全球卫生治理重塑中的世界卫生组织

作为全球卫生治理机构,世界卫生组织的首要事务是防控疾病的流行,减少死亡的发生。世界卫生组织在新型冠状病毒防控中发挥了重要作用,为抑制病毒传染和流行,降低发病率和死亡率作出了显著贡献。新冠疫情也使世界卫生组织再次遭受诸如领导和协调能力下降、卫生资金供给不足、治理自主权不足、分配医疗资源不均衡等质疑。各国尤其是大国应通力合作,针对世界卫生组织固有的缺陷进行优化改革,从制度和规则上杜绝政治因素干扰,解决财政困境以提升公共卫生事件应对能力,平衡资源分配以缩小地位差异。中国在全球卫生治理体系中的地位不断上升,但与当前中国的经济地位还不匹配。在世界卫生组织的优化和改革中,中国应发挥更大的作用。     

论国际贸易的健康视野

国际贸易与健康,这两个似乎不相关的问题,在经济全球化的今天日益受到人们的关注。通常人们只注意国际贸易对健康的正面影响。实际上,贸易自由化在给世界经济发展带来新机遇的同时,也对人民的健康造成了负面影响。目前迫切需要国际、国内和世界贸易组织采取有效的措施,实现二者的协调发展。     

Tobacco Business and Regulation in the Developing Markets

Abstract

This paper compares BAT's business environment in Kenya and Uganda in light of the World Health Organization's (WHO) tobacco control initiative. It also illustrates the use of tobacco tax by Sub-Saharan African countries to address tobacco related conundrums. The comparison revealed elements of government ambivalence towards tobacco business and a possible recourse to tobacco tax to mollify global pressure against big tobacco. The paper uses the partial correlations between tobacco tax and basic economic development indicators across Sub-Saharan Africa and previous World Bank data as indicative of tobacco tax efficacy in controlling consumption in the region. It suggests that Sub-Saharan Africa may find regionally designed tax-based policy guidelines a palatable strategic alternative to global firms (such as BAT) that face a hostile global business environment. A united policy front that fits within the region's institutions can reduce complexity and create efficiencies through lower administrative costs across the region. Such action will make the region relatively more attractive (than it is currently) to foreign investors.     

H1N1 – the social costs of élite confusion

In May 2011, the World Health Assembly will receive the report of its International Health Regulations Review Committee examining responses to the outbreak of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza and identifying lessons to be learnt. This will emphasise the need for better risk communication in future. But risk and communication are not objective facts; they are socially mediated cultural products. Responses to crises are not only simply determined by the situation at hand, but also through mental models developed over protracted periods. Accordingly, those responsible for advocating the precautionary approach and encouraging the securitisation of health, that both helped encourage a catastrophist outlook in this instance, are unlikely to be held to account. These élite confusions have come at an enormous cost to society.     

Is there the threshold effect of cigarette price on smoking prevalence? A cross-country panel data analysis

This article shows new cross-country evidences by empirically investigating the joint effects of cigarette price levels and joining the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) on smoking prevalence in 74 countries over the period of 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2006. We assessed cigarette price elasticity for three national income levels using different databases on cigarette price from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), demographic and socioeconomic country characteristics from the World Bank and adjusted smoking prevalence rates published by various yearly WHO reports on the global tobacco epidemic from 2000 to 2010. A panel threshold regression was used to capture the nonlinear effects that cigarette prices on smoking prevalence at the three national income levels endogenously determined by estimation. Our findings supported the evidence that joining the WHO FCTC would have a positive effect on reducing cross-country smoking prevalence, especially among countries with low- and medium-income levels. Moreover, some simulated results show that a price hike of 10% would reduce smoking prevalence in countries with national income levels equal to or less than US$1900 and by 7.2% in countries with national income levels between US$1900 and US$2510 more than those with national income levels that are higher than US$2510.     

2002-2012年世界卫生组织发布的疫情信息分析

[目的]了解历年来全球疫情信息,为制定口岸防控策略提供依据。[方法]对2002-2012年世界卫生组织所公布的疫情信息进行收集、整理和分析。[结果]所报道的传染病共涉及45个病种,分布在6大洲,203个国家和地区;呼吸道传染病的信息条数最多,消化道传染病病例数最多,出血热类传染病病死率最高;消化道传染病、虫媒传染病、其他传染病和未确诊疾病均在非洲最多。[结论]世界卫生组织网站公布的疫情信息对于传染病预警有重要意义;针对非洲等地区的重点航班、重点航线加强检疫非常必要;呼吸道传染病是国境卫生检疫防控的重点疾病;对入境人员中有消化道症状的人员仍应开展经典的消化道传染病筛查,对病毒性出血热类疾病也应提高警惕。     

Socio-economic conditions of physical activity of manual workers from Wrocław

The article is aimed at evaluating the relationships existing between physical activity of manual workers from Wroc?aw and their socio-economic status. The survey completed in 2013 comprised 844 persons (300 women and 544 men), aged from 21 to 60 years. A method of diagnostic poll was used to assess physical activity, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire in a short version was used as the survey instrument, with the form expanded by characteristics of socio-economic status. Most of surveyed Wroc?aw residents were making physical effort sufficient to achieve health benefits. Moreover, the probability of meeting physical activity standards defined by the World Health Organization was highest for people between 21 and 30 years of age, with secondary education, whose monthly gross income per person in a household did not exceed PLN 1000. The survey has shown the existence of physical activity relationships with such characteristics of socio-economic status of surveyed persons as age, education and income.     

Adherence to WHO’s nutrition recommendations in the UK: Dietary patterns and policy implications from a national survey

Analysis of dietary patterns has largely focused on their association with diseases or risk factors, but limited research has been conducted on the heterogeneity of population dietary patterns and their adherence to international or national nutritional guidelines. As a result, the aim of this study is to identify latent dietary patterns of UK residents and to assess how well different segments comply with WHO dietary norms.To achieve this objective, the UK’s National Diet and Nutrition Surveys for 2011–12 dataset was analysed performing a latent class analysis on energy (kcals) derived from selected food groups. To assess adherence to different dietary patterns of the British population to nutritional guidelines, a traffic light system and a composite conformity index were developed to establish how well the identified segments comply with current dietary WHO norms regarding salt, free sugars, total fat, saturated fat, fruit and vegetables and dietary fibre.Results show four different segments which on the basis of heterogeneity of dietary patterns were named ‘high sugar/high fat consumers’, ‘prudent eaters’, ‘high fat consumers’ and ‘junk food eaters’. These segments show significant differences within and between groups in terms of dietary calories intakes and their adherence to WHO norms. Although ‘prudent eaters’ are closer to WHO dietary guidelines than other segments, none of the identified segments fully comply with dietary WHO norms. Policy implications of these findings are fully discussed in the conclusions arguing how current, future and potential dietary demand and supply measures affect consumers’ compliance with WHO norms.     

The catering industry as a source of campylobacteriosis in Europe—A review

Thermotolerant species of Campylobacter are the causative agents of the human illness called campylobacteriosis. The number of confirmed cases of human campylobacteriosis in the European Union followed a significant increasing trend in the period 2008–2012, and continued to be the most commonly reported zoonosis with 214,779 confirmed cases in 2013; the notification of human campylobacteriosis is today mandatory in most European Member States. Recent reports from the European Food Safety Authority have identified catering (catering services, restaurants, hotels, pubs, bars) as the most frequently reported setting for Campylobacter infection (EFSA and ECDC, 2015). As can be evinced from the analysis of the scientific literature, the quality of raw meat has been identified as a parameter of fundamental importance, but the contribution of incorrect food handling procedures is by no means negligible. In fact, poor hygiene during poultry meat preparation as well as inadequate cooking and cross-contamination between raw meat and ready-to-eat food were found to be the main causes for the spread of campylobacteriosis related to the catering industry.