Food, beverage companies commit to WHO trans fat elimination goal

The WHO has welcomed the commitment by the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA) to align with the WHO target to eliminate industrially produced trans fat from the global food supply by 2023.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with IFBA representatives, including chief executive officers from several of the 12 companies comprising the alliance, on 2 May 2019 to discuss actions to take to eliminate industrial trans fats, and reduce salt, sugar and saturated fats in processed foods.

The meeting also stressed the value of regulatory action on labelling, marketing and called industry to full adherence to the WHO Code of marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes.

“The commitment made by IFBA is in line with WHO’s target to eliminate industrial trans fat from the global food supply by 2023,” Dr Tedros said. “WHO will be monitoring the next steps to be taken by companies to help ensure the commitment is realized.”

Of particular note was the decision to by IFBA members to ensure that the amount of industrial trans fat (iTFA) in their products does not exceed 2 g of iTFA per 100 g fat/oil globally by 2023. This is in line with the WHO’s objective and recommendations of its REPLACE action package, which was developed and launched in 2018.

“Eliminating industrially-produced trans fat is one of the simplest and most effective ways to save lives and create a healthier food supply,” added Dr Tedros.

In line with the REPLACE initiative, WHO has called on all food producers and oil and fat manufacturers, not only IFBA members, to commit to elimination of industrial trans fat from the global food supply.

Trans fat intake is responsible for over 500,000 deaths from coronary heart disease each year globally.

WHO launches new global influenza strategy

WHO has released a Global Influenza Strategy for 2019-2030 aimed at protecting people in all countries from the threat of influenza. The goal of the strategy is to prevent seasonal influenza, control the spread of influenza from animals to humans, and prepare for the next influenza pandemic.

“The threat of pandemic influenza is ever-present.” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The on-going risk of a new influenza virus transmitting from animals to humans and potentially causing a pandemic is real.   The question is not if we will have another pandemic, but when.  We must be vigilant and prepared – the cost of a major influenza outbreak will far outweigh the price of prevention.”

Influenza remains one of the world’s greatest public health challenges. Every year across the globe, there are an estimated 1 billion cases, of which 3 to 5 million are severe cases, resulting in 290 000 to 650 000 influenza-related respiratory deaths. WHO recommends annual influenza vaccination as the most effective way to prevent influenza. Vaccination is especially important for people at higher risk of serious influenza complications and for health care workers.
 
The new strategy is the most comprehensive and far-reaching that WHO has ever developed for influenza.  It outlines a path to protect populations every year and helps prepare for a pandemic through strengthening routine programmes. It has two overarching goals:
 

1. Build stronger country capacities for disease surveillance and response, prevention and control, and preparedness. To achieve this, it calls for every country to have a tailored influenza programme that contributes to national and global preparedness and health security.
2. Develop better tools to prevent, detect, control and treat influenza, such as more effective vaccines, antivirals and treatments, with the goal of making these accessible for all countries.

“With the partnerships and country-specific work we have been doing over the years, the world is better prepared than ever before for the next big outbreak, but we are still not prepared enough,” said Dr Tedros. “This strategy aims to get us to that point. Fundamentally, it is about preparing health systems to manage shocks, and this only happens when health systems are strong and healthy themselves.”

To successfully implement this strategy, effective partnerships are essential.  WHO will expand partnerships to increase research, innovation and availability of new and improved global influenza tools to benefit all countries.  At the same time WHO will work closely with countries to improve their capacities to prevent and control influenza.

The new influenza strategy builds on and benefits from successful WHO programmes.  For more than 65 years, the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS), comprised   of WHO Collaborating Centres and national influenza centres, have worked together to monitor seasonal trends and potentially pandemic viruses. This system serves as the backbone of the global alert system for influenza. 

Important to the strategy is the on-going success of the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, a unique access and benefit sharing system that supports the sharing of potentially pandemic viruses, provides access to life saving vaccines and treatments in the event of a pandemic and supports the building of pandemic preparedness capacities in countries through partnership contributions from industry.

The strategy meets one of WHO’s mandates to improve core capacities for public health, and increase global preparedness and was developed through a consultative process with input from Member States, academia, civil society, industry, and internal and external experts.

Supporting countries to strengthen their influenza capacity will have collateral benefits in detecting infection in general, since countries will be able to better identify other infectious diseases like Ebola or Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Through the implementation of the new WHO global influenza strategy, the world will be closer to reducing the impact of influenza every year and be more prepared for an influenza pandemic and other public health emergencies.

“Zero polio transmission and health for all”, WHO Director-General gives new year’s wish to the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan

WHO/N. Jin
Dr Tedros meets 21-year-old Sajeda, who is being treated for a gunshot wound at the WHO-supported Trauma Care Hospital run by Italian NGO Emergency in Kabul

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted WHO’s commitment to the final push to eradicate polio on a 4-day visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan – the only two countries where wild poliovirus cases were reported last year. He also commended the governments of both countries for their efforts to provide universal access to health services.

Dr Tedros, together with WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, met with heads of state and senior government officials in both countries and witnessed first-hand WHO-supported health programmes.

He also visited the Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication in Islamabad, Pakistan, where he commended the work of government and partners as “one team under one roof” and highlighted the critical importance of working closely with Afghanistan to prevent cross-border transmission.

“We must all give our best on this last mile to eradicate polio once and for all. My wish for 2019 is for zero polio transmission. You have WHO’s full support to help reach every child and stop this virus for good,” Dr Tedros said.

On his visit to Afghanistan on 5-6 January, Dr Tedros met with HE President Dr Ashraf Ghani, HE Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah, the Council of Ministers, representatives of key partners and nongovernmental organizations active in health.

Together with HE Minister of Public Health Dr Ferozuddin Feroz, he launched the newly developed Integrated Package of Essential Health Services. This package includes the most cost-effective evidence-based interventions that reflect the most common causes of mortality and morbidity in the country. It keeps the focus on primary health care but also adds noncommunicable diseases and trauma care. Dr Tedros confirmed WHO’s support to the government to develop financing options to help ensure access to health services for all Afghans.

Dr Tedros also visited the WHO-supported Trauma Care Hospital run by the Italian NGO Emergency in Kabul, where Dr Tedros thanked humanitarian workers for their important work. He praised the close collaboration between WHO, Ministry of Health and International NGOs like Emergency, so that provision of essential trauma care can be accessed by people who need it most.

In Pakistan on 7-8 January, Dr Tedros met with Prime Minister Imran Khan and several senior officials including Federal Minister for National Health Regulations & Coordination Mr Aamer, Mehmood Kiani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari.

Dr Tedros accompanied the President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi, to the launch of the first Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Summit and the Nursing Now campaign. Pakistan faces a critical shortage of health workers including nurses and midwives. The country needs more than 720 000 nurses to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.

He also visited a basic health centre in Shah Allah Ditta where WHO signed an agreement with the Government of Pakistan to develop a model health care system for universal health coverage in Islamabad. Dr Tedros commended the Government for its initiatives to tax tobacco and sugary drinks, as well as its plans to increase the health budget to 5% of GDP by 2023 (from the current 0.9% of GDP).

Dr Tedros chairs polio board

The visit took place shortly after WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took over the Chair of the Polio Oversight Board, which guides and oversees the Global Polio Eradication Initiative – spearheaded by national governments, WHO, Rotary International, UNICEF, CDC and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – as a clear sign that the eradication of this disease is a priority for WHO.  

As recently as 30 years ago, wild poliovirus paralysed more than 350 000 children in more than 125 countries every year. In 2018 there were fewer than 30 reported cases in just two countries – Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Polio eradication requires high immunization coverage everywhere, worldwide, to block transmission of this extremely contagious virus. Unfortunately, children are still missing out on vaccination for various reasons including lack of infrastructure, remote locations, population movement, conflict and insecurity and resistance to vaccination.

Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in a resurgence of the disease, with as many as 200 000 new cases predicted worldwide every year within 10 years.

WHO Director-General warns civil unrest in the DRC could affect fight against Ebola

The WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said efforts to end the outbreak are continuing after recent disruptions, but further interruptions could have serious consequences, he warned.

Dr. Ghebreyesus was in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the New Year to Ebola-affected areas to review the response at this critical phase.

Civil unrest resulted in vandalism to an Ebola transit centre in Beni and several other health facilities last week. The insecurity slowed down vaccinations and epidemiological surveillance and follow-up for several days.

“I’m concerned about the impact of the recent disruptions at this critical moment. This outbreak is occurring in the most difficult context imaginable. To end it the response needs to be supported and expanded, not further complicated. Ebola is unforgiving, and disruptions give the virus the advantage,” said Dr Tedros.

On the three-day mission (31 December 2018 – 2 January 2019) to Beni, Butembo and Komanda, Dr Tedros took stock of the outbreak, spent time with affected communities, and personally thanked responders for their dedication. WHO has 380 response staff in North Kivu and Ituri working together with hundreds more from the Ministry of Health and partners. 

WHO/L. Mackenzie
On the three-day mission (31 December 2018 – 2 January 2019) to Beni, Butembo and Komanda, Dr Tedros took stock of the outbreak, spent time with affected communities, and personally thanked responders for their dedication.

“The Ebola responders are sacrificing a lot,” said Dr Tedros. “They’ve worked flat-out for months, away from their families, to combat one of the world’s deadliest viruses in a risky environment. I’m proud of them, and I wanted to tell them that personally over the New Year holiday.”

Director of the Wellcome Trust and Chair of WHO’s Research and Development Blueprint Dr Jeremy Farrar joined the mission to see the outbreak first-hand.

“I came away humbled by the dedication of the Ebola responders, but worried by the immense challenges they face in such a complex environment. This outbreak is in a critical phase. It is vital the international community recognizes this and ensures the DRC and WHO have the support needed to ensure this outbreak does not spiral out of control,” Dr Farrar said.

Since the outbreak began in August 2018, there have been 608 cases and 368 deaths in North Kivu and Ituri provinces. To date, more than 54,000 high-risk contacts and frontline responders have been vaccinated, and almost every new patient receives one of four investigational treatments, something which was never previously possible during an Ebola outbreak. 

The main challenges are the security environment, pockets of mistrust among affected populations, and poor infection prevention and control in many public and private health facilities. Under the government’s leadership and working collaboratively with UN and NGO partners, WHO is committed to addressing these challenges and ending the outbreak.

Article published courtesy of the WHO

Harmful use of alcohol kills more than 3 million people each year, most of them men

More than 3 million people died as a result of harmful use of alcohol in 2016, according a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

This represents 1 in 20 deaths. More than three quarters of these deaths were among men. Overall, the harmful use of alcohol causes more than 5% of the global disease burden.

WHO’s Global status report on alcohol and health 2018 presents a comprehensive picture of alcohol consumption and the disease burden attributable to alcohol worldwide. It also describes what countries are doing to reduce this burden.

“Far too many people, their families and communities suffer the consequences of the harmful use of alcohol through violence, injuries, mental health problems and diseases like cancer and stroke,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “It’s time to step up action to prevent this serious threat to the development of healthy societies.”

Of all deaths attributable to alcohol, 28% were due to injuries, such as those from traffic crashes, self-harm and interpersonal violence; 21% due to digestive disorders; 19% due to cardiovascular diseases, and the remainder due to infectious diseases, cancers, mental disorders and other health conditions.

Despite some positive global trends in the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking and number of alcohol-related deaths since 2010, the overall burden of disease and injuries caused by the harmful use of alcohol is unacceptably high, particularly in the European Region and the Region of Americas.

Globally an estimated 237 million men and 46 million women suffer from alcohol-use disorders with the highest prevalence among men and women in the European region (14.8% and 3.5%) and the Region of Americas (11.5% and 5.1%). Alcohol-use disorders are more common in high-income countries.

Global consumption predicted to increase in the next 10 years

An estimated 2.3 billion people are current drinkers. Alcohol is consumed by more than half of the population in three WHO regions – the Americas, Europe and the Western Pacific. Europe has the highest per capita consumption in the world, even though its per capita consumption has decreased by more than 10% since 2010. Current trends and projections point to an expected increase in global alcohol per capita consumption in the next 10 years, particularly in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions and the Region of the Americas.

How much alcohol are people drinking?

The average daily consumption of people who drink alcohol is 33 grams of pure alcohol a day, roughly equivalent to 2 glasses (each of 150 ml) of wine, a large (750 ml) bottle of beer or two shots (each of 40 ml) of spirits.

Worldwide, more than a quarter (27%) of all 15–19-year-olds are current drinkers. Rates of current drinking are highest among 15–19-year-olds in Europe (44%), followed by the Americas (38%) and the Western Pacific (38%). School surveys indicate that, in many countries, alcohol use starts before the age of 15 with very small differences between boys and girls.

Worldwide, 45% of total recorded alcohol is consumed in the form of spirits. Beer is the second alcoholic beverage in terms of pure alcohol consumed (34%) followed by wine (12%). Worldwide there have been only minor changes in preferences of alcoholic beverages since 2010. The largest changes took place in Europe, where consumption of spirits decreased by 3% whereas that of wine and beer increased.

In contrast, more than half (57%, or 3.1 billion people) of the global population aged 15 years and over had abstained from drinking alcohol in the previous 12 months.

More countries need to take action

“All countries can do much more to reduce the health and social costs of the harmful use of alcohol,” said Dr Vladimir Poznyak, Coordinator of WHO’s Management of Substance Abuse unit. “Proven, cost-effective actions include increasing taxes on alcoholic drinks, bans or restrictions on alcohol advertising, and restricting the physical availability of alcohol.”

Higher-income countries are more likely to have introduced these policies, raising issues of global health equity and underscoring the need for greater support to low- and middle-income countries.

Almost all (95%) countries have alcohol excise taxes, but fewer than half of them use other price strategies such as banning below-cost selling or volume discounts. The majority of countries have some type of restriction on beer advertising, with total bans most common for television and radio but less common for the internet and social media.

“We would like to see Member States implement creative solutions that will save lives, such as taxing alcohol and restricting advertising. We must do more to cut demand and reach the target set by governments of a 10% relative reduction in consumption of alcohol globally between 2010 and 2025,” added Dr Tedros.

Reducing the harmful use of alcohol will help achieve a number of health-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those for maternal and child health, infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases and mental health, injuries and poisonings.