Global Scans · Health · Weekly Summary

• [New] The US Department of Health and Human Services designated B. anthracis as a tier 1 select agent, signifying that it presents the greatest risk of deliberate misuse with significant potential for mass causalities and poses a severe threat to public health and safety. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] HIV associated stigma remains a major human rights challenge and addressing HIV-related stigma and discrimination will be necessary to achieve the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] The prevalence of overweight and obesity has been increasing globally, posing significant health challenges such as joint pain, reduced mobility, and an increased risk of chronic diseases. Exoskeleton Report
• [New] 49, 50 In the United Kingdom, the ACMD concluded that synthetic opioids posed a significant risk to public health and recommended that current monitoring and surveillance systems be adapted to help identify the true scale of the public health threat. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] The UK government cites concerns about the risk to mental health associated with using cannabis as a justification for supporting prohibition. Loughborough University
• [New] A Markov cohort model was used to estimate COVID-19 related direct medical costs and deaths in the United States, With the most optimistic projections, a 60% efficacious COVID-19 vaccine can prevent 31% of expected COVID-19 deaths in the United States versus no vaccines. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] The UK is not immune to the health risks of climate change, as we have seen with unprecedented heatwaves in recent years. Education News
• [New] The FDA's proposed menthol rule relies heavily on a study published in 2021 projecting that a federal ban would avert about 650,000 premature deaths by the year 2060, demonstrating a substantial benefit to public health. Slate
• [New] In 2024, in an even more uncertain world, the top risk has moved to health and safety in all regions except for Great Britain, where data loss slightly edges out health and safety. WTW
• [New] AI not only increases the capacity for medical practitioners to care for a larger number of patients simultaneously, but also holds the potential to enhance preventive nature of healthcare. The National
• [New] Open dumping and inappropriate disposal in landfills presented threats to public health and safety of the environment as well as contributed an estimated 5% of global greenhouse gases to climate change. Ghana News Agency
• [New] Telehealth services helped provide necessary care to patients while minimizing the transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to health care personnel and patients in the United States and abroad. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] A global health threat of alarming proportions which could cause 10 million deaths a year by 2050 if not effectively curbed, antibiotic resistance is resulting in increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. Times of India
• [New] When the use of cannabis became legal in Canada more than five years ago, there was hope that it would help ease access for medical users of marijuana. CBC
• [New] Investors have an opportunity to support Nestle to adapt and become a world leader on health. ShareAction
• [New] Nestle is currently heavily reliant on the sales of less healthy foods, exposing it and its shareholders to significant business risks while harming people's health. ShareAction
• [New] Only seven countries globally meet the air quality standards set by the World Health Organization, leaving 99% of the world's population at risk of a vast array of health conditions linked to the air they breathe. The Telegraph
• [New] At present, the newly identified SARS-CoV-2 has caused a large number of deaths with tens of thousands of confirmed cases worldwide, posing a serious threat to public health. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Measures to fight the health impacts of climate change must explicitly include equity, to ensure a global recovery from a global threat. UC Berkeley School of Public Health
• [New] As the single largest climate investment in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will cut emissions, protect health, and create job and economic opportunities so that communities will not just survive but thrive for generations to come. US EPA
• Another initiative that may point in the direction of harder forms of governance at the international level is the aspiration of the Expert Advisory Committee of the World Health Organization to develop global standards for governance of genome editing that could ultimately be turned into law. PubMed Central (PMC)
• Collaboration between healthcare providers, technology companies, and government agencies will be key to unlocking the full potential of AI and transforming healthcare delivery across Asia. AIMS International

Last updated: 12 April 2024