Health and human rights: epistemological status and perspectives of development

The health and human rights movement (HHR) shows obvious signs of maturation both internally and externally. Yet there are still many questions to be addressed. These issues include the movement's epistemological status and its perspectives of development. This paper discusses critically the conditions of emergence of HHR, its identity, its dominant schools of thought, its epistemological postures and its methodological issues. Our analysis shows that: (a) the epistemological status of HHR is ambiguous; (b) its identity is uncertain in the absence of a validated definition: is it an action movement, an interdisciplinary field, a domain, an approach, a setting or a scientific discipline? (c) its main schools of thoughts are defined as "advocacists”, "ethicists”, "interventionists”, "normativists”; (d) the movement is in the maturation process as a discipline in which "interface”, "distance”, "interference” and "fusion” epistemological postures represent the fundamental steps; (e) parent disciplines (health sciences and law) competences, logics and cultures introduce duality and difficulties in knowledge production, validation and diffusion; (f) there is need to re-write the history of the HHR movement by inscribing it not only into the humanitarian or public health perspectives but also into the evolution of sciences and its social, political and economical conditions of emergence. The ambiguous epistemological status of this field, the need to re-write its history, the methodological duality in its research, the question of the competence of the knowledge validation, as well as the impact of HHR practice on national and international health governance are the challenges of its future development. To meet those challenges; we call for the creation and implementation of an international research agenda, the exploration of new research topics and the evaluation of the movement's contribution to the national and global public health and human rights governanc

Traditional/alternative medicines and the right to health : key elements for a convention on global health

Little has been done to investigate and promote the importance of non-conventional medicines (NCMs) in the realization of the right to health, yet all over the world people regularly resort to NCMs to secure healing or to prevent or mitigate the occurrence of a wide range of morbidities. This study aims to elucidate the theoretical framework of the role of NCMs in realizing the right to health, to identify the potential manifestations and causes of violations of the right to health in their practice, and to propose the practice of NCMs that could be included in a Framework Convention on Global Health. We use both the documentary analysis and the violation of rights approaches. Through a non-directive review of the literature, we have tried to clarify the concepts and uniqueness of NCMs. We have also tried to unveil the challenges facing NCMs in a context where conventional medicines assume extensive power. The human rights approach has enabled us to bring to light the potential challenges to the rights of the various stakeholders that NCMs create. We argue that NCMs can contribute to realizing the right to health through their availability, accessibility, acceptability, and relative quality. The Framework Convention on Global Health could contribute to the effective realization of this right by integrating basic principles to ensure the recognition, protection, promotion, and conservation of NCMs—at least of those NCMs that have shown evidence of efficacy—as well as catalyzing increased international cooperation in this area

Advancing the effective implementation of the one environmental system for mining through cooperative environmental governance

In 2014, the One Environmental System for mining came into effect. This legislative framework was introduced to streamline the environmental regulation of mining activities by consolidating such regulation in the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). The most significant aspect of the regulatory framework, for purposes of this research, is the allocation of powers to the authorities responsible for implementing the One Environmental System. The authorities tasked with implementing the One Environmental System are the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) and the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation (DHWS). In the distribution of power, the DMRE is tasked with enforcing the regulatory framework in the minerals extraction industry. The DEFF sets the regulatory framework and is the appeal authority for decisions taken by the DMRE. Finally, the DHWS is responsible for regulating and enforcing the National Water Act. Although introducing the One Environmental System has improved the regulation of the environment in relation to mining, its regulation - and, more so, enforcement - has received more criticism than praise. Intragovernmental fragmentation has been cited as a cause of ineffective implementation of the regulatory framework. A lack of cooperation between the departments hampers the objective of streamlining the environmental regulation of mining. Therefore, it is imperative that the authorised departments cooperate with each other to achieve the effective implementation of the One Environmental System for mining. The aim of this dissertation is to suggest ways to foster cooperation between the DMRE, DEFF and DHWS to achieve the effective implementation of the One Environmental System. This goal is achieved by providing an analysis of the implementation efforts of the three departments. Since the analysis shows that intragovernmental fragmentation has hampered the effective implementation of the regulatory framework, this research provides recommendations to improve the implementation of the One Environmental System

Rodent reservoirs: unraveling spectrum of zoonotic and pathogenic bacteria

Background: Zoonotic diseases are the major public health threat, with over 70% originating from wildlife. Rodents, while beneficial to the environment, transmit many zoonotic diseases such as hemorrhagic fevers, plague, tularemia, and leptospirosis, mainly due to increased agriculture and land use changes. Understanding rodent-borne pathogens is essential for effective intervention. Therefore, this study aimed to identify pathogenic and zoonotic bacteria in rodents and identify rodent species in the study area. Methods: A total of 116 rodents achieved samples (101 oral-pharyngeal and 15 rectal swabs) collected from Kibondo, Uvinza and Kyerwa were used in this study. Total RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) was extracted from each swab sample and then pooled based on rodent species, location and swab types to make twelve pools. A portion of pooled swabs were polyadenylated and used for metagenomics sequence libraries preparation. A 16S rRNA (ribosomal Ribonucleic Acid) metagenomics sequencing was performed on 12 pools by using MinIon platform in order to identify microbial diversity. Results: A total of 13 different microbial communities includinng bacteria were identified; where, 15 families of potentially pathogenic, zoonotic and bacteria of unknown zoonotic potential were also identified. These families included Mycobacteriacea, Helicobacteriacea, Enterobacteriacea, Vibrionacea, Staphylococcaceae, Nocardiaceae, Bacillaceae, Pasteurellaceae, Streptococcaceae, Campylobacteraceae, Leptospiraceae, Brachyspiraceae, Moraxellaceae, Enterococcaea, Flavobacteriacea. Potentially zoonotic pathogenic bacteria including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Vibrio cholerae, Helicobacter pylori and Vibrio parahaemolyticus are reported in this study. Conclusion: This study identifies several bacteria of public and veterinary importance, highlighting the possibility of increased risk of human infection and risk of cross-transmission between rodents, humans, and animals given the proximity between rodents, humans and animals. While no concrete evidence of rodent-to-human transmission was found, we hypothesize that rodents are a potential infection source, especially in resource-poor areas with close rodent-human contact

Forecasting short-term indoor radon: a machine learning approach using LSTM networks

Indoor radon is a radioactive gas that can accumulate in homes and pose a health risk for humans. Forecasting indoor radon levels may be used as a tool for mitigating human exposure risk, and thus help to effectively manage indoor radon risk. Forecasting based on Machine Learning (ML) techniques involves predicting future levels of indoor radon gas based on past and current data, and thus help identify trends and patterns in the data over time. This work presents preliminary results regarding the implementation and evaluation of two LSTMbased approaches, for indoor radon forecasting, which can then be used as a tool to trigger preventive management procedures for Indoor Air Quality management. Preliminary results have shown that the normalized data using the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) algorithm proved to be the optimal approach for this application case, demonstrating superior accuracy across various forecasting time windows when compared to other approaches evaluated in this work.EC18-399D-CF16 | ANTÓNIO MIGUEL RIBEIRO DOS SANTOS ROSADO DA CRUZN/

Training medical students in human rights: a fifteen-year experience in Geneva

Background: Training health professionals in the field of human rights has long been advocated by the United Nations. Over the past decade some medical schools have introduced health and human rights courses, yet by far not all. This paper describes the objectives and the content of the Health and Human Rights program developed at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva. Methods: The health and human rights program was developed through the identification of the course objectives, contents, and educational modalities using consensus techniques, and through a step by step implementation procedure integrating multiple evaluation processes. Results: Defined objectives included the familiarization with the concepts, instruments and mechanisms of human rights, the links between health and human rights, and the role of health professionals in promoting human rights. The content ultimately adopted focused on the typology of human rights, their mechanisms of protection, their instruments, as well as social inequalities and vulnerable groups of the population. The implementation proceeded through a step by step approach. Evaluation showed high satisfaction of students, good achievement of learning objectives, and some academic and community impact. Conclusions: High interest of students for a human rights course is encouraging. Furthermore, the community projects initiated and implemented by students may contribute to the social responsibility of the academic institution

Extraction and separation of tantalum and niobium from Mozambican tantalite by solvent extraction in the ammonium bifluoride-octanol system

The principal aim of this research was to determine the optimum conditions of extraction and separation of niobium and tantalum with octanol as solvent, from Mozambican tantalite using ammonium bifluoride as an alternative to hydrofluoric acid. The extraction of niobium and tantalum from tantalite can be divided into three activities, viz., acid treatment of the ore to bring the niobium and tantalum values into solution, separation of niobium and tantalum by solvent extraction and preparation of pure niobium pentoxide and tantalum pentoxide by precipitation followed by calcination. An initial solution was prepared by melting a mixture of tantalite and ammonium bifluoride followed by leaching of the soluble component with water and separation of the solution by filtration. The solution filtered was successfully used after adjustment of the acidity for the extraction and separation of niobium and tantalum. After liquid-liquid extraction highly pure niobium pentoxide and tantalum pentoxide were obtained through precipitation with ammonium hydroxide and calcination. Comparative experiments were performed modifying the following variables: decomposition temperature; decomposition time of the digestion of niobium and tantalum; acid concentration of feed solution; solvent agent; and stripping agent. From the experimental results it was determined that the decomposition temperature, decomposition time of the digestion of niobium and tantalum, the acidity of the feed solution, the solvent agent, and stripping agent, all have an important effect on the extraction and separation of tantalum and niobium. The optimal conditions were determined to be: tantalite-to-ammonium bifluoride 1:30; decomposition temperature 250°C; decomposition time 3 hours; and a water leach period of 10 minutes. Under these conditions the leach recovery of niobium and tantalum was about 95.07% and 98.52%, respectively. For nearly complete extraction of tantalum and niobium with 2-octanol, two and three equilibrium stages, respectively, are required. The equilibrium data were obtained at an aqueous-to-organic ratio (A/O) of 1:1 using: 100% 2 octanol; 6 M H2SO4; 10 minutes contact time at room temperature for tantalum; and 100% 2 octanol, 9 M H2SO4, 10 minutes contact time at room temperature for niobium. Different stripping agents were used and water seems to give good result for both. For the nearly complete stripping process four equilibrium stages are required. From the results obtained an optimum stripping efficiency is achieved after 15 minutes for a 1:1 ratio. Niobium and tantalum were then neutralized using 28% ammonium hydroxide. The precipitate obtained was dried and placed in a muffle furnace for 4 hours at 900°C. After calcinations, pure tantalum pentoxide and niobium pentoxide were obtained and characterized using XRD and SEM. Tantalum pentoxide and niobium pentoxide synthesized contain trace impurities such as iron and titanium which can be removed by incorporating an appropriate intermediate treatment.Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2012.Chemical Engineeringunrestricte

Training medical students in human rights: a fifteen-year experience in Geneva

Background: Training health professionals in the field of human rights has long been advocated by the United Nations. Over the past decade some medical schools have introduced health and human rights courses, yet by far not all. This paper describes the objectives and the content of the Health and Human Rights program developed at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva. Methods: The health and human rights program was developed through the identification of the course objectives, contents, and educational modalities using consensus techniques, and through a step by step implementation procedure integrating multiple evaluation processes. Results: Defined objectives included the familiarization with the concepts, instruments and mechanisms of human rights, the links between health and human rights, and the role of health professionals in promoting human rights. The content ultimately adopted focused on the typology of human rights, their mechanisms of protection, their instruments, as well as social inequalities and vulnerable groups of the population. The implementation proceeded through a step by step approach. Evaluation showed high satisfaction of students, good achievement of learning objectives, and some academic and community impact. Conclusions: High interest of students for a human rights course is encouraging. Furthermore, the community projects initiated and implemented by students may contribute to the social responsibility of the academic institution