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Digital health: transforming and extending the delivery of health services
Digital health is a broad category encompassing electronic health, mobile health, telehealth and health data, among others. It offers solutions that can strengthen health systems, such as bringing health services directly to people’s homes and to underserved communities, helping to map outbreaks of disease, and integrating digital tools that make health care more responsive and productive.
But in addition to providing opportunities, digital health raises some important questions. Can digital health ensure that people receive high standards of care? How can we ensure that those without access to or knowledge of digital devices are not left behind? How can we guarantee that sensitive health data is properly secured so people feel safe using services?
Answering these questions is an important part of the future of health in the WHO European Region. This is why the European Programme of Work identifies digital health as a flagship alongside immunization, mental health, and behavioural and cultural insights.
Why is digital health a priority now?
Digital health has been seen as an emerging, strategic health priority for years. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital health technologies to make health systems and services more effective was widely recognized. Countries have also indicated the importance of digital health.
Linked to WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work, the European Programme of Work commits to ensuring better access to health for people throughout the Region through universal health coverage, and recognizes digital health as key to realizing this vision.
The term digital health may conjure images of advanced, futuristic technology, but in fact it can include a range of interventions, including:
- electronic health records and standards underpinning the exchange of data;
- mobile health apps for monitoring and prevention;
- public health portals that provide transparent access to an individual’s personal health records and contacts with the health system;
- telemedicine;
- integrated care delivery;
- clinical decision-making support tools in primary care;
- robotics;
- personalized medicine;
- nanotechnologies; and
- artificial intelligence.
Digital health links to other flagships, including behavioural and cultural insights and mental health, while seeking to build a partnership model to identify best practice and opportunities.
COVID-19 as an accelerator
The role that digital health can play has come under the spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of digital tools such as contact tracing apps to monitor outbreaks and online consultations to help keep health professionals and patients safe while providing continued care are some of the ways that the potential of digital health has been harnessed.
These digital methods of delivering health care are here and will very likely stay. Greater leadership and knowledge sharing in this area are important to ensure that individuals are well served and that health systems benefit from new technologies.
Digital health in practice
A symposium on digital health organized by WHO/Europe in 2019 helped to showcase how governments and organizations can use health technologies to reduce inequities and improve health and well-being. On the ground, digital health continues to make inroads into the way health services are delivered.
In Kyrgyzstan, for example, a safe delivery app provides midwives with guidance to deal with different birth scenarios – including some that may require an emergency response. The app itself, in use in more than 40 countries around the world, was developed by the Maternity Foundation in Denmark. It helps midwives provide care, particularly when faced with a difficult situation.
In Finland, a patient-oriented digital health-care service known as Health Village was set up by different university hospitals. The online platform enables people to plan and manage their own care using simple medical devices to send readings to health professionals. It allows for a more streamlined approach to health care that takes into account the lives of patients, who may struggle to find time to attend routine appointments. It also naturally raises some questions, particularly among those who have less experience or struggle with digital technologies. Some elements of coaching are therefore integrated to ensure that patients feel able to use the services.
These are just some of the ways in which digital health can empower individuals, make health systems more effective and provide greater health coverage.
Children’s lives at stake, COVID threatens to undo 30 years of ‘remarkable progress’
The number of global under-five deaths dropped to its lowest point on record in 2019 – down to 5.2 million, from 12.5 million in 1990. However, there are fears the numbers could rise on back of COVID-induced disruptions to child and maternal health services, new estimates released on Wednesday, indicate.
Services experiencing disruptions include health checkups, vaccinations, and prenatal and post-natal care. Reasons include resource constraints and a general uneasiness with using health services due to a fear of getting COVID-19, according to the UN agencies.
Over the past 30 years, health services to prevent or treat causes of child death such as preterm, low birth weight, complications during birth, neonatal sepsis, pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria, as well as vaccination, have played a large role in saving millions of lives, added the agencies.
The estimates, contained in the report Levels and Trends in Child Mortality: Report 2020, were issued by UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and the World Bank Group.
Safeguard achievements from COVID
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, recalled the feat and outlined the challenges.
“The fact that today more children live to see their first birthday than any time in history is a true mark of what can be achieved when the world puts health and well-being at the centre of our response,” he said.
“Now, we must not let the COVID-19 pandemic turn back remarkable progress for our children and future generations. Rather, it’s time to use what we know works to save lives, and keep investing in stronger, resilient health systems.”
UNICEF and WHO surveys
Surveys conducted by UNICEF and WHO in 77 and 105 countries, respectively, found high numbers of countries reporting disruptions in health services critical to prevent new-born and child deaths.
The UNICEF survey found that almost 68 per cent of the countries faced disruptions in health checks for children and immunization services; 63 per cent had disruptions in antenatal check-ups; and 59 per cent in post-natal care.
WHO findings showed 52 per cent of countries had disruptions in health services for sick children; and 51 per cent in services for management of malnutrition – equally important to safeguard healthy lives.
Challenges included parents avoiding health centres for fear of infection, transport restrictions, suspension or closure of services and facilities, fewer healthcare workers or shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), and greater financial difficulties.
Afghanistan, Bolivia, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Libya, Madagascar, Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen are among the hardest hit countries.
World has come too far to stop
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, called for urgent investments to restart disrupted health systems and services.
The global community has come too far towards eliminating preventable child deaths to allow the COVID-19 pandemic to stop us in our tracks – Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director
“The global community has come too far towards eliminating preventable child deaths to allow the COVID-19 pandemic to stop us in our tracks,” she said, adding:
“When children are denied access to health services because the system is overrun, and when women are afraid to give birth at the hospital for fear of infection, they, too, may become casualties of COVID-19.”
Urgent action needed
The surveys also highlighted the need for urgent action to restore and improve childbirth services, and antenatal and postnatal care for mothers and babies, including having skilled health workers to care for them at birth. Working with parents to assuage their fears and reassure them is also important.
Muhammad Ali Pate, Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank, underlined the need to protect the vital, life-saving services that are key to reducing child mortality.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has put years of global progress to end preventable child deaths in serious jeopardy … It is essential to protect life-saving services which have been key to reducing child mortality. We will continue to work with governments and partners to reinforce healthcare systems to ensure mothers and children get the services they need,” he said.
Redress inequities
John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, also drew attention to address inequalities within societies that impact health.
“The report demonstrates the ongoing progress worldwide in reducing child mortality … While it highlights the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on interventions that are critical for children’s health, it also draws attention to the need to redress the vast inequities in a child’s prospects for survival and good health,” he said.
Pompeo urges Europe to join US for imposing sanctions on Iran
Sanctions on Iran: Mike Pompeo on Tuesday claimed that Iran’s nuclear deal, JCPOA, has gone in the history and requested European countries and other states to join the United States for imposition of ‘Strong Sanctions’ against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
He showed reaction to the increase of Iran’s enriched uranium reserves to 10 times more than that of authorized limit as set in JCPOA.
In his twitter account, Pompeo wrote, “According to reports, Iran’s uranium reserves have reached more than 10 times the limits set in JCPOA. The three European countries and others must turn their eye to the fact that Iran’s nuclear deal has gone in the history and they should accompany US for imposition of strong and tough sanctions against Iran.Comprehensive dialogues and pressure is the only way forward.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in its latest report to members of the Board of Governors last Friday, had confirmed that Iran’s enriched uranium reserves had reached more than 10 times the limits set in the nuclear deal.
After withdrawing from JCPOA in May 2018, Washington has resorted to provocative and tense measures against Iran in line with the so-called “maximum pressure” policy.
In its reaction to this move, Islamic Republic of Iran put a year of “strategic patience” on the agenda and gave the parties to the nuclear deal, especially European countries, that promised to compensate for the withdrawal of the United States, to fulfill their obligations under the nuclear deal.
One year after the lack of fulfillment of Europe‘s promises under JCPOA, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) warned the parties in a statement on May 7, if European parties involved in the talk fail to fulfill their obligations in the field of oil and banking within 60 days, Islamic Republic of Iran will reduce its commitments under JCPOA.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has reduced its obligations under the nuclear deal in five steps. Iran’s first step in reducing its obligations was to exceed 300 kg limit of 3.67% enriched uranium reserves, lack of selling heavy water and a surplus of enriched uranium which was announced on May 7.
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Israel’s Accord with Serbia and Kosovo Rattles EU but Fails to Rouse Arab Wrath
The announcement last week of a landmark agreement between Israel, Serbia and Kosovo to normalize economic relations drew no condemnation from Arab nations, but the European Union has criticized the deal because the two Balkan states will move their embassies to Jerusalem.
Serbia will become the first European nation to open an embassy in Israel’s capital city, a step that only the United States and Guatemala have taken. The EU has made the city’s disputed status a part of its Middle East policy, creating new tension with the Serbs as they try to join the 27-nation trade and economic bloc.
Although Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their own future sovereign nation, and oppose all efforts to legitimize Israel’s control of the entire city, the rest of the Arab world has taken a wait-and-see approach.
“This deal is not really thought about much in the Arab and Muslim world at all,” said Luke Coffey, a national security and foreign policy expert at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. “Even though Kosovo is a Muslim majority country, it is not an Islamic state like most are across much of the Middle East. Most in the region see this as a very niche European matter.”
Most people in Arab countries “do not care one way or the other where these two relatively small Balkans countries have their embassies in Israel,” he said.
Turkey, traditionally a bridge between Europe and the Middle East, quickly condemned the agreement. Turkey’s foreign ministry expressed “deep concern” over the future Jerusalem embassies.
The Trump administration, with one foot in governing and another in re-election campaigning, is already emphasizing the president’s acumen brokering deals between nations. The fundamentals of the agreement, which the president calls a “major breakthrough,” include cooperation to bolster investment and job opportunities.
Serbia and Kosovo now also say they will make an effort to follow Israeli law and decriminalize homosexuality in their jurisdictions, a move that is unlikely to meet with approval from conservative Arab governments.
Richard Grenell, the openly gay former ambassador to Germany, is pushing to overturn laws in nations that make homosexuality illegal. The Human Rights Campaign, America’s most prominent LGBTQ lobby group, has condemned Grenell for serving Trump, whom it accuses of being hostile to the gay community.
The new accord follows a separate Trump-brokered diplomatic deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
Serbia has long pointed with pride to Israel’s refusal to recognize Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Belgrade deployed troops into the territory in the late 1990s to quell unrest by ethnic Albanian separatists, and the two countries have since been at odds.
As part of the accord announced September 4, Kosovo agreed for one year to halt its campaign to join significant international organizations. Serbia agreed, also for one year, to curb its efforts to coerce countries into “derecognizing” its former territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has embraced the new ties with Kosovo, but the Jewish state has more at stake in its alliances with other Muslim-majority and Arab countries.
The new accord’s stated intention is to focus on economic cooperation, but Israel stands to gain in other ways. For example, the agreement calls on Serbia and Kosovo to officially designate the Lebanon-based Hezbollah a terrorist organization and block its economic activities in their countries.
The deal represents the end of the Kosovo war, “which was really the last major security crisis for the U.S.” before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and is “an important symbolic win for the Trump administration,” said Matthew Schmidt, a political science professor at the University of New Haven in Connecticut.
Beyond the opening of embassies, additional details are “still to get worked out,” he said.
Coffey, of the Heritage Foundation, said that “some points in the agreement were concrete proposals and others are merely aspirational.”
“Both countries have a long way to go before they fully normalize relations,” Coffey said. “Overall, these talks were a significant foreign policy success.”
(Edited by Judy Isacoff, Stephen Singer and David Martosko.)
The post Israel’s Accord with Serbia and Kosovo Rattles EU but Fails to Rouse Arab Wrath appeared first on Zenger News.
Just Transition Fund: help EU regions adapt to green economy | News | European Parliament
, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20200903STO86310/
The European Union and WHO deliver COVID-19 tests and essential medical supplies to Armenia
The European Union and WHO today handed over 100 oxygen concentrators, 20 electrocardiographs and 10,000 PCR tests for COVID-19 to the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia, the EU Delegation to Armenia reported in a press statement.
The supplies, procured by WHO with EU support, will help increase testing capacity and help patients recover from severe illness due to COVID-19.
Oxygen concentrators are a non-invasive way of providing oxygen to patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Such supplemental oxygen is the first essential step for the treatment of patients with low blood oxygen levels due to severe COVID-19.
Electrocardiographs help health professionals listen to and monitor a patient’s heart for complications. ECGs are especially important for patients being treated in intensive care units.
The 10,000 tests delivered will ensure timely detection, isolation and management of patients, which is important both for patient care and for containing the epidemic in the country. The tests are of a type included in WHO’s list of quality-assured supplies and are capable of producing accurate results in just 75 minutes. This short processing time saves healthcare workers’ time and energy, helps decrease the probability of human error and allows a larger number of tests to be carried out per day.
Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, WHO Representative in Armenia, Egor Zaitsev, RA Deputy Minister of Health, Lena Nanushyan were at the Republican Center for Humanitarian Aid SNCO to receive the shipment of tests and equipment.
The EU Ambassador and WHO Representative handed over the tests and equipment to the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia as part of a larger assistance package to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The tests and equipment will be provided to the national laboratory and healthcare institutions.Type a message
Under ‘extraordinary circumstances’, General Assembly continues to serve the people
Speaking at an in-person meeting in the Assembly hall, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande recounted some of the important initiatives the 74th session had conducted throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
“The General Assembly successfully organized socially distanced elections for the General Assembly Presidency, the Security Council, and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Furthermore, we employed virtual methods to gather stakeholders from around the world on Charter Day, and once again at the multi-stakeholder hearing on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women”, he detailed.
The virus
Mr. Muhammad-Bande also applauded the World Health Organization (WHO) for “leading the response from the outset”.
“Today’s meeting takes place as many people suffer and bear great losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic”, he said. “The entire UN system has rallied to address the needs of the people we serve”.
The UN official gave “particular thanks” to humanitarian workers in the field as well as UN Peacekeepers, “who continue to protect communities in the most complex environments around the world”.
Moreover, he acknowledged the leadership of the Secretary-General and the ECOSOC president .
SDGs: Full speed ahead
The Assembly president underlined that these efforts are “critical” as we begin the Decade of Action and Delivery to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “or as it is likely to become, the decade of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic”.
He closed by urging everyone to “galvanize multilateral action now” and fulfill the UN’s financing for development and other commitments.
“We remain in this together”, Mr. Muhammad-Bande concluded.
Looking forward
At an end-of-session press conference, Muhammad-Bande told journalists that he was working with his successor Volkan Bozkir in the preparation of high-level week as well as upcoming events.
The UN official noted that Mr. Bozkir would be presiding over the opening of the 75th session of the Assembly, which will be convened on 22 September.
Among other things, the Assembly president informed that a Summit on Biodiversity will be convened on 30 September, and on 1 October, a High-level meeting to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
On 2 October, he said that the Membership will gather to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which he noted, remains integral to the foundation of the UN’s work on peace and security.
Mr. Muhammad-Bande told the journalists that it had been a privilege to serve as the President of the 74th session of the Assembly, expressing his confidence that the targets set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development would be realized if everyone continues to strive together, and deliver for all.
Single ambitious menu for COVID-19 recovery and beyond
Finance Ministers meet to refine ‘single ambitious menu’ for COVID-19 recovery and beyond
Amina Mohammed addressed ministers from UN Member States, and representatives from international institutions, during a virtual meeting on Tuesday to solidify a “menu” of policy options for post-pandemic recovery and beyond, which will be presented to world leaders later this month.
Although the crisis has affected everyone, Ms. Mohammed said the consequences will be worse for the world’s most vulnerable citizens.
“Between 70 to 100 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty; an additional 265 million people could face acute food shortages by the end of this year, and an estimated 400 million jobs have been lost: disproportionately, of course, affecting women”, she said.
Moreover, “some 1.6 billion learners have had their studies disrupted and may never return to school,” she continued, adding “finding immediate and lasting solutions is our responsibility”.
‘A single ambitious menu’
The meeting on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond was the initiative of the UN Secretary-General and the Prime Ministers of Jamaica and Canada, launched in May.
The aim is to present what the organizers described as “a single ambitious menu of policy options” to address recovery in the short term, but also to mobilize the resources needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, and to create a resilient global financial system over the long term.
As Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, pointed out, “this crisis has hit women and young people particularly hard and our response must take that into account”.
‘Worst recession in decades’ looms
Over the past three months, ministers formed six discussion groups to address issues critical for economic survival and recovery, with the imperative of building back better.
The challenge is immense. Globally, there have been more than 27 million cases of COVID-19, and nearly 892,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The UN further estimates that the world’s gross domestic product will suffer a nearly five per cent drop this year, while foreign direct investment and remittances are set to decrease by 40 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.
“With lockdown measures continuing, borders closed, debt skyrocketing and fiscal resources plunging, the pandemic is pushing us towards the worst recession in decades, possibly even a depression, with terrible consequences for the most vulnerable”, said Ms. Mohammed.
Invest in resilience
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that although some advanced economies are doing “somewhat less bad” at the moment due to strong policy response by their finance authorities and Central Banks, most emerging markets are still in trouble, including those which rely on tourism revenues or that have high debt levels.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva emphasized the need for greater social investment as an important lesson from the pandemic.
“We need to recognize that this crisis is telling us we have to build resilience for the future by investing in education and digital capacity everywhere, in human capital, the health systems, the social protection systems in countries, by making sure that the other crises in front of us, like the climate crisis, are well-integrated”, she said. “And last, but technically not least, by preventing inequalities and poverty raising their ugly heads again”.
Action amid unprecedented times
The discussions sought to further refine policy that will be presented to Heads of State and Government at a UN meeting on 29 September.
For Nigel Clarke, Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and the Public Service, the event was an opportunity to “act with dispatch” and “to scale up measures that have already been implemented”.
Noting that “the world is yet to show the unity and solidarity required for a global response to a crisis unparalleled in recent history,” Ms. Mohammed urged Finance Ministers to take action amid the current uncertainties.
“I hope you will join us in seizing this initiative to consolidate a menu of options to support your work for the immediate economic relief people need, a people’s vaccine for COVID-19, and to tackle the deep injustices, inequalities and governance challenges while we stand ready together to rethink a global financial system that works for these unprecedented times”, she said.
Overturned verdict on Khashoggi murder a ‘parody of justice’ – independent UN rights expert
At a regular press briefing on Tuesday, Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, (OHCHR), quoted Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, in saying, “they came at the end of a process which was neither fair nor just, or transparent”.
In October 2018, the 59-year-old columnist for The Washington Post was killed and dismembered at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. Saudi prosecutors in Riyadh had convicted eight people for the brutal murder.
However, on Monday, a Saudi court overturned five death sentences in a final ruling that jailed eight defendants for between seven and 20 years, according to Saudi State media.
Asked by a journalist from the Anadolu Agency if the UN would condemn the Saudi court’s decision, Mr. Colbert said, “this was a very severe and gruesome crime, a horrendous crime”.
“This is a case where there hasn’t been proper transparency in the justice process and clearly those responsible should be prosecuted, and, and given sentences commensurate with the crime”, he continued.
Recalling the UN’s position against the death penalty, he said that in such cases, “very lengthy jail sentences” would be appropriate.
Twitter firestorm
The press briefing came on the heels of a series of tweets from the independent UN expert who reacted disparagingly to Monday’s verdict.
“The five hitmen are sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, but the high-level officials who organized and embraced the execution of Jamal Khashoggi have walked free from the start – barely touched by the investigation and trial,” Ms. Callamard tweeted.
“As for the individual responsibility of the person on top of the State”, the independent UN expert upheld, “the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he has remained well protected against any kind of meaningful scrutiny in his country”.
She stated that “the Saudi Prosecutor performed one more act today in this parody of justice”, adding “but these verdicts carry no legal or moral legitimacy”.
Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.
