WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the virtual press conference on One Health High Level Expert Panel

Your Excellency Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Your Excellency Niels Annen, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Professor Wanda Markotter and Professor Thomas Mettenleiter, Mr Qu Dongyu, Ms Inger Andersen, Dr Monique Eloit, Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, First of all, I would like to thank the governments of France and Germany for their leadership and support in establishing the One Health High-Level Expert Panel. Its creation fulfils a commitment made at the Paris Peace Forum last November. I also want to give a special thanks to the co-chairs, Professor Markotter and Professor Mettenleiter, and the other panelists for lending us their time and expertise. The COVID-19 pandemic is a powerful demonstration that human health does not exist in a vacuum, and nor can our efforts to protect and promote it. The close links between human, animal and environmental health demand close collaboration, communication and coordination between the relevant sectors. One Health is not a new concept, but the High-Level Expert Panel is a much-needed initiative to take it to the next level. The High-Level Expert Panel will advise us on how to bridge the gaps between sectors, connecting veterinary and human medicine and environmental issues, and to address the challenge of implementation at both the global and country level. The work of the panel will help us advocate for bold policy measures and investments to reduce the risk of future pandemics and to change harmful practices that threaten us now and in future generations. The four organizations that will participate in the Joint Secretariat bring world-class expertise in their respective areas. We believe that by working together more closely in this way, we will be much more than the sum of our parts. One of the many lessons of the pandemic is that we can only confront shared threats with shared solutions. Thank you once again to France and Germany for your support, and to my colleagues at FAO, OIE and UNEP. Now let’s get to work. I thank you

Opera: Women are Like That, April 10, 1975

University Union BallroomApril 10 and 12, 19758:00 p.m

Catalan Cancer Plan 2022-2026

Càncer; Planificació sanitària; CatalunyaCancer; Health planning; CataloniaCáncer; Planificación sanitaria; CataluñaEn aquest document es presenta una avaluació de l’impacte del càncer a Catalunya fins al 2025 (any triat per seguir la metodologia i els períodes temporals de l’Agència Internacional de Recerca sobre el Càncer, IARC). Tot seguit, es presenta una avaluació dels avenços introduïts en el període 2015-2020, així com dels reptes pendents, sobretot considerant els objectius introduïts pel Pla Europeu contra el Càncer (Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan), publicat el febrer del 2021 amb motiu del Dia Mundial del Càncer. Finalment, es presenten els objectius per al proper període de forma sintètica

Estadístiques del càncer a Catalunya en l'any 2023: estimacions de la incidència, mortalitat i supervivència del càncer a Catalunya

Càncer; Oncologia; EstadístiquesCáncer; Oncología; EstadísticasCancer; Oncology; StatisticsAquest informe presenta les dades estadístiques de les incidències, mortalitats i supervivència del càncer a Catalunya durant el 2023. La incidència de càncer a tot Catalunya s’ha estimat a partir de la modelització de la tendència temporal de les taxes d’incidència específica segons el grup d’edat quinquennal. Aquestes taxes s’han calculat a partir de l’agrupació de les dades dels registres de càncer de les províncies de Girona i Tarragona. S’ha dut a terme una modelització Bayesiana d’aquestes taxes mitjançant models autoregressius temporals que tenen en compte l’efecte de l’edat i el període (any) de diagnòstic així com la cohort de naixement

Impact of the introduction of ultrasound services in a limited resource setting: rural Rwanda 2008

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Over the last decade, utilization of ultrasound technology by non-radiologist physicians has grown. Recent advances in affordability, durability, and portability have brought ultrasound to the forefront as a sustainable and high impact technology for use in developing world clinical settings as well. However, ultrasound's impact on patient management plans, program sustainability, and which ultrasound applications are useful in this setting has not been well studied.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ultrasound services were introduced at two rural Rwandan district hospitals affiliated with Partners in Health, a US nongovernmental organization. Data sheets for each ultrasound scan performed during routine clinical care were collected and analyzed to determine patient demographics, which ultrasound applications were most frequently used, and whether the use of the ultrasound changed patient management plans. Ultrasound scans performed by the local physicians during the post-training period were reviewed for accuracy of interpretation and image quality by an ultrasound fellowship trained emergency medicine physician from the United States who was blinded to the original interpretation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Adult women appeared to benefit most from the presence of ultrasound services. Of the 345 scans performed during the study period, obstetrical scanning was the most frequently used application. Evaluation of gestational age, fetal head position, and placental positioning were the most common findings. However, other applications used included abdominal, cardiac, renal, pleural, procedural guidance, and vascular ultrasounds.</p> <p>Ultrasound changed patient management plans in 43% of total patients scanned. The most common change was to plan a surgical procedure. The ultrasound program appears sustainable; local staff performed 245 ultrasound scans in the 11 weeks after the departure of the ultrasound instructor. Post-training scan review showed the concordance rate of interpretation between the Rwandese physicians and the ultrasound-trained quality review physicians was 96%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We suggest ultrasound is a useful modality that particularly benefits women's health and obstetrical care in the developing world. Ultrasound services significantly impact patient management plans especially with regards to potential surgical interventions. After an initial training period, it appears that an ultrasound program led by local health care providers is sustainable and lead to accurate diagnoses in a rural international setting.</p

East Asian Welfare States in Transition

Summaries After the spectacular economic crisis of late 1997, there has been a call for social welfare reform as well as economic restructuring in East Asia. Covering Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, this article first seeks to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the East Asian welfare states. Second, it examines the pressures for reform of the welfare systems. Finally, it addresses the question of whether the low spending East Asian welfare regimes will be maintained in the future. The strength.of the East Asian welfare states mainly lies in their promotion of an ideology of developmentalism and their relatively low cost; while their weakness is that they tend to reinforce socio?economic inequalities. Economic recession and socio?economic pressures as well as inefficiencies within the welfare states create pressure for change. The governments in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have responded with reform measures appropriate to these nations' social and political context. Despite different policy responses, the welfare states in these countries will become more expensive, although they will remain low spenders among the developed nations

Disclosure of cancer diagnosis and prognosis: a survey of the general public's attitudes toward doctors and family holding discretionary powers

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to ask a sample of the general population about their preferences regarding doctors holding discretionary powers in relation to disclosing cancer diagnosis and prognosis. METHODS: The researchers mailed 443 questionnaires to registered voters in a ward of Tokyo which had a socio-demographic profile similar to greater Tokyo's average and received 246 responses (response rate 55.5%). We describe and analysed respondents' attitudes toward doctors and family members holding discretionary powers in relation to cancer diagnoses disclose. RESULTS: Amongst respondents who wanted full disclosure about the diagnosis without delay, 117 (69.6 %) respondents agreed to follow the doctor's discretion, whilst 111 (66.1 %) respondents agreed to follow the family member's decision. For respondents who preferred to have the diagnosis and prognosis withheld, 59 (26.5 %) agreed to follow the doctor's decision, and 79 (35.3 %) of respondents agreed with following family member's wishes. CONCLUSIONS: The greater proportion of respondents wants or permits disclosure of cancer diagnosis and prognosis. In patients who reveal negative attitudes toward being given a cancer disclosure directly, alternative options exist such as telling the family ahead of the patient or having a discussion of the cancer diagnosis with the patient together with the family. It is recommended that health professionals become more aware about the need to provide patients with their cancer diagnosis and prognosis in a variety of ways