VACCINE AGAINST DIARRHOEAL DISEASE COULD PROTECT MILLIONS OF CHILDREN – UN

VACCINE AGAINST DIARRHOEAL DISEASE COULD PROTECT MILLIONS OF CHILDREN – UN
New York, Jun 5 2009 1:00PM
The United Nations World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO) today recommended that the vaccination against rotavirus – responsible for over 500,000 diarrhoeal deaths annually – be included in all national immunization programmes.

Over 85 per cent of deaths caused by rotavirus, which also hospitalizes 2 million children every year, are in developing countries in Asia and Africa, the agency's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) said.

WHO-backed clinical trials in Africa conducted among populations with high child mortality rates, poor sanitary conditions and high diarrhoeal disease mortality demonstrate that the vaccine significantly reduces severe diarrhoea episodes due to rotavirus.

Rotavirus immunizations just became available in the United States, Europe and Latin America three years ago.

Today's recommendation paves the way for low-income countries to apply to the public-private alliance known as GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) – including the WHO, the UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/index.php">UNICEF) and the World Bank – for the vaccine.

"This is a tremendous milestone in ensuring that vaccines against the most common cause of lethal diarrhoea reach the children who need them most," <"http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/PSLG-7SPHL6?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P">said Dr. Thomas Cherian of WHO's Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.

Due to the many triggers of diarrhoeal disease, SAGE stressed the need to provide the rotavirus vaccine as part of a larger strategy, which must also include improving water quality, hygiene and sanitation, as well as providing oral rehydration solutions and zinc supplements.
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HEALTH HAZARDS DEMAND STRONGER CLIMATE CHANGE MEASURES, ARGUES UN AGENCY

HEALTH HAZARDS DEMAND STRONGER CLIMATE CHANGE MEASURES, ARGUES UN AGENCY
New York, Mar 11 2009 3:00PM

Policymakers should consider the threat climate change poses to public health in setting their priorities for action and investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the United Nations health agency told a conference in Copenhagen.

Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the health dimension of the issue at the three-day Climate Change Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions conference, which ends tomorrow.

Based on research, WHO estimates that around 150,000 deaths now occur in low-income countries each year, with young children making up almost 85 per cent of these excess deaths, due to the effect climate change has on crop failure and malnutrition, diarrhoeal disease, malaria and flooding.

Health hazards from climate change are diverse, global and difficult to reverse, according to WHO. They range from increased risk to safety from extreme weather events, to the effects of global warming on infectious disease and sea level rises leading to salinization of land and water sources.

The agency contends that feasible improvements to the environment could reduce the burden on global disease, a large part of which is caused by energy consumption and transport systems, by more than 25 per cent.

Outdoor air pollution accounts for 800,000 deaths annually around the world, traffic accidents for 1.2 million, physical inactivity for 1.9 million and indoor air pollution for 1.5 million, noted a press release issued by WHO.

"Whether it's the 70,000 excess deaths from the heat wave in Europe in 2003, or new malarial deaths in the central African highlands, the people at greatest risk for climate-related health disorders and premature deaths are the poor, the geographically vulnerable, the very young, women and the elderly," WHO said.

The populations WHO considered to be at greatest risk are those living in small island developing States, mountainous regions, areas with poor access to water, huge cities and coastal areas in developing countries, as well as poor people and those lacking access to health services.
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