International Women’s Day 2018 #PressforProgress

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
International Women’s Day (IWD) has been observed since the early 1900’s – a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. International Women’s Day is a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity. No one government, NGO, charity, corporation, academic institution, women’s network or media hub is solely responsible for International Women’s Day. Many organizations declare an annual IWD theme that supports their specific agenda or cause, and some of these are adopted more widely with relevance than others.

International Women’s day

Gender equality must be at the core of ‘Health for All”

International Women’s Day Statement by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

7 MARCH 2018 – On this International Women’s Day, we imagine a world where every woman and girl has access to quality and affordable health care, a world in which women and girls can freely exercise their sexual and reproductive health rights, and one where all women and girls are treated and respected as equals.
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is the “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives”; and today is a good day for each and every one of us to speak-up for gender equality and women’s rights.
At the World Health Organization, we’re speaking up for women and girls’ right to health. When women and girls are able to stay in school longer, plan or prevent pregnancies and access health services without discrimination, they can improve their economic opportunities, and ultimately transform their futures.
But, we also must do more than speak. We must act.
Nothing will help women and girls more than ensuring that everyone, everywhere, can benefit from quality health services when and where they need them, without fear of falling into poverty when using them.
Today, at least half of the world’s people are lack access to essential health services – such as antenatal care throughout pregnancy, or immunizations to prevent maternal and neonatal tetanus or HPV – because they are not available or are financially out of reach. A disproportionate number of these people are women and girls.
Almost 100 million people are also being pushed into extreme poverty – living on less than $1.90 per day – because they have to pay for health services out of their own pockets. This is unacceptable. A woman should not have to choose whether to send her child to school, purchase food or pay for a health visit.
Universal health coverage – WHO’s top priority – means that health packages designed for women and adolescent girls should include services to promote health and prevent and treat disease. Excluding access to contraception from health plans, therefore limiting women’s and adolescent girls’ ability to plan or prevent pregnancies, is not health for all. It’s discrimination and it fuels further gender inequality.
Fundamental to achieving universal health coverage is equity. All women and girls – rich or poor, urban or rural, educated or illiterate – must be able to access the health services equally. But, in low- and middle-income countries, the proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel differs by up to 80 percentage points between the richest and poorest women. The presence of skilled health personnel during childbirth is a key to preventing maternal and newborn deaths.
These skilled birth attendants and the largely female health workforce must also be allowed to participate in leadership and decision-making, access formal employment, make a fair wage, and work in a place free from physical and sexual violence.
I am working to make sure we also walk the talk when it comes to women in the health workforce. Today, more than 60% of our senior positions are held by women, and we’re working to ensure our regional and country offices follow suit. We can’t be effective at promoting universal health coverage if we don’t have all voices at the table – and today I’m excited to see the female faces from all over the world sharing their ideas for change.
We know that, when universal health coverage is achieved, poverty will be reduced, jobs will be created, economies will grow, and communities will be protected against disease outbreaks. But we also know women’s economic opportunities will advance, and their children’s health and development will follow in step.

WHO Media centre

World Birth Defects Day is observed every year on March 3 to raise awareness of this serious global problem and advocate for more surveillance, prevention, care and research to help babies and children.
An estimated 8 million babies around the world are born with a serious birth each year. Birth defects are a leading cause of death in the first year of life, and babies who survive may have physical or intellectual disabilities, taking a costly toll on their families, communities and nations.

Birth Defects

Birth defects, also named congenital anomalies, are  structural or functional anomalies due to prenatally determined  developmental anomalies that can be identified prenatally, at birth, or sometimes may only be detected later in infancy.

Examples of birth defects

• Structural: Heart Defects, Spina Bifida, Hypospadias, Limb Deficiency, Club Foot, Down Syndrome
• Functional: Metabolic Diseases, Hearing Loss, Thalassemia, Cystic Fibrosis, Autism Spectrum Disorders 

some steps women can take to improve the chances of a healthy pregnancy and reduce the risk of birth defects:

• Start taking a daily multivitamin containing 400 mcg of folic acid, a B vitamin, even if you’re not trying to get pregnant. Folic acid every day, beginning before pregnancy and continuing through your pregnancy, is proven to help prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spine. It’s also a good idea to eat foods that contain folate, the natural form of folic acid, including lentils, green leafy vegetables, black beans, and orange juice [or other high folate foods popular in your area]. [Name of your organization] also recommends folic-acid enriched cereals, breads, and pasta; and foods made from folic-acid enriched corn masa flour, such as cornbread, corn tortillas, tacos, and tamales.
• Get as healthy as possible before pregnancy. See your health care provider for a checkup to learn about any conditions that can be treated before you get pregnant.
• Be up-to-date with your vaccinations (shots). Talk to your healthcare provider about vaccinations you should receive before or during pregnancy, including rubella and influenza (flu).
• Learn how to avoid Zika virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and sexually transmitted infections that can harm you and a developing baby.
• Practice good hygiene: Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially before preparing or eating foods; after being around or touching pets and other animals. If you’re around young children, don’t share food, glasses or utensils and do not put a child’s cup or pacifier in your mouth.

http://www.worldbirthdefectsday.org/

Rare Diseases Day

Rare Disease Day takes place on the last day of February each year. The main objective of Rare Disease Day is to raise awareness amongst the general public and decision-makers about rare diseases and their impact on patients’ lives.The campaign targets primarily the general public and also seeks to raise awareness amongst policy makers, public authorities, industry representatives, researchers, health professionals and anyone who has a genuine interest in rare diseases.
The first Rare Disease Day was celebrated in 2008 on 29 February, a ‘rare’ date that happens only once every four years. Ever since then, Rare Disease Day has taken place on the last day of February, a month known for having a ‘rare’ number of days.

RARE DISEASES

A disease or disorder is defined as rare in Europe when it affects fewer than 1 in 2000.
A disease or disorder is defined as rare in the USA when it affects fewer than 200,000 Americans at any given time. One rare disease may affect only a handful of patients in the EU (European Union), and another may touch as many as 245,000. In the EU, as many as 30 million people may be affected by one of over 6000 existing rare diseases.

• 80% of rare diseases have identified genetic origins whilst others are the result of infections (bacterial or viral), allergies and environmental causes, or are degenerative and proliferative.
• 50% of rare diseases affect children.

Characteristics of rare diseases

Over 6000 rare diseases are characterised by a broad diversity of disorders and symptoms that vary not only from disease to disease but also from patient to patient suffering from the same disease.
Relatively common symptoms can hide underlying rare diseases leading to misdiagnosis and delaying treatment. Quintessentially disabling, the patients quality of life is affected by the lack or loss of autonomy due to the chronic, progressive, degenerative, and frequently life-threatening aspects of the disease.
The fact that there are often no existing effective cures adds to the high level of pain and suffering endured by patients and their families. (RARE DISEASE DAY)

Statement for Rare Disease Day

28 FEBRUARY 2018 | GENEVA – The vision of the Sustainable Development Goals is a world in which no one is left behind, including people who suffer from rare diseases. Just because a disease affects a small number of people does not make it irrelevant or less important than diseases that affect millions.
Rare diseases present fundamentally different challenges from those of more common diseases, especially for diagnosis. The small number of patients, the logistics involved in reaching widely dispersed patients, the lack of validated biomarkers and surrogate end-points, and the lack clinical expertise and expert centres all present significant barriers.
Medical expertise for each of these diseases is a scarce resource. Fragmented disease knowledge makes it critical that investments in research go hand-in-hand with investments in dedicated infrastructure and international networks such as biobanks, registries and networks of expertise. Where needed, these networks can also provide opportunities to train health professionals on rare diseases.
WHO’s top priority is to support countries on the path towards universal health coverage, with the aim of ensuring that all people can access the health services they need, when and where they need them, without facing financial hardship. This includes access to diagnosis and treatment for people who suffer from rare diseases. Through the Fair Pricing Forum, WHO is seeking to foster dialogue between regulators, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and patient groups to ensure sustainable access to medicines, including orphan drugs. We welcome further discussions with the rare diseases community about how we can strengthen cooperation to ensure people with rare diseases can access the health services they need.
Thank you for your commitment to raising the awareness of rare diseases and contributing to a world in which no one is left behind. (Statement by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General)

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION