Health & Well Being

Photo: A view of the UN General Assembly Hall during the High-level Meeting on HIV/AIDS. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

UN Excludes 22 NGOs But Vows to End AIDS Epidemic by 2030

Analysis by J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Though 22 gay and transgender rights groups were excluded at the behest of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting resolved to put an end to the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

The three-day meeting that concluded at the UN headquarters in New York on June 10 adopted what is being touted as a “progressive, new and actionable Political Declaration” that “includes a set of specific, time-bound targets and actions that must be achieved by 2020 if the world is to get on the Fast-Track and end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals”.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 11 June 2016

Photo: Reclining Buddha and (left) the teacher (in white) with the student (in red). Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne

Famous Buddhist Temple Massages Its Way into Modern Healthcare Industry

By Kalinga Seneviratne*

This article is the seventh in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

BANGKOK (IDN | Lotus News Features) - Wat Po temple in Bangkok is better known for the huge reclining Buddha statue, which attracts millions of tourists each year. Some also quietly walk into the air-conditioned massage clinic inside the monastery premises to try out an “authentic” Thai massage wondering what has the temple and Buddhism got to do with massage.

What is today called Thai Massage is an ancient healing system combining acupressure and energy balancing techniques, based on Indian Ayurvedic medicine, and yoga postures. The founding father of Thai massage is an Indian born Ayurvedic doctor named Jivaka Kumar Bhacca, who lived during the time of the Buddha and is believed to have treated him as well. He is revered to this day throughout Thailand as the Father of Thai Medicine.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 10 June 2016

Global Health Situation Needs Multiple Actions

Analysis by Martin Khor *

GENEVA (IDN | SOUTHNEWS) - The global health situation is facing many critical challenges, and multiple actions must be taken urgently to prevent crises from boiling over. This is the impression one gets from this year’s World Health Assembly held in Geneva on from May 23 to 28.

The WHA is the world’s prime public health event. This year 3,500 delegates from 194 countries took part, including Health Ministers of most countries. The one-week session provided a snapshot of the major medical problems and the actions being taken or proposed to deal with them.

In her opening speech, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan gave an overview of what went right and what is missing on the global health front.

: Martin Khor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 06 June 2016

Image credit: Don Stalons - phil.cdc.gov

Antibiotics Threatening to Become Useless

Viewpoint by Martin Khor *

Antibiotics – also called antibacterials – revolutionized medicine in the 20th century. Their effectiveness and easy access led to overuse, especially in livestock raising, prompting bacteria to develop resistance. This has led to widespread problems with antimicrobial and antibiotic resistance, so much as to prompt the World Health Organization to classify antimicrobial resistance as a "serious threat [that] is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right now in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country". - Editor

GENEVA (IDN | SOUTHNEWS) - Antibiotic resistance – a process by which antibiotics no longer work because bacteria have become resistant to them – has climbed up the global agenda because of growing awareness of the immense threat this poses to human health and survival.

: Martin Khor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 17 May 2016

Brazilian Social Scientist, Polish NGO Bag UN Population Award

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) - A Brazilian social scientist and a Polish organization have bagged the 2016 United Nations Population Award. Established by the UN General Assembly in 1981, the award recognizes outstanding achievement in the fields of population and health.

Dr Carmen Barroso, a Brazilian social scientist has won the award for her long commitment to population causes. The ‘Childbirth in Dignity Foundation’, a Polish organization is being honoured for promoting improved quality of care for Polish mothers and new-borns.

The award is scheduled to be presented at the United Nations on June 23.

Dr Barroso’s contributions to population questions and their solutions had a great impact through her leadership of major organizations, according to documents submitted to the Population Award Committee. In Brazil, she was a pioneer in gender studies while working at the Chagas Foundation and teaching at the University of Sao Paulo.