Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, delivers his statement during the opening of the World Health Assembly, which took place in Geneva from May 27 to June 1.
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Roojin Habibi, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
The WHO’s International Health Regulations are the world’s only existing international legal agreement focused exclusively on preventing and addressing infectious disease outbreaks across borders.
If challenging health inequities requires questioning structures of power, then this must sit at the centre of the work of all physicians.
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De-centring medical expertise means fostering skillsets that reduce disparities in health outcomes. Medical expertise alone is great for those with social privilege, but not enough for the rest.
Influenza accounts for more than half of all potentially vaccine-preventable hospitalisations of children under 14. But those living in poverty are three times more likely to require hospital care.
New research highlights common threads in cancer survivors’ stories, including the effort it takes to navigate the health system, even for a diagnosis, and the struggle to fund unsubsidised treatments.
Prejudice and stereotyping can negatively affect patient-provider communication.
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Anti-Black racism has health, social and economic consequences for Black populations in Canada. Partnering with Black communities is a crucial component in effective efforts to mitigate inequities.
Medicine is as much about the human experience as it is about biology.
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While medical school may teach students about how the body works, it often neglects the social, political and cultural factors that determine health and disease. The humanities can help.
If public health bodies and policymakers put greater focus on improving the work environment, it could achieve major gains in population health and reduce health inequities.
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Many people with sickle cell disease don’t receive adequate treatment to ease their pain and are subjected to racial discrimination and stigmatization.
Children as young as ten don’t have access to Medicare if detained. And they’re dying of largely preventable diseases.
Research reveals what generations of tribes know firsthand: that forced assimilation and unhealthy conditions at compulsory boarding schools takes a permanent toll.
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Native Americans sent to government-funded schools now experience significantly higher rates of mental and physical health problems than those who did not.
The argument that private healthcare relieves pressure on the public system is misleading. Private care profits from failures of the public system and patients’ desperation for timely treatment.
An increasing number of health care decisions rely on information from algorithms.
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Biased algorithms in health care can lead to inaccurate diagnoses and delayed treatment. Deciding which variables to include to achieve fair health outcomes depends on how you approach fairness.
A microscopic image of a hookworm egg that can cause intestinal problems in humans.
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Theresa E. Gildner, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis
Though many Americans believe that parasitic infections exist in poorer countries, research shows that the problem exists in the US and has a higher impact in communities of color.
The degree to which Canadians support effective international co-operation, as essential to future pandemic preparedness and response, will shape Canada’s positioning on the draft international pandemic treaty.
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As negotiations for an international pandemic treaty get underway, public engagement is in the best interests of Canadians. Here is how the federal government is consulting affected populations.
The US PEPFAR initiative has brought HIV medication to millions of people globally. Behind this progress are the activists that pressured politicians and companies to put patients over patents.
Fear-based public health messaging can both motivate and alienate at-risk groups.
AP Photo/Gillian Allen
Prejudice and stigma can discourage the communities most affected by infectious diseases from seeking care. Inclusive public health messaging can prevent misinformation and guide the most vulnerable.
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University