Palliative care

Palliative care is a crucial part of integrated, people-centred health services (IPCHS). Nothing is more people-centred than relieving their suffering, be it physical, psychological, social, or spiritual. Thus, whether the cause of suffering is cancer or major organ failure, drug-resistant tuberculosis or severe burns, end-stage chronic illness or acute trauma, extreme birth prematurity or extreme frailty of old age, palliative care may be needed and integrated at all levels of care.
 

Road traffic injuries

Road traffic crashes result in the deaths of approximately 1.35 million people around the world each year and leave between 20 and 50 million people with non-fatal injuries. More than half of all road traffic deaths and injuries involve vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists and their passengers.

Rift valley fever Treatment

Diagnosis 

Because the symptoms of Rift Valley fever (RVF) are varied and non-specific, clinical diagnosis is often difficult, especially early in the course of the disease. RVF is difficult to distinguish from other viral haemorrhagic fevers as well as from many other diseases that cause fever, including malaria and typhoid fever. As such, definitive diagnosis requires laboratory testing. 

Treatment 

Rift valley fever

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral zoonosis that primarily affects animals but also has the capacity to infect humans. It is transmitted by mosquitoes and blood feeding flies. In humans, the disease ranges from a mild flu-like illness to severe haemorrhagic fever that can be lethal. When livestock are infected the disease can cause significant economic losses due to high mortality rates in young animals and waves of abortions in pregnant females. 

Rheumatic Heart Disease

Rheumatic heart disease is the most commonly acquired heart disease in people under age 25, and mostly affects children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries.

Rheumatic heart disease results from damage to heart valves caused by one or several episodes of rheumatic fever, an autoimmune inflammatory reaction to throat infection with group A streptococci (streptococcal pharyngitis or strep throat). It most commonly occurs in childhood, and can lead to death or life-long disability.  

Research WHO response

High-quality research is essential to fulfilling WHO’s mandate for the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. One of the Organization’s core functions is to set international norms, standards and guidelines, including setting international standards for research.

Under the “WHO strategy on research for health”, the Organization works to identify research priorities, and promote and conduct research with the following 4 goals:

Research

Research is indispensable for resolving public health challenges – whether it be tackling diseases of poverty, responding to rise of chronic diseases,  or ensuring that mothers have access to safe delivery practices.

Likewise, shared vulnerability to global threats, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, Ebola virus disease, Zika virus and avian influenza has mobilized global research efforts in support of enhancing capacity for preparedness and response. Research is strengthening surveillance, rapid diagnostics and development of vaccines and medicines.

Rehabilitation WHO Response

In 2017 WHO launched the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative, which emphasizes the need for concerted and coordinated action by all stakeholders to strengthen the health system to provide quality and timely rehabilitation through actions such as: improving leadership and governance; developing a strong multidisciplinary rehabilitation workforce; expanding financing for rehabilitation; and improving data collection and research on rehabilitation.

Refugee and migrant health WHO's Role

The WHO Constitution states that everyone has the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and ratified international human rights standards and conventions exist to protect the rights of refugees and migrants  including their right to health. The access of refugees and migrants to quality, essential health services is of paramount importance to rights-based health systems, global health security and to public efforts aimed at reducing health inequities and achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Refugee and migrant health

More people are on the move now than ever before. There are an estimated 1 billion migrants in the world today of whom 272 million are international migrants and 763 million internal migrants – one in seven of the world’s population. An estimated 70.8 million of the world’s internal and international migrants are forcibly displaced today.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

3.1 By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100 000 live births.

3.2 By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1000 live births.

3.3 By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases.

Implementing Asynchronous wrapper for Cassandra driver

Cassandra

Cassandra is a column oriented, NoSQL system designed to handle large amounts of data with relatively fast queries. Here at 1mg we use Cassandra for some of our database requirements. The major reason why Cassandra is quick is because it optimises the way the data is stored on the filesystem.

Partitioned to optimise querying