World Toilet Day in 2017- ”Wastewater”

In 2013, the UN General Assembly officially designated November 19 as World Toilet Day. The theme for World Toilet Day in 2017 is “wastewater.” 

Toilets Save Lives

Toilets save lives because human waste spreads killer diseases. However, 4.5 billion people live without a household toilet that safely disposes of their waste. World Toilet Day is about inspiring action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.
By 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG #6, aim to reach everyone with sanitation, and halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and increase recycling and safe reuse.
For that to be achieved, we need everyone’s poo to be contained, transported, treated and disposed of in a safe and sustainable way. Today, for billions of people around the world, sanitation systems are either non-existent or ineffective and, consequently, progress in health and child survival is seriously undermined.
Also, poor water and sanitation cost developing countries around $260 billion a year, 1.5 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP), while every dollar invested could bring a five-fold return by keeping people healthy and productive.

2017 theme: Wastewater

World Toilet Day 2017 continues the theme from World Water Day earlier this year, with the focus on wastewater. As part of this topic, we are asking the question, ‘Where does our poo go?’ For billions of people around the world, sanitation systems are either non-existent or ineffective. Poo gets out into the environment and spreads killer diseases, seriously undermining progress in health and child survival. Even in wealthy countries, treatment of wastewater can be far from perfect, leading to rivers and coastlines that cannot be safely fished in or enjoyed.
In addition to the profound impact that improved sanitation has on health and living conditions, safely-managed wastewater has massive potential as an affordable and sustainable source of energy, nutrients and water.

The poo journey

The global sanitation crisis is reflected in the following facts, according to reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF):

• Around 60% of the global population – 4.5 billion people – either have no toilet at home or one that doesn’t safely manage excreta.
• 862 million people worldwide still practise open defecation.
• 1.8 billion people use an unimproved source of drinking water with no protection against contamination from faeces.
• Globally, 80% of the wastewater generated by society flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused.
• Only 39% of the global population (2.9 billion people) use a safely-managed sanitation service, that is, excreta safely disposed of in situ or treated off-site.
• Combined with safe water and good hygiene, improved sanitation could prevent around 842,000 deaths each year.

Source of Info: UN

For that to be achieved, we need everyone’s poo to be contained, transported, treated and disposed of in a safe and sustainable way. Today, for billions of people around the world, sanitation systems are either non-existent or ineffective. Human waste gets out and killer diseases spread, meaning progress in health and child survival is seriously undermined.
 
To achieve SDG 6, we need everyone’s poo to take a 4-step journey:

1. Containment. Poo must be deposited into a hygienic toilet and stored in a sealed pit or tank, separated from human contact.
2. Transport. Pipes or latrine emptying services must move the poo to the treatment stage.
3. Treatment. Poo must be processed into treated wastewater and waste products that can be safely returned to the environment.
4. Disposal or reuse. Safely treated poo can be used for energy generation or as fertilizer in food production.

Source of Info: World Toilet Day

In Nepal, every year 600 children under five die from diarrhoeal diseases caused by dirty water and poor sanitation. This accounts for a third of all child deaths overall.

Only 48% of the population in Nepal has access to a proper toilet, helping to cause widespread disease. The majority of people do not have a latrine and have no option but to defecate in the open. (WaterAid)

The 2015 Update of the WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), reports that 92% of Nepal’s population have access to improved drinking water, and 64% have access to improved sanitation [inclusive of 18% shared toilets]. The 2014 MICS survey and the DWSS database, suggest that there has been a significant acceleration in sanitation progress both in terms of access to improved sanitation and, very importantly, a substantial decrease in open defecation. atthe end of 2015, out of 75 districts, 27 claim ODF status. And from 217 towns, 81 have declared ODF. Still a good way to go, to ensure sustainability, move towards total sanitation, and take care of fecal sludge. Embedding good hygiene behaviour will take time as well, but it is certainly improving. (Last Updated: 2016) (Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation)

“Let them thrive!”- World Prematurity Day 2017

Let them thrive!
• Quality of care for the smallest
• Improving care for the smallest
• Respectful care for the smallest
World Prematurity Day is observed on November 17 each year. It aims to raise awareness about the issues associated with preterm birth.

Premature birth is the leading cause of death in children under the age of five worldwide. Babies born too early may have more health issues than babies born on time, and may face long-term health problems that affect the brain, the lungs, hearing or vision. World Prematurity Day on November 17 raises awareness of this serious health crisis. Throughout the month we draw attention to the lifesaving research, treatments and community support made possible when we work together to give every baby a fighting chance.  (Marchofdimes) 

Preterm births rising globally

An estimated 15 million babies are born preterm every year – more than 1 in 10 babies around the world and this number is rising. Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of death for children under 5, causing an estimated 1 million deaths in 2015 globally. Many survivors of preterm birth face a lifetime of disability, including learning disabilities and visual and hearing problems.
Preterm birth (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy) and being small for gestational age, which are the reasons for low-birth-weight (LBW), are also important indirect causes of neonatal deaths. LBW contributes to 60% to 80% of all neonatal deaths. The global prevalence of LBW is 15.5%, which amounts to about 20 million LBW infants born each year, 96.5% of them in developing countries.
Countries can reduce their neonatal and infant mortality rates by improving the care for the mother during pregnancy and childbirth and of LBW infants. Experience from developed and low- and middle-income countries has clearly shown that appropriate care of LBW infants, including their feeding, temperature maintenance, hygienic cord and skin care, and early detection and treatment of infections and complications including respiratory distress syndrome can substantially reduce mortality.  WHO

Preterm Birth Estimates (2015)

Source of Data

Women and diabetes – our right to a healthy future – World Diabetes Day 2017

World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by IDF and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes. World Diabetes Day became an official
United Nations Day in 2006 with the passage of United Nation Resolution 61/225. WDD is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign reaching a global audience of over 1 billion people in more than 160 countries. The campaign draws attention to issues of paramount importance to the diabetes world and keeps diabetes firmly in the public and political spotlight. The campaign is represented by a blue circle logo that was adopted in 2007 after the passage of the UN Resolution on diabetes. The blue circle is the global symbol for diabetes awareness. It signifies the unity of the global diabetes community in response to the diabetes epidemic.

IDF

Key messages (The International Diabetes Federation)

All women with diabetes require affordable and equitable access to care and education to better manage their diabetes and improve their health outcomes.

Supporting facts

• There are currently over 199 million women living with diabetes. This total is projected to increase to 313 million by 2040.
• Two out of every five women with diabetes are of reproductive age, accounting for over 60 million women worldwide.
• Diabetes is the ninth leading cause of death in women globally, causing 2.1 million deaths per year.
• Women with type 2 diabetes are almost 10 times more likely to have coronary heart disease than women without the condition.
• Women with type 1 diabetes have an increased risk of early miscarriage or having a baby with malformations.

What needs to be done

• Health systems must pay adequate attention to the specific needs and priorities of women. 
• All women with diabetes should have access to the essential diabetes medicines and technologies, self-management education and information they need to achieve optimal diabetes outcomes. 
• All women with diabetes should have access to pre-conception planning services to reduce risk during pregnancy. 
• All women and girls should have access to physical activity to improve their health outcomes. 

Pregnant women require improved access to screening, care and education to achieve positive health outcomes for mother and child.

Supporting facts

• 1 in 7 births is affected by gestational diabetes.
• IDF estimates that 20.9 million or 16.2% of live births to women in 2015 had some form of hyperglycaemia in pregnancy. Approximately half of women with a history of GDM go on to develop type 2 diabetes within five to ten years after delivery.
• Half of all cases of hyperglycaemia in pregnancy occur in women under the age of 30.
• The vast majority of cases of hyperglycaemia in pregnancy were in low- and middle-income countries, where access to maternal care is often limited.

What needs to be done

• Type 2 diabetes prevention strategies must focus on maternal health and nutrition and other health behaviours before and during pregnancy, as well as infant and early childhood nutrition.
• Antenatal care visits during pregnancy must be optimised for health promotion in young women and early detection of diabetes and GDM.
• Screening for diabetes and GDM should be integrated into other maternal health interventions and services at primary healthcare level to ensure early detection, better care for women and reduced maternal mortality.
• Healthcare workers should be trained in the identification, treatment, management and follow up of diabetes during pregnancy.

Women and girls are key agents in the adoption of healthy lifestyles to improve the health and wellbeing of future generations.

Supporting facts

• Up to 70% of cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented through the adoption of a healthy lifestyle.
• 70% of premature deaths among adults are largely due to behavior initiated during adolescence.
• Women, as mothers, have a huge influence over the long-term health status of their children.
• Research has shown that when mothers are granted greater control over resources, they allocate more to food, children’s health and nutrition, and education.
• Women are the gatekeepers of household nutrition and lifestyle habits and therefore have the potential to drive prevention from the household and beyond.

What needs to be done

• Women and girls should be empowered with easy and equitable access to knowledge and resources to strengthen their capacity to prevent type 2 diabetes in their families and better safeguard their own health.
• Promoting opportunities for physical exercise in adolescent girls, particularly in developing countries, must be a priority for diabetes prevention.

Source of Info: (The International Diabetes Federation)

Women and diabetes – our right to a healthy future – World Diabetes Day 2017

Women and diabetes – our right to a healthy future – World Diabetes Day 2017

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