Chairs: Asra Shaik, Brittany Riley, Novi HS
The World Health Organization (WHO) released new international child growth standards Thursday that will, for the first time ever, provide evidence and guidance on how to achieve optimal physical growth, nutrition and motor development of children under the age of five worldwide.
Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. It is currently responsible for the death of one in ten adults worldwide (about 5 million deaths each year). If current smoking patterns continue, it will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2020. Half the people that smoke today -that is about 650 million people- will eventually be killed by tobacco.
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Early Childhood
Development
The health of children around the world is a huge issue in today’s global community. Children in developing countries are suffering from common diseases that many people in the modern world no longer fear. Many of these diseases are preventable and treatable; however, these children don’t have the resources to be cured.
In addition to physical diseases, children must cope with mental disabilities. A connection has been made between iron deficiency disorder and the occurrence of mental disabilities and retardation. In countries such as Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan, mental disorders are a huge issue that stem from traumatizing war experiences and having to cope with the post-war period. In addition, a study has shown that children as young as four have clear memories of the war and 93% of Palestinian children feel unsafe and psychologically stressed. With these growing issues regarding children’s health affecting an expanding percentage of the world’s youth, the World Health Organization has decided to take action to minimize these issues.
The first step the World Health organization took to minimize the problem of children’s health was for the CAH (Child and Adolescent health and development) to create a comprehensive brochure. The information it contains is invaluable, with information regarding how to respond when a child is sick, improving feeding practices and stimulating growth through playing and communication activities. In its efforts to combat children’s health problems, the WHO has partnered with UNICEF in hopes that together they will have a more substantial effect on children’s health and development around the world.
Some questions to consider while researching are:
What are my own countries problems regarding children’s health issues?
How is my country handling its problems (if applicable)?
How is my country involved in the global initiative to improve children’s health?
Does my country have any future plans for children’s health?
Reducing the Impact
Of Tobacco
Tobacco is one of the leading causes of death around the world today. One in every ten adult deaths is tobacco related and about half of the people who smoke today will be killed by tobacco. These numbers are staggering.
In addition to its impact on people’s health, the impact tobacco has on the economy is catastrophic. Tobacco kills people at their prime and deprives families of breadwinners and a healthy workforce for economies worldwide. Nation’s workforces are crippled as people are less productive due to increased sickness (provoked by tobacco usage). In 1994, it was reported that the use of tobacco resulted in a net loss of $200 thousand million (US) and a third in developing countries alone.
Tobacco and poverty are two subjects that fuel each other in a vicious cycle. Studies have shown that the poorest households in low-income countries spend a sizable portion of their expenses on tobacco instead of basic necessities and education. It leads to several health concerns and further implicates poverty-stricken families in their situation.
So how can these decimating impacts of tobacco be reduced? There have been many measures taken so far by the WHO and other leading anti-tobacco organizations. Just very recently, the 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health was held in the United States. It increased awareness on the effects of Tobacco and discussed new data on topics such as tobacco addiction and second hand smoke.
The WHO has also published the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and outline of cost-effective strategies to undermine tobacco use. Strategies discussed in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) include population-wide public policies, tobacco taxes and price increases, smoke-free environments, and health warnings on tobacco packaging.
Even with the presence of this Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) presented by the WHO, tobacco is still an imminent threat today. Countries must keep in mind that tobacco negatively affects the human population in several critical areas. Countries should take an active approach to combat this problem and will have to collaborate to find new strategies to implement.
Questions to consider:
1. How is my country affected by the tobacco problem presented?
2. Has my country taken any steps to solve the problem in its borders?
3. Does my country take part in FCTC? Has it played an instrumental role in any provisions or plans discussed so far?
4. What are my countries plans for tobacco control in the future?