197 research outputs found
Cardiovascular risk assessment and management in developing countries
No full textShanthi Mendis Department of Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland Abstract: Causes of the burgeoning cardiovascular epidemic in developing countries (DC) are known. Whilst there are many prevention strategies and policies demonstrated to be effective in reducing the trends of cardiovascular disease in developed countries, applying them in DCs is challenging and complex. To utilize resources efficiently, two key decisions have to be made by policy makers in all DCs. The first is to decide on the appropriate mix of population and high-risk interventions. The second is to determine the threshold for implementing high-risk interventions. In making such decisions, due consideration needs to be given to scientific evidence, affordability, sustainability, opportunity costs, and social and political realities. High-risk approaches can be made cost-effective if individuals that are most likely to benefit from treatment can be identified through risk stratification systems. Although several such risk prediction systems are available, they have limited applicability to non-Western populations. Further, health systems in DCs do not have basic infrastructure facilities to support resource intensive risk prediction tools, particularly in primary healthcare. The World Health Organization has developed a flexible cardiovascular disease risk management package that is implemented in a range of less resourced settings. A risk prediction tool that enables more accurate prediction of cardiovascular risk in DCs is in development. Keywords: prevention, cardiovascular risk prediction, developing countrie
The future of printcrime: Intellectual property, innovation law, and 3D printing
No full textIn a 2006 short story, ‘Printcrime’, Cory Doctorow imagined a dystopian future of contraband 3D printers. In the work, police try to shut down a bootleg operation, which engaged in the 3D printing of intellectual property. In his 2009 novel Makers, Cory Doctorow explored the rise of the maker community, and its do-it-yourself ethic. In an interview about the novel, the author reflected:\ud
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<i>"There has never been a better time to be a maker because finding the people who know how to fix the thing that's broken has never been easier. Finding someone else who has done 80% of what you want to do, and sharing the things you have done with other people, has never been easier. A maker is someone who is of and in the 21st century." </i>\ud
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Rather prophetically, he discussed the prospect of intellectual property conflicts around 3D printing (particularly around copyright infringement and trademark infringement), and future controversies over 3D printing guns. In his 2015 short story, ‘The Man Who Sold the Moon’, Cory Doctorow imagined 3D printing in space. This body of creative work has been an important inspiration for the Maker Movement – but it has also shown a critical engagement with the law, ethics, and public policy associated with 3D printing and additive manufacturing.\ud
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Inspired by such science fiction, there have since been a number of optimistic, utopian manifestos published on the topic of 3D printing and the rise of the Maker Movement. There has been high hopes that the emerging, disruptive technology will be part of a new industrial revolution. The founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, situates 3D printing within the framework of a fourth industrial revolution. He predicted: ‘As current size, cost and speed constraints are progressively overcome, 3D printing will become more pervasive to include integrated electronic components such as circuit boards and even human cells and organs.’ Schwab anticipated that there would be a ‘new generation of self-altering products capable of responding to environmental changes such as heat and humidity.’ Moreover, he expected that ‘this technology could be used in clothing or footwear, as well as in health-related products such as implants designed to adapt to the human body.’ Schwab placed 3D printing alongside autonomous vehicles, advanced robotics, and new material as physical manifestations of larger technological megatrends.\ud
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In this context, this collection provides a sober, critical evaluation of the legal, ethical, and public policy issues in respect of intellectual property, innovation law, and 3D printing. Building upon Mark Lemley’s chapter, ‘IP in a World Without Scarcity,’ it considers the legal opportunities and challenges of the Maker Revolution. It provides both theoretical and empirical insights in respect of 3D printing, intellectual property, innovation, and regulation
BILETA Response to the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications Enquiry 'The Internet: to Regulate or Not to Regulate'
No full textThis is a collaborative submission from a group of academics based in the UK with expertise in Information technology law and related areas. The preparation of the response has been funded by the British and Irish Law Education Law and Technology Association. This response has been prepared by Dr Kim Barker, Dr Edina Harbinja, Professor Dinusha Mendis and Dr Felipe Romero-Moreno. Dr Kim Barker is a lecturer at the University of Stirling. Dr Edina Harbinja is a senior lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire. Professor Dinusha Mendis is a professor at the University of Bournemouth. Dr Felipe Romero-Moreno is a lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire. Please note that the copyright of this Response remains with the author(s)
Settling the Ripples:An examination of Sri Lanka’s approach to addressing cascading impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka has not only posed a severe threat to human health and longevity but also cascaded into a large scale economic downturn and bleak social effects signifying the systemic nature of risks. This study examines the major economic and social effects caused by the first wave of COVID-19 in the country and the manner in which these effects have been addressed with the aim of providing policy implications for systemic risk governance. This chapter is based on a number of secondary sources and primary data gathered from interviews conducted with key informants at both national and sub-national levels. Findings show that the pandemic has caused severe socio-economic impacts across the country which have been addressed with the main dominant involvement of the Presidential Task Forces, NGOs and INGOs at national level and Disaster Management and Public Health authorities at sub-national level. Effective collaboration among multiple-stakeholders and the emulation of a decentralised approach have been identified as the main strengths of Sri Lanka’s approach to overcoming the cascading effects of the pandemic. However, response to these effects has been hampered due to inefficiencies caused with the establishment of new structures instead of leveraging the existing structures, difficulties faced in accurately identifying beneficiaries of relief services, inadequate allocations for stimulus packages and lack of focus on resilience building. Findings further demonstrate that effective and efficient mitigation of the cascading effects of hazards such as pandemics, calls for a shift in focus from short term response to building both economic and societal resilience
Analysing the effectiveness of varied stakeholder segments in preparedness planning for epidemics and pandemics in Sri Lanka:Application of Social Network Analysis (SNA)
No full textThe COVID-19 outbreak has caused severe disruptions in health, social, economic, and political sectors highlighting the need for focusing on the dynamic nature of systemic risks. The cascading impacts of the COVID-19 have already evidenced the systemic nature of risks related to biological outbreaks. Therefore, the emulation of a multi-sectoral approach for preparedness planning related to biological hazards has become a global concern. This research aims at outlining major stakeholders in epidemic and pandemic preparedness planning in Sri Lanka including those who are responsible for potential cascading impacts. The process of identifying stakeholders and their roles has drawn on a review of secondary literature and primary data gathered through in-depth interviews conducted with key informants in the disaster management and public health sectors in the country. Social Network Analysis approach was used to visualise and analyse the network of stakeholders. Findings have highlighted that currently, the preparedness planning related to epidemics and pandemics in Sri Lanka is a health sector-led process. There is a pressing need for a unified legal framework and a streamlined system of governance for risk management related to biological hazards in the country. Furthermore, it is important to broaden the scope of stakeholders involved in preparedness planning for biological hazards and to include the private sector, international development agencies, and community-based organisations. Moreover, there is a need to intensify the national focus on building economic and social resilience to address the potential cascading impacts. Key findings of this study will help to enhance the effectiveness of preparedness planning for biological hazards, through a multi-sectoral approach operational under a unified legal framewor
COVID 19:Have we got our priorities right in planning for the pandemic in low resource settings in the Global South
No full textPlanning the delivery of health services in poor countries, in the wake of the COVID pandemic has drawn considerable interest. The world media has highlighted the shortage or near absence of intensive care units and ventilators in several countries in Sub Saharan Africa and a disproportionate amount of focus has been paid on developing intensive care services- including mechanical ventilation, as an urgent priority for these countries. While mechanical ventilation and other critical care services are an important part in the management of a small group of very unwell patients, the overall mortality of such patients remains high even in centres with considerable experience in providing such services. In the wake of a pandemic wave, a much larger proportion of patients admitted to hospitals will require oxygen therapy, and many of these countries are currently ill-equipped to provide this very basic intervention which has the potential to save many more lives. Ensuring uninterrupted oxygen supply and planning to provide titrated oxygen therapy to multiple patients simultaneously perhaps in large field hospitals must be prioritised in health delivery planning in poor countries in the global south. An over-emphasis on ventilators and advanced organ support that may benefit a significantly smaller cohort of victims by developing ad-hoc intensive care units with high labour intensity will not serve the broader health needs of these countries in the wake of the current pandemic or its future iteration
COVID 19:Have we got our priorities right in planning for the pandemic in low resource settings in the Global South
No full textPlanning the delivery of health services in poor countries, in the wake of the COVID pandemic has drawn considerable interest. The world media has highlighted the shortage or near absence of intensive care units and ventilators in several countries in Sub Saharan Africa and a disproportionate amount of focus has been paid on developing intensive care services- including mechanical ventilation, as an urgent priority for these countries. While mechanical ventilation and other critical care services are an important part in the management of a small group of very unwell patients, the overall mortality of such patients remains high even in centres with considerable experience in providing such services. In the wake of a pandemic wave, a much larger proportion of patients admitted to hospitals will require oxygen therapy, and many of these countries are currently ill-equipped to provide this very basic intervention which has the potential to save many more lives. Ensuring uninterrupted oxygen supply and planning to provide titrated oxygen therapy to multiple patients simultaneously perhaps in large field hospitals must be prioritised in health delivery planning in poor countries in the global south. An over-emphasis on ventilators and advanced organ support that may benefit a significantly smaller cohort of victims by developing ad-hoc intensive care units with high labour intensity will not serve the broader health needs of these countries in the wake of the current pandemic or its future iteration
Building Resilience:Introduction
No full textThe recent COVID-19 pandemic has been perceived and experienced by most governments and societies across the globe as an unprecedented shock. However, facts reveal that pandemics have been far from alien. Before the advent of the Coronavirus, a number of outbreaks have repeatedly triggered the world ranging from those as early as the Spanish flu of 1918, the Asian flu of 1957 to more recent outbreaks such as HIV/AIDS in 1981, SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2012. Most countries have demonstrated a low level of preparedness for COVID-19, have failed to incorporate pandemics in their Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies, and to act on the basis of science and warnings about the threat of a pandemic. COVID-19 has given rise to complex risk scenarios and compound vulnerabilities which most countries have hardly anticipated. Most countries have barely recognized multi-hazard scenarios although now they are faced with the challenge of responding to extreme climatic events such as floods, earthquakes and landslides in the midst of their boundless efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19. The pandemic has called into question the viability of existing response mechanisms to climatic events and urged relevant stakeholders to rethink their approaches, at all levels. The effects of the pandemic have not failed to transcend the health sector, cascading into other sectors such as the economy, society, legal systems and politics. This way, the pandemic has not just dismantled one part of a system but failed the entire system thereby showcasing the systemic nature of risks
COVID-19 nexus with food security and sustainable growth:Impacts, implications and road to resilience in Sri Lanka
No full textCovid-19 pandemic, one of the most significant humanitarian and development setbacks faced by humankind in the known history, imposes immeasurable risks to the progress of sustainable development and human wellbeing. It is a health crisis that went beyond anyone’s control, leading to a global pandemic, but on the other end, it is an economic catastrophe that might takes years, if not decades, for a full recovery. Impacts vary from region to region, country to country and district to district, depending on how resilient, lean, agile the systems are. However, impacts are undoubtedly immense. Developed, developing, and least developed countries are battling to regain social, cultural and economic progress. Due to the pandemic, Sustainable Development Goals, commonly known as SDGs, the global blueprint with clearly set development targets to be achieved by 2030, has faced enormous strain as never before. Among 17 goals of the SDGs, Goal 1: No Poverty, Goal 2: Zero Hunger, Goal 03: Good Health and Well-being, Goal 4: Quality Education, and Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth have been pushed back by the pandemic. While the pandemic has significant impacts on all the goals and targets, this chapter specifically discusses the impacts of Covid-19 on goals 1 and 2 and their overall impacts on food security and sustainable growth, with particular emphasis on Sri Lanka. The chapter also discusses potential recovery options to regain the path to SDG, prosperity and splendour in the island nation
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