ECS International, ECSII, Healthcare
The first personalised drug for prostate cancer is set to revolutionise treatment and extend the lives of thousands of men. The drug (olaparib) is currently licensed to treat ovarian cancer could be a successful treatment for men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. Currently in clinical trials, the pill is taken on a daily basis and uses the patient’s genetic make-up to target the tumour’s defences is said to work in 80 percent of men with certain genes.
The gun violence crisis is not restricted to the United States which leads the developed world for mass shootings as recently last week in Virginia Beach and in 2018 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. However it is rare that mass shootings occur internationally and when it does occur it is usually related to terrorism as the cases in New Zealand and Bangladesh. Gun violence is a man made public health problem, and it is linked to an underlying set of social determinants found in other epidemics. Long term public disinvestment in education, housing, job training, and a lack of a social safety net, persistent structural racism and discrimination, lack of economic opportunity, poverty and gang violence are some of the factors that drive gun violence epidemic.
In 2016, more than 250,000 people worldwide died as a result of firearms, and half of all of those deaths came from six nations, Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Guatemala; which according to a study published in the journal JAMA these countries hold less than 10 percent of the world’s population. A major side effect of this crisis has been the mass migration of people fleeing from countries (Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Venezuela), that have major gun violence problems into adjacent countries like Colombia, Mexico and the United States creating more social and political upheaval.
Now it’s time to consider practical and effective ways to stem the gun violence epidemic that conceivably one day in the future there could be a world without guns.
Jamaica is leading the Caribbean by being the first to establish a commercial cannabis industry has opened the mythical ‘Pandora’s box’ as more Caribbean nations are quickly moving towards the decriminalization and establishing their own medical marijuana programs. The list of islands include: Antigua & Barbuda, Bermuda, St. Kitts & Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Now the Ministry of Health and Wellness in Barbados is insisting that its recent decision to authorise medical marijuana products for use in Barbados was based solely on the best available scientific evidence from clinical studies. The announcement was made by health minister Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic Wellness, who said the five medicinal marijuana drugs to be imported will be used only when traditional medication fails to give any relief for chronic pain, spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, severe nausea and loss of appetite.
The Caribbean islands are among the world’s most vulnerable when it comes to the effects of climate change. With increasing frequency of more powerful and intense hurricanes, flooding, wind damage and rising sea levels are all predicted to intensify. Medical facilities, power plants, freshwater sources, roads, houses and schools are also facing increasing threats. It is essential that islands cooperate with one another to prepare for inevitable natural disasters and find ways to minimize the impacts they will experience. Evidence shows that key ecosystems, like coral reefs and mangroves, can help reduce these risks while enhancing sustainable economic development. It is essential that researchers from within and outside the region be involved in exploring the effects of climate change and develop new and effective ways to adapt. Now an action plan has been developed by Caribbean countries and territories that provides a roadmap for coping with climate change in the region.
Jamaican doctor and professor, Peter Figueroa, has been recognised at the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a health leader for his contribution to public health locally and internationally over the last four decades. [Read more…]