Tag World Health Organisation

One autumn evening in Aimanabad, a small town in central Punjab near Gujranwala, a woman was left struggling for her life after she was allegedly set on fire by her husband and in-laws. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared that 50 per cent of her body had been burnt.
The woman, identified as Rahila*, had refused to allow her husband to marry for a second time. Unable to get his way with her, he and his mother doused Rahila in petrol and set her ablaze, the victim’s brother told authorities.
This incident of domestic violence, which took place earlier this month, is by no means a rarity in Pakistan. Violence against women and girls – including rape, murder through so-called ‘honour’ killings, acid attacks, beatings, and forced marriages remain a routine.
According to a study carried out in 2009 by the Human Rights Watch, between 70 and 90 per cent of women in Pakistan have suffered some form of abuse, at least once. A study conducted by Aurat Foundation, a women’s rights organisation, has shown that in 2014, on average, six women were kidnapped, four were raped, four were murdered, and two were killed in the name of ‘honour’ every day in Pakistan.
Out of the total 494 cases of domestic violence reported in 2014, approximately 41 per cent were from Sindh, 39 per cent from Punjab, 13 per cent from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 6 per cent from Balochistan and 1 per cent from the Islamabad Capital Territory.
Violence – not always physical
The United Nations defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”
Domestic violence is the most common form of violence against women. Almost one third (30 per cent) of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner, according to World Health Organisation.
Pakistani human rights activists shout slogans during International Women’s Day in Lahore on March 8, 2014. Photo: AFP
Domestic violence is also often difficult to penalise as it is widely believed that violence within the home is a private family matter and should not be put out in the public sphere.
Earlier this year, Pakistan was named as the world’s sixth most dangerous country and fourth worst in terms of economic resources and discrimination as well as the risks women face from cultural, religious and traditional practices and norms such as patriarchy, including so-called ‘honour’ killings, in a survey conducted by Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Are domestic violence laws enough?
As is too often the case, laws by themselves cannot successfully safeguard rights. Impunity for the perpetrators in domestic violence cases remains a serious concern. Pakistan, however, has taken several significant steps to counter gender-based violence including domestic violence, by adopting legislation on the subject.

Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan have all passed laws against domestic violence, including many other pro-women legislations such as the Punjab Women Protection Authority Act 2017 and the Sindh Commission on the Status of Women Act 2015. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet earlier this month approved a landmark Domestic Violence Against Women (Prevention and Protection) Bill 2018, which criminalises domestic violence and holds the perpetrator liable to be punished with prison terms and fines.

One of the most significant and comprehensive milestones in the fight against domestic violence has been the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act 2016. A first-of-its-kind Violence Against Women Centre (VAWC), established by the Punjab government in Multan, in March last year, under this Act, has been a major step forward in protecting women survivors of abuse. The centre has dealt with more than 2,600 cases, out of which around 1,700 (65 per cent) pertain to domestic violence, gender reforms specialist Salman Sufi told Geo.tv.
A view of Violence Against Women Center in Multan. Photo: Punjab Government

Sufi, who authored the Act and spearheaded the VAWC project, emphasised the importance of post-rehabilitation care for the survivors of violence.

“The staff at VAWC including police, prosecution, medico-legal, mediation, and counselling are engaged in weekly and monthly follow-ups after a case is resolved. In some cases, counselling sessions are also provided to the perpetrator and the family of the survivor in cases of non-physical domestic abuse which are referred for mediation,” he informed.

For survivors of domestic violence, it can sometimes be a challenge to break the vicious cycle of abuse. Even after mutual resolution of a particular episode of violence, there are no guarantees the abuse will not take place again. Prevention, therefore, becomes an essential part of any measures against domestic violence.

The Centre in Multan has involved local NGOs in creating a support network for survivors through awareness-raising campaigns and advocacy services, along with organising seminars in women’s colleges and universities with street threatre campaigns, Sufi shared.

But perhaps the most effective tool to prevent domestic violence involves countering one of its root causes: patriarchy.

“In cases of mediation, the men perpetrators are engaged through counselling sessions to change any prevailing patriarchal notions,” added Salman Sufi.

As per the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act 2016, VAWCs are to be established across 36 districts of Punjab. In order to do so, a statutory body known as Punjab Women Protection Authority has been set up which will take up the task of establishing VAWCs in Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Gujranwala in the next phase, he informed.
From victims to survivors

As awareness around domestic violence rises, more and more survivors are emerging from what were once dark shadows of ‘shame’ and ‘taboo’ and confronting the problem head-on.

“The laws against domestic violence are spelled out loud and clear on paper, but their implementation continues to be a steep hill to climb,” explains Shahida Sajid, an associate researcher at Aurat Foundation Karachi. “Confronting domestic violence requires a cultural shift, and as we know cultural change is always a slow process. It’s happening, it may not be too visible yet but it’s there.”

Sajid affirmed that there has been a steady increase in reported cases of domestic violence. “It’s not that incidents of domestic violence have necessarily increased, but an ever-greater number of survivors are coming forward and registering FIRs against the perpetrators.”

Aurat Foundation, a non-governmental organisation mobilising civil society groups for women empowerment in the country, also refers several cases of domestic violence to the appropriate medical and legal authorities and facilitates survivors in accessing resources.
Rise. Resist. Unite.

From November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, begins the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, which will run until December 10, the Human Rights Day.

An annual international campaign to galvanise action to end violence against women and girls around the world, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is using the hashtag #HearMeToo to mobilise governments and institutions to stand in solidarity with the survivors and work to prevent and end violence against women and girls.
One Billing Rising Revolution is marked by Pakistan every year to express solidarity with survivors of gender-based violence around the world. Photo: OBR

Also, prominent during these 16 days of activism is the One Billion Rising movement to end rape and sexual violence against women. Igniting activism in over 200 countries with its ‘Rise. Resist. Unite’ slogan, the One Billion Rising’s South Asia movement 2019 was launched in Kathmandu, Nepal in September this year for the seventh year of the campaign by Sangat – a feminist network that celebrates the voices of South Asian women, their rights and belief in peace, justice, human rights and democracy.

Every year, for the past several years, Pakistan joins the One Billion Rising movement to rise in solidarity with the one billion women and girls who suffer violence around the world.

Sangat also celebrates November 30 as South Asian Women’s Day to bring women together to raise their voices against injustice, oppression and violence. The day is marked as part of the global 16 days of activism.

As awareness around domestic abuse and all other kinds of gender-based violence increases, and as an ever greater number of women and men unite to raise their voices for the cause, it is hoped that humanity gets one step closer to achieving a violence-free world for women.

ISLAMABAD:(Net News/ Media 92 News) Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday expressed his resolve to eradicate the polio virus from Pakistan, which is one of the only three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, that suffers from endemic polio.

In his message on World Polio Day, being observed today, October 24, the prime minister tweeted: “Our government is fully committed to ending polio in Pakistan. On #WorldPolioDay, I am confident, together with our people, we will achieve a safer, healthier and polio-free Pakistan for our children.”

Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a crippling childhood disease caused by the polio virus, and preventable through immunisation.

Pakistan has been battling polio for the past several years and is close to completely eradicating the disease. The number of cases declined from 306 in 2014 to 54 in 2015, 20 in 2016 and eight in 2017. In 2018, six polio cases have so far been reported.

A country must have no cases for three consecutive years in order to be considered to have eradicated polio by the World Health Organisation.

Babar Atta, focal person to the prime minister on polio eradication, shared with Geo News the government’s commitment to eliminate the virus and the challenges involved in the process.

He said one of the reasons behind the spread of the virus is travel. Citing Afghanistan as an example, he noted that 16 cases of polio have been reported in the country this year. Because Pakistan shares a border with Afghanistan, it can be challenging to prevent the spread of the virus.

Atta requested all parents to ensure their children are vaccinated against polio, to achieve a polio-free Pakistan.

Affecting mostly children under the age of five, polio — which has no cure and can only be prevented by giving a child multiple vaccine doses — can lead to irreversible paralysis.

According to the WHO, the number of polio cases worldwide has fallen by more than 99 percent since 1988, from an estimated 350,000 cases then to 22 reported cases in 2017.

LAHORE:(Net News/ Media 92 News) The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ordered the police to enforce use of helmets by motorcyclists, as part of implementation of traffic laws across the province.

The court issued the order on a petition filed by a lawyer who contended that a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) had revealed that in Pakistan, 25.3 deaths per 100,000 occurred due to road accidents, which was much higher than international statistics.

The petitioner asked the court to direct the police to implement traffic laws across the province, including wearing of helmets by motorcyclists. He also asked that the government be directed to fix prices of helmets so that the profiteers could not extort money from the public.

Justice Ali Akbar Qureshi then directed the Punjab IGP to strictly enforce the use of helmets by motorcyclists without any discrimination and submit a compliance report within a week.

A Hong Kong man has developed the world´s first ever human case of the rat version of the hepatitis E virus, according to new research from one of the city´s leading universities.

There had previously been no evidence the disease could jump from rats to humans, the University of Hong Kong said Friday, warning the discovery had “major public health significance”.

“This study conclusively proves for the first time in the world that rat HEV can infect humans to cause clinical infection,” the university added.

Rat hepatitis E virus is very distantly related to human hepatitis E virus variants, HKU said.

The disease was found in a 56-year-old man who persistently produced abnormal liver function tests following a liver transplant.

He could have contracted the illness through food infected by rat droppings, researchers said, according to details of the findings reported in the South China Morning Post.

The man lived in a housing estate where there were signs of rat infestation outside his home. He is now recovering after being treated for the virus, the SCMP added.

The human version of hepatitis E is a liver disease that affects 20 million people globally each year, according to the World Health Organisation.

It is usually spread through contaminated drinking water.

Symptoms include fever, vomiting and jaundice, and in rare cases liver failure.

Rodent problems in Hong Kong have escalated in recent months because of a sustained spell of hot and humid weather.

Hong Kong has been hit hard by disease outbreaks in the past.

In 2003, almost 300 people died from SARS — severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The bubonic plague, carried by rats, swept through mainland China and Hong Kong in the late 19th century killing thousands.

KARACHI: A 20-year-old was diagnosed with the Congo virus, taking the reported number of cases to four for this year in Karachi.

A resident of Safoora Goth, Pervaiz was taken to Karachi’s Jinnah Hospital after he showed symptoms of Congo Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF).

In August this year, 23-year-old Salman was diagnosed with the disease.

The CCHF is caused when a tick attaches itself to the skin of cattle. People who come in contact with the infected ticks or animals can contract the highly contagious, viral disease that has 40-50 per cent mortality rate.

The onset of CCHF is sudden, with initial signs and symptoms including headache, high fever, rashes, back pain, joint pain, stomach pain, and vomiting.

Preventative measures
To reduce the risk of tick-to-human transmission, the World Health Organisation recommends the following measures:

– Wear protective clothing (long sleeves, long trousers);

– Wear light-coloured clothing to allow easy detection of ticks on the clothes;

– Use approved acaricides (chemicals intended to kill ticks) on clothing;

– Use approved repellent on the skin and clothing;

– Regularly examine clothing and skin for ticks; if found, remove them safely;

– Seek to eliminate or control tick infestations on animals or in stables and barns; and

– Avoid areas where ticks are abundant and seasons when they are most active.

To reduce the risk of animal-to-human transmission:

– Wear gloves and other protective clothing while handling animals or their tissues in endemic areas, notably during slaughtering, butchering and culling procedures in slaughterhouses or at home;

– Quarantine animals before they enter slaughterhouses or routinely treat animals with pesticides two weeks prior to slaughter.

To reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission in the community:

– Avoid close physical contact with CCHF-infected people;

– Wear gloves and protective equipment when taking care of ill people;

– Wash hands regularly after caring for or visiting ill people.

Hoarding is one of three new conditions which will be added to the WHO’s ICD-II list of illnesses alongside gaming disorder and olfactory reference disorder. Photo: File
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has termed hoarding as a mental illness for the first time.

According to psychiatrists, the “extremely, significant” decision will help doctors and the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom (UK) to identify people struggling with hoarding and improve treatment which affects up to 5 per cent of the population.

Hoarding is one of three new conditions which will be added to the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases-II list of illnesses alongside gaming disorder and olfactory reference disorder.

According to the WHO’s updated classification of diseases, hoarding is “characterised by accumulation of possessions due to an excessive acquisition of or difficulty discarding possessions, regardless of their actual value.”

It adds: “Accumulation of possessions results in living spaces becoming cluttered to the point that their use or safety is compromised.

“The symptoms result in significant distress or significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning,” the definition states.

While speaking to Sky News Naomi Fineberg, a member of the WHO working group said treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy or medication tends not to be effective when it comes to treating hoarding and often leaving families to “suffer for years.”

On the other hand, Megan Karnes founder and director of the charity Hoarding UK said it was “wonderful news” for the people who exhibited symptoms of hoarding.