International Update
Access to safe drinking water improving, despite poor sanitation
If current trends in sanitation continue, the international community will miss the 2015 sanitation goal by nearly one billion people
Approximately 5.9 billion people – or 87% of the world’s population – use safe drinking water sources, despite the fact that 39% of people – more than 2.6 billion – live without improved sanitation facilities.
“Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water”, a joint monitoring programme between the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF, states that the world is on track to meet or exceed the drinking water target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). If current trends in sanitation continue, the international community will miss the 2015 sanitation goal by nearly one billion people.
Seven out of ten people without basic sanitation are rural inhabitants and more than eight out of ten people without access to improved drinking water live in rural areas. Unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene claim the lives of an estimated 1.5 million children under the age of five each year. Dr Maria Neira, WHO’s Director for the Department of Public Health and Environment, said: “We all recognise the vital importance of water and sanitation to human health and wellbeing and their role as an engine of development.
“The question now lies in how to accelerate progress towards achieving the MDG targets.”
European court – minimum cigarette prices illegal
The European Court of Justice has ruled it is illegal for European governments to impose minimum retail prices on cigarettes to reduce smoking.
The ruling came in cases the European Commission had brought against France, Austria and Ireland – which have all imposed minimum prices on cigarettes. The Court states that the new ruling does not prevent member states from combating smoking through public health initiatives.
Kidney donors health risk is low
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests having only one kidney does not seem to affect the long-term survival of live kidney donors. The study assessed the long-term survival of 80,347 live donors in the United States who had donated a kidney to a loved one from April 1994 to March 2009. It found that live donors were no more likely to die than those who had both kidneys, but were similar in age and health. A total of 9,364 people with both kidneys took part in the study.
The risk of dying within 90 days of the transplant surgery itself was low, at 3.1 deaths per 10,000 donors.
Global campaign to reduce pregnancy deaths
Many of the medical problems could easily be prevented if women had access to skilled healthcare professionals and drugs
Women in developing countries face the same risk of death as women in the UK did 100 years ago, according to the White Ribbon Alliance, Amnesty International and Oxfam. For every 100,000 live births in developing countries, 450 women die during pregnancy or labour. In 1910, 355 women died per 100,000 live births in England and Wales. In Scotland and Ireland, the rate was higher – at 572 and 531 respectively. Improving mothers’ health is one of the UN’s eight Millennium Development Goals, which also aim to improve access to contraception and to prevent deaths resulting from complications after unsafe abortions.
Many of the medical problems could easily be prevented if women had access to skilled healthcare professionals and drugs.
The UN states that little progress has been made in sub-Saharan Africa and deaths in southern Asia “remain unacceptably high”. Some countries have made progress in improving women’s health; in Nepal, maternal mortality rates have fallen by 58% since 1996. Amnesty International’s UK director Kate Allen said: "It’s clearly been possible to cut back on the rate of maternal deaths here in the UK. We need to demonstrate that same level of commitment worldwide.”
The Women Deliver conference in Washington DC in June will aim to tackle the global problem of maternal mortality.
Clearer information for prescription medicines
New rules currently under discussion in the European Union aim to give patients high-quality information on prescription medicines. Information would be communicated via the internet and health-related publications, rather than via TV and radio. The aim is to make information clear and visible – in line with European standards.
Dr Frank Ulrich Montgomery, from the Standing Committee of European Doctors, said: “Package leaflets should be less comprehensive; they have to be easier to read for patients.” The Environment Committee will vote on prescription medicine in June and the plenary vote is scheduled for September. Other topics for discussion include fake medicines and monitoring of drugs.