MMS News

"New research published today on the laws and policies of 182 countries finds the rights and protections for health and care workers differ greatly between countries and across issues. The first-of-its-kind study of the legal environment in which health workers and care workers do their jobs was published today in PLOS Global Public Health and shows countries around the world and across income levels innovating for the rights and protection of people protecting the public’s health. But it also finds many of these workers remain vulnerable, years after the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the fragility of the global health and care workforce."

• World Health Organization
• PLOS Global Public Health

"After an early surge of COVID pandemic spending, public health layouts by countries at all income levels declined in 2022 as compared to 2021. Meanwhile, there has been a 60% increase overall in per-capita health expenditures between 2000 and 2022 – but this translated into a sharp rise in out-of-pocket spending (OOP) in low income countries, according to WHO’s 2024 report on global health expenditures, released on the eve of Universal Health Coverage Day, 12 December."

• Health Policy Watch
• Global Health Expenditure Report
• Global Health Expenditure Database

"This was the question posed to us recently by a young person from our Youth4Health network. Our answer, both simple and sad: the reasons are not medical. As we observe World AIDS Day on Sunday, 1 December, the biggest remaining hurdles in the fight against HIV/AIDS in our region, and indeed much of our world, are political. Restrictive and intolerant environments. Stigma, discrimination and even criminalization of HIV transmission. Inconsistent uptake of evidence-based and recommended interventions. Today we have all the medicines, tools and technologies to end AIDS."

• Health Policy Watch

"A study by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) and partners has shown that a new, locally adapted mental health intervention for women with young children in Zambia led to a 50% reduction in mental health symptoms. The intervention also empowered the women, resulting in a positive impact on the relationship with their children and their economic situation. The findings, published yesterday in The Lancet Psychiatry, represent an important step towards improving maternal mental health in sub-Saharan Africa, where evidence-based interventions, particularly for young mothers, are limited."

• Swiss TPH
• The Lancet Psychiatrie

"An estimated 1.3 billion people globally experience significant disability. This figure has grown over the last decade and will continue to rise due to demographic and epidemiological changes. In 2022, the World Health Organization launched the Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities. This report demonstrated that many persons with disabilities are still being left behind. Experiencing persistent health inequities, persons with disabilities die earlier, they have poorer health and functioning, and they are more affected by health emergencies than the general population. These differences are largely associated with unjust factors both inside and beyond the health sector and are avoidable. The Global Report called upon Member States to take actions to make health sector more inclusive for persons with disabilities through the primary health care approach. This will be essential for countries to make health coverage truly universal and to progress towards other health-related targets in the sustainable development goals."

• World Health Organization

"Nikotinbeutel sind der Rauschmittel-Hype unter Jugendlichen: günstig, leicht zu verstecken, schnell wirksam. Die perfide Idee der Tabakindustrie geht auf – trotz Verbot."

• Die Zeit

"The Mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding countries shows - as during the corona pandemic - the unequal access to vaccines worldwide. Vaccines exist, but the affected countries cannot afford the vaccine due to high prices and are dependent on donations. On the occasion of International Human Rights Day on 10 December, various German non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are therefore calling for the German government to make the human right to health a top priority and not to focus unilaterally on the interests of the pharmaceutical industry in global health policy."

• Aktionsbündnis gegen AIDS - Action against AIDS Germany

"Der tropische Wirbelsturm Chido sorgt bei der Bevölkerung von Mosambik für eine weitere Belastung: Neben der allgegenwärtigen Armut und Tausenden von intern Vertriebenen hat der Sturm nun das Leid und die humanitäre Lage zusätzlich verschärft. Als Folge davon muss zusätzlich mit Cholera-Ausbrüchen gerechnet werden. Am 15. Dezember, erreichte der Zyklon Chido das Festland von Mosambik und brachte starke Winde mit sich. Total waren in diesem von Armut geprägten Land ungefähr 1,7 Millionen Menschen betroffen. Der tropische Wirbelsturm traf als Kategorie 4 (bis zu 250 km/h) im Süden der Küstenstadt Pemba in der Provinz Cabo Delgado auf Land und fegte genau über das Projektgebiet von SolidarMed."

• SolidarMed
• Download (pdf | 113 kB)

"Plus de 1000 jours depuis l’escalade de la guerre entre la Russie et l’Ukraine, l’ensemble du territoire ukrainien vit toujours sous la menace des raids aériens. L’impact de cette guerre sur les civils est catastrophique à plusieurs niveaux. Décryptage."

• Handicap International

"Publié ce mercredi 20 novembre à Bangkok, le rapport 2024 de l'Observatoire des mines fait état d'une augmentation du nombre de victimes causées par les mines : 5757, dont 84 % sont des civils. Une augmentation de 22 % par rapport à 2022. Handicap International, qui a reçu le prix Nobel de la paix avec d'autres organisations pour sa lutte contre les mines, appelle les États à user de leur influence diplomatique pour cesser d'utiliser ces armes aveugles."

• Handicap International Suisse (HI)

"Pour la fin de cette année 2024, la CSSR publie un bulletin qui rappelle la nécessité des activités de soins de santé mentale qui sont prodiguées malgré le contexte de guerre, pour résister face à l’horreur du génocide en cours à Gaza. Un bulletin qui revient aussi sur les récentes décisions scandaleuses du Parlement, qui a décidé de rediriger une part importante des fonds prévus pour la solidarité internationale vers l’armée et les entreprises suisses."

• Centrale Sanitaire Suisse Romande (CSSR)
• La Suisse tire la sonnette d'alarme

"Bethléem, le tourisme s’est effondré et de nombreuses familles sont confrontées à des difficultés existentielles. L’Hôpital de l’Enfance Bethléem réagit en proposant des rabais et un soutien social afin de continuer à offrir des soins médicaux aux enfants."

• Secours aux Enfants Bethléem

"Le robinet qui a été installé juste devant la maison de la famille de Barsha a beaucoup allégé le quotidien de cette adolescente de 14 ans. Avec l’aide des villageois, la Croix-Rouge a aménagé un système d’approvisionnement en eau. Celui-ci dessert 136 ménages et l’école en eau potable. Qu’est-ce que cela signifie pour les habitants de ce village de montagne népalais?"

• Croix-rouge suisse

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• croix-rouge suisse

"The World Health Organization (WHO) has granted prequalification to the molecular diagnostic test for tuberculosis (TB) called Xpert® MTB/RIF Ultra. It is the first test for TB diagnosis and antibiotic susceptibility testing that meets WHO's prequalification standards. Tuberculosis is one of the world’s leading infectious disease killers, causing over a million deaths annually and imposing immense socioeconomic burdens, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Accurate and early detection of TB, especially drug-resistant strains, remains a critical and challenging global health priority."

• World Health Organization