scientific information from false distortion of facts. Such pervasive, unsolicited and dubious misinformation and disinformation was available on social media platforms globally. The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has hence defined and differentiated between misinformation and disinformation.Misinformation is false information shared by people who do not intend to mislead others, whereas disinformation is false information deliberately created and disseminated with malicious intent (8).

Besides the WHO the member state government responses were not up to a scientific standard. This was partly due to lack of sufficient scientific data as well as marginal involvement of scientific community by the governments. In many instances these scientists were sidelined.

While the South eastern nations like Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, which had experiences with respiratory viruses and had well designed response protocols, performed exceptionally well in containing the virus spread, enforcing facial masks and saved lives of their citizens; in contrast many countries failed to realize the gravity of situation and delivered mixed messages and were slow to respond leading to high morbidity and mortality (9).

Lack of effective communication by some member state governments even up to denial about the seriousness of epidemic made people less careful about daily practices like hand washing, social distancing and most importantly wearing a face mask. This caused havoc in some countries like Brazil and certain states in USA (10).

Another difficulty faced was false remedies. Social media forums were rife with unscientific remedies. Although certain foods like ginger, garlic and lemon have beneficial effects on human digestive system, to report them as remedies against Covid-19 virus infection lead to many susceptible people falling prey to the viral infection (11).

Realization came late with the scientists and officials working for the WHO. Various briefs and guidelines were issued regarding disinformation and social behaviors of masses. In fact lack of clarity and varying standards of communications lead to release of an important document ‘Risk-communication and community engagement (RCCE)’ by the WHO in March 2020 (12). This document quantifies the risk management and communication during Covid-19 like challenges and sets up goals.

There were some interesting observations in effective communication by the countries. In the United Kingdom, the nations such as Scotland, Wales and Ireland were quick to grasp the gravity of the situation and their ministers were at the forefront of press briefings and communicating policy statements, whereas, England lagged clarity in communication, cases rose rapidly (13). Similar discrepancies in risk communication were observed in the United States where devolved health systems with each State health policy saw clear differences in Covid-19 led morbidities and mortalities.

The WHO has ever since been engaged in holding briefs and seminars on infodemiology (14) and several updates have been made available on the WHO website.

Extensive global health community of scientists collaborated henceforth for the development of vaccines and by end 2020 a variety of vaccines were available. Here again all the wonderful work by infectious diseases workers was tainted by Covid deniers and the disinformation about vaccine side effects once again proved to be a challenge. While a vast majority of people were relieved to have various vaccines availability, a group emerged questioning the authenticity of vaccine effectiveness data. Just as misinformation emerged early on in pandemic, additional conspiracy theories emerged about Covid-19 vaccines such as mRNA component of vaccine is used as microchip by Bill Gates to control and or carry out global population surveillance, and that it causes side effects or even sudden death.

Research has shown that such false notions are extremely difficult to change. It appears that some people are more susceptible to misinformation. Marginalized communities such as ethnic minorities and immigrants fall prey to these rumours more easily than others. This is partly due to poor efforts to approach these communities or language barriers leading to vaccine hesitancy. In a research carried out by Dube et al (16), six factors contributed to an individual’s decision making process and falling prey to misinformation. These factors are knowledge information, past experiences, perceived importance of vaccination, risk perception and trust, subjective norms and religious and moral conviction. Although vaccine hesitancy is a multifaceted phenomenon affected by social, cultural and political contexts, surprisingly vaccine-hesitant people were a heterogeneous group. Hornsey et al (17), based on research conducted in 24 countries, reported it to be higher in those in conspiratorial thinking, in people with high reactance or higher levels of discomfort towards needles and or blood and strong hierarchical worldviews.

Multiple websites encouraging conspiracy theories were at the forefront of spreading fake news such as large pharmaceutical industries exaggerate the benefits of vaccines and hide the dangerous data of side effects. These sites encouraged anti-science rumours. Islam et al (18) followed and examined online platforms such as fact-checking agency websites, Facebook, Twitter and online newspapers for their impact on public health. While carrying out the content analysis they reported 2311 reports of rumours, stigma and conspiracy theories in 25 languages from 87 countries. 82% of such claims were erroneous and were related to Covid-19 illness, transmission and mortality, control measures, treatment, origin of disease and even violence. These claims had serious implications on individuals and communities.

As it appears from above discussion, various factors came to play in increasing devastating spread of Covid-19 and each contributing factor needs to be researched and framework of action designed accordingly.

  • Although panic is counterproductive, health organizations and governments need to take each infectious outbreak with concern. The importance of investment in public health measures cannot be overemphasized. Countries such as Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea where effective public health surveillance systems were in place did fairly better than high income countries where public health systems were underfunded and ignored.
  • The scientific community members involved in advising their governments must deliver public health risk communication clearly and transparently. Research has shown that where public health messages were clear and simple, better compliance was observed.
  • The government leaders must lead by the example. Public trust regarding messages like social distancing and wearing masks were met with skepticism where leaders like Boris Johnson and Donald Trump were seen blatantly violating these messages.
  • Covid-19 vaccines were developed in record amount of time due to concerted global cooperation and such collaborative efforts lead to favorable outcomes.
  • Covid deniers and anti-vaccine groups will continue to spread false messaging. Continuous science-based evidence must be propagated and such elements can only be countered with hard evidence.
  • The WHO document about risk-communication and community engagement provides a useful document for the researchers and government both as a foundation stone for future course of action.
  • Health agencies must track misinformation associated with the COVID-19 in real time, and engage local communities and government stakeholders to debunk misinformation (18).
  • Further research is imperative to study the trends and prevalence of health misinformation on various social media forums and how such information is shared to devise interventions.

 

References

  1. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019?adgroupsurvey={adgroupsurvey}&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi5uzsraA_QIVi9Z3Ch1SCAFWEAAYASAAEgJ67fD_BwE
  2. https://www.who.int/news/item/30-01-2020-statement-on-the-second-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)
  3. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-mass-gatherings
  4. https://www.who.int/health-topics/infodemic#tab=tab_1
  5. Lee, S.K., Sun, J., Jang, S. et al.Misinformation of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine hesitancy. Sci Rep 12, 13681 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17430-6
  6. Lurie, P., Adams, J., Lynas, M., Stockert, K., Carlyle, R.C., Pisani, A. and Evanega, S.D., 2022. COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in English-language news media: retrospective cohort study. BMJ open12(6), p.e058956.
  7. Cinelli, M., Quattrociocchi, W., Galeazzi, A., Valensise, C.M., Brugnoli, E., Schmidt, A.L., Zola, P., Zollo, F. and Scala, A., 2020. The COVID-19 social media infodemic. Scientific reports10(1), pp.1-10.
  8. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/health-departments/addressing-vaccine-misinformation.html
  9. Kim J, Moon J, Jung TY, Kim W, Yoo HC. Why Have the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore Coped Well with COVID-19 and What Are the Lessons Learned from Their Experiences? Yonsei Med J. 2022 Mar; 63(3):296-303. doi: 10.3349/ymj.2022.63.3.296. PMID: 35184433; PMCID: PMC8860936.
  10. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/what-the-u-s-did-wrong-with-covid-19/
  11. https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2020/09/social-media-contributes-to-misinformation-about-covid-19/
  12. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331513/WHO-2019-nCoV-RCCE-2020.2-eng.pdf
  13. Cameron-Blake, E., Tatlow, H., Wood, A., Hale, T., Kira, B., Petherick, A. and Phillips, T., 2020. Variation in the response to COVID-19 across the four nations of the United Kingdom. Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.
  14. https://covid19.who.int/region/amro/country/us
  15. https://www.who.int/teams/epi-win/infodemic-management/3rd-virtual-global-who-infodemic-management-conference
  16. Dubé, E. and MacDonald, N.E., 2022. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Nature Reviews Nephrology18(7), pp.409-410.
  17. Hornsey, M.J., Chapman, C.M., Alvarez, B., Bentley, S., Salvador Casara, B.G., Crimston, C.R., Ionescu, O., Krug, H., Preya Selvanathan, H., Steffens, N.K. and Jetten, J., 2021. To what extent are conspiracy theorists concerned for self versus others? A COVID‐19 test case. European Journal of Social Psychology51(2), pp.285-293.
  18. Islam MS, Sarkar T, Khan SH, Mostofa Kamal AH, Hasan SMM, Kabir A, Yeasmin D, Islam MA, Amin Chowdhury KI, Anwar KS, Chughtai AA, Seale H. COVID-19-Related Infodemic and Its Impact on Public Health: A Global Social Media Analysis. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020 Oct; 103(4):1621-1629. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0812. PMID: 32783794; PMCID: PMC7543839.

 

———

By the same Author on PEAH

Ethical Challenges in Big Data in The Developing World

Challenges in Universal Health Coverage in Pakistan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News Flash 513: Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

News Flash Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta Caretta)

News Flash 513

Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

 

Aderisci al nostro appello: Mettiamo fine all’incubo delle gabbie, in Italia e in Europa

Globalization and health: Now more than ever, a need for scepticism and multidisciplinarity

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WFPHA: GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK 3-7 April 2023

Webinar registration: UPR Philippines webinar Feb. 15, 2023

Webinar registration: Make Way website launch: Learn about intersectional SRHR lobby and advocacy, February 21st, 2023

‘More Talk’ on WHO Replenishment Fund Ahead of May’s Health Assembly

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Pandemic Crushes Nutrition ‘Decade of Action’

DNDi eNews February 2023

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Public consultation on a multi-stakeholder platform to improve clinical trials in the EU

Book review: How rotten is drug regulation in India?

Opinion: Will China help resolve lower-income countries’ debt crisis?

Earthquake thrusts Syria back in the spotlight, but for how long?

HRR 664: SADLY, HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COME IN MANY FORMS. THEY COME DIFFUSE AND/OR TARGETED, ROOTED IN HISTORY AND/OR NEWLY CREATED, RESUSCITATING FROM DORMANT AND/OR ERUPTIVE

International Planning Commitee for Food Sovereignty (IPC)

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Experts call for clampdowns on exploitative formula milk marketing in new Lancet series

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Accountability for carbon emissions and health equity

Success, failure, and the imperative for justice in climate negotiations

More than a half of Amazon rainforest damaged or felled

Climate change is contributing to the rise of superbugs, new UN report says

 

 

 

 

Want to Contribute an Article to PEAH?

PEAH-Policies for Equitable Access to Health aims to tackle ALL health priority challenges relevant to -though not limited to- climate safeguarding, fair access to care, medicines and food, disadvantaged/discriminated people and cultural diversity protection from a view encompassing the policies, strategies and practices of all involved actors.

Inherently, PEAH focus encompasses the best options for use of trade and government rules, the effects of current international agreements and intellectual property standards, the opportunities offered by new financing mechanisms and innovation models, and the ways for better coherence, coordination and collaboration among stakeholders supposed to streamline access to health priorities

By Daniele Dionisio

PEAH – Policies for Equitable Access to Health

Want to Contribute an Article to PEAH?

 

A platform maintained by Daniele Dionisio*, PEAH – Policies for Equitable Access to Health serves as an internationally oriented blog backed by academics and stakeholders from a number of organisations worldwide.

Not an indexed journal, PEAH runs without any monetary grant/funding/support. Nonetheless, it benefits from world scale audience actively coming to the website, while relying to date on around eight thousand regular followers whose numbers are on the rise on daily basis.

People from leading centres and institutions continue writing articles for PEAH, as shown by our Featuring section (see also links to 2022  2021 and 2020  external contributions).

Are you willing to contribute an article to PEAH?

Spontaneous submissions in the form of articles, editorials and blogs are welcome. Pieces dealing with the priorities and challenges first and foremost in the resource-limited countries, including for fair access to high-quality health treatments and care, food, and for climate safeguarding would be to the point.

PEAH aims to face, indeed, ALL health priority challenges relevant to -though not limited to- climate safeguarding, fair access to care, medicines and food, disadvantaged/discriminated people and cultural diversity protection from a view encompassing the policies, strategies and practices of all involved actors.

Inherently, PEAH focus encompasses the best options for use of trade and government rules, the effects of current international agreements and intellectual property standards, the opportunities offered by new financing mechanisms and innovation models, and the ways for better coherence, coordination and collaboration among stakeholders supposed to streamline access to health priorities.

No editorial requirements nor limits as regards the length and structure of your contribution, and you are invited to incorporate references as hyperlinks directly in the text.

Upon editor’s acceptance, your manuscript will enjoy free of charge, immediate online publication for circulation throughout PEAH network** and sharing on social media platforms.

You are free to re-publish your piece from PEAH, provided that PEAH quotation as the original source is included together with proper web-link.

If you wish to contribute, please submit to PEAH editor at danieledionisio1@gmail.com

 

* Daniele Dionisio is a member of the European Parliament Working Group on Innovation, Access to Medicines and Poverty-Related Diseases. Former director of the Infectious Disease Division at the Pistoia City Hospital (Italy), Dionisio is Head of the research project PEAH - Policies for Equitable Access to Health

** PEAH network includes, among others, the EU Parliament Group on “Innovation, Access to Medicines and Poverty-Related Diseases”, representatives at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Directorate General for Development Cooperation in Rome, leaders from academia worldwide, managers from emerging economies' drug industries and executives from UN agencies, Medecins Sans Frontieres and international NGOs, the Global Fund, Knowledge Ecology International, Indian Council of Medical Research, Quamed, Oxfam, SciDev.net, Devex, Health Property Watch, I-MAK, AFEW, Wemos, DNDi, the Italian National Institutes of Health,...


News Flash 512: Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

News Flash Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Mauve Stinger jellyfish (Pelagia Noctiluca)

News Flash 512

Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

 

SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS – 19th IAHPE Conference: Capitalism, Pandemics, and Public Health (21-24 September 2023, Thessaloniki, Greece) | Deadline on 31 May 2023

WHO:152nd session of the Executive Board proceedings webcast

WHO Pressured to Spend More on Nations

MSF statements at WHO Executive Board 152nd session

EXCLUSIVE: Pandemic Treaty ‘Zero-Draft’ is Out – And Proposes WHO Gets 20% of All Pandemic Products to Ensure Equity

What to watch at WHO’s executive board meeting

Topics Creating Buzz Ahead of WHO’s Upcoming Executive Board Meeting

NEW VIDEO: SUSTAINABLE FINANCE FOR HEALTH SYSTEMS

Statement on the fourteenth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic

Coronavirus updates

Africans Struggled to Get COVID-19 Tests – What Must Change Before the Next Pandemic?

Facing the New Covid-19 Reality

Study Suggests Side-Effects and Costs Are Biggest Issues for Users Of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis

African leaders unite in pledge to end AIDS in children

Eight trends that will impact children in 2023

Pandemic Proof: Learning from Sweden on Superbugs

More countries eliminate neglected tropical diseases but investments key to sustain progress

MSF calls for increased global investment ahead of World NTD Day

Neglected Tropical Diseases: Integrate to Eliminate

Fight Against Parasitic Worms, Sleeping Sickness Gets New Funding

EMA: Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 23-26 January 2023

The global gap in access to opioid analgesics for pain management: why is this (still) a silent crisis?

Achieving Patient-Centeredness In Medicare’s New Drug Price Negotiation Program

Use of Clinical Trials Information System becomes mandatory for new clinical trial applications in the EU

HRR 663: A POORLY UNDERSTOOD HUMAN RIGHTS CONCEPT: FIND A CLARIFICATION HERE

Sex workers health: time to act

Interventions to improve health and the determinants of health among sex workers in high-income countries: a systematic review

The Value of Insects: Why We Must Act Now to Protect Them

As the Climate Crisis Bites, Soil Needs Doctors Too

Italian cities fail to meet air pollution threshold, study shows

Urban agrobiodiversity, health and city climate adaptation plans

Political commitments needed to address health impacts of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss

Joy Shumake-Guillemot: linking climate to health

Health brief: Planting trees = saving lives