Public Health

To Embrace Autism Together

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The conference was convened to discuss ways in which the global community can address autism through the SDGs.  As a panelist, H.E. Mr. Momen highlighted the importance of perceiving people with autism as individuals. We must accept their differences, for they are also human and thus have the same essential human rights. He further noted that there can be no talk of health without addressing mental health. Ms. Ban Soon-Taek stated that the equal participation of people with autism is required in order to create the inclusive societies laid out in the 2030 Agenda.

Ms. Wright reminded the assembly that 193 member states have voted to help the nearly 70 million people with autism. Through her organization’s initiative, Light it Up Blue, 147 countries have pledged to light their countries blue in dedication to the rights of people with autism. Starting with the Empire State building, 10 of the world’s tallest buildings would join the initiative and “go blue”. She further acknowledged the accomplishments of the coordinated Autism Speaks and WHO initiative: “Parent Skills Training for Caregivers of Children with Developmental Delays and Disorders”. The program delivers both parents and families with the skills needed for the management of developmental disorders such as autism. The goal is to empower families to take control.

Next, Dr. Nabarro claimed that effective development is one in which all people can participate in as much of life as possible. Thus, the treatment of autism must move beyond simply a health issue and enlist wider societal involvement. Dr. Shore shared his own experience as an autistic child and the ways in which his parents helped in his development and return to school. We must look at what a person with autism can do and move from awareness to acceptance and finally appreciation.

Meeting: “Addressing Autism: Strategies for the Global Community in Relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”

Date/Location: April 1, 2016; 15:00-18:00; Trusteeship Council Chamber

Speakers: H.E. Mr. Masud Bin Momen, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN; H.E. Ms. Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Qatar to the UN; H.E. Mr. Syed Akbaruddin, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of India to the UN; Ms. Ban Soon-Taek, Spouse of the UN Secretary-General; Ms. Suzane Wright, founder of Autism Speaks; Dr. Stephen Shore, Professor at Adelphi University in New York; Dr. David Nabarro; Special Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Written By: WIT Representative Emilie Broek

Edited By: WIT Representative Alex Margolick

Responding to Zika: Prevention is Better Than the Cure

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The Beautiful Risk

Today, H.E. Oh Joon began the briefing with introducing its agenda concerning the need for international cooperation and building preparedness in the face of the public health crisis due to the rise of the Zika virus and cited possible contributing factors to the outbreak, including climate change.  Then, Dr. Menabde and Dr. Espinal spoke of the WHO’s and PAHO’s objective of investigating and responding to microcephaly and other neurological disorders related to the Zika outbreak by enhancing surveillance measures to monitor the spread of the virus, communicating with communities to dispel stereotypes about the virus and encourage safe sex among pregnant women and their partners, and researching the virus’ consequences.  Next, Dr. Kachur mentioned the CDC’s need for forming better monitoring systems for the virus, enhancing laboratory systems, training workforces, and establishing more field offices to further investigate the disease, as well as creating better tests to differentiate symptoms of the Zika virus from other diseases, such as dengue and chikungunya.

Additionally, Dr. Henriques spoke of the evolution of the virus in Brazil since the beginning of 2015 and mentioned that the rise in cases of microcephaly is what alerted health professionals to the possibility of a Zika outbreak.  He also stated that although the government is dealing with many unanswered questions concerning the current scientifically unproven link between microcephaly and the Zika virus and the future consequences of the disease, Brazil’s Ministry of Health’s main priority is to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito carrying the virus and support women and children.  Finally, Mr. Wahba cited that there are 503 cases of the Zika virus in Haiti and that development, human rights issues and underfunding are impediments to helping achieve progress in this matter within the country.

Meeting: Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) 2016 Session: Briefing on the Zika Virus

Date/Time/Location: Tuesday, February 16, 2016; 15:00-17:00; Economic and Social Council Chamber

Speakers: His Excellency Ambassador Oh Joon, President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) from the Republic of Korea; Dr. Natela Menabde, Executive Director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Office at the United Nations (UN) in New York City; Dr. Marcos Espinal, Director of the Department of Communicable Diseases and Health Analysis at the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO); Dr. Patrick Kachur, Principal Deputy Director of the Center for Global Health at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Dr. Cláudio Maierovitch Pessanha Henriques, Director of the Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance at the Ministry of Health in Brazil; Mr. Mourad Wahba, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations (UN) Stabilization Mission in Haiti and the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator, and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Port-au-Prince

Written By: WIT Representative Shubhangi Shukla

Edited By: WIT Representative Alex Margolick

Photo Credit: BBC News

Recognizing The Common Ground Between Drugs and Public Health

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Zuma visits Eldorado Park over drugs safety 2 [gcis]

As the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the World Drug Problem in April 2016 approaches, the reevaluation of metrics to best evaluate drug policy have become a concern. Thus the panel discussion, co-organized by the United Nations University (UNU) and the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP), focused on what indicators will be utilized in the process of measuring the impact of illicit drugs.

Dr. Dan Werb opened the meeting by introducing the ICSDP’s open letter, “A Call for a Reprioritization of Metrics to Evaluate Illicit Drug Policy.” Werb highlighted four main categories for indicators presented in this letter; Health, Peace & Security, Development, and Human Rights. He reasoned that these four categories are needed in order to prioritize the impact of illicit drug usage above the quantitative value or amount. Dr. Daliah Heller shared this sentiment. She suggested that the UN conduct public health surveillance that monitors drug-related injury, illness, disease, and death whilst setting health intervention benchmarks. She concluded that although criminal justice has dominated drug policy for the past five decades, equity must become the primary lens through which drug policy is examined.

Following, Dr. Kanna Hayashi presented her research and shared how People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) account for 30% of new HIV cases outside of sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of which are located in Asia. She reasoned that this could be combatted by adhering to evidence based standards, as well as ensuring service coverage and accessibility to Methadone therapy. Ms. Genevieve Sanders explained that, “human rights have been one of the great omissions from the evaluation of drug policy.” She explained that the OHCHR Guide can be adapted for drug policy in order to incorporate human rights indicators. The meeting concluded with the panel answering questions from the audience.

Meeting: Identifying common grounds for the special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem to be held in 2016 (UNGASS 2016): Rethinking metrics to evaluate drug policy

Date/Location: Thursday, January 21st, 2016; 13:15-14:45; Conference Room 7, UN Headquarters, New York, New York

Speakers: Dr. Dan Werb, Director, International Centre for Science in Drug Policy; Dr. Kanna Hayashi, Research Scientist, British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS; Dr. Daliah Heller, Clinical Professor, CUNY School of Public Health; Ms. Genevieve Sander, Human Rights Research Analyst, Harm Reduction International

Written By: WIT Representative Yume Murphy

Edited By: WIT Representative Alex Margolick

Photo Credit: GCIS via Flickr

The Emotional Impact of an AIDS Diagnosis

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Countries with The Highest HIV AIDS Prevalence Rates

 

Following a brief introduction, the documentary “It’s Not Over” was screened. It followed three people – Sarang, Paige, and Lucky – and their experiences surrounding HIV/AIDS to illustrate the human stories behind the disease.

South Africa has more people with HIV than any other country in the world. Locals estimate that 80% of the Khayelitsha population has HIV, and that 1 in 3 adults use drugs there. This drug use can make the body weaker and more susceptible to HIV. A lot of women contract HIV from rape, which is a constant there. Lucky’s friend Sisi says that as a woman living in South Africa, “anything can happen at anytime.”

Some interesting statistics from the film: If on a full effective HIV treatment regimen, HIV patients can lower the chance of spreading the disease by 96%. Out of 400,000 sex workers in Mumbai, up to 75% are thought to have HIV.  2.3 million people are infected with HIV per year.

After the screening, the four speakers answered questions from the audience. Ms. Flynn noted that half of the new infections occurring were in people under 24. Ms. Rawl wants people to learn the basic facts about the disease and understand that having it doesn’t define a person. “It’s not the health aspect of being HIV positive that’s hard…it’s the stigma.”  She is still encountering students in schools whose sexual health classes aren’t teaching them that saliva is not one of the bodily fluids that transmits the disease. To the people who aren’t sure of how to open up about it to those around them, she suggests opening with a general comment about HIV and seeing the reaction in the room. If those people don’t know about HIV, then educate them first and then tell them.

Meeting: Panel discussion on and screening of the documentary entitled “It’s Not Over” (in observance of World AIDS Day (1 December) (co-organized by the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands, the United States Mission, MAC AIDS Fund and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS))

Date/Location: Monday, November 30, 2015; 16:00-18:15, Conference Room 4

Speakers: Andrea Flynn – Moderator, MAC AIDS Fund; Paige Rawl – Author, “Positive”, Subject, “It’s Not Over”; Lotte Dijkstra – Dutch Youth Ambassador for Sexual Reproductive Rights and HIV/AIDS; Andrew Jenks – Director, “It’s Not Over”

Written By: WIT Representative Alex Margolick