A demonstration project conducted in Bulgaria has shown that more people get tested for HIV when self-testing is available. In situations where testing is based in health-care institutions, it can be a challenge to encourage some people to come forward. Community-based testing is a good way to overcome those barriers, but it can be labour intensive. Self-testing can work out less expensive, and a demonstration project conducted last year clearly shows the role it can play. The findings are especially relevant to health authorities working hard to maintain essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Testing for HIV is a critical public health intervention because it is the first step towards treatment and care. With current antiretroviral treatment, people who test positive can expect to live a healthy life with HIV without passing it on to anyone else.
The population groups in Bulgaria who are most vulnerable to HIV infection include gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people. Despite progress in recent years, many MSM and transgender people in Bulgaria are not aware of their HIV status and are reluctant to seek testing at health institutions because of the associated stigma.
The pilot project was conducted by local nongovernmental organization (NGO) the Single Step Foundation. Momchil Baev, Sexual Health and HIV Manager for the organization, explained more: “We offered MSM and trans people the opportunity to test for HIV completely for free, confidentially, in the comfort of their home, without having to visit a health centre or meet anyone. We used an approved oral test method, which detects antibodies to the HIV virus in saliva. It is easy, convenient and reliable. A swab is rubbed along the gums, then immersed into a reaction solution, and the result is available after 20 minutes”.
Over the course of the campaign, the NGO sent out 900 free HIV self-testing kits to 120 locations, in all 28 districts of the country. The campaign was promoted on social media under #endHIVbg and benefited from Single Step Foundation’s partnership with Grindr, one of the world’s largest social networking apps for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Single Step placed full-screen notifications that would appear when users opened the Grindr app, as well as direct inbox messages within the app to all Grindr users in the country. Users were then prompted to order an HIV home test online by clicking through to the Single Step website, where they could fill out a questionnaire and order a test kit. Tests were delivered by post free of charge. Almost 60% of those who filled in the questionnaire ordered the test.
Concerns about how support would be provided to someone who tested positive were answered by setting up a dedicated support phone line, staffed by a sexual health and HIV manager. Twelve positive results were reported to the phone line and callers were given a follow-up test at a medical testing centre to confirm the result. All the people affected received treatment and now have an undetectable viral load.
“For some of the guys with a positive result, it was rather difficult to cope with the sad news,” explained Momchil. “Some were from rural areas with very limited access to quality information, community services or medical care. That took an extra effort on my side, providing support and guidance until they were able to access treatment and start dealing with the diagnosis. It’s an every-day battle to ensure access and dignity for all, no matter how rural their environment.”
Valuable behavioural insights
Questionnaires before and after testing have provided valuable insights into the service and how it has been received. More than 1500 MSM and trans people from 164 towns and villages responded and many did not know their HIV status. The project revealed an important difference between the capital and provincial areas – 68% of MSM and trans individuals living in smaller cities were not aware of their HIV status, suggesting that HIV testing options are not as accessible outside the capital. HIV self-testing can bridge that gap. The demonstration project also showed that 68% of those unaware of their status never or rarely use a condom, one third of all respondents (31%) had never been tested for HIV, and 71% prefer home HIV testing over traditional methods.
“This demonstration project has shown that there is strong demand in the community for HIV self-testing in Bulgaria,” said Dr Masoud Dara, Coordinator for Communicable Diseases at WHO/Europe. “It also shows how self-testing can help expand testing services to reduce inequalities between rural and urban areas. Since 2016, WHO has recommended that HIV self-testing should be offered as an additional approach to traditional HIV testing services. However, not all countries in the WHO European Region have taken full advantage of the possibility. Now, as we are working hard to maintain essential health services in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, HIV self-testing has an extra relevance and I hope countries that have not yet implemented it will reconsider introducing and/or scaling it up.”
The Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent the diverse voices of youth from every region of the world, and are collectively responsible for activating millions of young people in support of the SDGs.
According to Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, amid unprecedented times, the 2020 Class are a “clear example” of how the youth are leading the way in shaping a more sustainable and inclusive future for all.
”Despite being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, young people around the world continue to demonstrate immense resilience, resourcefulness and leadership in finding innovative solutions to recover better and achieve the SDGs”, she said.
The group of 17 will come together as a community to support efforts to engage young people in the realization of the SDGs both through strategic opportunities with the UN and through their existing initiatives, platforms and networks, according to the Youth Envoy’s office.
The 17 are announced every two years by the Envoy.
The 2020 Class
Aged between 18 and 29, they hail from across the globe – coming from Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Ireland, Liberia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Senegal, Turkey, Uganda, and the United States.
One of the Young Leaders, Siena Castellon, 18 from Ireland, is an autism and neurodiversity advocate. She said that the platform will enable her to raise awareness of neurodiversity and the importance of recognizing, supporting and harnessing the overlooked strengths and talents of people who think differently and perceive the world differently.
Similarly, for 24-year-old Lester Philipp Vargas Angeles, from Peru, the Young Leaders is an opportunity to help millions of students learn more and faster with the support of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled virtual learning and help re-invent schools, universities and institutions.
More information on the seventeen 2020 Young Leaders, including their profiles and commitments is available here.
Do you need to fast or not on the Monday following Rosh Hashana (September 21)? Like everything else in the Jewish world, it depends on who you are. We have had three Rabbinic fasts since the Pandemic has started (Fast of Esther (Ta’anit Esther), Seventeenth of Tammuz (Shiva Asar B’ Tammuz) and Tisha B’Av This will be the fourth one, so we have had some guidance before.
Only a Jew has to keep 613 mitzvahs, a Gentile does not, just the Noahide laws. A woman keeps fewer stringencies than a man about many religious practices as she is not obligated in many (some she is) time-bound mitzvah, and a Slave (though we don’t have anymore) even less.
Now we have a new fourth class of people. Those over 60 years old. The Pandemic distinguishes between those under 60 and those over.
Judaism is the world’s oldest monotheistic religion, dating back nearly 4,000 years. Followers of Judaism believe in one God who revealed himself through ancient prophets. The history of Judaism is essential to understanding the Jewish faith, which has a rich heritage of law, culture and tradition.
Over the 4000 years, we have had many times questions about whether a fast is canceled or not either for medical conditions or over the safety of the Jewish People as other nations like to threaten us with either loss of our lives or property.
Judaism believes in the principle that life comes first in most instances (not all as there are three primary exceptions–violating beliefs in Idolatry, Harming others, or sexual immorality may supersede life).
So when life is at stake, the fast may have to go. The fast of Tzom Gedaliah is a Rabbinic Fast, not a Torah Fast, (Only Yom Kippur is a Torah fast), so since it was created by the Rabbis, the Rabbis have the right to make the rules about who has to keep it.
Rabbis and doctors have always considered the weighty issue of fasting.
Whether an elderly person or sick person should eat or drink on Yom Kippur or the lesser fasts, depends on whether he is healthy or fragile.
Although religion should promote good health, sometimes the two can clash. In such cases – for example, religious fasts – Rabbis and Doctors should intervene to ensure that patients are not harmed.
“The fast was initiated by the G-d (or in the case of Tzom Gedaliah the Rabbis), “but it is meant for healthy adults, not for the sick or for children or pregnant or lactating women. If you can’t fast for health reasons, it’s just as good to give charity instead.”
One well known Orthodox Rabbi, RABBI YOSEF Zvi Rimon, the rabbi of JCT (The Jerusalem College of Technology, an Orthodox Jewish educational institution in the Givat Mordechai neighborhood of Jerusalem) and head of its Beit Midrash, noted that “medicine develops all the time. Doctors may have said something 20 years ago, and rabbis gave halachic rulings on the basis of that, but maybe the information is obsolete. The principles of Jewish law are the same, but conclusions may be wrong because doctors made statements based on medical evidence and research at the time.
One has to go deeper.” The rabbi produced a pamphlet with guidelines for patients on Yom Kippur fasting.“It there is doubt, one must consult with a rabbi. If it is impossible and there is a real doubt [about whether the fast will cause harm], one should not fast and not endanger life, even if there is no immediate danger but only one that is distant. A patient must not risk his or her health and fast in contravention of doctor’s orders.”
We are in such a time, with the Pandemic. There has always been a way to avoid the issue of fasting in the past, for those who are sick, by a technique called “sherim” Eating or drinking a small amount over a period of time is not defined by the Rabbis as eating or drinking. A sick person, who, in the doctor’s opinion, fasting for a few hours will cause him to require eating regularly, later on, should begin eating “shiurim” from the beginning of the fast. Now we move to the question of eating regularly or via an IV. The prohibition to eat on Yom Kippur or the other Rabbinic fasts is only when the food intake is via the mouth and throat. Nutrition introduced intravenously or via a nasogastric tube etc. is, strictly speaking, also not prohibited. Nevertheless, a healthy person should not use this technique to avoid fasting. Having said this, a sick person who does need to eat on Yom Kippur is not required to receive his food via an IV in order to negate the necessity to eat regularly; rather he may eat in a normal fashion. There are opinions that state that a sick person, who is not currently in danger and is eating only to prevent potential danger, should begin receiving nutrition via an IV from before the onset of Yom Kippur, thereby not introducing something new on Yom Kippur.
“Shiurim” as we said above is to drink small amounts of water every nine (or even six) minutes. The permitted amount of water is easy to measure. Fill your mouth with as much water as you can and then spit it out into a cup. Half of that amount can be drunk every nine minutes by chronic patients who need to hydrate themselves. The average amount is 38 milliliters and should be less than 44 milliliters. Similarly for food. This is not called eating or drinking.
A sick person is also allowed to take a shower on Yom Kippur to refresh himself (it is forbidden to healthy people).
It is preferable to stay home, pray and fast, if permitted by a doctor or rabbi, rather than go to synagogue and forgo the fast. Pregnant and lactating women who are healthy usually are bound to fast (unless the new mother cannot produce enough milk for the baby), but pregnant women should consult with authorities on whether going without food and drink would harm them or the fetus. Chronically ill patients who must take pills during the fast are advised to take them without water, but if this is impossible, they should do so in a different way, such as adding a bit of salt or something bitter, the rabbi suggested.
DR. EPHRAIM Jaul, director of complex geriatric nursing at Jerusalem’s Herzog Hospital, said that ironically, there were many recommendations for vaccination for babies and children up to the age of 18, but only one recommended vaccination (against pneumonia) for those over 65.
“Old age is the most heterogeneous condition, but it is treated as homogeneous.” He urged pensioners to walk fast to improve their heart, brain, and gastrointestinal systems, as well as to do mental exercises.
Before this Pandemic, calling a person “old” should not be determined by his chronological age but more exactly by his biological age, said Prof. Tzvi Dwolatzky, an expert in geriatrics and internal medicine at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center. “It used to be that kidney-failure patients were not sent to dialysis after the age of 75. Today, one can be 85 or more and still undergo it. The decision is made according to the biological age of the patient,” he said, showing a photo of an 89-year-old woman who piloted a plane, and of Jeanne Louise Calment, a French woman who lived to the age of 122 and of a Holocaust survivor and Israeli named Yisrael Kristal, who died recently at the age of 113.
Before this Pandemic or on Yom Kippur where there are different rules than for Tzom Gedolia, whether an elderly person should eat or drink on Yom Kippur, said Dwolatzky, depends on whether he is healthy or fragile (living at the edge of his abilities and could fall at a slow walking speed). “From my experience, most old people fast better than young people.
”DEHYDRATION FROM fasting is a significant risk in elderly patients, noted Dr. Ephraim Rimon of the Hartzfeld Geriatric Hospital in Gedera, who happens to be the older brother of Rabbi Rimon.
“One should drink three liters of water during the 24 hours before a fast, but it’s hard for the elderly to drink so much. If a patient is dehydrated, the risk of a heart attack or stroke is higher. An elderly person who wants to fast and drink at intervals may forget to drink water and then harm himself.
”He told the story of Rabbi Chaim Sonnenfeld of the Eda Haredit who learned of a blind woman who was fasting and endangered her health. “He came to her and blew the shofar during the fast and told her it was night and the fast was all over.
But every case is different.”Dr. Rabbi Mordechai Halperin, head of Jerusalem’s Schlesinger Institute for Medical-Halachic Research, added that a patient with irregular heartbeats can even die if he fasts.
“If we make an error in our guidelines, we are spilling blood. If a person is sick and at risk, he doesn’t need to drink at intervals. He should eat. If based on medical evidence, a person could be harmed by the fast, he must eat.
”THE ONLY part of the body that needs carbohydrates is the brain, said Prof. David Zangen, a senior endocrinologist at Hadassah University Medical Center.“When you haven’t eaten for hours and the blood sugar level is low, the liver will release sugar from the liver to reach the brain rather than to remain in storage.
If there isn’t enough, a patient can fall and be seriously hurt.”Working with observant adolescents with type-1 diabetes, Zangen asked if they intended to fast on Yom Kippur. Thirty-nine of 190 said they would fast no matter what the doctor said.
“They want to be like all the others, but it could be dangerous. Those who nevertheless insist on fasting are advised to check their blood sugar every 2.5 hours and to start eating if they have nausea, vomiting, or hyperglycemia. A diabetic should always consult their personal physician, as he or she knows the medical condition well.”
Now let us turn to the current issue, not just of health, but of an epidemic condition. During the Holocaust, for the sake of life, one ate or drank, and there was no dispute, but we turn to an epidemic many years before the Holocaust for guidance as that is more similar to the current time.
So to answer the question, about keeping the fast we turn to history. The Place we start is a famous story about the most serious Torah Fast, Yom Kippur. If that fast can be put off, because it is the Torah fast, then certainly a less serious Rabbic fast can be put off, as part of the Rabbi’s job is to make that decision of who must fast, with the help of Doctors.
Following Shacharit on Yom Kippur of 5610, in September 1849, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, the famous and pious Vilna rabbi -founder of the Mussar Movement, dedicated to injecting the pursuit of ethical excellence into traditional Jewish observance, ascended to the bimah of the Vilna synagogue.
He explained to the congregation that because of the raging cholera epidemic in Vilna,
they must not spend the day gathered together in the synagogue, but should leave the building and walk outside -fresh air was believed to prevent the spread of the disease. Furthermore, he said, it was imperative that everyone maintains their strength so that they would not fall, victim,
to disease. And so, on that Yom Kippur, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter explained, everyone should break their fast, eat and drink so that they could protect their health and survive the disease. And his whole point was to break the fast not in the permitted way of “sherim” but literally to eat and drink, because he was afraid people might take the restrictions of “sherim” to literally and endanger themselves.
It was for this reason, even on Yom Kippur, which is not a rabbinic fast but a biblical one, Rabbi Salanter CANCELED YOM KIPPUR FAST.
Cholera is a horrific disease. It is painful, terrifying, and deadly. The Hebrew word for cholera- רעחולי sounds similar to “cholera” but more literally can be translated as “evil disease. ”Over the course of the 19thcentury, modern medical science learned how to prevent the spread of cholera, and also how to effectively treat cholera. However, in 1849, in Eastern Europe, nobody knew how the disease spread and there were no effective treatments.
Rabbi Yisrael Salanter was one of the most famed rabbis of Vilna. He threw himself into the fight against the disease. He volunteered to care for the sick, and was instrumental in organizing the Jewish community to take care of the sick and to watch over orphans left behind in the wake of the disease
Today during our current epidemic, Doctors and Rabbis have stated that anyone over 60 is at great risk from this new flu (younger people don’t seem to be as affected). It is not much of a stretch than using common sense, that even if you are in good health, anyone over 60 should not fast, and of course, if you are not in good health, no matter what your age you should not fast.
It will be very strange for people who are in jeopardy (and the medical experts say that anyone over 60 is at much higher risk as well as younger people with pre-existing conditions) to skip the fast of Tzom Gedila this year, but they must to protect their health. Someone can be machmir (strict) on something that doesn’t affect their health, like reading more Tehillim or doing more prayers, but if they put themselves at risk by reducing their resistance, they are breaking the Torah not keeping it.
Either go to the synagogue or not (some are afraid of the potential virus in crowds), but as my Grandfather who lived to a ripe old age used to tell me, Stay home, take a bath, save money and be healthy!
English Africa Service – Vatican City & Anastácio Sasembele – Luanda
The extensive Diocese of Lwena needs at least 200 priests to meet the current demand for pastoral life in this ecclesiastical circumscription, belonging to the Ecclesiastical Province of Saurimo.
With a surface area of 223,000 km², the Diocese of Lwena is located in Eastern Angola. It covers the entire Province of Moxico. The population of the diocesan territory is composed of numerous ethnic groups though the majority are the Tchokwe speaking people.
To mitigate the shortage of priests, Bishop Blanco is urging parish communities to seriously make the promotion of vocations to the priesthood a priority.
“Our Diocese of Lwena, due to the number of inhabitants, and considering the difficulties of a large territory, would need at least 200 priests for her to be able to evangelize effectively,” explained the prelate.
Training the laity
Considering the size of one of Southern Africa’s biggest dioceses, Lwena has been training the laity for pastoral responsibilities which can be performed by them.
“We need a sufficiently trained laity, committed to their faith and each according to the gift he or she received from the Holy Spirit at Baptism,” added Bishop Blanco.
Very habitable territory but with poor road network
Bishop Blanco has always explained that the Diocese of Lwena which is in the Province of Moxico is very fertile territory and therefore attractive for habitation.
“The province is endowed with many rivers and forests, and therefore it is very habitable -practically the entire territory. Unfortunately, the region is serviced by a very poor road network, making it difficult to reach far flung communities for pastoral work and evangelization,” said the Bishop.
Realistic expectations
First established as a Diocese in 1963, the Diocese of Lwena has a total Catholic population of 118,600. The entire Diocese is served by less than 40 diocesan and religious clergy. The Bishop has since called for realistic expectations of what the Church can and should do given the challenges.
Pope to Christian journalists: ‘be bearers of hope’ – Vatican News
Amid the confusion of voices and messages that surround us, a Christian journalist is called to be a new witness to the truth, thus becoming a bearer of hope and confidence in the future.
By Robin Gomes
This was the message at the heart of Pope Francis’ address to some 30 representatives of “Tertio”, a Belgian weekly magazine that analyses current events and interprets them from a Christian, and more specifically Catholic, perspective. Established in 2000, the magazine takes its name from the 1994 Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente of Saint Pope John Paul II, in preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
Pope Francis recalled his predecessor who said communicators are “called to interpret the present time and identify ways for communicating the Gospel according to the language and sensibility of the contemporary human person”.
The magazine’s name, Pope Francis said, is not only a call to hope, but also aims to make theChurch’s voice and that of Christian intellectuals heard in an increasingly secularized media scenario, in order to enrich it with constructive reflections. By seeking a positive vision of people and facts, and by rejecting prejudices, he said, Christian journalists foster a culture of encounter through which it is possible to see reality with a confident gaze.
Gossip
Pope Francis drew attention to the noteworthy contribution of the Christian media to the growth of a new way of life in Christian communities, free from all forms of preconception and exclusion. In this regard, he denounced gossip or calumny, saying it closes the heart of the community and disrupts the unity of the Church. The devil, the “great gossiper”, he said, goes about speaking evil about others, because he is the liar who tries to prevent the Church from being a community.
All part of a living fabric
Reminding the representatives of “Tertio” of the “high professional conscience” of a Christian Journalist, the Pope said they are called to offer a new witness in the world of communication without concealing the truth or manipulating information. Amid the confusion of voices and messages that surround us, what is needed is a human narrative that speaks to us about us and the beauty that dwells in us.
As protagonists of this “narration”, journalists are called to look at the world and events with tenderness, that all are part of a living fabric in which we are all interconnected.
Hope in future
Hence, the Christian information professional must be a bearer of hope and confidence in the future, so that the present becomes liveable. This is particularly needed in the current pandemic, where Christian journalists are called to be the “sowers of this hope in a better tomorrow”. In this context, the Pope said, the media can help to ensure that people do not become ill with loneliness and can receive a word of comfort.
CNA Staff, Sep 18, 2020 / 03:30 am MT (CNA).- Poland’s bishops have intervened in a debate over whether their country should withdraw from a European treaty on preventing violence against women.
In a statement issued Sept. 17, the bishops reiterated their opposition to the Istanbul Convention, an initiative seeking to create a pan-European legal framework to protect women against violence, on the grounds that it “introduces elements of gender ideology.”
“We welcome the emergence of a social legislative initiative to terminate the Istanbul Convention and replace it with the International Convention on the Rights of the Family, and we encourage support for this action,” they said, according to an English translation provided by the Polish Bishops’ Conference.
The “Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence” was launched in 2011 by the Council of Europe, a human rights organization founded in 1949 with 47 member states.
President Bronisław Komorowski, associated with the Civic Platform party, ratified the convention on behalf of Poland in 2015. But in July this year Poland’s Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said that he would seek to withdraw from the treaty, prompting demonstrations in the capital, Warsaw.
Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, a member of the Law and Justice party, announced that he had asked the country’s Constitutional Tribunal to declare whether the Istanbul Convention is compatible with the Constitution of Poland.
In their statement, the bishops noted that the bishops of Central Europe had reached a consensus on rejecting the convention in 2018.
They said: “The Istanbul Convention quite rightly seeks to combat discrimination based on sex, that is, biological differences between a woman and a man. However, alongside that, the Convention introduces elements of gender ideology, referring to the need to combat various types of discrimination related to gender.”
“The concept of gender that appears many times in this document — translated into Polish as ‘socio-cultural gender’ — means, according to the Convention, ‘the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men.’”
The bishops continued: “Moreover, the Istanbul Convention also states that one of the causes of violence against women and domestic violence is religion and tradition.”
“Therefore, the Convention calls on the host to ‘take the necessary measures to promote changes in the social and cultural patterns of behavior of women and men with a view to eradicating prejudices, customs, traditions and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority of women or on stereotyped roles for women and men,’ and to introduce ‘teaching material on issues such as equality between women and men, non‐stereotyped gender roles […] in formal curricula and at all levels of education.’”
The bishops said that marriage — defined as “a permanent relationship between a woman and a man, and their complementary roles of motherhood and fatherhood” — was not a cultural stereotype. Rather, it was “the foundation of human life and society, in accordance with the will of the Creator himself.”
The statement was signed by the Presidium of the Polish Bishop’s Conference, which consists of bishops’ conference chairman Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki of Poznań, deputy chairman Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski of Kraków, and secretary general Bishop Artur G. Miziński, an auxiliary bishop of Lublin.
Addressing Poles, the bishops said: “We also support, and we encourage you to support, any changes in Polish criminal law aimed at the greater protection and security of family life.”
“We would like to remind you that the main sources of crises in family life, which sometimes become pathological and lead to violence, are: alcoholism, drug addiction, and other addictions, as well as pornography of mass culture and the related objectification of women and dehumanization of sex life.”
FILE PHOTO: German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier speaks during a news conference on climate and economic policy in Berlin, Germany September 11, 2020. Odd Andersen/Pool via REUTERS
BERLIN (Reuters) – The European Union must diversify its trade relations, become less dependent on Asian suppliers in certain areas such as medical precursors, and develop its own value chains within the 27-member bloc, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told Reuters.
“The coronavirus pandemic has taught us that Europe must stick together and diversify its trade relations,” Altmaier said in remarks cleared for publication on Friday.
“That means that there must be no spanner in the works of the EU’s internal market and that we have to ensure more resilient supply chains, the development of value chains within the EU, and more legal certainty in international trade.”
As Germany currently holds the presidency of the European Union, Altmaier will host a meeting of fellow EU ministers responsible for trade on Monday, with a special focus on global supply chains and the future of the European steel industry.
Altmaier, a close ally of centre-right Chancellor Angela Merkel, said Europe should not turn its back on globalisation as trade and open markets were still powerful engines that could help propel Europe out of the current economic crisis.
Still, greater autonomy coupled with the development of innovative and resilient EU value chains is needed so that Europe “can still play in the premier league of the world’s economically successful regions” in the future, Altmaier added.
Asked if Europe and Germany should re-think trade ties with China, Altmaier said that everyone had to acknowledge that in the long term, trade could only work on a level playing field.
“Anyone who wants to enjoy the advantages of the free market in the European Union must also open the doors to European companies,” Altmaier said.
While Germany over the past decade has benefited massively from Chinese demand for its machines and cars, officials in Berlin and Brussels have become increasingly frustrated in recent years as China has not fully delivered on its promises to engage in fair and free trade.
Statement to the press by Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe
17 September 2020, Copenhagen, Denmark
Good morning,
We have a very serious situation unfolding before us. Weekly cases have now exceeded those reported when the pandemic first peaked in Europe in March.
Last week, the region’s weekly tally exceeded 300,000 cases. More than half of European countries have reported a greater than 10 per cent increase in cases in the past two weeks. Of those, seven countries have seen newly-reported cases increase more than two-fold in the same period.
In the spring and early summer we were able to see the impact of strict lockdown measures. Our efforts, our sacrifices, paid off. In June cases hit an all-time low.
The September case numbers, however, should serve as a wake-up call for all of us.
Although these numbers reflect more comprehensive testing, they also show alarming rates of transmission across the Region. While we did see an increase in cases among older age groups, 50-64 and 65-79 years, in the first week of September, the biggest proportion is still among 25-49 year-olds.
This pandemic has taken so much from us. In Europe 4,893,614 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded and 226,524 deaths. This tells only part of the story – the impact on our mental health, economies, livelihoods and society has been monumental.
The first of my key messages today is a call for Regional coherence, an amplified collective effort by all European Member States, for the sake of all European Member States.
The response to the crisis has been very effective whenever the actions were prompt and resolute; but the virus has been merciless whenever partisanship and disinformation prevailed. Where the pandemic goes from here is in our hands. We have fought it back before and we can fight it back again.
On Monday this week, at the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s Regional Committee meeting, the 53 Member States of the European Region unanimously adopted a new vision for health for the next 5 years. The European Programme of Work (EPW) focuses on meeting the needs and expectations of European citizens. With this endorsement countries articulated the importance of solidarity and trust between our countries. I do believe there is a willingness to live by this ethos as it will protect all our communities.
We will continue to advocate with government institutions for policy decisions that are prompted by an actual change in the situation and driven by epidemiological data. This capacity was well demonstrated as countries across the Region, gradually reopened schools. A great example of such coherence was the school conference we co-hosted with Minister Speranza of Italy in August, whichled to the consensus publication of “schooling during the Covid-19 pandemic” available on our website.
My second message, is that we need to use the knowledge and know-how that we now possess, to implement what works and not implement what doesn’t. We know we need hospital and Intensive Care Units capacity, personal protective equipment, but also much greater involvement of the primary and community care. We know we need to protect our health workers and other frontline workers who keep society running, and the elderly in long term care homes. And we know that basic pubic health measures work including scaling up of testing, handwashing, physical distancing, using masks when physical distancing is not possible and avoiding large gatherings.
And we need to be restless to update scientific knowledge as more evidence becomes available. Take for example quarantine, as a cornerstone of our fight against COVID-19.
The 14-day quarantine period is a conservative estimate of the infectious period, which – despite some remaining uncertainty – covers the period, before and after symptoms are present, when people may be infectious. Knowing the immense individual and societal impact even a slight reduction in the length of quarantine can have, and given the figures I have just mentioned, I encourage countries of the Region to make scientific due process with their experts and explore safe reduction options. The concept of quarantine must be protected, continuously adapted, clarified and well communicated without any ambiguity to people.
I am offering WHO Regional convening power to ensure that such discussions take place coherently and in a coordinated manner among Member States, and then communicated jointly to the people of Europe. Their adherence to quarantine is at the end what will define it and determine its purpose.
Despite continued high adherence and support to pandemic response strategies in populations across the Region, Member States are reporting and documenting COVID-related fatigue in their populations.
My third message, is that we need to understand people’s concerns, we need to empathize with the fatigue that is setting in. Fatigue is an expected and natural response to a long-standing public health crisis, which for everyone has had considerable implications for everyday life. Understanding who is experiencing fatigue and the barriers and drivers they experience in taking up protection behaviours allows to segment and tailor actions to those who need it the most, and based on the needs of specific population groups. This requires more successful and cost-effective policies, interventions and communication. It requires that we embrace disciplines outside of the bio-medical sphere, such as the social sciences and the humanities.
There are four key strategies WHO promotes here to counteract fatigue.
Collect and use evidence for targeted, tailored interventions. WHO Europe has been working with 27 countries to conduct behaviour insights surveys.
Find ways to engage individuals and communities at every local level. For example, in Denmark the Facebook page “True Story” involved influencers with video diaries of being young and on their own. It has reached 4 million people.
Focus on reducing harm, where and when possible, rather than closing down. Engage the youth in finding new and safe ways to be social.
Acknowledge hardship. Communicate hope and empathy.
For particular sub-groups or age groups, such as youth, for example, this means we make an effort to understand the barriers they face, we engage them, acknowledge the hardship and empathize, and make them part of the solution. We move from a ‘do not’ to a ‘do differently’ finding newer and safe ways to be social and avoid loneliness.
The WHO Regional Office for Europe is developing a framework to help authorities, both national and local, to plan and implement national and subnational strategies to counter fatigue and reignite public support for recommendations and COVID-19 preventive behaviours.
So, to repeat my three messages:
Regional coherence and a spirit of collective support is crucial.
The knowledge and know-how we possess has to be put to best use.
Fatigue is natural and it needs to be understood and addressed, where it puts us at risk.
I’d like to close, by expressing our support to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Yesterday, Dr von der Leyen delivered her State of the Union to the European Parliament. Advocating to revitalise multilateralism, she called for a WHO that is fit for purpose and commended our joint efforts. We share her vision for a European Health Union. With Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Dr Stella Kyriakides, we adopted a Joint Statement at the Regional Committee last Monday going into a historical partnership between the European Commission and the WHO Regional Office for Europe for the benefit of the Member States and people both our organizations serve.
Commission President Von Der Leyen referred to the ‘unshakeable belief in the hidden strength of the human spirit’, which I believe has been at the very heart of our response. We need to draw on that spirit again in order to take a collective leap forward towards a brighter future for our society.
ReBoot: Books, Business, and Reading, comprising an October 13 conference plus research tracks, is designed to analyze how Covid-19 could reshape the global publishing industry. Organized by Ruediger Wischenbart Content and Consulting (Austria), Carlo Carrenho (Brazil/Sweden), and Klaus-Peter Stegen (Germany), in partnership with KNK, Bookwire, Publishers Weekly, and #coisadelivreiro, the program will provide a global virtual forum to gather data, write case studies, and foster debate among industry executives and thought leaders on the best ways for the industry to move forward.
The full ReBoot initiative contains a series of “Preparation Tracks” leading up to the October 13 conference, some of which have already begun. These tracks include several workshops on four themes: consumer research; insights into hybrid publishing; bookselling across multiple formats (print and digital), channels (bricks-and-mortar, online), and models (sales, downloads, subscriptions); and finally resulting transformations of the supply chain. The October 13 virtual conference will feature four sessions, each devoted to one of these four main topics.
Conference speakers include John Ingram, CEO of Ingram; Nitasha Devasar, head of distributor Taylor & Francis’s Indian operations; Carmen Ospina, director of marketing, communication, and business development at Penguin Random House Spain and Latin America; and Michael Reynolds of Europa Editions and Eva Ferry of its Italian sister publisher Edizioni E/O. Others set to participate are David Worlock from the Outsell executive consultancy; Knut Nicholas Krause, founder of the KNK publishing software house; Mitchell Davis, founder of BookSurge and now library and author community promotor; and Jens Klingelhöfer, cofounder of the international digital aggregator Bookwire.
More details about ReBoot are available at rebootbooks.org and via @rebootbooks on Twitter. The online conference will go live at 7 a.m. EDT.
