Vigilance needed to avert spread of bird flu to humans

14/05/2024 0 Comments read Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 14.05.2024 (SciDev.Net): Health experts are calling for tighter biosecurity measures in global poultry production, from farms to markets, to monitor bird flu (avian influenza) following its spread among dairy cows in the United States.

Since 2003, 888 cases of human infection with the avian influenza virus, also known as H5N1, have been reported from 23 countries, of which 463 were fatal, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia are among the worst affected.

“Although the number may appear not as big as many other outbreaks, we need to bear in mind that each infection in humans is an attempt of the virus to try to establish itself in [the] human population,” says Wenqing Zhang, head of the WHO’s global influenza programme, in a video released this week (Monday). “Although the chances are slim so far, as long as it succeeds just once, it is a start of an influenza pandemic…”

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Asia needs to improve equity in health

18/11/2020 0 Comments read Health & Science

A floating village in Ha Long Bay, in the Gulf of Tonkin, where most residents are part of Vietnam's majority ethnic group, the Kinh people. Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 18.11.2020 (SciDev.Net): Access to health care is a challenge for the most marginalised communities within Asian countries, but over the past decade there has been a growing commitment to identify and address health inequalities to make progress towards universal health coverage, a seminar heard.

A satellite session (8—12 November) of the Sixth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, organised by Health Systems Global (HSG), focused on creative ways people working in health policy and research across Asia are increasing health equity, including for ethnic minorities and non-citizens.

Evidence suggests that certain socially disadvantaged groups tend to use health services less, although these groups may need health services more. This is partly because disadvantaged groups typically face multiple barriers, such as financial, geographical and cultural, in accessing services, according to Health at a Glance: Asia/Pacific 2018.

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Gender Equality Will Be Key to Achieving SDGs in Viet Nam

27/04/2017 0 Comments read Environment & Development, Features, Gender

Pham Thi Kim Viet, a tour guide, shows visitors the map of Huế, a city in central Vietnam which was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty emperors. Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Ha Noi/Hoi An (Vietnam), 27.04.2017 (IDN): Pham Thi Kim Viet is up before the rooster heralds the crack of dawn. The rice in the cooker is beginning to boil as she tosses freshly chopped vegetables and fish in a wok. She then hurries to wake her two daughters, 12 and four years old. At 7am, dressed in laundered uniforms, she drops them at school on her trusted old scooter and proceeds to Hoi An, 30km from her home in the mountains of Dai Loc district in central Vietnam, to report for work as a freelance tour guide.

“Each day is a struggle to make ends meet. I work between 10 and 12 hours a day during high tourist season to earn US$20. During low tourist season, there is very little work and I constantly worry about paying bills and putting food on the table”, says Viet, who has been coping with mental and financial abuse from her husband. The physical violence ended, when he moved out, but he drops in anytime, sometimes to demand money.

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