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RHN News

As a member of the Regions for Health Network, we post current RHN news and newsletters. We focused on three areas: 1) news from the WHO website 2) some links from scientific journals and 3) some links from the media.

From WHO

The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is live!
The Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is pleased to announce that with the ratification of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland the necessary number of Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (the Protocol) has been reached for its enter into force in 90 days.

Spending hours sitting in meetings? Consult WHO’s new guide to planning healthy and sustainable meetings 
The guide touches upon 4 major elements of a healthy and environmentally friendly lifestyle: a healthy diet, physical activity, a tobacco-free environment and sustainable practices. It gives concrete suggestions on how to apply them when planning a meeting to create a culture of health, well-being and sustainability.

From Scientific Journals

The Lancet - Evaluation of a mosaic HIV-1 vaccine in a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1/2a clinical trial (APPROACH) and in rhesus monkeys (NHP 13-19)
The mosaic Ad26/Ad26 plus gp140 HIV-1 vaccine induced comparable and robust immune responses in humans and rhesus monkeys, and it provided significant protection against repetitive heterologous SHIV challenges in rhesus monkeys. This vaccine concept is currently being evaluated in a phase 2b clinical efficacy study in sub-Saharan Africa

BMJ - Predicted lean body mass, fat mass, and all cause and cause specific mortality in men: prospective US cohort study
The shape of the association between BMI and mortality was determined by the relation between two body components (lean body mass and fat mass) and mortality. This finding suggests that the “obesity paradox” controversy may be largely explained by low lean body mass, rather than low fat mass, in the lower range of BMI.

From the Media

The Guardian Long Read -The staggering rise of India’s super-rich
India’s new billionaires have accumulated more money, more quickly, than plutocrats in almost any country in history.

NYT - Trump Stance on Breast-Feeding and Formula Criticized by Medical ExpertsGlobal health experts say breast milk is especially important for babies in poor countries, where unsafe water supplies can make powdered infant formula dangerous.

BBC - HIV vaccine shows promise in human trial
An HIV vaccine that has the potential to protect people around the world from the virus has shown promising results. The treatment, which aims to provide immunity against various strains of the virus, produced an anti-HIV immune system response in tests on 393 people, a study in the Lancet found (you can find it above).

From WHO

5th High Level Meeting of Small Countries Initiative

Between 26-27 June 2018 we organized the 5th High Level Meeting of Small Countries, in Iceland. The focus of the meeting was Climate Change, especially about water. We came back home with many inspiring ideas to continue our commitment to make the network even more strong. Next year the 6th High Level Meeting will be host by San Marino, which is one of the founders of the SCI network, and now also a member of RHN. We are very proud of that fruitful collaboration! As for the RHN annual meeting, we made some videos of the presentations. You can find them (and also the link to the resources mentioned) on our Facebook page.

Climate change increasingly affects small countries
Small countries deal with climate change consequences such as rising sea levels, more frequent and intensive extreme weather events like heatwaves, heavy precipitation, floods or droughts, increasing water scarcity and others. As a result, water resources might become less available, and water and sanitation services that are resilient to climate change need to be built.

From Scientific Journals

The Lancet - a dedicated collection of selected comment, analysis and discussion on gender equity. Register for updates in the lead up to the launch of our #LancetWomen theme issue
"We will publish updates regularly over the months leading up to the special theme issue in 2019. To stay connected to our #LancetWomen initiative, sign up using the form to the right. You will receive our dedicated monthly e-newsletter, which features exclusive commentary from The Lancet’s editorial team."

BMJ - Predicted lean body mass, fat mass, and all cause and cause specific mortality in men: prospective US cohort study
The shape of the association between BMI and mortality was determined by the relation between two body components (lean body mass and fat mass) and mortality. This finding suggests that the “obesity paradox” controversy may be largely explained by low lean body mass, rather than low fat mass, in the lower range of BMI.

From the Media

The Guardian - Minimum wage? It's time to talk about a maximum wage
Conservatives try to laugh off the idea of capping executive pay – but it’s an idea with a distinguished history.

NYT - One County Thrives. The Next One Over Struggles. Economists Take Note
The gap between places doing well and those that aren’t is widening, and that’s a challenge for people trying to shape national policy.

From WHO

Promoting well-being and reducing health inequity through international networks 
The 7th international workshop of the Italian-Brazilian Laboratory, held in Bologna, Italy, on 19–23 February 2018, highlighted the role of international networks in fostering innovation and strengthening public health and welfare systems.

Launch of new WHO webinar series on environment and health tools
On 10 April 2018, the WHO Regional Office for Europe launched a new webinar series on environment and health tools, which was organized jointly by the WHO Regions for Health Network (RHN), the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health and the Environment and Health Process Secretariat.

Creative approach for the prevention of psychoactive substance use in Lithuania

For the first time, five district municipalities in the Health Promoting Kaunas Region, a member of the Regions for Health Network (RHN), joined forces in implementing a health-promoting camp focused on the early prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including the use of psychoactive substances in particular. The camp, entitled “Communication for health”, was organized by the Union of the Lithuanian Health Psychologists (ULHP) and the Mental Health Initiative on 4–8 April 2018 under the patronage of the Health Promoting Kaunas Region Working group.

From Scientific Journals

The Lancet - Alcohol use among young adolescents in low-income and middle-income countries: a population-based study
GSHS data from 57 countries, corresponding to a total of 139 649 young adolescents, were included in this study. The prevalence of the variables varied largely according to country and region. The overall prevalence of having at least one drink during the past 30 days was 25%, and was higher among boys (27·5%) than girls (22·5%), and at age 14–15 years (29·0%) than at age 12–13 years (18·9%).

BMJ - Biases in electronic health record data due to processes within the healthcare system: retrospective observational study
Healthcare processes must be addressed and accounted for in analysis of observational health data. Without careful consideration to context, EHR data are unsuitable for many research questions. However, if explicitly modeled, the same processes that make EHR data complex can be leveraged to gain insight into patients’ state of health.

From the Media

The Guardian - The Guardian view on generational inequality: it’s time for a new deal
Editorial
Housing and health are at the centre of a much-needed holistic approach to a fresh trade-off between young, middle-aged and older Britons

The Guardian  - Mind the gap: a new report aims to square intergenerational injustice
Radical proposals from the Resolution Foundation, including a £10,000 citizen’s inheritance, aim to redistribute wealth.

From WHO

Evidence shows banning asbestos has no negative economic impact
The report emphasizes that, whereas the shift away from asbestos has not had an observable persistent negative economic impact, the continued use of asbestos carries substantial costs related to health, remediation and litigation. For example, the annual global health-care costs associated with the health effects of asbestos are estimated to be US$ 2.4–3.9 billion, excluding the additional costs of pain, suffering and welfare losses. In the United States alone, asbestos litigation costs have been estimated at another US$ 2.3 billion per year.

WHO supports Turkey to ensure full immunization of refugee children
In 2017, the Turkish Ministry of Health with support from WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) carried out a country-wide vaccination campaign to give missing vaccine doses to more than 400 000 refugee and migrant children under 5 years of age.

From Scientific Journals

The Lancet - Serie on Spending on Health
The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) is the most comprehensive worldwide observational epidemiological study to date. It describes mortality and morbidity from major diseases, injuries and risk factors to health at global, national and regional levels. Examining trends from 1990 to the present and making comparisons across populations enables understanding of the changing health challenges facing people across the world in the 21st century.

The Lancet - Claims of sexual harassment and assault threaten UN agency 
Sexual harassment and assault investigation at UNAIDS draws attention to an endemic problem. Critics say the UN’s internal system is awed and call for external oversight. John Zarocostas reports. 

From the Media

The Economist - Germany may be rich, but inequalities are widening
Germany’s economic boom has left many behind

The Guardian - Disabled people struggle to afford food and heating, study says
Charity says quarter of disabled adults have less than £50 a week left after tax and housing costs

From WHO

Bringing health services closer to people in Kyrgyzstan
In Kyrgyzstan, nearly two thirds of the population live in remote rural areas where access to health services, such as regular checkups, can often be a problem. A pilot project initiated by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by the Swiss Red Cross in Kyrgyzstan in 2002 addressed this challenge in rural communities through a new approach.

Denmark hosts the WHO Global Dialogue on Partnerships for Sustainable Financing of Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are responsible for 40 million deaths globally every year1. Tackling NCDs is a global priority, but despite this, investment is still lacking and action is needed to reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target 3.4 of reducing premature deaths from NCDs by one third by 2030. In response, Denmark is co-hosting the WHO Global Dialogue in Copenhagen from 9 to 11 April 2018.

From Scientific Journals

The Lancet - 2018 must be the year for action against NCDs
2018 is a pivotal year for progress towards the defeat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of NCDs, led by WHO's then Assistant Director-General Ala Alwan, was a turning point in the history of global health. For the first time, and often in the face of severe resistance by governments and health-harming industries, nations accepted that chronic diseases were a critical force influencing human development.

The BMJ - Rich journals, poor journals, and why we should mind the gap 
No one could have failed to notice the rise of women in the collective consciousness over the past year: their under-representation at the highest levels in the workplace, their discrimination in terms of pay, and their ongoing subjection to power-related assaults in the form of physical, psychological, and sexual violence and harassment.

From the Media

The Guardian - Richest 1% on target to own two-thirds of all wealth by 2030
Since 2008, the wealth of the richest 1% has been growing at an average of 6% a year – much faster than the 3% growth in wealth of the remaining 99% of the world’s population. Should that continue, the top 1% would hold wealth equating to $305tn (£216.5tn) – up from $140tn today

The Economist - Climate change and inequality
The rich pollute, the poor suffer. Calculating the economic effects of climate change is no simple matter. It means working out how a given increase in global temperature affects local weather conditions; how local weather affects things like mortality and crop yields; how those changes add to or subtract from regional GDP; and how thousands of local-level changes in GDP add up nationally or globally. No sweat.