The importance of prevention
Prevention, a necessary word for our well-being
by Arianna Ciotti, LSP Assisi/Italy
Everyone knows the definition of prevention: prevention is the reduction of risks of diseases through previous actions. Prevention is subsequently divided in primary, secondary and tertiary. I will focus on the primary one, which is based on the maintenance of the conditions of well-being in order to avoid the insurgence of diseases.
We all know how important and necessary prevention is nowadays and the progress and improvements achieved by medicine in the field of prevention policies in our developed countries where the risk of non-curable diseases is always growing.
Referring to the article published on the 7th of October 2015 in the English newspaper "Independent" “Cancer experts reveal 13 ways to help prevent disease”, I’ll try to highlight that medicine in the Western World is far more developed than in the Third World.
The article talks about how to prevent cancer, that is the disease of our millennium. The research was first published in the Australian and New Zealander Journal of Public Health. The study was carried out by the Medical Research Institute in Queensland and it talked about some ways to prevent cancer. Also, experts found out that in Australia 90% of all cancer deaths are caused by just five high risk factors, that are: smoking, exposure to the sun, body weight, bad diet and alcohol. According to the article, the best ways to prevent cancer are: stop smoking, that causes 15,000 cancer deaths a year; avoiding the sun and melanoma; a healthy diet low in red meat and full of foods high in fibre like fruits and vegetables; avoiding infections such as papilloma virus through vaccination; stop drinking alcoholic drinks; doing physical activity and avoiding oral contraceptives.
In the developed world we do not often follow these simple rules even if they are accessible to everyone, while in the underdeveloped countries these principles are out of reach. In these countries, in fact, the large number of deaths is mainly caused by preventable and curable diseases. This serious problem is due to different factors like great poverty and the international market monopolized by great pharmaceutical industries of the Western World that shift the attention on diseases like AIDS, which is a problem also for the western countries. This leads to ignoring other great problems that hurt the Third World and could be easily prevented and cured even locally. We must also consider the problems determined by cultural and traditional barriers, and the taboos of some societies that don't allow to accept innovations coming from the Western culture.
We must understand how important it is to be aware that prevention is better than cure. Information and support to developing countries is also important, because we must remember that in a great part of our world it is impossible to prevent and cure the majority of diseases.
images taken from pixabay.com; Posted 04.03.2017 12:44
Let’s give hope a chance
by Annalisa Genovese, LSP Assisi/Italy
We, young people belonging to the rich countries of Europe, usually tend to be unhappy or dissatisfied of what we have and do not appreciate our lives, which we consider poor, boring and not good enough; long story short, we never realize how lucky we really are, always despising and asking for the best of everything. In order to better understand and to be thankful for our way of living, it would be necessary to focalize our attention on those activities and behaviour which are almost taken for granted in the places we live in, but that often make the difference between life and death in other parts of the world.
This is the case of children's vaccinations. In fact, what for us represents a routine practice and a normal prevention against typical childhood diseases, for lots of African countries it is still difficult to deliver vaccinations safely and in some cases it is even impossible due to the lack of access to basic healthcare services caused by conflicts and poverty. Because of this, the under-five mortality rate in the African Continent (and more specifically in the Republic of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Nigeria and South Sudan) is still very high and, according to UNICEF statistics, every year many children die from diseases that could be prevented.
This means that new solutions and programmes are needed. The last African Union summit in which the African heads of state created an agency in order to face global threats and promised to make vaccines available throughout the continent within the next three years can be considered a milestone. Health is a priority and, like Ethiopia’s Minister for Health said, “Immunisation is one of the smartest investments a country can make in its future”. In this new health push a contribute is also given by the organisation "Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention" which is based in Addis Ababa and cooperates with Zambia, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt and which will help through systems for early warning and response surveillance. Like many think, “Universal access to immunisation is achievable” - it is no longer just a dream. There will be the need of great funding and a good job on the part of finance ministers but through them health systems could really strengthen. Of course, it is a very ambitious project that includes the cooperation of the US, the EU and China. So... let’s give hope a chance! From these actions we can understand how much these countries want to improve. Things like these should shake up our minds and make us more attentive to the current situations.
images taken from pixabay.com; Posted 04.03.2017 12:4; Posted 04.03.2017 12:44
Rotkäppchen und die Meningitis
by Giulia Palmacci und Madalina Matei, LSP Assisi/Italy
Es war einmal ein kleines süßes Mädchen, das hatte jedermann lieb, der sie nur ansah, am allerliebsten aber ihre Großmutter. Diese wusste gar nicht, was sie alles dem Kinde geben sollte. Einmal schenkte sie ihm ein Käppchen von rotem Samt, und weil ihm das so gut stand und es nichts anders mehr tragen wollte, hieß es nur mehr das Rotkäppchen.
Zu dieser Zeit verbreitete sich eine sehr gefährliche Krankheit in der Region: Meningitis. Es handelte sich um die Entzündung der Meningen, des Gehirns und des Rückenmarks, eine Krankheit, die durch Bakterien oder Viren verursacht wird. Zur Vorbeugung war es notwendig, Maßnahmen zu ergreifen, in erster Linie die Impfung, vor allem für diejenigen, die am stärksten gefährdet waren: Kinder und ältere Menschen.
Eines Tages sprach Rotkäppchens Mutter zu ihm: "Komm, Rotkäppchen, da hast du ein Stück Kuchen und eine Flasche Wein, bring das der Großmutter hinaus; sie ist krank und schwach und wird sich daran laben. Mach dich auf, bevor es heiß wird, und wenn du hinauskommst, so geh hübsch sittsam und lauf nicht vom Wege ab, sonst fällst du und zerbrichst die Flasche, und die Großmutter hat nichts davon. Und wenn du in ihre Stube kommst, so vergiss nicht, guten Morgen zu sagen. Guck nicht erst in allen Ecken herum, sei besonders vorsichtig, weil sich eine gefährliche Krankheit in der Region mehr und mehr unter den Menschen verbreitet. '' Rotkäppchen hörte nicht zu. "Ich will schon alles richtig machen", versprach Rotkäppchen ihrer Mutter.
Die Großmutter wohnte draußen im Wald, eine halbe Stunde vom Dorf entfernt. Sie lag krank im Bett, fühlte sich müde und bedrückt und hatte sehr hohes Fieber, aber sie unterschätzte das Problem und dachte, es wäre eine einfache Grippe. Auf dem Weg zur Großmutter wollte Rotkäppchen Blumen pflücken; sie hatte so viele Blumen gesammelt, dass sie sie fast nicht mehr in der Hand halten konnte. Inzwischen ging es der Großmutter immer schlechter, so dass sie in einen tiefen Schlaf gefallen war. Rotkäppchen kam bei ihr an und sah, dass ihre Großmutter im Bett unter der Decke mit blassem Gesicht lag. Sie näherte sich ihr und küsste sie auf die Stirn.
Die Großmutter wachte auf und verstand, dass sie an Meningitis erkrankt war. Sie sah, dass auch ihre Enkelin Rotkäppchen blass im Gesicht war und sich plötzlich müde fühlte. Glücklicherweise kam der Arzt zu Besuch. Er erkannte sofort die Situation und, ohne Zeit zu verlieren, impfte er beide. Nach ein paar Tagen waren beide besser in Form.
Und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, so leben sie noch heute.
Posted 06.03.2017 15:54
Olga Dziura - 20.03.2017 23:38
I reply to Arianna's article.
I think that people who live in the Western World don’t appreciate the progress of medicine and that they are provided with the health care. They take it for granted, they do things that are not good for them, you mentioned some examples like smoking or a bad diet. People who live in Global South often die of diseases that are cureable. In our countries we don’t even worry about them, because we know that we will take some medicines and after a week, we will recover from the illness. I think that raising public awareness and just talking about this problem can help both: the Western World and the Global South. When we know more about their situation, we might realize that we allow ourselves to do too many things that are ruining our health, just because we know that we will get doctor’s help. They don’t experience such a comfortable situations. Also, we can find some organizations that help people in Global South and support them. I really like your point that prevention is better than cure. It is significant.
Amanda Ryden - 31.03.2017 14:02
This is a comment on Annalisa Genovese's article.
We noticed that in Africa the people are not able to vaccinate their children. In Sweden and Italy the situation is very different. Some parents do not want their children to get vaccinated because of strong side effects or other complications. They also think that it is not necessary because their children will not get the disease anyway. But in our opinion this is not true. We should appreciate the chance we have that we are able to vaccinate our children because the diseases cause much worse consequences than a vaccination would probably cause. We also think that vaccination is very important because many deaths can be prevented by that. Especially children and old people are very likely to get deadly diseases if they do not have the vaccination. So there are vaccinations existing and we should take the opportunity we have to give them to everyone because every human has the right to live and to be healthy.
Amanda, Franziska, Francesca
The immunization challenge
by Romina Sheshori, LSP Assisi/Italy
Immunization is not for everyone. In fact, more than 30 million children worldwide are unimmunized because vaccines are unavailable and families are misinformed or uninformed. Children are particularly vulnerable because of the poor conditions in which they live and because of the fewer possibilities to fight off infections.
The primary killers of children in developing countries are a variety of pathogens responsible for a lot of diseases, viruses and malnutrition. Malaria - called like this by the Romans because they thought it was caused by bad air in areas near swamps - is responsible for a huge number of deaths among children under five years old. This parasite is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito that can affect pregnant women who will then give birth to underweight babies who won't be able to fight this illness and will be later exposed to other diseases. There are many types of mosquitoes, and another one causes the transmission of a viral disease that occurs primarily in Africa: the yellow fever. There, every minute one child dies because exposed to a variety of diseases like diarrhoea, pneumonia or malnutrition.
The list of pathogens is very long: some can be treated with drugs and others with vaccines, but these are not for everyone. Indeed, there are cases where one child out of five worldwide can be immunized while the others continue to suffer from a lot of illnesses.
People are usually misinformed about the pathogens that affect children, especially in countries like Africa, and that is why I have chosen to look for information on this primary problem on the website of UNICEF where I have found a lot of information which has opened my mind.
I wonder why we do not get involved in these situations and think only about ourselves. We should talk more and be taught about them so we could try to help find new solutions in order to support the research and make vaccines easily available.
Image taken from Pixabay; Posted 05.04.2017 12:42