Blog12- WHO appeals for better baby care

Sha'Nese Jones
4/15/2011
6:27pm

WHO appeals for better baby care

The world health organization is appealing for the need of more basic health care for babies to prevent millions of deaths during and soon after birth. It’s said that half a million women die in childbirth every year, along with 11 million under-fives. The WHO appealed for a substantial increase in funding to help improve maternal and infant healthcare. The UN says that a lot of these conditions that contribute to the deaths can be easily avoided or treated. Reports say that the half a million women who die of pregnancy related deaths was a scandal. They also say that twenty children under five die every minute along with one woman who will die in pregnancy or childbirth. Of the 11 million deaths it includes more than four million newborns that die within a month not including the 3.3 million stillbirths every year. According to the World Health Report less than two thirds of women in developing countries give birth with the help of qualified assistance. Which drops to fewer than one-third in the poorest countries. For those children under five it’s found that they mainly die from Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles, neonatal ailment and Aids. The UN says that $9Bn is needed every year over the next ten years, within the countries most needed to help reach the United Nations development goals on child mortality.

Eleven million under five deaths is an astonishing number that still seems very much unimaginable in the world that we have today. With so much advancement within the world one would think that there would be a better contribution towards maternal and child health. There should be a way to contribute to helping those within developing countries for better health care for mothers and their child. Within the developing countries a lot of it is probably due to the areas and the environments in which the women stay that prevents them from getting care. The contributing money could help in training those within the developing areas to become certified in helping within childbirth.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4419161.stm

Blog 11- Drinking over recommended limit raises cancer risk

Sha'Nese Jones
4/8/2011
10:30pm

Drinking over recommended limit raises cancer risk

Research suggests that drinking more than a pint of beer a day can significantly increase the risk of some cancers. A European study of 363,988 people found one in 10 of all cancers in men and one in 33 in women were caused by past or current alcohol consumption. Also that more than 18% of alcohol related cancers in men and 4% in women were connected to excessive drinking. The study calculated that in 2008 current and past drinking habits were responsible for about 13,000 cancer cases in the UK, out of a total of 304,000 cases. Earlier research showed a link between alcohol consumption and cancers of the esophagus, liver, bowel and female breast. When alcohol is broken down by the body it produces a chemical which can damage DNA, increasing the chance of developing cancer. Research found that individuals who drank more than two standard drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women were particularly at risk of alcohol-related cancers. Researchers suggest that 40 to 98% of cancers linked to alcohol were found in people who drank more than the recommended amount. They also suggest that many cancers could be avoided if alcohol consumption was limited.

The European study has opened many issues that may result as people consume alcohol. With the finding that over consumption of alcohol can cause various cancers of the body it seems as though there would be stricter rules concerning alcohol. When people over consume alcohol on occasion they never really think about the ongoing effects to the body. It is very much comparable to people and their tobacco intake; you can tell people that it’s bad for their health but its up to them to limit the use. Even if more government regulation is put into place it still will be hard to control the amount that people drink when they are not in front of authority.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12999000

Blog 10- Indonesia to boost health services for poor

Sha'Nese Jones
4/1/2011
7:58pm

Indonesia to boost health services for poor

Indonesia is increasing the spending on free health care in order to tackle the rise in diseases from stokes to AIDS. It also wants a private sector to build more hospitals and to reserve a quarter of the beds available to the poor. The plan is to cover basic hospital medical services nationwide, to ensure Indonesians who live in poverty get free hospital treatment. The extra spending comes as much of Asia seeks to improve healthcare facilities to prepare for an increase in chronic long-term illnesses. The aim is that when people are hospitalized in class 3 hospital beds it would be covered by either the central government or the provincial. In 2009, 76.4 million Indonesians who were considered to be poor received free medical services in class-3 hospital beds, up from 36.4 million people in 2005. Currently, 56 percent of Indonesia's 238 million population have some form of health insurance. Under Indonesia's 2011 budget, the Health Ministry has been allocated 26.2 trillion rupiah, an increase of 10 percent. Last year the government opened up its healthcare sector to foreign investment and is encouraging private hospital builders to reserve space for its free health program.

As the income grows for the middle class rise there is an increase in lifestyle diseases. Leaving places like Indonesia to confront a rise in chronic, non-communicable diseases such as stroke, heart disease and cancer, even though infectious illnesses like tuberculosis, malaria, childhood diarrhea and dengue remain huge problems. The health ministry is looking to extend health services as well as study the possibility of reducing the salt content in fast food, along with improving the health of a nation with a high mortality rate for children under five. Indonesia had 4,158 newly confirmed HIV infections in 2010, up from 3,863 in 2009. It had a cumulative 24,131 HIV/AIDS cases by end-2010. Because of religious reasons it’s difficult to control the spread of HIV because the use of condoms cannot be promoted. Controlling the spread of HIV was difficult because the use of condoms cannot be promoted due to religious sensitivities in the world's most populous Muslim country. The health ministry is asking NGOs and religious communities to become more active in promoting safe sex.

The idea to help those who aren’t able to afford hospital treatment is very a move into a positive direction into helping sort of the forgotten people. With the poor receiving hospital treatment this could help in reducing certain illnesses that are brought about from being poor. With the increase in funds brought on by Indonesia’s budget there is still that precautionary thought of will the money continue to bet there. The increase in lifestyle diseases seems to have become a global issue and with the health ministry looking to develop interventions along with hospital treatment could potentially start an outline for other nations to follow.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/29/us-indonesia-health-services-idUSTRE72S67H20110329?pageNumber=1

Blog 9- China issues nationwide restrictions on smoking

Sha'Nese Jones
3/25/2011
1:11am

China issues nationwide restrictions on smoking

The world’s largest tobacco producer Beijing China has issued a national ban on smoking in hotels, restaurants, and other indoor public spaces. The ban will take effect on May 1 it will also include educational provisions about the dangers of smoking, it will put restrictions on cigarette vending machines, and smoking outdoors that affects pedestrians. There still are loopholes that still allow people to smoke in factories, offices, government workplaces and there is also a lack of penalties and guidelines with the ban. Being the location with one third of all smokers many have learned to ignore the signs that are put in place to prevent smoking. Antismoking supporters see it as a way to help deter the nation off tobacco. It’s said that tobacco kills more than 1.2 million Chinese a year. Nearly one-third of Chinese adults smoke; leaving China among the world’s highest smoking rates. Authorities have raised taxes on cigarettes; guidelines were also set to help reduce the use of tobacco on screen.

There could be major benefits with the reduction of Chinese smokers; such as an increased life span and reduction of incidence of tobacco related health conditions. One of the big issues is trying to stop many of the Chinese from smoking; since it is so prevalent and they are the biggest producers of tobacco it doesn’t help in prevention measures. If a large proportion of people quit smoking there is the outcome of a reduction in tax dollar that would have come from users. With such an abundance of tobacco production and users it seems that stricter steps should be used if there is to be a decrease and users and smoking deaths.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/world/asia/25china.html?ref=world

Blog 8-Britain Seeks to improve nation's health with Responsibility Deal

Sha'Nese Joness
3/18/2011
12:10 am

Britain Seeks to improve nation's health with Responsibility Deal

London has presented a new Health Responsibility Deal that seeks out pledges from industry and public welfare services to confront growing health problems in society. The Responsibility Deal is a plea to the food and drink industry outlets to agree to a list of principles that would promote healthier lifestyles along with responsible food and drink consumption. The most important factors of the pledge is for reduced salt and elimination of trans fats in food products, calorie counts on menus, tougher measures to prevent those younger than 18 to purchase alcohol. They would also like activity centers to give greater access to sports to help with Britain’s increasing obesity problem. There have been several health organizations that have withdrawn their support because they believe that it doesn’t address the dangers of harmful food ingredients and alcohol. They also accuse the government of pandering to the world of commerce at the cost of public health.

The Responsibility Deal seems to be more of an outline to help with certain health issues; it seems as though it’s missing some details on how to get these things accomplished. It’s understandable why some of the health organizations withdrew because it’s as if there is a lack of how giving people the knowledge about what’s in food and the important risk factors. It doesn’t seem very plausible to just change the way food and drinks are composed without giving people the correct knowledge of what’s good and not good to eat. The Responsibility Deal is a great way to start a better health initiative within the country to help people live better lifestyles.

http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-health-responsibility-britain-20110315,0,4682957.story