2006: A good year for the world's health?
Health conditions in Africa are slowly improving, WHO claims
Also In The News
|
Charlton manager Les Reed has been sensationally replaced by former West Ham coach Alan Pardew just eight games into his tenure. |  |
Monday, 25, Dec 2006 11:00
Aids, poverty in Africa, bird flu; all these have dominated health news this year and often paint a gloomy and uncertain picture of the year ahead. But has the health of the world improved at all during the last 12 months and are there developments to take courage in?
Statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO) show that serious challenges remain for healthcare professionals. There are 57 countries with critical shortages of health workers which prevents interventions such as vaccination of children and treatment of HIV/Aids from being administered as effectively as they need to be.
But, as the WHO points out, this year has been one of both challenges and achievements. Here we take a look at some of the biggest health issues this year and how they have fared.
HIV/Aids
One of the biggest successes for the disease is the number of people with access to treatment; since the launch of the 3 By 5 Initiative by WHO and the UN's international drug purchase facility (UNITAid) in 2003 this number has increased threefold. In June this year 1.65 million people were receiving treatment in low- and middle-income countries in comparison with 400,000 in December 2003.
Sub-Saharan Africa is said to have benefited the most from the expansion and valuable lessons from the process are expected to benefit more people in the coming year.
Dr Anders Nordstrom, WHO acting director-general, commented on World Aids Day: "The Aids epidemic provides us with clear evidence that even some of the most complex health and development problems can be successfully addressed.
"To see this positive pattern repeated everywhere will take greater political will and more resources. We do not just need more. We need to commit to clear sightedness about what is working and what is not - and quickly apply that knowledge."
Avian Flu
Until February this year human cases of the H5N1 virus, or 'bird flu', had been confined to Asia. But since then it has spread to Africa and Turkey. The WHO warns that this spread demonstrates that there is potential for avian flu to spread further. Indonesia, with 74 cases, 57 of them fatal, is still the country most affected in 2006.
Dr Margaret Chan told a global meeting on the virus in March: "It may be that containment efforts would only slow the spread of a pandemic. But even that will buy us time so that countries can begin activating their pandemic preparedness plans and companies can begin on the lengthy process of manufacturing an effective human pandemic vaccine."
Africa
High profile campaigns by celebrities have brought the plight of many Africans to the forefront of people's minds, but the WHO argues that the situation is not as negative as it may seem. A report conducted by the organisation found that innovative solutions are being invented in Africa itself to reduce disease and mortality, proving while many challenges remain, the continent can take up the problems it faces.
Another report, Opportunities for Africa, found that under the guidance of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, six African countries: Burkina Faso; Eritrea; Madagascar; Malawi; Uganda; and the United Republic of Tanzania are starting to reduce the number of children dying in the first 28 days of life.
Cancer
One of the major developments of the year in the field of cancer was the development of a vaccination for cervical cancer. Each year there are on average 500,000 new cases of this type of cancer and 250,000 deaths. Producers of a new vaccine that targets the HPV genital infection, which is linked to the cancer, were granted permission to begin marketing it and another vaccine could shortly be authorised.