Healthcare eludes poorer women in rural Asia Pacific

21/12/2018 0 Comments read Gender, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 21.12.2018 (SciDev.Net): Rural women in low-income households cannot access healthcare services due to distance and financial reasons. However, overall, healthcare access has improved in 27 countries of the Asia Pacific region over the past decade, says a new joint report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Health at a Glance Asia-Pacific 2018 notes that in Nepal and the Solomon Islands, about three in four women with the lowest household income reported difficulties in accessing healthcare due to financial reasons; two in three reported having unmet care needs due to distance.

The report highlights that achieving Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is based on the “leave no one behind” premise.

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© Copyright Neena Bhandari and BBC Indian Languages. All rights reserved. Republication, copying or using information from neenabhandari.com content is expressly prohibited without the permission of the writer and the media outlet syndicating or publishing the article.

Aussie project to ensure AI remains rights-centred

31/07/2018 0 Comments read Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 31.07.2018 (SciDev.Net): Recognising that artificial intelligence (AI) carries both risks and benefits for society, the Australian Human Rights Commission, an independent Statutory organisation, launched this month (July) a major project on the impact of technology on the right to life, privacy, security, safety and equality, which could also have implications in many developing countries keen on adapting emerging technologies.

AI is already employed in designing driverless cars that reduce road traffic deaths and robots that can perform minimally invasive surgeries. AI also finds use in robotic weapons deployed in conflict situations and plays a role in decision making that impacts public health, livelihoods, social interaction and human rights.

An outline of the project, published in an Issues Paper, focuses on protection and promotion of human rights in AI-informed decision making in Australia, but will promote an international approach with UN support.

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© Copyright Neena Bhandari. All rights reserved. Republication, copying or using information from neenabhandari.com content is expressly prohibited without the permission of the writer and the media outlet syndicating or publishing the article

Call for global coalition against malaria

07/07/2018 0 Comments read Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 07.07.2018 (SciDev.Net): The inaugural Malaria World Congress (2—5 July) in Melbourne has called on the global community to work unitedly to enhance political and financial support to combat the debilitating disease.

“The status quo is not okay as so much suffering depends on us acting, and acting vigorously,” said Brendan Crabb, immunologist and chief executive officer of Burnet Institute, a Melbourne-based not-for-profit research and public health organisation, while delivering the keynote closing address.

“It is not just engaging but putting the vulnerable communities that are the least listened to at the head of the table — to innovate, and to collaborate, is what will give us the motivation to finish the job (malaria elimination) in the countries that need the last mile to be achieved,” Crabb said.

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