Archive for category: Health

Information and stories on health topics.

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Polio Eradication in Afghanistan Accelerated by Vaccine

Polio Eradication in Afghanistan
On Sept. 30, 2015, the Minister of Public Health of Afghanistan, Dr. Ferozuddin Feroz, officially introduced the Inactive Polio Vaccine (IPV) into the vaccination program for all children under the age of 1 in Afghanistan. The vaccine is now available, free of charge, at health facilities across the country.

There were 12 reported cases of polio in Afghanistan in 2015. Afghanistan is one of three countries in the world which are still labeled “polio endemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO). The goal of this new vaccine is to enable polio eradication in Afghanistan.

The IPV, coupled with the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), which is already in the routine immunization schedule, boosts the immunity of children against polio and prevents polio transmission. IPV provides immunity to all three types of polio viruses.

Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, World Health Organization country representative, stated, “The introduction of IPV is a crucial step towards securing a polio-free Afghanistan and protecting the health of children.”

“Provision of the IPV vaccine is a key step to protect children from polio, and this should be supported by an ongoing effort to make parents and caregivers of children aware of the importance of IPV and all other vaccines,” said Akhil Lyer, UNICEF representative in Afghanistan.

The introduction of IPV would eventually require the removal of OPV once polio transmission has been interrupted in order to sustain a polio-free environment. However, since polio in Afghanistan is still prevalent, it is suggested that Afghans accept OPV and IPV when offered.

– Marie Helene Ngom

Sources: Health Canal, WHO
Photo: Polio Eradication

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Mobile Phone App Helps With Dengue Fever Prediction

Dengue Fever PredictionThe ability to determine where and when epidemics will break out may soon be available at the touch of your fingertips.

In Pakistan, dengue fever was largely endemic in the southern city of Karachi; however, in recent years it has been appearing in a previously unaffected area — northeast Pakistan.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that dengue fever is transmitted by the infectious bite of a mosquito, and currently there is no vaccine or specific medication for this illness, which usually results in a range of symptoms including “mild fever, to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain and rash.”

A recent article by SciDev describes the possibilities of a mobile phone app which can effectively predict epidemics by tracking the patterns of people.

“As the transmission of the virus that causes dengue fever is partly driven by human travel, analyzing how people move across the country allows researchers to predict when and where epidemics may break out,” SciDev says.

Telenor, a Norwegian mobile provider that operates in Pakistan, teamed up with researchers to track the call records from close to 40 million subscriber SIM cards within the last seven months of 2013.

Mathematical data pertaining to traveling patterns could be tracked and was later published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This information combined with clinical and climate data helped serve as a “model retroactively to predict the likely location and timing of epidemics across the country.”

This newfound data provided encouraging results that would enable researchers to “effectively target interventions, surveillance and clinical response” for where and when to expect dengue epidemics.

“The travel model predicted the geographic spread and timing of outbreaks in 2013 in both recently epidemic and emerging locations, the paper says. For example, it showed good overlap with the actual pattern of the first dengue cases in the northeastern cities of Lahore and Mingora,” says SciDev.

Predictive models may be the solution for mapping and creating early warning systems for diseases such as dengue. With such success regarding Dengue Fever prediction in Pakistan, it is possible for other Asian countries to adopt the same technology for other diseases, such as measles, malaria and influenza.

Soon, the very touch of a button may be able to save thousands from experiencing the disease via dengue fever prediction.

– Nikki Schaffer

Sources: WHO, SciDev, PNAS
Photo: Pixabay

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How Fortified Ingredients Can Stop Hidden Hunger


With one in three affected by malnutrition globally, hidden hunger is a prevalent but treatable epidemic. Africa is currently home to the highest levels of hidden hunger.

The UN stated in a report that, “of the 34 countries that account for 90% of the global burden of malnutrition, 22 are in Africa,” with 56 million children suffering stunted growth as a result.

But the good news is that an affordable solution appears to be on the horizon.

Marie Konaté, founder of Protein Kissèe-La (PKL), has created a key vitamin and mineral fortified cereal for children. Sourced locally from Côte d’Ivoire, the children’s cereal is targeted at the group most susceptible to hidden hunger: children under the age of 5.

As 46% of the African staple-based diet is composed of cereals, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Marie’s cereal is an affordable and delicious way to fight micro-malnutrition.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has teamed up with PKL to provide the powdered supplements that are added to the cereal, thus keeping the costs even lower to consumers.

The fortification of food staples has already been implemented in a variety of products, from Nestlé’s bouillon cubes with added iron and iodine in Western and Central Africa to cooking oil with iron and vitamin A in Senegal.

Yet, one of the simplest ingredients used globally could be one of the most effective in fighting hidden hunger: iodized salt.

Commonly used in developed nations, iodized salt looks, smells and tastes the same as non-iodized, costing only 5 to 10 cents per person per year, reports Aljazeera America.

Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDDs), including goiter, hypothyroidism, reproductive problems in adults and mental and structural defects in infants, can all be combated through the simple consumption of iodized salt.

GAIN estimates that the number of children dying under the age of 5 could be halved if they received better nutrition.

Given that a whole host of staple ingredients, including salt, grain and oil are able to be fortified without compromising the taste and appearance of the product, it’s only a matter of funding to drastically reduce the numbers of micronutrient deficient people globally.

At the 2015 Future Fortified summit in Tanzania, GAIN, the African Union, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Food Program and USAID hashed out a viable global plan to put an end to hidden hunger.

They estimated that for every dollar spent on ending malnutrition, $138 would be saved on healthcare and previously lost productivity.

Since then, the African Union has requested $150 million in donations to fund food fortification and progress analytics in 25 nations.

Going forward, as more countries commit to mandating fortification, hidden hunger is closer than ever to being a problem of the past.

– Claire Colby

Sources: Aljazeera America, Associated Press, EurActive, Food and Agriculture Organization, GAIN, Global Post, New York Times, UN, UNICEF
Photo: LinkedIn

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Poverty and Mental Health: How are They Connected?

depression_and_poverty
Most people have encountered something like it: When you spend a long period under high stress, you wind up with a cold because your immune system is down. And vice versa: when you’re sick for a long period, you start to feel down in the dumps.

They’re both examples of the interplay between mental and physical health, something that scientists are learning more and more about. In terms of global poverty, there are many possibilities that could arise from an increased focus on the mental health of those living in the third world. Poverty becomes a third factor in this cyclical relationship.

Those who have mental disorders are more likely to be sick, and also to be impoverished (because they can’t find jobs due to feelings of inadequacy, discrimination or inability to function.) When a person is impoverished, they are less able to afford health care and are also more vulnerable to mental disorders such as depression. And the convoluted cycle continues.

In fact, way back in 1963, in a study by Langner and Michael, it was conceded that generally there is a cause and effect relationship between poverty and mental health.

The link between all three is almost inextricable. The World Health Organization (WHO) offers a few statistics that make this point all too clear.

  • The percentage of HIV/AIDS patients suffering from depression may be higher than 60 percent.
  • Depression occurs approximately twice more often in low-income groups than it does among the rich.
  • “Babies of depressed mothers are 5 times more likely to be underweight and stunted than babies of non-depressed mothers.”

Furthermore, according to WHO, 31 percent of countries don’t have a specific budget dedicated to health. Seventy-six to 85 percent of people with serious mental health conditions do not receive treatment in developing countries.

But this isn’t a depressing indicator that the doom of the world is coming quickly and imminently. On the contrary, understanding the nature of the cycle means that aid can enter into it at any point to keep it from perpetuating itself.

Aid for physical health and economic disparity are most commonly offered to those in the developing world. Perhaps, by taking a look at poverty from a new angle – through the lens of mental health – huge strides could be made towards improving all three areas on a global scale.

WHO’s website states, “Mental health issues cannot be considered in isolation from other areas of development, such as education, employment, emergency responses and human rights capacity building.”

Knowing that that is not what is being done gives humanitarians the perfect opportunity to reconsider what to prioritize in the fight against global poverty and chronic diseases, whether physical or mental.

– Emily Dieckman

Sources: Journals of The Royal College of Psychiatrists, Europa, WHO 1, WHO 2
Photo: Google Images

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Genetic Counseling for Developing Countries

Genetic Counseling for Developing Countries
Genetic disorders are diseases that are caused by a mutation in the genetic structure of the cell. These mutations can arise from a modification of the nucleic chromatin material, as well as an alteration of one of the coding bases in the DNA structure.

Genetic mutations arise from many different causes and manifest in various ways as well. The genetic mutations can arise at two different levels: at a nucleotide level, or at a chromosomal level. A nucleotide is a building block of DNA- the hereditary, genetic material of any living cell.

Each nucleotide triplet can code for an amino acid, which is, in turn, a building block of proteins. Any insertion or deletion of a nucleotide can lead to a wrong protein structure.

At the chromosomal level, portions of the chromosome- which contains huge portions of the DNA strands- can be altered. Both of these mutations can lead to an alteration of protein structure, which is the physiological and anatomical basis for life.

Genetic mutations can lead to many devastating consequences for those affected by it. Cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, and neurodegenerative diseases like muscular dystrophy are some of the more familiar genetic diseases with terrible implications for the patient.

Genetic diseases are not generally preventable after an individual’s phenotype has been determined. Treatment of certain genetic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, requires constant medication and therapy. The treatment is also expensive and experimental in most cases and inaccessible in many developing countries.

Genetic counseling is becoming widely popular in the Western, resource-rich countries as a preventative measure for genetic disorders. Genetic counseling involves advising at-risk patients–or those with familial histories of a disease–of the chances of transmitting or developing a disease.

Genetic-Counseling

Many genetic disorders have now been classified on the basis of their mode of transmittance, and parents can be advised of how probable it is for their children to develop the disease. If the probability of affected children is high, they can also be advised of alternative options, as well as the severity of disease if a child is affected.

Unfortunately, genetic testing and genetic counseling are facilities that are unavailable in many places where they are needed. For instance, sickle-cell anemia is a disorder where the red blood cells in the body are of a distorted structure. If untreated or undiagnosed, the disease can have fatal complications for the patient.

Genetic research has indicated the high rate of prevalence of the disease in mid-African populations. Similarly, the risk of genetic diseases is high in many Arab countries, due to inter-family marriage practices.

Despite the high genetic frequency of the sickle cell anemia trait in central Africa, little to no counseling resources are available. For example in Nigeria- where the trait occurs in 20-30 percent of the population- there is not one genetic counseling clinic available.

Studies have reported equally low genetic education in many Arab countries. The lack of knowledge and informative resources for genetic disorders inhibit the prevention of such diseases, which in turn can be a considerable strain on resources as well.

In light of these statistics, there is an exigent need for the establishment of genetic counseling clinics. The stance of many scientists is to spur the research in Western countries to ultimately come up with highly efficient and cost-effective solutions.

However, the high instance of genetic disease and genetic susceptibility to diseases is an issue that needs to be addressed in the present.

The prevention of serious diseases in the developing world can only be partially successful if genetic counseling and testing are omitted. Healthy nations are, after all, capable of realizing their potential to the fullest and providing a better life for their citizens.

– Atifah Safi

Sources: Afro, AJOL, BMJ, Genome, NIH, State
Photo: Google Images, Pixabay

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Moringa: The Miracle Tree

Moringa
Moringa oleifera, the moringa tree, has been aptly nicknamed the miracle tree for its nutritional value and medical qualities. The moringa tree is native to South Asia and is known for how quickly it grows.

Many parts of the tree are edible, making it a valuable source of food in impoverished, rural areas especially in times of drought because the tree is very hardy.

Nearly every part of the moringa tree can be used. Although the wood from the tree is not very high quality, the fruit, leaves and pods are all edible.

The moringa tree leaves have a very high level of protein, calcium, iron, vitamin C as well as vitamin A. One cup of moringa leaves offers two grams of protein and more than 10 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, vitamin B6, iron, and riboflavin. One cup of moringa pods offers 157 percent of the daily allowance for vitamin C.

The leaves have twice as much calcium and protein as whole milk when compared ounce for ounce. Considering approximately 670,000 children die from a vitamin A deficiency every year, the moringa’s nutrients are very valuable.

Moringa oil is extracted from the seed of the tree. This oil’s special quality is that it does not quickly go rancid. In impoverished areas where refrigeration is not an option, the oil can be a very good alternative to other vegetable oils.

One of the significant attributes of the moringa tree in light of global poverty is the purification quality of the seeds. There is a coagulant found in the crushed seed that can be used to reduce turbidity and alkalinity in water. There is also an antiseptic property withing the seed that helps purify it.

The nutrition within the tree makes the moringa a valuable asset in the alleviation of global hunger. The success of the moringa tree is evident as organizations have incorporated it into their programs for hunger alleviation. The Peace Corps in specific implements the use of the tree into the programs.

– Iona Brannon

Sources: Epoch Times, Fox News, International Journal of Development and Sustainability, Kuli Kuli, SABC
Photo: Flickr

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Malaria Infection Rate Drops 50 Percent Since 2000

Malaria Infection Rate Drops 50% Since 2000
In 2000, the UN released the Millennium Development Goal to “halt by 2015 and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria.” Reflecting back on the start of the twenty-first century, a recent study conducted at Oxford University has revealed an impressive decline in the rate of malaria infection across endemic Africa.

Using data gathered from approximately 30,000 malaria field surveys taken from sites across sub-Saharan Africa, researchers at Oxford University’s Department of Zoology investigated trends in infection by Plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly malarial parasite.

What they found was the overall rate of malaria infection in the affected regions of Africa has declined by 40 percent since 2000. This translates into roughly 700 million cases of malaria prevented over 15 years.

The study also compared several methods of intervention implemented, along with which of these methods had the most substantial effect. Of these solutions, research indicates that insecticide-treated bednets accounts for 68 percent of the total prevention.

Other tactics included Artemisin-based combination therapy, an efficacious anti-malarial drug, and indoor residual spraying, or the application of insecticide to the inside of homes.

Another report jointly released by UNICEF and WHO confirmed that malaria death rates have declined by 60 percent since 2000. Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, praised these preventative disease measures when she said, “Global malaria control is one of the great public health success stories of the past 15 years.”

These studies prove the effectiveness simple solutions can have in saving thousands of lives globally, as access to nets and the spraying of dwellings alone have significantly contributed to the process of eliminating an ancient disease. They also provide important evidence on how to proceed with future control planning.

While these findings indicate a confident direction in the prevention and eradication of global disease, there is still enormous progress to be made. 438,000 people have died by malaria since the beginning of 2015, of which most were children living in the poorest regions of the world.

With half of the world’s population still at risk of contracting malaria, the journey is not quite over. In just 15 years, the percentage of children under the age of five sleeping beneath a bug net reached 68 percent from an initial 2 percent.

Imagine what could be done in the next 15 years with the effective implementation of preventative measures. With the solution already available, it would seem that the proper way to celebrate progress is to continue more heavily than ever before in efforts to end malaria.

– Kayla Lucia

Sources: Nature, University of Oxford, IFLScience
Photo: Wikimedia

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Improving Nutrition Boosts IQs in Developing World

As Nutrition Improves, Developing Countries Get Smarter
To say poverty is a complex issue is an understatement. The conditions that lead to and perpetuate poverty occur across levels, making it different for individuals, organizations and governments to address. Targeting initiatives toward healthy individual development is imperative to reduce poverty in the long-term.

Poverty, at its core, is a stressor. An inability to gain access to proper nutrition, quality medical care and education greatly affect the well-being of individuals and families.

For children, the effects of extreme poverty are magnified, which has implications for brain development, psychological well-being and ability to handle conflict. Iodine deficiency, which is common in developing countries, can lead to neural tube defects during pregnancy, especially if the fetus is female.

Iodine deficiency is the most common preventable cause of mental retardation in children; the CDC estimates that 18 million children worldwide are born disabled as a result of the deficiency. Currently, two billion people are at risk for iodine deficiency.

Iodine, in addition to other micronutrients, is critical for healthy brain development and functioning. Initiatives to address micronutrient deficiency work to not only reduce world hunger but also ensure that children can have healthy brain development.

Ensuring healthy brain development is not just preventing deficiencies, it gives children increased potential to develop abstract thinking skills. As noted by James Flynn, a psychologist who researches global patterns of IQ scores, intelligence increases as societies modernize.

Through modernization, individuals are more likely to have access to education, have more cognitively demanding work and utilize logic more often in their daily lives. In turn, critical thinking becomes more necessary and there is a need for individuals to have strong working memory and abstract thinking skills.

Flynn has also documented the “Flynn Effect”: as societies develop, the average IQ score increases. This is happening rapidly in developing countries; Kenya, for example, has seen an eleven point increase in IQ scores over a fourteen-year period. In contrast, the U.S. has seen an eighteen point increase over a 55-year period.

While it is difficult to untangle all of the factors contributing to developing countries’ increasing IQ scores, access to education and better nutrition are most likely strong influences on this gain. These countries are developing and modernizing simultaneously, which accelerates the increase in intelligence scores.

Flynn also argues that, in developed countries, the trend towards smaller families have exposed children to more adult speech, which further improves a child’s intelligence. Perhaps it is arguable, too, that as impoverished communities gain access to medical care and family planning and the birth rate reduces, these children reap similar benefits.

As organizations continue to implement programs fighting world hunger and reducing micronutrient deficiencies, this gain in IQ scores for developing countries is an important reminder that at its core, development work is an investment.

Investing in nutrition for individuals in poverty can bring better brain health, which leads to improved academic performance and increased resiliency, thus empowering people both now and in the future.

– Priscilla McCelvey

Sources: CDC, Vintage Books, Scientific American, UNICEF
Photo: Flickr

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Tetanus Eradicated in India

Tetanus Eradicated in India
India has eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) as a threat to public health, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at the Call to Action 2015 Summit on Aug. 27. The announcement comes ahead of the nation’s goal of December.

Tetanus regularly targets newborns and mothers, usually resulting from births taking place in unsanitary conditions or dirty blades being used to cut umbilical cords.

The eradication of MNT comes 15 years after the creation of a campaign by UNICEF, WHO and UNFPA. The organizations launched the Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative in 1999 with the goal of abolishing MNT as a global health problem.

The initiative defines the elimination of MNT as a global health problem as every district having less than one case of neonatal tetanus per 1,000 live births. When that is accomplished, maternal tetanus is deemed eliminated as well.

At the time the initiative was created, there were an estimated 800,000 newborn deaths a year globally as a result of tetanus, according to WHO. That number is now less than 50,000.

Along with the initiative, the Indian government took its own steps to help eradicate the disease, which is estimated to have killed 160,000 children in the country in 1988.

In Dec. 2014, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India launched Mission Indradhanush, a project aiming to increase the percentage of children completely vaccinated from 65 to at least 90 percent.

In addition to tetanus, immunizations provided by Mission Indradhanush help protect children against tuberculosis, polio, measles, hepatitis B, diphtheria and pertussis, and are free due to India’s Universal Immunization Programme.

In an effort to have more births occur in medical facilities, the Indian government developed a program in which women are paid up to $21 if they go to a clinic or hospital to give birth.

Health workers are also paid to make sure women in labor go to a medical facility. Dubbed “lady health workers,” they are paid up to $9 per mother and receive full payment only if they visit each baby at home and administer TB shots.

Even with these incentives, some women still insist on giving birth at home, as doing so is a local tradition in India. To ensure sanitary conditions, the government will send these women kits containing antibacterial soap, a clean plastic sheet, and a sterile scalpel and plastic clamp to be used on the umbilical cord.

While India has eliminated MNT, the infection is still considered a public health problem in 22 out of the 59 countries originally identified by the U.N. initiative.

– Matt Wotus

Sources: National Health Portal of India, Quartz, The New York Times, UNICEF, WHO
Photo: Google Images

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Polio Eradication for the Globe

 

Polio_Eradication
On March 27, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) certified that the South-East Asia region, home to a quarter of the world’s population, was polio-free.

The beginning of the WHO Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988 was faced with 350,000 cases of poliovirus infections, in 125 countries worldwide. This 2014 achievement now means 80 percent of the world’s population is polio-free.

Mass immunization efforts are the most effective when dealing with the spread of the poliovirus. In the Horn of Africa, it has been over one year since the last reported case of Polio due to the synchronized efforts to vaccinate every child with the oral polio vaccine (OPV).

The June 2015 Horn of Africa outbreak assessment deduced that poliovirus transmission has been interrupted.

Nigeria is currently the last country in Africa with the poliovirus, however, they are making progress. In 2013 there were 49 reported cases of polio, however, this year Nigeria has reported only six cases.

This dramatic drop in poliovirus infection is due to the OPV for type 1, 2 and 3 polioviruses. Vaccines are also administered to children of all ages and even at birth.

In February 2015 the Inactive Polio Vaccine (IPV) was introduced into the immunization program. It is predicted that by September 2015, Nigeria could be removed from the WHO’s list of polio-endemic countries.

Poliovirus lives in an infected person’s throat and intestines and is spread through feces especially in unsanitary environments. Even though some persons infected with the poliovirus do not show any symptoms they can still pass on the virus. Moreover, there is no cure for polio which is why immunization is the most effective method to stop the spread of polio.

– Marie Helene Ngom

Sources: World Health Organization South-East Asia, Scientific American, The Atlantic, World Health Organization Africa, Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Photo: Polio Eradication