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New data from WHO/Europe shows links between gender and noncommunicable diseases

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Men and women have different biological and behavioural risk factors for contracting noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), as shown by a new series of WHO reports released today. The reports analyse gender-specific data on NCDs from 8 different countries providing interesting insights on the links between gender and certain NCDs.

The evidence gathered from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan highlights that socially constructed gender norms, roles and behaviours across the WHO European Region have a serious impact on health risks of men and women as different social groups. Those factors tend to change with age and according to social, economic, environmental and cultural influences.

“Behaviours are influenced by gender norms, roles and relations, which affect exposure to risk factors and health and help-seeking behaviours. Our interactions with the health system, including treatment adherence and outcomes, also vary based on gender,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

“This necessary gender-responsive approach is operationalized in the WHO European Programme of Work, our agenda for health 2020–2025, ‘United Action for Better Health’. The agenda mobilizes action to leave no one behind, including by identifying those groups of women and men who are more difficult to reach through effective policies and interventions. I am convinced that the enhanced country focus within the European Programme of Work will mean these findings will be used to accelerate the NCD response, from prevention to care, and support gender-responsive health systems across our region.”

Results of the data analysis are presented in 8 country-specific reports that show how gender is linked to the burden of noncommunicable diseases. NCDs continue to be the main health hazard in the European Region. NCDs like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases account for an estimated 89% of all deaths and 84% of disabilities in the Region.

The data has been gathered through the WHO STEPwise approach to Surveillance (STEPS) NCD risk-factor survey. STEPS is an internationally comparable and standardized surveillance tool that comprises structured household interviews followed by physical and biological measurements – from weight and height to blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels. Using data from STEPS, not only levels of NCD risk factors but also inequalities can be determined.

Different health hazards for men and women

According to the study, significantly higher percentages of men than women in most age groups engage in risk-associated behaviour. This includes tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables, adding salt to meals and frequent consumption of processed foods.

On the other hand, a higher percentage of women in the older age groups are found to have most of the biological risk factors, such as overweight and obesity, and raised blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol. In younger age groups men tend to have higher levels of biological risk factors.

Overall, cardiovascular diseases remain the main contributor to the burden of NCDs for both men and women. Although premature mortality from those conditions was declining for decades, a stagnation or even increase has been observed recently in some countries.

Improved NCD response needed

The reports highlight that social and economic inequality has a significant negative impact on people’s health and it may influence men and women differently. Compared to men and women with a high level of education or income, disadvantaged men and women with lower education or income levels reported less frequently that health-care professionals measured their most common risk factors for NCDs, like blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol. At the same time, the prevalence of biological risk factors is typically higher for men with a high-level of education and women with a low-level of education than for others.

The new WHO findings make an important contribution to achieving international commitments in accelerating action towards reducing the NCD burden and ensuring healthy lives for all, at all ages, leaving no one behind. This is one of the core priorities of the WHO European Programme of Work 2020–2025, which aims to create a region where community-based public health actions and appropriate public policies secure a better life in an economy of well-being.

Italy: over 20% of children are overweight, says new report

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Italian National Institute of Health/Angela Spinelli

New data from more than 50 000 children in Italy shows the percentage of overweight children in the country is 20.4%, with 9.4% of children considered obese and 2.4% severely obese, when using International Obesity Task Force criteria, and even higher if using WHO growth references.

While the data shows some reduction in the prevalence of overweight children in the past few years, slow progress or even regress in some areas highlight the need for intensification of policies in the country.

1 in 4 consumes fruit and vegetables less than once a day

Despite the progress made, Italy is still among the European countries with the highest values of excess weight among school-aged children.

The latest data highlights that almost 1 in 2 children does not have an adequate breakfast in the morning and 1 in 4 consumes fruit and vegetables less than once a day. Legumes are consumed less than once a week by 38% of children, and nearly half of children eat sweet snacks more than 3 days a week. Approximately 1 in 4 children still drink sugary drinks every day, but out of the listed trends, this is the only one that seems to be decreasing.

The indicators referring to physical activity have been mostly stable over the years. According to the latest results, 1 in 5 children did not exercise the day before the interview, more than 70% did not go to school on foot or by bicycle and almost half spend more than 2 hours a day in front of a television, tablet or mobile phone – a trend which the data shows may be increasing.

“These data give us valuable insights into the trends, and highlight the persistent challenges that we are facing,” says Angela Spinelli, Director of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CNaPPS) of the Italian National Institute of Health. “The 2019 data show some improvements, with a further reduction of excess weight in children in our country, but they also indicate that there is still a lot to do in terms of promoting healthy lifestyles among children and young people.”

COSI: close monitoring for informed policies

These findings are based on a sample of more than 50 000 children and as many parents, and are the results of the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) conducted in 2019 by OKkio alla SALUTE, the surveillance system coordinated by CNaPPS, which has recently been designated a WHO collaborating centre on childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity is a major public health problem globally. The WHO European Region is the region most affected by noncommunicable disease-related morbidity and mortality, and an increasing proportion of children and young people in the Region are living with overweight or obesity. COSI monitors the prevalence of overweight and obesity among school-aged children and produces high-quality data in participating countries every 3 years. It also monitors the diet and physical habits of school-aged children, as well as their school and family environments.

Italy was one of the first countries involved with COSI and has participated in 5 data collection rounds held since 2008. The country also has the greatest number of children involved (more than 40 000 for each survey). In the 4th round of COSI data collection (2015–2017), Italy was among the nations with the highest values of overweight in children, together with other southern European countries.

“We know that bold comprehensive approaches, possibly including the use of price policies, marketing restrictions (particularly in the digital sphere), better school food and more physical activity in schools can work,” says Dr João Breda, Head of the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases. “It is important that the data collected by these surveillance systems are the basis for choosing better policies aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles in order to improve people’s health and well-being.”

The national surveillance system shows the extent of overweight and obesity and of associated lifestyles in children, which makes it easier to evaluate of the impact of health and school policies undertaken over the years. The consistent monitoring and collection of data allows the country to evaluate and adjust policies efficiently, but monitoring is not enough, effective policies must be implemented for change to happen.

The full results of the 2019 round of COSI data collection in the country can be accessed in Italian. An English summary of key findings is also available.

Mount Everest is now 8,848.86 metres tall after measurement

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Shyamal Sinha
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Buddhist Times News – Mount Everest is now 8,848.86 metres tall after measurement

By   —  Shyamal Sinha

Mount Everest  Nepali: Sagarmāthā; Tibetan: Chomolungma Chinese:Zhūmùlǎngmǎ  is Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point.  Its elevation (snow height) of 8,848.86 m (29,032 ft) was most recently established in 2020 by the Nepalese and Chinese authorities.

In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society, as recommended by Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India, who chose the name of his predecessor in the post, Sir George Everest, despite Everest’s objections.

Mount Everest attracts many climbers, some of them highly experienced mountaineers. There are two main climbing routes, one approaching the summit from the southeast in Nepal (known as the “standard route”) and the other from the north in Tibet.

In the backdrop of a long-running conflict over Mount Everest’s height, Nepal and China have jointly announced the revised height of the world’s highest peak as 8,848.86 metres €” 86 cm higher than what was recognised since 1954.

The announcement was made via a joint video conference by Nepalese and Chinese officials based in Kathmandu and Beijing respectively.

The Nepal government decided to measure the exact height of the mountain amid debates that there might have been a change in its height due to various reasons, including the devastating earthquake of 2015.

Nepal recalculated the height of Mount Everest at 8,848.86 metres, the country’s foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali announced.

As per The Indian Express, this common declaration by both countries means that the two have shed their long-standing difference in opinion about the mountain’s height €” 29,017 feet (8,844 m) claimed by China and 29,028 ft (8,848 m) by Nepal. In feet, the new elevation is about 29,031 ft, or about 3 ft higher than Nepal’s previous claim.

According to the measurement done in 1954 by Survey of India, the height of Mount Everest is 8,848 metres, which as per The Wire report is the most commonly accepted height.

The exact height of Mount Everest had been contested ever since a group of British surveyors in India declared the height of Peak XV to be 8,778 metres in 1847, according to Business Standard.

Chinese authorities had said previously Mount Everest should be measured to its rock height, while Nepalese authorities argued the snow on top of the summit should be included.

In 2005, China’s measurement of 8,844.43 metres had put the mountain about 3.57 metres lower than Nepal’s (which followed the measurement given by Survey of India).

This is the first time Nepal conducted its own measurement of the summit.

Nepal government officials had told the BBC in 2012 that they were under pressure from China to accept the Chinese height and therefore they had decided to go for a fresh measurement to “set the record straight once and for all”.

The 2015 earthquake triggered a debate among scientists on whether it had affected the height of the mountain.

The government subsequently declared that it would measure the mountain on its own, instead of continuing to follow the Survey of India findings of 1954.

According to The Indian Express, there was also a third estimate. In 1999, a US team put the elevation at 29,035 feet (nearly 8,850 m). This survey was sponsored by the National Geographic Society, US. The Society uses this measurement, while the rest of the world, except China, had accepted 8,848 metres so far.

Tuesday’s announcement came after Kathmandu and Beijing sent an expedition of surveyors to the summit to calculate Everest’s precise height above sea level. Gyawali declared the findings of their surveys on a video call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. “Everest is an eternal symbol of friendship between Nepal and China,” Gyawali said.

Meanwhile, Susheel Dangol, Nepal’s chief survey officer, head of the measurement project, said they were confident that this is the “most accurate height” of Everest, according to The Washington Post. “It was a huge responsibility on our part. It is a moment of great pride for us.”

A team of Chinese surveyors climbed Mt. Everest from the North side, becoming the only climbers to summit the world’s highest peak during the coronavirus pandemic. The team was there to re-measure the height of Mount Everest.

Mount Everest has been host to other winter sports and adventuring besides mountaineering, including snowboarding, skiing, paragliding, and BASE jumping.

Foreign Affairs MEPs welcome North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister | News | European Parliament

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Foreign Affairs MEPs welcome North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister | News | European Parliament

, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20201207IPR93237/

EU supports Ukraine on way to transform coal regions – EU representative

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EU supports Ukraine on way to transform coal regions – EU representative

09:01
09.12.2020

The European Union is ready to help Ukraine in the transformation of coal regions, Minister Counselor of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Torsten Wöllert said.

“The EU is ready to help at this start together with the EU member states Germany, Poland. We will accompany Ukraine in this,” he said during the First German-Ukrainian Energy Day on Tuesday.

“We will try to ensure that the structural changes in coal regions are included in the European green deal. Since such a transformation is an important subject not only for the Ukrainian-German partnership, but also an important component of the ‘green’ course,” Wöllert said.

According to him, within the assistance to Ukraine, the European Commission in the near future, in particular, plans to come up with an initiative to support the coal regions of Ukraine and the Western Balkans, which consisted in the examination of transformation projects.

“The purpose of this is for the region to receive certain expertise and, on its basis, to carry out certain pilot projects,” said the EU representative, adding: “This is a joint initiative of the European Commission, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Polish partners.”

Wöllert believes to see the start of the first transformation projects soon.

As reported with reference to First Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Olha Buslavets, according to the draft concept for the transformation of the coal industry, all unprofitable mines in the country will be closed within ten years. In addition, in the coming years, subsidies to coal enterprises from the budget will be minimized.

I changed my name, religion to get job – Robbery suspect

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I changed my name, religion to get job – Robbery suspect

Enyioha Opara, Minna

The Niger State Police Command said on Tuesday it arrested a suspected armed robber, Abubakar Mohammed, along Suleja-Minna Road, in the Suleja Local Government Area of the state.

The police operatives attached to ‘A’ Division, Suleja, were said to have been on the trail of the 25-year-old suspect from Eminence area, Suleja, before he was apprehended.

One locally-made pistol with two live cartridges and a jackknife were recovered from the suspect.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the suspect bought the pistol from one Chukwuka of Ogbaro village in Anambra State for N10,000, to facilitate his security job in Suleja.

Mohammed denied using the gun to rob.

He said, “I was a bricklayer, but due to economic hardship, people stopped building and I had to find security work to sustain myself and take care of my siblings.

“Originally, my name is Martins Osadebe and I hail from Ogbaro in Anambra State. I have lived in Suleja for years, but my people did not know that I converted to lslam just because I was desperate to get a job.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, said the suspect would be arraigned at the end of investigations.

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European Union Heads of Mission visit Gaza

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European Union Heads of Mission visit Gaza

GAZA/ PNN/

The EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah visited Gaza today and met with representatives of Palestinian civil society and the private sector as well as with international organizations. The group of more than twenty European diplomats visited also the European Hospital in  Rafah and the EU-funded small-scale desalination plant near Deir Al Balah.

This is the first joint visit of EU Heads of Mission to Gaza since 2016. The visit was organized in full respect of the heightened health restrictions of Covid-19 and demonstrates the EU’s support to the people of Gaza who are suffering from Gaza’s closure, intra-Palestinian division, and the severe implications of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the European hospital in Rafah, representatives of the World Health Organization and Palestinian doctors briefed the EU diplomats about the unprecedented challenges the health sector faces as a result of the high Covid-19 infection rate in Gaza.

The diplomats then visited the EU-funded small-scale desalination plant near Deir Al Balah. Representatives of UNICEF and the Palestinian Water Authority informed about the project which will benefit around 250,000 people upon its completion. The diplomats were also briefed about the plans for the Gaza Central Desalination Plant that will provide clean water for the whole population of Gaza, once completed.

The group concluded the visit by meeting representatives of the Palestinian civil society and priva

LARB Books Releases “Animal Quintet: A Southern Memoir” by Colin Dayan

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LARB Books Releases


LARB Books Releases “Animal Quintet: A Southern Memoir” by Colin Dayan – Book Publishing Industry Today – EIN Presswire

























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Making religion a positive force

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SIR: Recently in a very perspective analysis in his column on the back page of Nigerian Tribune, the noted columnist Obadiah Mailafa pointed out that, “Our own Yoruba people, Muslims and Christians live together in the same households. We are not enemies; we our brothers”.

This in the present firmament should not be dismissed as a statement of the obvious. Mailafa obviously felt he had a compelling reason to emphasise this point in this our season of discontent. And sensibly so, for in a republic enfeebled with crisis on numerous fronts, there is every reason to be fearful about adding Lebanon-type religious fault lines into the mix. Such a reality will be combustible.

In spite of the commercialization of religion on all fronts, religion still matters. It is an essential ingredient in the human composition. It always will. From this perspective let us recall a really outstanding dissection of 20th political economy which has become a classic, R.H. Tawney’s “Religion And The Rise Of Capitalism “. Tawney was both unusually a Marxist as well as a practicing Christian. He seminally addressed the question of how religion has affected social and economic practices largely for the good.  The conflict entrepreneurs’ hand-in-glove with the peddlers of Snakeoil solutions as ‘religion’ should therefore not put us off from looking at the positive effect.

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The interior minister, Rauf Aregbesola bears a reflection to Tawney. He is a social democrat who also practices and has a deeply rooted and abiding faith in Islam. Like Tawney, he has demonstrated in practice that the teachings of a faith can and indeed should be a trigger for progressive change. Last week the former governor widely credited with putting social intervention thrusts into the heart of the discourse on political economy was in his element straddling two events in Osun State put together by the Christian and Islamic communities.

At both events he used the opportunity to explain the interwoven relationship linking faith and a progressive thrust for inclusiveness leading to a better society. Conferred with the “Episcopal Ecumenical Award” by the Diocese of Ijesha North Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, the minister conveyed a clear understanding of the social disconnect and the issues of inequities underpinning the recent #EndSARS protests. He portrayed empathy in pointing out that, “The youths must be commended for organising a protest that awakened the nation from its lethargy and arouse our consciousness to the state where we found ourselves. We must commend the government for its prompt action in addressing the demands of the youths. These are a blessing to any society…Today’s youths are a peculiar breed, a generation of the social media and hub of ideas and internet; they appear more intelligent and far more enterprising than the previous generation”.

A Christian Social Democrat would have used the same adaptation of the key underpinning of the Bible to understand and explain the social disconnect which triggered off the crisis and find solutions.

Presented with an award of excellence from Ta’Awunu Islamic Group two days later in Iwo, the minister, while commissioning a symbolic mosque built by the group, again used the bully pulpit to link the testament of faith as derived in the holy book to burning contemporary issues. The former governor urged Nigerians to adhere to the Holy Prophet’s teachings that states that when there is an outbreak of epidemic in a particular place, nobody should go there and the people in the affected place should not also go out until the epidemic subsides. This is a helpful way in which the position should have been presented from the start in a society in which people wear their religion on their sleeves.

There is everything to be said for a Bully Pulpit used as a trajectory to promote positive change.

  • Kanmi Ademiluyi, Osogbo, Osun State.

Scientologists give food and gifts to Needy Families and Kids

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Scientology Volunteer Ministers Reach Out to Needy Families with Food, Supplies and a Holiday Gift for the Kids

Nine months of coping with the coronavirus has taken a toll on marginalized communities. Scientology Volunteer Ministers respond with needed help.

Budapest, December 8, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ — Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Budapest continue to respond to those in need. This time they did so with 1.5 tons of canned goods and other staples, cleaning supplies and fruit for more than 300 children and their families. And with Christmas fast approaching, they also included a selection of special toys.

“The list of people in need is growing,” said one of the Volunteer Ministers as the team set out with their supplies. But despite the recent spike in COVID-19 cases and casualties, she is confident that by understanding and applying prevention protocols, the country will make it through these difficult times.

In addition to providing food and supplies, Volunteer Ministers ensure communities know how to protect themselves from the virus. As soon as the pandemic began, the most effective measures were researched for ensuring the safety of Scientology staff and parishioners, and these were implemented internationally as protocols.

To make this prevention information broadly available, the Church of Scientology created more than a dozen videos and three educational booklets: How to Keep Yourself & Others Well, How to Protect Yourself & Others with a Mask & Gloves and How to Prevent the Spread of Illness with Isolation. These are all available in Hungarian and 20 additional languages on the How to Stay Well Prevention Resource Center on the Scientology website. And Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Hungary distributed thousands of copies of these booklets in their communities to make sure they know how to make it through the pandemic safe and well.

The new home of the Church of Scientology Budapest, which is headquarters for the country’s Volunteer Ministers outreach, was dedicated in 2016 by Mr. David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion. The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.

A Volunteer Minister’s mandate is to be “a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.” Their creed: “A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well.”

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