Global public health
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The internally displaced persons (IDPs) during the July 2006 war in Lebanon exhibited a high level of community resilience, affirmed by relief agencies and public health professionals. Data from personal observations, interviews, meetings and published material were used to examine factors contributing to this resilience. ⋯ The sense of a collective identity, prior experience with wars and social support networks have contributed to building up IDP's resilience over time, while community cohesiveness, adequate public health interventions, social solidarity and a connected political leadership helped to sustain it during and shortly after the war. This paper examines implications for public health professionals and argues for a paradigm shift in disaster relief practice.
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Global public health · Jan 2011
Historical ArticleMental health, social distress and political oppression: the case of the occupied Palestinian territory.
This paper presents a brief history of Palestinian mental health care, a discussion of the current status of mental health and health services in the occupied Palestinian territory, and a critique of the biomedical Western-led discourse as it relates to the mental health needs of Palestinians. Medicalising distress and providing psychological therapies for Palestinians offer little in the way of alleviating the underlying causes of ongoing collective trauma. ⋯ Recognising social suffering as a public mental health issue requires a shift in the emphasis from narrow medical indicators, injury and illness to the lack of human security and human rights violations experienced by ordinary Palestinians. Such a change in perspective requires a parallel change in mental health policies from short-term emergency humanitarian aid to the development of a sustainable system of public mental health services, in combination with advocacy for human rights and the restoration of political, historical and moral justice.
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Global public health · Jan 2011
Vietnam moves forward with harm reduction: an assessment of progress.
Historically, the response of the Vietnamese government to illicit drug use and HIV has been slow and ineffective. However, 2006 saw the government formally endorse harm reduction interventions. This paper examines the views of senior key informants inside Vietnam on the development of an advocacy strategy for harm reduction. ⋯ There is currently a government-led shift in Vietnam in the response to the prevailing HIV epidemic among drug users, but ensuring that the HIV Law can operate unhindered is critical. The implementation of a response to illicit drug use and HIV remains an enormous challenge. With appropriate technical education and training, ongoing advocacy, and a cohesive, coordinated multi-sectoral effort, the capacity of the government and community to adopt, support and promote measures to reduce HIV and other drug-related harms will be markedly strengthened.
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Global public health · Jan 2011
UN resolution on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases: an opportunity for global action.
In May 2010, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that called for high-level meetings to address the global burden of NCDs. This paper highlights the growing global burden of NCDs (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and diabetes), provides a brief historical background on the adoption of the UN NCDs resolution and argues that the resolution provides a remarkable new opportunity for improved international collaboration to address NCDs. Additionally, the paper argues that while the existing World Health Organisation programme on NCDs be continued and expanded, the UN can provide the expanded political leadership that is necessary for multi-sectoral collaboration and can serve as a respected forum for dealing with the issue across numerous key UN agencies.
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Global public health · Jan 2011
Human rights violations during Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip: 27 December 2008 to 19 January 2009.
The Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip from 27 December 2008 to 19 January 2009 was characterised by gross, unprecedented human rights violations, which were the result of a deliberate political decision to overlook the loss of civilian lives in order to save those of Israeli soldiers. These violations included attacking medical personnel and civilians, impeding emergency medical evacuations, restricting health care for the civilian population, preventing referral to care outside the Gaza Strip and jeopardising distribution of medical supplies and food. ⋯ It will emphasise how the Palestinian medical system has been stretched to its breaking point, severely and negatively affecting the provision of medical services; the consequences of denying patients referral to care outside the Gaza Strip; and other severe violations of human rights. It will conclude by reiterating that only the withdrawal of Israeli occupation from Palestinian land can guarantee the right to health of Palestinians.