Tuesday, October 9, 2007

[EQ] WHO Bulletin - Special Issue on Poverty and Human Development

Poverty and human development

 

Volume 85, Number 10, October 2007

Bulletin of the WHO - World Health Organization (BLT)

 

Available online at: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/10/en/index.html

 

 

This month the Bulletin joins over 230 other journals around the world in publishing papers on poverty and human development, as part of an initiative by the Council of Science Editors.

 

The first article on poverty and human development, an editorial, by Augustin Kwasi Fosu, examines the different measures of development and poverty, and how these indicators are linked to health. The second, a research paper by Alexander Warren Hertel-Fernandez et al., reports that infants born to the socioeconomically disadvantaged in Chile had a significantly higher risk for mortality by infectious diseases and trauma during the first month of life.

 

In the third, a review paper, Lale Say & Rosalind Raine find that inequalities in the use of maternal care in developing countries vary widely, highlighting the need to investigate and assess context-specific causes of use of maternal health care. The final paper in this set, by Tanja A J Houweling et al, found that poor–rich inequalities in maternity care in general, and professional delivery care in particular, are much larger than those in immunization coverage or treatment for childhood illnesses.

 

Seven papers in this issue of the Bulletin focus on maternal health. In an editorial introducing these papers, Monir Islam describes the enormous challenges to reduce child and maternal mortality in the develop­ing world faced by the Safe Mother­hood Initiative in the 20 years since it was formed.

 

Guo Sufang examines the increase in Caesarean section in China. Nils Chaillet et al. examine the attitude of obstetricians in Quebec to clinical practice guidelines targeting the management of labour and vaginal birth after a previous Caesarean birth.

 

Community-based distribution of injectable contraceptives is common­place in some countries in Asia and Latin America, but is practically unknown in Africa. A community trial in Uganda, by John Stanback et al., shows that well trained community health workers can safely provide contraceptive injections.

 

Steven A Harvey et al. found that skilled birth attendants in Nicaragua lack the knowledge and skills to manage common life-threatening obstetric complications.

 

Use of magnesium sulfate for pre-eclampsia and eclampsia is below desired levels in Mexico and Thai­land, according to a study by Pisake Lumbiganon et al. Laurel Hatt et al. conclude that the poorest women still find it hard to access emergency obstetric care.

 

In an editorial, Sara Wood discusses how policy-makers and scientists often lack access to data they need to assess priorities for public health. She explains how information that can prevent disease outbreaks moves slowly from wealthy to developing countries.  In the news, José Orozco reports on the spread of dengue fever in Venezuela. Claire Keeton reports from South Africa on the challenges of doing clinical trials involving children. Cininta Analen reports from Indonesia on a novel ap­proach to improving maternal health care in rural areas. In this month’s interview, Michael Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, talks about plans to start financing health systems in developing countries.

 

Ryuichi Komatsu et al. assess the contribution of Global Fund-supported programmes towards achieving international targets and Millennium Development Goals in terms of fighting HIV/AIDS, tubercu­losis and malaria. They conclude that considerably greater financial support will be needed to meet 2009 targets.

 

Volume 85, Number 10, October 2007, 733-820

Poverty and human development; Maternal health; Why numbers count; In the news; Global Fund targets
Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 71kb]

EDITORIALS

Poverty and development
- Augustin Kwasi Fosu doi: 10.2471/BLT.07.045955
Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 84kb]

The Safe Motherhood Initiative and beyond
- Monir Islam doi: 10.2471/BLT.07.045963 Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 74kb]

Opening data to the world: why health numbers matter
- Sara Wood doi: 10.2471/BLT.07.046649 Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 71kb]

WHO News
The Global Fund expands its role
Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 2.06Mb]
 

RESEARCH

Huge poor–rich inequalities in maternity care: an international comparative study of maternity and child care in developing countries
- Tanja AJ Houweling et al. doi: 10.2471/BLT.06.038588
Abstract [HTML] | Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 1.01Mb]

Delivery settings and caesarean section rates in China
- Guo Sufang et al. doi: 10.2471/BLT.06.035808
Abstract [HTML] | Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 455kb]

Magnesium sulfate is not used for pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in Mexico and Thailand as much as it should be
- Pisake Lumbiganon et al. doi: 10.2471/BLT.06.037911
Abstract [HTML] | Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 331kb]

Contraceptive injections by community health workers in Uganda: a nonrandomized community trial
- John Stanback et al. doi: 10.2471/BLT.07.040162
Abstract [HTML] | Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 1.17Mb]

Did the strategy of skilled attendance at birth reach the poor in Indonesia?
- Laurel Hatt et al. doi: 10.2471/BLT.06.033472
Abstract [HTML] | Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf]

Are skilled birth attendants really skilled? A measurement method, some disturbing results and a potential way forward
- Steven A Harvey et al. doi: 10.2471/BLT.06.038455
Abstract [HTML] | Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 623kb]

Identifying barriers and facilitators towards implementing guidelines to reduce caesarean section rates in Quebec
- Nils Chaillet et al.  doi: 10.2471/BLT.06.039289
Abstract [HTML] | Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 380kb]

The Chilean infant mortality decline: improvement for whom? Socioeconomic and geographic inequalities in infant mortality, 1990–2005
- Alexander Warren Hertel-Fernandez et al. doi: 10.2471/BLT.06.041848
Abstract [HTML] | Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 494kb]

Global Fund-supported programmes’ contribution to international targets and the Millennium Development Goals: an initial analysis
- Ryuichi Komatsu et al. doi: 10.2471/BLT.06.038315
Abstract [HTML] | Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 348kb]

PUBLIC HEALTH REVIEWS

A systematic review of inequalities in the use of maternal health care in developing countries: examining the scale of the problem and the importance of context
- Lale Say & Rosalind Raine doi: 10.2471/BLT.06.035659
Abstract [HTML] | Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 763kb]

LETTER

Addressing smoking cessation in tuberculosis control
- Nick K Schneider & Thomas E Novotny Full article text [HTML] | Full article text [pdf 93kb]

 

 

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