#wha66

Hey Anon!

Well, as a child, Ininia is clearly being manipulated by Lord Restis. She follows their orders, probably because she's indebted to them and they're the only reference she can cling onto.

That's what the Brim Hats do: they find someone vulnerable and they tempt them with something only they can give them. It's what happened with Coustas and I don't doubt that it's what happened with Ininia too.

Therefore, it's natural that Ininia would feel guilt upon being rescued by the very man whose memories (and thus life) she erased on Restis' orders.

Additionally, I'd like to point out that Galga rescued her from trouble when Lord Restis never batted an eye about her, so now that her connection is severed with them, it'll be interesting to read about what the Atuarto/Galga duo will teach her.

As I've been saying, children don't know better and can't be blamed for being manipulated by adults. So I really hope Ininia will get a chance out of the Brim Hats, like Coustas and Eunie.

Still vouching for Atuarto to eventually make her one of his students, but ya know, we'll have to wait and see. x)

May 20, 2013 - The annual meeting of the World Health Assembly, the governing body of the World Health Organization, which opened in Geneva on Monday provides an interesting overview of the current global health situation and priorities for the years ahead. The proposed $3.9 billion budget for the 2014-15 biennium includes an eight percent reduction in the budget for communicable diseases, with cuts in the HIV/Aids and Tuberculosis budgets, and a 20 percent increase in the budget to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs), aimed reducing the prevalence of cancer, cardio-vascular diseases and substance abuse. The reduction in the HIV/Aids budget reflects the significant progress made in reducing new infections - a 20 percent overall decrease since 2003, including a 40 percent decrease in new infections among children over that period. Anti-retroviral drugs now reach eight million people living with HIV, up from two million in 2006. The increase in the NCDs budget is indicative of the growing burden on health systems and the related increase in mortality: some two-thirds of the estimated 60 million deaths annually are a result of non-communicable diseases. Among the primary aims of the increased NCDs budget is reducing harmful alcohol use, reducing tobacco use, and increasing mental health awareness and treatment - particularly in low-income countries. WHO's mental health action plan notes that almost half the world's population lives in countries where there is just one psychiatrist for 200,000 or more people.

Some facts and figures from documents and resolutions that will be discussed and voted on at the WHA over the next week: - Close to 900,000 people commit suicide each year - Between 76 precent and 85 percent of people with severe mental disorders receive no treatment for their in low-income and middle-income countries - Between 2000 and 2011 the reported incidence of measles decreased globally by 65 percent, in tandem with more vaccinations

- 30 percent of married women in the West Bank and 51 percent of married women in the Gaza Strip had experienced violence from their husbands in the preceding 12 months

- As of Feb. 14 2013 the numbers of both cases of polio and countries experiencing cases were at their lowest-ever recorded levels: Globally, 222 cases had been reported in 2012, a 66% decline compared with 2011. Five countries reported cases in 2012 compared with 16 in 2011

- About 16 million adolescent girls between 15 years and 19 years give birth each year. Babies born to adolescent mothers account for roughly 11% of all births worldwide

I'm exhausted and today was supposed to be the *least* eventful. Before I head to bed, I thought it might be useful to do a quick post about what happened today and what to expect tomorrow so that those who want to follow can be a little more informed. But in all seriousness, for all those who are interested in health, you just have to follow what's going on. This is where and when things happen. And it's very easy to do that remotely. I've been interacting with a few people on twitter and realized many of them are not in Geneva but still following the WHA closely. 

Unfortunately, my brain can only function in "lists" mode at this moment. So..here we go.

A few helpful quick links:

Daily journal: This is the daily schedule. Things change according to the progress of the discussion. But this is the place to look for interesting topics on the agenda.

All the WHA66 documents

Dr. Margaret Chan's speech today

A few exciting things I went to today:

- Opening of the 66th World Health Assembly

- Direction-General, Dr. Margaret Chan's speech:

- Draft action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs (a very important item on the agenda this year)

- Public-private partnerships for addressing NCDs (side event)

- Good governance in the pharmaceutical sector: the case of Thailand (side event)

Tomorrow is going to be a fully packed day. Starting from 7:45am, there's a session on "Addressing violence against women: health impacts and role of the health sector," organized by the delegations of Belgium, India, the United States of America, Zambia, Mexico, Norway and the Netherlands.

Then, I'm at my department's stand (Health System and Innovation) for the entire morning. The President of the World Bank is also speaking tomorrow, which is something I'm really excited about!

Other good moments:

- Met one of Singapore's delegates from the Ministry of Health and she went to my high school. :D

- Had a nice get-together with all the Tar Heels in town, including Professor Meier. It's always nice to see familiar faces in a foreign country. :)

Content Management System