scholarly journals Excise taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages in Latin America and the Caribbean

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Rosa Carolina Sandoval ◽  
Maxime Roche ◽  
Itziar Belausteguigoitia ◽  
Miriam Alvarado ◽  
Luis Galicia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Bottled Water ◽  
Sugar Concentration ◽  
World Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverages ◽  
Excise Taxes ◽  
Sweetened Beverages ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

Objective. To characterize the design of excise taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in Latin America and the Caribbean and assess opportunities to increase their impact on SSB consumption and health. Methods. A comprehensive search and review of the legislation in effect as of March 2019, collected through existing Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization monitoring tools, secondary sources, and surveying ministries of finance. The analysis focused on the type of products taxed, and the structure and base of these excise taxes. Results. Out of the 33 countries analyzed, 21 apply excise taxes on SSBs. Seven countries also apply excise taxes on bottled water and at least four include sugar-sweetened milk drinks. Ten of these excise taxes are ad valorem with some tax bases set early in the value chain, seven are amount-specific, and four have either a combined or mixed structure. Three countries apply excise taxes based on sugar concentration. Conclusions. While the number of countries applying excise taxes on SSBs is promising, there is great heterogeneity in design in terms of structure, tax base, and products taxed. Existing excise taxes could be further leveraged to improve their impact on SSB consumption and health by including all categories of SSBs, excluding bottled water, and relying more on amount-specific taxes regularly adjusted for inflation and possibly based on sugar concentration. All countries would benefit from additional guidance. Future research should aim to address this gap.

scholarly journals Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation in the Region of the Americas

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Noncommunicable Diseases ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverages ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Excise Taxes ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Sweetened Beverages

Sugar-sweetened beverage excise taxes are an effective evidence-based noncommunicable diseases (NCD) prevention policy. Along with tobacco and alcohol excise taxes, they are a tool to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, and are recommended by the World Health Organization to modify behavioral risk factors associated with obesity and NCDs, as featured in the WHO Global Action Plan. Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages have been described as a triple win for governments, because they 1) improve population health, 2) generate revenue, and 3) have the potential to reduce long-term associated healthcare costs and productivity losses. Taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages has been implemented in more than 73 countries worldwide. In the Region of the Americas, 21 PAHO/WHO Member States apply national-level excise taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and seven jurisdictions apply local sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in the United States of America. While the number of countries applying national excise taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages in the Region is promising, most of these taxes could be further leveraged to improve their impact on sugar-sweetened beverages consumption and health. This publication provides economic concepts related to the economic rationale for using sugar-sweetened beverage taxes and the costs associated with obesity; key considerations on tax design including tax types, bases, and rates; an overview of potential tax revenue and earmarking; evidence on the extent to which these taxes are expected to impact prices of taxed beverages, the demand for taxed beverages, and substitution to untaxed beverages; and responses to frequent questions about the economic impacts of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation. 

scholarly journals Mental health in Latin America and the Caribbean

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-8
Author(s):  
Jorge J. Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
World Health ◽  
Paper Briefly ◽  
Mental Health Reform ◽  
Pan American ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Made In

Mental illnesses are a growing health problem and reducing the treatment gap in Latin America and the Caribbean is a great challenge. Evaluations conducted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have shown that the responsiveness of health services is still limited. Nonetheless, from an evaluation of how mental health reform has progressed in the region following the historical benchmark of the Caracas Declaration (1990), it is clear that – despite the limitations, shortcomings and challenges – significant progress has been made in most countries. This paper briefly reviews this progress.

scholarly journals Assessing electronic immunization registries: the Pan American Health Organization experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Carolina Danovaro-Holliday ◽  
Marcela P. Contreras ◽  
Dalys Pinto ◽  
Ida Berenice Molina-Aguilera ◽  
Diana Miranda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Pan American ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

Objective.To develop a methodology to assess electronic immunization registries (EIRs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Latin America and the Caribbean.Methods.A team from the Immunization Unit at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reviewed existing methodologies to evaluate health information systems, particularly the Performance of Routine Information System Management (PRISM) framework and methodologies used to assess information systems. In 2014, the PAHO team convened a small working group to develop an evaluation approach to be added to the existing World Health Organization immunization data quality self-assessment (DQS) tool. The resulting DQS with an added EIR component was named “DQS Plus.” The DQS Plus methodology was used in Panama in May 2014 and in Honduras in November 2015.Results.The DQS Plus tool proved feasible and easy to implement in Panama and Honduras, including by not adding much time or resources to those needed for a usual DQS. The information obtained from the DQS Plus assessment was practical and helped provide health authorities with recommendations to update and improve their EIR, strengthen the use of the registry, and enhance the data the assessment produced, at all levels of the health system. These recommendations are currently being implemented in the two countries.Conclusions.The DQS Plus proved to be a practical and useful approach for assessing an EIR in an LMIC and generating actionable recommendations. Further work on defining operational and related EIR functional standards in LMICs will help develop an improved EIR assessment tool for Latin America and the Caribbean, and potentially elsewhere.

Migration, Migrants, and Health in Latin America and the Caribbean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deisy Ventura ◽  
Jameson Martins da Silva ◽  
Leticia Calderón ◽  
Itzel Eguiluz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization has recognized health as a right of migrants and refugees, who are entitled to responsive healthcare policies, due to their particular social determinants of health. Migrants’ and refugees’ health is not only related to transmissible diseases but also to mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes. Historically, however, migration has been linked to the spread of diseases and has often artificially served as a scapegoat to local shortcomings, feeding on the xenophobic rhetoric of extremist groups and political leaders. This approach fosters the criminalization of migrants, which has led to unacceptable violations of human rights, as demonstrated by the massive incarceration and deportation policies in developed countries, for example, the United States under the Trump administration. In Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular, there have been legal developments, such as pioneering national legislation in Argentina in 2004 and Brazil in 2017, which suggest some progress in the direction of human rights, although in practice drawbacks abound in the form of countless barriers for migrants to access and benefit from healthcare services in the context of political turmoil and severe socioeconomic inequality. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and enhanced the effects of such inequality in the already frail health conditions of the most disenfranchised, including low-income migrants and refugees; it has both caused governments in Latin America to handle the crisis in a fragmented and unilateral fashion, ignoring opportunities to cooperate and shield the livelihoods of the most vulnerable, and served as a pretext to sharpen the restrictions to cross-border movement and, ultimately, undermine the obligation to protect the dignity of migrants, as the cases of Venezuela and the U.S.-Mexico border illustrate. Still, it could represent an opportunity to integrate the health of migrants to the public health agenda as well as restore cooperation mechanisms building on previous experiences and the existing framework of human rights organizations.

scholarly journals Progress in trial registration in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2007–2013

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Rodríguez-Feria ◽  
Luis Gabriel Cuervo
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Trial Registration ◽  
World Health ◽  
Clinical Trial Registry ◽  
Clinical Trial Registration ◽  
Publication Rates ◽  
Clinical Trial Registries ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

This descriptive study identifies trends in clinical trial registration in the World Health Organization International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP) for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), from 2007–2013, and provides adjusted estimates for registration rates by population and publications (2007–2011). Trends and data are presented by subregion and language in interactive graphs, including annual registration rates by population (2007–2011) and publications (LILACS and MEDLINE) listed in SCIENTI Network (Science and Technology Indicators). Of the 11 945 clinical trials involving LAC countries, 8 282 were in South America, with Brazil leading at 4 070 (49%); 2 421 in North and Central America, with Mexico leading at 1 886 (78%); and 1 242 in the Caribbean, with Puerto Rico leading at 857 (69%). After adjusting by population and publication rates Chile, Panama, Argentina, and Peru led registration rates per 1 million inhabitants. Variations in the number of trials per year are quite substantial. Clinical trial registration increased in a steady yet inconsistent way. The implementation of the Policy on Research for Health has been followed by an increase in countries that require registration and have established clinical trial registries. However, there is room for improvement in adherence throughout LAC. Trial registration is offered gratis by Brazilian, Cuban, Peruvian, and United States registries, among others.

scholarly journals Health Technology Assessment in Latin America and the Caribbean

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (S1) ◽  
pp. 253-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Banta
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Health Technology Assessment ◽  
Technology Assessment ◽  
Health Reform ◽  
Health Technology ◽  
World Health ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Pan American ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Americas, has tried to promote health technology assessment (HTA) in Latin America for 25 years. A certain awareness of HTA developed in several countries because of these efforts. In the late 1990's, there was a strong movement for health reform in Latin America, and HTA became part of that movement. Countries that now are actively institutionalizing HTA include Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina. Other countries, such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, Peru, Panamá, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay, are following these trends and some others seem to be moving in this direction within the next few years.

scholarly journals Progress of implementation of the World Health Organization strategy for HIV drug resistance control in Latin America and the Caribbean

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 657-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Ravasi ◽  
Noreen Jack ◽  
Mónica Alonso Gonzalez ◽  
Omar Sued ◽  
María Dolores Pérez-Rosales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Latin America ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
World Health ◽  
Hiv Drug Resistance ◽  
The World ◽  
Organization Strategy ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

Exploring Antimicrobials from the Flora and Fauna of Marine: Opportunities and Limitations

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishnamoorthy Venkateskumar ◽  
Subramani Parasuraman ◽  
Leow Y. Chuen ◽  
Veerasamy Ravichandran ◽  
Subramani Balamurgan
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Bioactive Compounds ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
World Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
Living Space ◽  
Alternative Sources ◽  
Health Organization

About 95% of earth living space lies deep below the ocean’s surface and it harbors extraordinary diversity of marine organisms. Marine biodiversity is an exceptional reservoir of natural products, bioactive compounds, nutraceuticals and other potential compounds of commercial value. Timeline for the development of the drug from a plant, synthetic and other alternative sources is too lengthy. Exploration of the marine environment for potential bioactive compounds has gained focus and huge opportunity lies ahead for the exploration of such vast resources in the ocean. Further, the evolution of superbugs with increasing resistance to the currently available drugs is alarming and it needs coordinated efforts to resolve them. World Health Organization recommends the need and necessity to develop effective bioactive compounds to combat problems associated with antimicrobial resistance. Based on these factors, it is imperative to shift the focus towards the marine environment for potential bioactive compounds that could be utilized to tackle antimicrobial resistance. Current research trends also indicate the huge strides in research involving marine environment for drug discovery. The objective of this review article is to provide an overview of marine resources, recently reported research from marine resources, challenges, future research prospects in the marine environment.

scholarly journals Programme for Harmonization to the International Scale in Latin America for BCR-ABL1 quantification in CML patients: findings and recommendations

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 2025-2035
Author(s):  
María Sol Ruiz ◽  
María Belén Sánchez ◽  
Yuly Masiel Vera Contreras ◽  
Evangelina Agrielo ◽  
Marta Alonso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Myeloid Leukemia ◽  
World Health ◽  
Molecular Response ◽  
Limit Of Quantification ◽  
International Scale ◽  
Deep Molecular Response ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
First Time

AbstractObjectivesThe quantitation of BCR-ABL1 mRNA is mandatory for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients, and RT-qPCR is the most extensively used method in testing laboratories worldwide. Nevertheless, substantial variation in RT-qPCR results makes inter-laboratory comparability hard. To facilitate inter-laboratory comparative assessment, an international scale (IS) for BCR-ABL1 was proposed.MethodsThe laboratory-specific conversion factor (CF) to the IS can be derived from the World Health Organization (WHO) genetic reference panel; however, this material is limited to the manufacturers to produce and calibrate secondary reference reagents. Therefore, we developed secondary reference calibrators, as lyophilized cellular material, aligned to the IS. Our purpose was both to re-evaluate the CF in 18 previously harmonized laboratories and to propagate the IS to new laboratories.ResultsOur field trial including 30 laboratories across Latin America showed that, after correction of raw BCR-ABL1/ABL1 ratios using CF, the relative mean bias was significantly reduced. We also performed a follow-up of participating laboratories by annually revalidating the process; our results support the need for continuous revalidation of CFs. All participating laboratories also received a calibrator to determine the limit of quantification (LOQ); 90% of them could reproducibly detect BCR-ABL1, indicating that these laboratories can report a consistent deep molecular response. In addition, aiming to investigate the variability of BCR-ABL1 measurements across different RNA inputs, we calculated PCR efficiency for each individual assay by using different amounts of RNA.ConclusionsIn conclusion, for the first time in Latin America, we have successfully organized a harmonization platform for BCR-ABL1 measurement that could be of immediate clinical benefit for monitoring the molecular response of patients in low-resource regions.

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