Public Health
Las fronteras, cada vez más móviles e invisibles, siguen siendo auténticas barreras
Las fronteras de hoy no se delimitan forzosamente con muros de ladrillo y alambradas de púas sino que se están metamorfoseando en barreras móviles construidas mediante la aplicación de tecnologías de vanguardia y reglamentaciones complejas que restringen la circulación de los ciudadanos. Esta metamorfosis se ha acentuado con la pandemia de COVID-19.
Our guest: Yuval Noah Harari: “Every crisis is also an opportunity”
Lifestyle diseases, the emerging threat
Argentina: At the forefront of restitution
Since 2004 Argentina has returned nearly 5000 cultural objects seized on its territory to their countries of origin. A greater recognition of the art of pre-Columbian civilizations and the adoption of a law protecting archaeological and palaeontological heritage are at the origin of this new policy.
The 1970 convention: Cultural diversity before the letter of the law
Adopted in 1970 the UNESCO Convention is a prominent legal instrument in the fight against looting and illicit trafficking. By laying down the principles of shared responsibility and cultural equity it has also opened the way to the right of peoples to enjoy their own cultural heritage.
China: Bronzes from around the world reunite in a digital museum
A new kind of museum in Tongling China virtually displays ancient copper and bronze objects from the Han dynasty many of which have found their way to museums abroad. It foretells the future of digital museums institutions capable of sharing their resources and offering unprecedented access to their collections to global audiences.
Research: “This epidemic will be a detonator”
Nathalie Strub-Wourgaft is one of the initiators of the COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition launched in April 2020. It brings together scientists physicians donors and policymakers from over thirty countries to accelerate research on the disease in resource-poor nations. She argues that research must be specifically adapted to the needs of these countries.
Wide angle: 50 years of the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural goods
Half a century after its adoption the UNESCO 1970 Convention against the illicit trafficking of cultural property is still a major instrument to stem this scourge. Over the last fifty years the fight against this underground trade has intensified and awareness of the moral damage caused by the plunder has grown. But the craze for these objects the prices of which have skyrocketed; the leniency of sanctions and the vulnerability of sites in conflict zones are all challenges that need to be addressed to curb the trafficking of what some call blood antiquities.
The Netherlands: Museums confront the country’s colonial past
The pioneering Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen (The National Museum of World Cultures) in the Netherlands was one of the first museums in Europe to develop mechanisms for repatriating artefacts looted from former colonies.
Australia’s first people their social and emotional well-being
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians make up 2.5 per cent of the Australian population and continue to suffer disproportionately from the consequences of European settlement. The life expectancy for Indigenous Australians is 10 years lower than that of other Australians; the death rates for Indigenous people are twice as high across all age groups; and intentional self-harm was the leading cause of death from external causes for Indigenous males between 2001 and 2005.' Although definitive national data about the incidence and prevalence of mental health disorders among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is not available it is clear there are enormous disparities in mental health outcomes for Indigenous people.
Indigenous peoples: Vulnerable, yet resilient
The global health crisis has highlighted the resilience of some indigenous communities. But above all it has revealed the fragility of these populations – whose poverty malnutrition and poor access to health care makes them particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases.
The health crisis: Fertile ground for disinformation
Disinformation and conspiracy theories have proliferated on social media during the pandemic. Black tea neem leaves and pepper soup have been touted as miracle cures for COVID-19 in Africa and elsewhere. To combat this infodemic digital platforms must be made more accountable fake news tracked and called out and media literacy developed.
Latin America: Towards a new social pact
Declining incomes school drop-outs the growth of informal work and steep rises in unemployment. The social consequences of the health crisis for the inhabitants of the Latin America and the Caribbean region have been massive. The author calls for the establishment of a fairer and more supportive social system to avoid a deepening of inequalities.
Climate change and malaria a complex relationship
Climate change is defined as a statistically significant variation in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability persisting for an extended periodtypically decades or longerthat may be attributed to natural internal processes external forcing or persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. Malaria the world’s most important and deadly tropical mosquito-borne parasitic disease kills approximately 1 million people and afflicts as many as 1 billion people in 109 countries throughout Africa Asia and Latin America. Reducing the impact of malaria will significantly enhance the efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals agreed upon by every United Nations Member State. Variation in climatic conditions such as temperature rainfall patterns and humidity has a profound effect on the longevity of the mosquito and on the development of malaria parasites in the mosquito and subsequently on malaria transmission.
Then and now
How the world changes! Nearly a generation ago in 1994 I served as coauthor of a major World Bank study Better Health in Africa. Now I have the privilege to observe health issues around the world as President and CEO of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA). These experiences give me perspective on changes in global health institutions policies and funding.
The art market: A victim of its own success
The very lucrative black market in works of art and antiques has flourished thanks to the keen interest of buyers shortcomings in legislation the complicity of those in the sector an increase in looting in countries in conflict situations and the development of online sales platforms.
Global health: Priority agenda for the 21st century
At the core of the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000 are the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for 2015 which recognize that global health is a priority agenda for the twenty-first century. Achieving the MDGs is essential for world peace and economic stability and for addressing the critical issues of human rights equality and equity.
Developing global public health links
The “short twentieth century” as defined by Eric Hobsbawm in 1995 was marked by important economic social and technical-scientific advances that improved the quality of life and health for millions of people around the world. However as an “age of extremes’—a phrase also coined by Hobsbawm—the process of globalization began to create not only large international disparities but also huge social and health problems especially in countries excluded from the central axes of the global economy.
Education: An opportunity to reinvent teaching
More than 1.5 billion students – or ninety per cent of the world’s student population – have been affected by temporary closures of schools and universities in 2020 due to the health crisis according to UNESCO. Educational institutions have been forced almost overnight to switch to remote learning platforms and devise alternative teaching methods.
“We must punish the looters, but also the buyers”
The trafficking in antiquities from war zones in the Middle East has grown steadily over the past two decades. While there is international consensus on condemning this illicit trade it remains difficult to combat it in practice. One way to stop it is to increase sanctions on buyers says Amr Al-Azm an archaeologist and professor of Middle East history and anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio United States.