January 6th 2010
This week in medicine
The following will appear in the Jan 9 issue of The Lancet:
Stress hotline The UK Government has launched a free telephone helpline across England to provide advice and support to people starting 2010 with worries about debt, housing, or employment. In an expansion of the Government’s mental health programme, the NHS Stressline has been set up to tackle the rising number of problems that people will face as a result of the economic downturn.
Transplant debate Egypt is debating the landmark step of allowing organ transplantation from brain-dead donors in a bid to tackle the underground sale of organs by living donors, who are often poor people who feel trapped into it. Egypt currently has no transplant laws, and does not recognise brain death. Yet the country’s commercial organ trade is one of the biggest in the world.
Open all hours? Despite the Scottish Government’s offer of more money, a third of primary-care practices in Scotland have said that they will not extend their opening hours to evenings and weekends because it would not be economically viable. Meanwhile, across the UK, businesses lose roughly £1 billion per year because employees have taken time off work to visit their doctors.
Guinea worm WHO has certified seven more countries as being free of guinea-worm disease. Benin, Cambodia, Guinea, Mauritania, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Uganda have reported no infections of dracunculiasis for 3 years, bringing the total number of disease-free countries and territories to 187.
Naughty Nestlé The US Food and Drug Administration has accused food giant Nestlé of making unauthorised claims about its Juicy Juice products, which were promoted as boosting brain development in young children. Nestlé’s Kid Essentials Nutritionally Complete Drink has also come under fire for not meeting the requirements of the product’s widely promoted “medical food” claim.
Volcano aid 20 tonnes of high-energy biscuits have been sent to the northern Philippine island of Luzon by the UN World Food Programme to help about 50 000 Filipinos forced to leave their homes by a predicted eruption of Mount Mayon volcano. The Government and international humanitarian organisations have also provided additional tents, latrines, and water and sanitation facilities.
UN accountability The UN is to make publicly available data on sexual exploitation and abuse by members of its multiple peacekeeping operations and special political missions. The new data for 2007–09, provided by the Department of Field Support, will be accessible through a new section of the UN’s Conduct and Discipline Unit website under the heading “Statistics”.
Drugs and pregnancy The US Food and Drug Administration has announced the launch of a public–private collaboration to study the health effects of prescription drug use during pregnancy. The Medication Exposure in Pregnancy Risk Evaluation Program will combine data from 11 health-plan-associated research sites to provide information about a topic for which randomised trials are scarce.
Insurance success A pioneering UN-funded health insurance scheme for nearly 1500 refugees living in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been deemed efficient and effective. The scheme, which costs the UN about US$30 per family per month, allows covered people to visit a health centre close to their home and includes referral to a major hospital if needed.
Thalidomide support A pilot support package to help people disabled by thalidomide, which was prescribed to their mothers while pregnant in the 1960s and 1970s, has been announced by the UK Government. The grant, worth £20 million, will be distributed by the Thalidomide Trust and aims to give survivors more control over their long-term health needs.
Vulnerable children The US Government has released a report on assistance to highly vulnerable children in developing countries. Such children include those who are refugees, internally displaced, homeless, and associated with armed groups. The report outlines priorities in 2010 and beyond, including increasing support for extremely poor households to keep families intact and improve their ability to care for their children.
Honourable Dames Congratulations to Valerie Beral, a member of The Lancet’s International Advisory Board, for becoming a Dame of the British Empire in the New Year’s honours list. Former Red Cross nurse Claire Bertschinger, who inspired Bob Geldof to organise Live Aid, was also made a Dame for services to nursing and international humanitarian aid.
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