Médecine tropicale : revue du Corps de santé colonial
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The authors in the special issue devoted to humanitarian action use their own experience, analysis, and thought as a basis for identifying the challenges and stakes facing humanitarian action in the twenty-first century. They present their thoughts on the relevance of humanitarian intervention, on the need to combine emergency aid with development assistance, and on the development of governmental humanitarian action. In today's world there is a compelling obligation for communities with resources and means to undertake humanitarian action in the name of human dignity. ⋯ The need to coordinate action in the field is emphasized. Humanitarian actions are increasingly complex operations carried out in fast-changing situations by numerous players. As a result it has become more and more important that actors in the field know each other in order to work together efficiently and thus better reach their common goal of relieving and preventing human suffering in accordance with ethical principles.
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Epidemiological data from the French National Reference Center for Imported Diseases showed that the estimated number of cases of imported malaria in France increased from 5,940 in 1998 to 7,127 in 1999 and 8,056 in 2000. This three-year progression ended in 2001 when the number of estimated cases fell back to 7,223. It was due mainly to the concomitant increase in the number of people traveling to endemic zones especially in Africa. ⋯ Less than 10% of the 45% of patients claiming use of prophylaxis complied properly. Analysis of the drugs used for curative treatment in 2000 showed an increase in the use of quinine and mefloquine and decrease in the use of halofantrine. The main objectives remain reduction of mortality and improvement of prevention.
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The classic definition of humanitarian action is any operation conducted for the purpose of helping to reduce human suffering. This concept can be expanded to include a notion of prevention. This expanded definition has opened a wide range of applications for humanitarian assistance. ⋯ The purpose of this article is to evaluate the need to make a clear-cut distinction between political and humanitarian objectives and thus between the actors associated with these goals. In this regard, the role of Military Health Corps Services will be presented in function of the principles underlying any humanitarian program. This article will also discuss areas of agreement and cooperation between the ICRC and Military Health Corps Services.
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This article beckons readers to reflect on the extreme acts of violence inflicted on populations when civil warfare degenerates into war against civilians. The authors raise the issue of political, media, and humanitarian choices determining the response of industrial countries to crisis situations in economically challenged countries. They advocate an approach based on the "assist and testify" principle of Médecins Sans Frontières.
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Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value are the standard parameters used to evaluate the efficacy of diagnostic tests. However all three parameters assume the existence of a gold standard test. ⋯ The solution involves assessment of agreement between two raters. This article based on an example drawn from an African setting describes the value and computation of the most widely used tool for assessing agreement and reproducibility of measures, i.e., the kappa coefficient.