scholarly journals mHealth-Based Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip for International Health Security

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirza Abdul Aleem Baig
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Biomedical Engineering ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
International Health ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Lab On A Chip ◽  
Health Security ◽  
International Public Health ◽  
Chip Technology ◽  
Health Care Infrastructure

The increasing threats of emerging and reemerging infectious disease outbreaks demand research and development (R&D) of effective and fit-for-all-purpose tools and technologies for international public health security. Recent advances in biomedical engineering, mostly related to the convergence of communication and network technology in health, i.e., mobile health with microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip technology can improve the international public health crises and employ in international public health security. Lab-on-a-Chip technology is now commonly found in most research centers, hospitals, and clinics where health care infrastructure is weak, and access to quality and timely medical care is challenging. Microfluidic devices—also known as Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC)—are an alternative for accessible, cost-effective, and early detection medical trials. The mHealth-based microfluidic LoC technology has been under rapid development, and they are becoming influential tools in a wide range of biomedical research and international public health applications. The perspective in this chapter demonstrates a potentially transformative opportunity for the deployment of mHealth with LoC with the fabrication protocols and their potential for strengthening and improving the international public health security. This attempt is not conclusive and exhaustive, and it is anticipated that such a discussion will enable the exchange of ideas between biomedical engineering, microfluidic LoC technology professionals, international public health, and health security experts.

Synergising International Public Health Law and International Disaster Law

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Pratik DIXIT
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
International Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Public Health Law ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
International Public Health ◽  
Health Regulations

There is no time more opportune to review the workings of the International Health Regulations (IHR) than the present COVID-19 crisis. This article analyses the theoretical and practical aspects of international public health law (IPHL), particularly the IHR, to argue that it is woefully unprepared to protect human rights in times of a global public health crisis. To rectify this, the article argues that the IHR should design effective risk reduction and response strategies by incorporating concepts from international disaster law (IDL). Along similar lines, this article suggests that IDL also has a lot to learn from IPHL in terms of greater internationalisation and institutionalisation. Institutionalisation of IDL on par with IPHL will provide it with greater legitimacy, transparency and accountability. This article argues that greater cross-pollination of ideas between IDL and IPHL is necessary in order to make these disciplines more relevant for the future.

scholarly journals A New Era of Epidemiology: Digital Epidemiology for Investigating the COVID-19 Outbreak in China

10.2196/21685 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. e21685
Author(s):  
Zonglin He ◽  
Casper J P Zhang ◽  
Jian Huang ◽  
Jingyan Zhai ◽  
Shuang Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Digital Epidemiology

A novel pneumonia-like coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by a novel coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 has swept across China and the world. Public health measures that were effective in previous infection outbreaks (eg, wearing a face mask, quarantining) were implemented in this outbreak. Available multidimensional social network data that take advantage of the recent rapid development of information and communication technologies allow for an exploration of disease spread and control via a modernized epidemiological approach. By using spatiotemporal data and real-time information, we can provide more accurate estimates of disease spread patterns related to human activities and enable more efficient responses to the outbreak. Two real cases during the COVID-19 outbreak demonstrated the application of emerging technologies and digital data in monitoring human movements related to disease spread. Although the ethical issues related to using digital epidemiology are still under debate, the cases reported in this article may enable the identification of more effective public health measures, as well as future applications of such digitally directed epidemiological approaches in controlling infectious disease outbreaks, which offer an alternative and modern outlook on addressing the long-standing challenges in population health.

scholarly journals The Stellenbosch Consensus on Legal National Responses to Public Health Risks

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-68
Author(s):  
Roojin Habibi ◽  
Steven J. Hoffman ◽  
Gian Luca Burci ◽  
Thana Cristina de Campos ◽  
Danwood Chirwa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
International Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
The Face ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Health Regulations

Abstract The International Health Regulations (ihr), of which the World Health Organization is custodian, govern how countries collectively promote global health security, including prevention, detection, and response to global health emergencies such as the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. Countries are permitted to exercise their sovereignty in taking additional health measures to respond to such emergencies if these measures adhere to Article 43 of this legally binding instrument. Overbroad measures taken during recent public health emergencies of international concern, however, reveal that the provision remains inadequately understood. A shared understanding of the measures legally permitted by Article 43 is a necessary step in ensuring the fulfillment of obligations, and fostering global solidarity and resilience in the face of future pandemics. In this consensus statement, public international law scholars specializing in global health consider the legal meaning of Article 43 using the interpretive framework of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

scholarly journals Assessing National Public Health Law to Prevent Infectious Disease Outbreaks: Immunization Law as a Basis for Global Health Security

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 412-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsion Berhane Ghedamu ◽  
Benjamin Mason Meier
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Public Health Law ◽  
Health Security ◽  
National Immunization

Immunization plays a crucial role in global health security, preventing public health emergencies of international concern and protecting individuals from infectious disease outbreaks, yet these critical public health benefits are dependent on immunization law. Where public health law has become central to preventing, detecting, and responding to infectious disease, public health law reform is seen as necessary to implement the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). This article examines national immunization laws as a basis to implement the GHSA and promote the public's health, analyzing the scope and content of these laws to prevent infectious disease across Sub-Saharan Africa. Undertaking policy surveillance of national immunization laws in 20 Sub-Saharan African countries, this study: (1) developed a legal framework to map the legal attributes relevant to immunization; (2) created an assessment tool to determine the presence of these attributes under national immunization law; and (3) applied this assessment tool to code national legal landscapes. An analysis of these coded laws highlights legal attributes that govern vaccine requirements, supply chains, vaccine administration standards, and medicines quality and manufacturer liability. Based upon this international policy surveillance, it will be crucial to undertake legal epidemiology research across countries, examining the influence of immunization law on vaccination rates and disease outbreaks.

Waterborne Disease Surveillance: The Case for a Closer Interaction between the UNECE Protocol on Water and Health and the International Health Regulations (2005)

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-302
Author(s):  
Stefania Negri
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
International Health ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Waterborne Diseases ◽  
Health Security ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
Legal Frameworks

AbstractThe UNECE Protocol on Water and Health prioritises prevention and control of waterborne diseases in the European Region. In order to protect public health from water-related outbreaks, the Protocol mandates the Parties to establish, improve and maintain comprehensive national and local surveillance as well as early warning systems. It also promotes international cooperation among Member States and fosters the development of joint and coordinated action aimed to complement or strengthen national capacities of response. Coordination and liaison with competent international agencies and organisations acting in the field of public health and disease surveillance is instead almost completely neglected. Despite the gap in the agreement, the relevance to the Protocol of existing surveillance networks has increasingly been acknowledged. Following this trend, the Protocol Bodies are exploring the opportunities for a closer interaction with regional and global alert and response systems. This effort is commendable, but much more can be done to reach a more intense cooperation and achieve a globally integrated system of disease surveillance. Harmonisation of legal frameworks (in this case, the UNECE Protocol, the EU legislation and the IHR 2005) and a better synergy among relevant networks will enhance protection of global health security, avoid useless duplications of efforts, and ensure coherence of the whole body of international law on public health.

scholarly journals A New Era of Epidemiology: Digital Epidemiology for Investigating the COVID-19 Outbreak in China (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zonglin He ◽  
Casper J P Zhang ◽  
Jian Huang ◽  
Jingyan Zhai ◽  
Shuang Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Digital Epidemiology

UNSTRUCTURED A novel pneumonia-like coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by a novel coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 has swept across China and the world. Public health measures that were effective in previous infection outbreaks (eg, wearing a face mask, quarantining) were implemented in this outbreak. Available multidimensional social network data that take advantage of the recent rapid development of information and communication technologies allow for an exploration of disease spread and control via a modernized epidemiological approach. By using spatiotemporal data and real-time information, we can provide more accurate estimates of disease spread patterns related to human activities and enable more efficient responses to the outbreak. Two real cases during the COVID-19 outbreak demonstrated the application of emerging technologies and digital data in monitoring human movements related to disease spread. Although the ethical issues related to using digital epidemiology are still under debate, the cases reported in this article may enable the identification of more effective public health measures, as well as future applications of such digitally directed epidemiological approaches in controlling infectious disease outbreaks, which offer an alternative and modern outlook on addressing the long-standing challenges in population health.

Cascade Model of Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP)

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-150
Author(s):  
Dhananjay Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
International Health ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Public Health Action ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Field Epidemiology ◽  
Health Action ◽  
Training Programmes

India has the responsibility to interpret and initiate appropriate public health action and notify those events that are of public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC) as a signatory to International Health Regulation (IHR) (2005) and Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). The aim of the human resource goal of GHSA is to ensure adequate numbers of trained personnel for response to a public health emergency. Epidemiologists are an essential component of the public health workforce, and in ‘ Delhi Declaration of Epidemiology’ capacity building in epidemiology was identified as an important and urgent issue. Field epidemiology training programmes (FETPs) are competency-based training and service programmes in applied epidemiology and public health for building capacity which enhances better health response in the country. The goal of FETP is to build public health and epidemiological capacity through training to create high-calibre field epidemiologists and to strengthen the disease surveillance. The proposed cascade FETP model for India in this article is to strengthen epidemiological skills and disease surveillance at every level of health system in India. Expansion of FETPs to several institutions while maintaining the quality was emphasized to meet the global requirement of public health cadre, that is, one epidemiologist per 200,000 population.

scholarly journals IHR (2005) Implementation and Health Security Capacities at National and Sub-national Levels in India in the Context of COVID-19 Outbreak

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meera Dhuria ◽  
Sujeet Kumar Singh ◽  
Sudhir Kumar Jain ◽  
Nirmal Kandel ◽  
Arun Kumar Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Development ◽  
International Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Operational Readiness ◽  
Level 3 ◽  
Local Risk

Abstract Background: The implementation of International Health regulations (2005)ensure public health measures to prevent, detect, and respond to threats and events, including infections disease events like COVID19 to the prevention and control of the international spread of the disease. At the onset of COVID-19 outbreak, we analysed India’s national and subnational level preparedness capacities against COVID19. Methods: India’s health security capacities were reviewed using five indices, i) prevent, ii) detect, iii) respond, iv) enabling function and v) operational readiness using the 2019 score of India’s State Party Annual Report. For subnational analysis, a composite measure is developed for operational readiness capacity for each state using Sustainable Development Goal index score for good health and well-being (SDG3) and indicators of COVID19 preparedness and readiness capacity. Results: India had score 60% for prevent, 90% for detect, 63.3% for respond, 80% for enabling function and 74.4% operational readiness and they were at level 3, 5, 4,5and 4 respectively. Out of 36 federal states, 5 (14%) states were level 5, 10 (28%) at level 4, 17 (47%) at level 3 and 4 (11%) states at level 2 for the operational readiness index. Conclusions: India’s capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks were comparable with other countries in the SEAR region. It performed better on prevent, detect, respond and enabling function, which suggest that effective response to COVID19 pandemic could be enabled. The operational readiness capacities of federal states are comparable except for the few states. However, it needs to corroborate with local risk assessment due to COVID19 to fully understand the readiness capacity. Rapid development of capacities at the sub-national levels are needed to strengthen national readiness capacities.

scholarly journals Policy and Science for Global Health Security: Shaping the Course of International Health

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kavita Berger ◽  
James Wood ◽  
Bonnie Jenkins ◽  
Jennifer Olsen ◽  
Stephen Morse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
International Health ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Public Health Decision

The global burden of infectious diseases and the increased attention to natural, accidental, and deliberate biological threats has resulted in significant investment in infectious disease research. Translating the results of these studies to inform prevention, detection, and response efforts often can be challenging, especially if prior relationships and communications have not been established with decision-makers. Whatever scientific information is shared with decision-makers before, during, and after public health emergencies is highly dependent on the individuals or organizations who are communicating with policy-makers. This article briefly describes the landscape of stakeholders involved in information-sharing before and during emergencies. We identify critical gaps in translation of scientific expertise and results, and biosafety and biosecurity measures to public health policy and practice with a focus on One Health and zoonotic diseases. Finally, we conclude by exploring ways of improving communication and funding, both of which help to address the identified gaps. By leveraging existing scientific information (from both the natural and social sciences) in the public health decision-making process, large-scale outbreaks may be averted even in low-income countries.

Part II Predominant Security Challenges and International Law, Environmental Security, Ch.32 Pandemics and Other Health Emergencies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heath J Benton
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
International Health ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
World Health ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Security Issue ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Internal Governance

This chapter traces the normative challenges underlying the legal framework for health security. Today’s challenges can be understood as the result of three successive stages of development in global health law. First was the securitization of global public health, whereby a diffuse group of international and national health officials, outside experts, and advocates worked to redefine infectious disease outbreaks as a critical national and international security issue. Secondly, this concept of global health security was inscribed in law through the 2005 revisions to the International Health Regulations, which adopted a governance framework that appeared to be deliberately modelled on domestic emergency powers regimes. Thirdly, this development, rather than settling the World Health Organization’s (WHO) authority in health emergencies, has in turn set off waves of contestation that concern the nature of global health security and how it should be institutionalized. This includes contestation about the internal governance arrangements within the WHO; external conflicts of jurisdiction between the WHO and other institutions; and disagreement about the normative orientation and scope of the WHO’s emergency power.

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