WHO/Mihail Grigorev
On Universal Health Coverage Day – 12 December 2019 – countries are being called upon to keep their promise to make health for all a reality.
Achieving universal health coverage is a Sustainable Development Goal that countries adopted in 2015. In September 2019, countries signed the United Nations declaration on universal health coverage, which includes commitments to ensure no one experiences financial hardship because of paying for health care out of their own pockets, and to strengthen both primary health care and the health workforce.
Moving towards universal health coverage requires sound policies based on data and analysis. Countries can put certain policies in place to ensure that everyone can use the quality health services they need without financial hardship.
At the First Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in Frankfurt, Germany, held 7–8 December 1989, Member States of the WHO European Region initiated the first ever process to eliminate the most significant environmental threats to human health. That same European Environment and Health Process (EHP) is now marking 30 years since its establishment, with a birthday celebration during the ninth meeting of the European Environment and Health Task Force (EHTF) on 9–10 December 2019 in Bonn, Germany.
In 2017, the declaration of the sixth and most recent ministerial conference on environment and health, held in Ostrava, Czechia, identified seven key priority areas for action, and committed to enhance action at the national level through the development of national portfolios for action on environment and health. Notwithstanding the important progress that has been achieved over the past three decades, six of the seven priorities identified in Ostrava still closely reflect the regional priorities identified 30 years ago in Frankfurt. This indicates that there is no room for complacency and that there is a need for additional efforts to overcome the challenges in environment and health that persist in the Region in terms of:
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improved indoor and outdoor air quality;
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ensuring universal, equitable and sustainable access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene;
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minimizing the adverse effects of chemicals on human health and the environment;
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preventing and eliminating the adverse environmental and health effects, costs and inequalities related to waste management and contaminated sites;
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strengthening adaptive capacity and resilience to health risks related to climate change and supporting measures to mitigate climate change;
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supporting the efforts of European cities and regions to become healthier and more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; and
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building the environmental sustainability of health systems.
Извор: WUNRN – 12.12.2019
Photo: Robyn Jay. Creative Commons BY-NC-SA (cropped).
Written as part of the global campaign for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, this article includes contributions from members of the United Nations University Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility (UNU-GCM) research team: Megha Amrith, Inés Crosas, Jane Freedman, Cecilia Gordano, Marta Guasp, Yu Kojima, Parvati Nair, Marija Obradovic, and Aishih Webhe-Herrera.
Women’s rights are human rights. It may seem obvious, but it bears repeating at this time of Human Rights Day.
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence is an international campaign symbolically linking 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day. The team at the UNU Institute for Globalization, Culture and Mobility (UNU-GCM), building on our current research program on female agency, mobility and socio-cultural change, has participated in the 16 Days of Activism with a campaign on our Facebook and Twitter highlighting issues including the importance of language, women with disabilities, migrant women and refugees, and art as activism.
Under-vaccination can lead to outbreaks of dangerous vaccine-preventable diseases. A new WHO/Europe document provides expanded guidance for identifying reasons for why some people are not vaccinated and tailoring interventions to remove the barriers they face. The aim is that everyone has equitable access to the health protection offered by vaccines.
Kyrgyzstan, a country reporting high vaccination coverage, has faced over 2000 measles cases this year so far. This paradox is seen in many countries: if some population groups have low vaccination uptake, they are vulnerable to the spread of measles once the virus enters their community.
“The situation in Kyrgyzstan confirms that simply having high national vaccination rates isn’t enough,” explains Katrine Bach Habersaat from WHO/Europe. “Population groups with low vaccination uptake need to be considered, and their specific barriers to vaccination need to be understood and addressed. In the case of Kyrgyzstan, this is related to people migrating from rural to urban areas in pursuit of employment and income.”
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
Article 19, Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
August 5, 2019 - The EU has adopted legislation, issues recommendations, exchanges and good practices and provides funding to support action by member states. The concepts of EU gender equality policy were shaped by European Court of Justice rulings. The European Parliament regularly adopts own initiative reports on gender issues, calling for more efforts to improve gender equality.
The European Parliament has always been very active on achieving equality between men and women and has a standing committee dedicated to women’s rights and gender equality. Every year, Parliament marks International Women’s Day on 8 March and raises awareness by organising events.
