The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) which originated in Wuhan, China has been declared as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization (WHO). At the time of writing the article , there w approximately 71,811 confirmed cases, and 1,775 deaths globally due to this deadly virus (1). The current […]
Category: Communicable disease
Wuhan Coronavirus : Should we trust social media ?
The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus, known as 2019-nCoV, originated from China, has driven enormous public attention. So far, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are approximately 4593 confirmed cases of coronavirus globally and 106 deaths (1). The overall situation regarding the coronavirus spread is fluid. Considering its high level of infectivity and […]
Applying Implementation Science to Improve Antimicrobial Stewardship: Why is it Important?
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant threat to global health. At least 700, 000 deaths occur yearly as result of AMR. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is one of the key strategies that has been proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Action Plan on AMR to solve the problem of the inappropriate use of antimicrobials, […]
Biomarker research – an untapped avenue for tackling AMR?
Since the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming nearly a century ago, antibiotics have transformed healthcare. Recollections are waning that seemingly innocuous diseases, such as strep throat, were once fatal. But antibiotics are falling victim to their own success. Today’s widespread use of these wonder drugs – not just in human health but also in […]
What drives commitment for nutrition?
Unhealthy diets and poor nutrition are among the greatest global health and development challenges we face today. Together they affect at least one in three people and no nation is untouched. The United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025 (the Nutrition Decade) provides a catalyst for aligning actions to improve nutrition everywhere, within a […]
Can the National Nutrition Mission address the nutrition maladies in India?
The Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi unveiled a vision to fight malnutrition in India on 8th March 2018 with the launch of a new program called POSHAN ABHIYAAN or National Nutrition Mission (NNM). The program comes with a budget of ₹ 9000 crore (₹ 90,000 million or 1384 million US$) for three years […]
Role of the private sector in epidemic response and preparedness
By Jennifer Esposito, Health & Life Sciences, Intel Corporation In today’s interconnected world, pandemic disease threats have the potential to not only have a devastating human impact, but could also cost tens of billions of dollars to the global economy and private enterprise. These threats could exacerbate political and economic instability, and threaten the national […]