scholarly journals Infant Feeding Guidelines for the Asia Pacific Region

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 682-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Binns ◽  
Mi Kyung Lee ◽  
Masaharu Kagawa ◽  
Wah Yun Low ◽  
Jane Scott ◽  
...  

Good nutrition for infants, during the first 1000 days from conception, is one of the most important determinants of a healthy long life. Breastfeeding is the most important component of infant nutrition and reduces morbidity and mortality. With the changes to the climate currently occurring, issues of nutrition and food supply are only going to increase in importance. The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, place nutrition at the forefront of world development and a sustainable planet. The vision of Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) is to “achieve the highest possible level of health of all the people of the nations of the Asia-Pacific region.” Much of the burden of disease, early deaths, and disability in the Asia Pacific region could be reduced with public health efforts to address the major risk factors, including nutrition-related causes and smoking. The United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025 has recently been launched with the aim of reducing the global burden of inappropriate nutrition. The goals include increasing rates of exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months, reducing wasting and stunting, and reducing the rates of low birthweight. This is the position endorsed in these guidelines along with the principles of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. These guidelines expand the information on infants that was included in the 2016 APACPH Dietary Guidelines. APACPH covers many different environments, geographical areas, cultures, and socioeconomic groups. These guidelines are generally applicable to all infants in our region, specific local advice may sometimes be needed.

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin W. Binns ◽  
Mi Kyung Lee ◽  
Masaharu Kagawa ◽  
Wah Yun Low ◽  
Qiu Liqian ◽  
...  

Nutrition is a major determinant of health throughout all stages of life and together with smoking is the most important risk factor for morbidity and mortality in the Asia Pacific Region. The workshop participants examined Dietary Guidelines and Food Guides that are in use in our region, together with additional materials from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the World Cancer Research Foundation. The resulting set of guidelines is meant as a reminder of the main issues to be covered in a general public health education program. It may also be of value in reminding public health practitioners, educators, administrators, and policy makers of current nutrition issues. It may additionally be useful as a checklist of the issues to be considered in public health programs and regulations. The main areas of nutrition that are included in the Guidelines are eating a variety of foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole grain cereals, and nuts. Choose fish, poultry, and meats grown in a sustainable way. Appropriate growth, including avoiding obesity, and physical activity are important. Breastfeeding is the basis of infant nutrition and nutrition of mothers is an important public health measure. Negative factors in the Asian diet include salt, refined sugar, alcohol and fats. The APACPH Dietary Guidelines will need to be kept under review and modified to meet regional differences in food supply. The Guidelines will be useful as a checklist of the issues to be considered in public health programs, addressing both acute and chronic diseases.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. e003626
Author(s):  
Chalapati Rao ◽  
Matthew Kelly

Control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a key target for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. Available information indicates that countries in the Asia-Pacific Region accounted for 63% of the global NCD mortality burden in 2016. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific (UNESCAP) Regional SDG progress report for 2020 included estimates of trends in NCD mortality rates from 2000 to 2016, which showed considerable variation in national NCD mortality by sex and location.However, while the UNESCAP report states that there was sufficient primary data to derive these NCD mortality estimates for all countries, the critical gaps in availability of national data on causes of death in the Asia-Pacific region are well known. A closer review identified that the UNESCAP obtained these estimates from the United Nations Statistics Division, which in turn obtained the same estimates from WHO. Further analysis revealed that these organisations used varying and often inconsistent terms to describe estimation methodology as well as primary data availability for different countries, with substantial potential for misinterpretation.The analysis also found that for countries without primary data, WHO reported NCD mortality estimates were based on complex epidemiological models developed for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, and this contradicts the UNESCAP rating of primary data sufficiency. The GBD Study also derives modelled cause of death estimates for countries with national data, but these were different from WHO estimates for these countries. This article discusses prevailing international practices in using modelled estimates as a substitute for empirical data, and the implications of these practices for health policy. In conclusion, a strategic approach to strengthen national mortality statistics programmes in data deficient countries is presented, to improve NCD mortality measurement in the Asia-Pacific Region.


1996 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
RAMESH THAKUR ◽  
SAMUEL M. MAKINDA

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Ben Saul

AbstractAmidst the understandable enthusiasm for enlarging the traditional state-centred view of security and embracing a “human security” agenda, little scholarly attention has been paid to the implications of this shift for international law. This article first charts the scope and genesis of “human security,” including within the United Nations and in the Asia-Pacific region, and traces the views of key Asian governments on the concept. It then analyses the relationship between human security and human rights and highlights the likely adverse impacts on human rights law. The remainder of the article considers how the human security agenda may destabilize the constitutional distribution of powers among UN organs under the UN Charter, especially by transferring power away from the more participatory General Assembly and towards the less representative and less accountable Security Council. In line with the position of some Asian States, this article reasserts that UN organs other than the Security Council, along with other major international institutions, are the appropriate bodies within which to pursue and address human security issues. In particular, the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council require revitalization to avoid the trap of securitizing issues that are better framed as developmental and social concerns.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 360
Author(s):  
Roddy Allan ◽  
Ervi Liusman ◽  
Teddy Lu ◽  
Desmond Tsang

This paper utilizes timely proprietary data to examine the contemporary impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial property rent dynamics in the Asia–Pacific region. Given that the Asia–Pacific region was the first to be impacted by the public health crisis, it is important to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the real estate markets in this region and to assess how the region has been recovering since then. Our regression analysis, controlling for different macroeconomic fundamentals and city and property type fixed effects, documents substantial declines in rents of approximately 15% during the first six months of 2020 across the Asia–Pacific commercial property market. We further observe that the most significant declines in rent occur in regions where exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic is the more severe, and in the retail property sector, where we have been observing continued declines of over 30%, with little recovery as of the second quarter of 2020. In additional analysis, we examine capital values and show that while capital targeting the retail property sector has been muted, there is some evidence showing capital flows into the residential and industrial sectors. We also show that fiscal stimuli imposed by governments have moderated the adverse impact of the pandemic. Overall, our study shows that while the effect of the COVID-19 public health crisis is detrimental to commercial real estate, its impact varies significantly across different regions and property sectors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 810-811
Author(s):  
Colin Binns ◽  
Wah Yun Low ◽  
Victor Chee Wai Hoe

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