NEWS FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

AI Bulletin Vol. 13 No. 13, 25 June 2010

AI Index: ACT 84/013/2010

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Contents:

Amnesty International reports & statements

News articles

Children

Communal Violence

Health Services

Human Trafficking

Mental Health

Prisons

Refugees and Migrants

Sexual and Reproductive Rights

Violence Against Women

Water and Sanitation

Conferences/Courses

Vacancies

Publications

Amnesty International Reports & Statements:

23 June: Libya: The report,'Libya of Tomorrow': What Hope for Human Rights?',documents floggings used as punishment for adultery, indefinite detention and abuse of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers as well as the legacy of unresolved cases of enforced disappearances of dissidents. Meanwhile, the security forces remain immune from the consequences of their actions. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/human-rights-suffer-libya-stalls-reform-2010-06-23

18 June: Israel: AI has accused the Israeli authorities of subjecting jailed nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by holding him in solitary confinement. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/israeli-nuclear-whistleblower-returned-solitary-confinement-2010-06-18

17 June: Gaza: AI urged Israel to completely lift without delay its blockade on Gaza, which imposes a collective punishment on 1.4 million Palestinians in clear violation of international law. The Israel cabinet announced that the blockade would be eased, allowing more of what it terms "civilian goods" into the impoverished territory where four out of five people are dependent on international aid. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/israel-gaza-blockade-must-be-completely-lifted-2010-06-17

16 June: Malaysia: The Malaysian government should give refugees in the country the right to work, AI said as it revealed a litany of abuses suffered by refugees in Malaysia, the vast majority of whom are from Myanmar. The report, Abused and Abandoned: Refugees Denied Rights in Malaysia,documents the plight of refugees and asylum-seekers who have reached Malaysia, where they are refused legal recognition, protection, or the right to work. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/refugees-malaysia-arrested-abused-and-denied-right-work-2010-06-16

16 June: Ecuador: AI has urged other countries to follow Ecuador's example and ratify a new UN mechanism that will provide access to justice for everyone whose economic, social and cultural rights are violated and who is denied an effective remedy in their own countries. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/ecuador-first-ratify-new-un-mechanism-enforce-economic-social-and-cultural-rights-2

15 June: Russia: AI has called on the Russian authorities to allow immediate legal support for two brothers who appear to have been tortured in police custody in the North Caucasus territory of Ingushetia. Beslan Tsechoev has been diagnosed with severe head and back injuries, prompting allegations he was beaten at the police station where the two men are being held. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/russia-urged-protect-two-brothers-tortured-and-detained-ingushetia-2010-06-15

14 June: Kyrgyzstan:AI has urged the Kyrgyzstani interim government and local authorities to ensure adequate protection for all Kyrgyzstani citizens, in particular those of Uzbek origin who have been targeted during the violence in the southern part of the country.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/kyrgyz-government-must-protect-its-population-2010-06-14

11 June: South Africa: There has been an increase in police harassment of informal traders (hawkers), homeless South Africans, and refugees and migrants who are living in shelters or high density inner city accommodation. This harassment has included police raids, arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment and extortion, as well as destruction of informal housing. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/human-rights-concerns-south-africa-during-world-cup-2010-06-11

Children

Europe: Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, the deputy secretary-general of the Council of Europe, writes that violence against children comes in many forms but in most cases is not inevitable. That is why the Council of Europe has made the promotion of children’s rights and their protection against sexual violence a priority by having legal and political measures gradually adopted in Europe and by launching an awareness-raising campaign. Hurriyet Daily News(16 June) http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=breaking-the-silence-on-sexual-abuse-of-children-2010-06-16

South Africa: Away from the main spectacle of the World Cup, children are fleeing Zimbabwe and flooding in to South Africa. The town of Musina is a first port of call for famished and thirsty children who have often walked for days to reach them. "The ones getting to the entry point, they have already been through so much," says Ida Asia, the charities director of programmes in Musina. The charities see far fewer girls than boys, they believe because girls can be more easily hidden during the border crossing, or silently absorbed into domestic work, or trafficked and tricked into prostitution.BBC (22 June) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/10368102.stm

Communal Violence

Kyrgyzstan: International humanitarian aid is reaching people affected by ethnic violence that has driven an estimated 400,000 people out of their homes in southern Kyrgyzstan. The official death toll from the Kyrgyz violence now stands at nearly 190. Kyrgyzstan's Heath Ministry puts the number of injured at nearly 2,000. Victims include both ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, as well as other nationalities living in the ethnically diverse region in the southern fringes of the Ferghana Valley. There are widespread allegations of rape, torture, and severe beatings of ethnic Uzbeks at the hands of armed Kyrgyz mobs. Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe(17 June) http://www.rferl.org/content/Humanitarian_Aid_Arrives_In_Kyrgyzstan_Allegations_Of_Rape_Torture_Surface/2074481.html

WHO is coordinating the international health response to the humanitarian crises in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, where delivering health care to thousands of displaced people remains a major challenge.‬At least 300 000 people, mainly ethnic Uzbeks, have reportedly been displaced in Kyrgyzstan since conflict erupted in the south of the country on 10 June. At least 75 000 more people have fled the violence into Uzbekistan where they are now registered as refugees. Many are living in temporary camps.‬ReliefWeb (22 June)http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/CJUE-86NHM6?OpenDocument

Health Services

Asia:The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is urging Asian governments - which have been criticized for using “fear-based tactics” and prison-like compulsory centres to fight drug abuse - to improve and expand treatment for its addicts. IRIN(24 June) http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89603

Gaza: Gaza's health care system is at an "all-time low" with daily power blackouts and shortages of essential medical supplies, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said. The Red Cross said power cuts of around seven hours a day "pose a serious risk to the treatment of patients," as it takes several minutes for generators to begin operating. "As a result, artificial respirators must be reactivated manually, dialysis treatment is disrupted and surgery is suspended as operating theatres are plunged into darkness," it said. Yahoo (14 June) http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/afp/mideastconflictgazahealthicrc

Global: The Obama administration will soon name countries that would receive additional assistance under his Global Health Initiative which places all global health programs under the same umbrella, and the focus is on helping poor countries provide better health care. AIDS still gets most of the money. But critics complain the noble idea will cut into funding for AIDS treatment. NPR (17 June) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127897677&ft=1&f=1004

HIV and AIDS

Chad: One-third of sex workers interviewed in a recent survey by the Chad government thought mosquito bites or sharing a meal could spread HIV. Almost half the workers had been tested, but few had a clear understanding of the disease, with the most misinformation reported in the central and northern regions. More than 20 percent of sex workers were found to be infected, compared to a national HIV prevalence of 3.3 percent. IRIN (25 June) http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89609

Global: Having a male partner who is violent increases the risk of acquiring HIV for women in rural South Africa, researchers reported. And gender-based power inequity in a relationship also increases the risk of acquiring the virus, according to Rachel Jewkes, MD, of the Medical Research Council in Pretoria, South Africa, and colleagues. The two factors together "account for a substantial proportion of HIV infections," Jewkes and colleagues concluded in their report online in The Lancet. (See publications section for studies)MedPage Today(17 June) http://www.medpagetoday.com/HIVAIDS/HIVAIDS/20723

South Africa: A two-year study is working to build a huge pool of data that will inform social policy not only for South Africa, but for other countries with high rates of AIDS and HIV around the world. So far, the research suggests children who live with people living with AIDS have as much psychological distress as those who have been orphaned by the disease. The Guardian (22 June) http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/jun/22/hiv-aids-child-carers-south-africa

USA: Every nine and a half minutes, someone in the USA is infected with HIV, and one out of every five of these individuals does not know it. To help stem the spread of this disease, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an innovative new diagnostic tool, which will allow patients to be diagnosed earlier than ever before. Medical News Today(22 June) http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/192561.php

Human Trafficking

UK:A new report by the UK's Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group assesses the UK's measures to protect trafficked people 1 year on from the country's ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings—the first international treaty obliging states to adopt minimum standards to assist trafficked people and protect their rights.

The Lancet, (26 June), http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2961013-6/fulltext

Report at: http://www.antislavery.org/includes/documents/cm_docs/2010/a/1_atmg_report_for_web.pdf

USA: The US government's annual worldwide human trafficking report, released Monday, for the first time includes an assessment of trafficking in the United States. The United States listed itself in the report's top tier of compliance with minimum standards set forth by the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000, but it is nonetheless "a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor, debt bondage, and forced prostitution," according to the report. Twenty-seven other countries also were listed in the Tier 1 category for compliance.CNN International (14 June) http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/06/14/human.trafficking/?hpt=Sbin

Report at: http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2010/index.htm

Mental Health

Australia: Australia suffers from an inherent prejudice towards the mentally ill which may explain the federal government's failure to do more to meet huge unmet demand for mental health services, the Australian of the Year, Pat McGorry, says. "What we are facing is discrimination against people with mental illness," says Professor McGorry, who won international accolades for his pioneering work in developing community-based mental health care. He says that while about 90 per cent of people with a significant physical illness were treated, only about one-third of people with mental illness received the appropriate care. Sydney Morning Herald (23 June) http://www.smh.com.au/national/prejudice-undermines-mental-health-care-20100622-yvs7.html

Global: Traumatic sexual incidents may precipitate mental health problems years after the assault. New research from the University of Ulster’s Psychological Research Institute suggests that sexual trauma can play a role in the development of psychotic disorders such asschizophrenia, even up to 10 years after the original event. (See Publications section for study) Psych Central(17 June) http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/06/17/sexual-assault-increases-risk-for-psychosis-and-schizophrenia/14660.htmlb

Prisons

Australia: The first national snapshot of prisoner health has found inmates are twice as likely as the general population to suffer from chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease and hepatitis. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) study also shows inmates have higher rates of mental illness and substance abuse than the general population. ABC News (3 June) http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/03/2917755.htm

Refugees and Migrants

Canada: Primary health care workers can soon turn to new clinical guidelines to better screen and treat immigrant and refugee patients who may have diseases and illnesses unfamiliar to Canada. The guidelines, the first of which were published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, aim to reduce misdiagnoses and improve care for Canada’s rapidly changing demographic, said Dr. Kevin Pottie, lead author and researcher of the initiative. The Star(8 June) http://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/immigration/article/820652--new-clinical-guidelines-to-treat-immigrant-patients. Guidelines at Canadian Medical Association Journal: http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/abstract/cmaj.090289v1.

Kenya: Somali asylum seekers fleeing their war-torn country are routinely raped, beaten, detained and blackmailed by Kenyan police when crossing the border, said a report published by Human Rights Watch. Based on interviews conducted with more than 100 refugees, the report cites instances of rape and denounces organised extortion from the police force tasked with monitoring the border. AFP (17 June) http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jeL0Uu-ETW-eeweodmk5NifsHzmg. Report: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/06/17/welcome-kenya-0

Sexual and Reproductive Rights

Kurdistan: Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Kurdistan’s government to ban genital cutting of women and girls, a practice the organization said is widespread and dangerous there, but which they said Kurdish officials had failed to move aggressively to stop. HRW interviewed 31 girls and women last year and combined its findings with recent surveys by other organizations that found that at least 40 percent of girls and women in Iraq’s Kurdistan region had undergone the procedure, which typically involves cutting off external genitalia with a razor blade.New York Times (16 June) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/world/middleeast/17kurd.htmlReport at:http://www.hrw.org/node/90982

Mexico:The law legalising abortion in the capital triggered a wave of legal counter-reforms pushed by the most conservative sectors of society in Mexico and tightened already strict state legislation against abortion. As a result, in 18 of Mexico's 31 states, abortion is now illegal even when the mother's life is at risk, in cases of rape or incest, or in cases of fetal malformation.
On 27 May, the Supreme Court upheld a law that makes it obligatory for all health centres to offer rape victims emergency contraception, also known as the "morning-after pill", in response to a legal challenge brought by the governor of the state of Jalisco, Emilio González. IPS (17 June)http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51861

Violence against Women

Global:Thirty years after the first treaty on women’s rights was adopted by the United Nations, millions of cases involving beatings, marital rapes, honor killings and genital mutilation have lead to deaths, injuries, failed pregnancies, abortions and psychological damage. However, the number of men joining the fight against violence is growing. Global Post (22 June)

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/health/100422/domestic-violence-against-women-abuse

Water and Sanitation

Bangladesh: Up to 77 million people in Bangladesh have been exposed to toxic levels of arsenic from drinking water in recent decades, according to a Lancet study. The research assessed nearly 12,000 people in a district of the capital Dhaka for over a period of 10 years. More than 20% of deaths among those assessed were caused by the naturally occurring poisonous element, it found. The World Health Organization said the exposure was "the largest mass poisoning of a population in history". (See publications section for study)BBC (19 June) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/10358063.stm

Chad: Finding clean water is as difficult for people living on the islands in Lake Chad as it is for their neighbours along the shores. Half of Chad's estimated population of around 10 million has access to drinking water from "improved" sources, including covered wells, springs or pipes. However, 83 percent of rural households – which encompasses almost all of island life – defecate in open places where they may be getting their drinking water, according to the UN 2010 update on sanitation and clean water. IRIN (14 June) http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89482

Global: A recent survey conducted by the British Medical Journalfound sanitation to be the best medical intervention in the last 150 years. And yet, a lack of adequate sanitation remains one of the main reasons so many schoolgirls are denied an education, good health and a dignified life. For many girls the lack of privacy, safety and proper facilities are barring them from an education.The Guardian(14 June) http://www.guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition/sanitation-schoolgirls-in-the-developing-world

Courses and Conferences

Amnesty International and Realizing Rightsco-hosted a conference -- Human Rights: a Foundation for Progress on the Millennium Development Goals -- at the Ford Foundation, New York, on 10 June attended by 80 representatives from governments, UN agencies, and civil society. See: http://www.realizingrights.org/?option=content&task=view&id=487.

For the conference communique see: http://www.realizingrights.org/pdf/AI_RR_MDG_Conference_Communique_10_June.pdf

25th IUSTI Europe Conference on STIs & HIV/AIDS

23-25 September 2010, Tbilisi, Georgia.

This conference will provide participants with the most updated information in the field of STI and HIV and give the participants an opportunity of meeting experts from all over the world. For more information, visit:

www.iusti2010-tbilisi.ge

Vacancies

The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers

The Coalition is seeking a Head of Regional Programmes. For information see:

http://www.child-soldiers.org/get_involved/work. Closing date for application 12 July 2010.

Disability Rights Promotion International (D.R.P.I.)

A new Africa Regional Centre in Kigali, Rwanda, in partnership with the Rwanda Fédération Nationale des Personnes en situation de Handicap (F.E.N.A.P.H.) is being established and there is an immediate opening for the full-time position of Africa Regional Officer working from the Africa Regional Centre in Kigali. Applications will be received until 5 July, 2010.

e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it web site:www.yorku.ca/drpi

Population Services International (PSI)

Needed: Associate Program Manager, HIV

Washington, DC, USA.

http://sh.webhire.com/servlet/av/jd?ai=624&ji=2460658&sn=I

Publications

‘Addressing Social Determinants of Health in the Prevention and Control of

HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Tuberculosis’,The Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), Public Health Reports, 2010 Supplement 4 / Volume 125,

Available online at:http://bit.ly/clFnzM

Argos M et al (19 June 2010), ‘Arsenic exposure from drinking water, and all-cause and chronic-disease mortalities in Bangladesh (HEALS): a prospective cohort study’, The Lancet, Early online publication.http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)60481-3/fulltext

Davis K et al (June 2010), ‘Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: How the Performance of the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally’, Commonwealth Fund, http://bit.ly/bPSyNT

Elkli A. and Shevlin M. (2010),‘Female Sexual Victimization Predicts Psychosis: A Case-Control Study Based on the Danish Registry System’,Schizophrenia Bulletin, Advance Access published online on 20 May, 2010http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/sbq048v1?rss=1

Feldbaum H et al (June 2010), ‘Global Health and Foreign Policy Initiative’,Epidemiologic Reviews, Advanced access published online,http://bit.ly/cBx5MJ

Grépin KA and Savedoff WD (2009) ‘10 best resources on: health workers in developing countries’, Health Policy and Planning, Vol. 24, pp. 479–482. http://bit.ly/bHAveF

Jewkes RK, et al (2010), ‘Intimate partner violence, relationship power inequity, and incidence of HIV infection in young women in South Africa: a cohort study’, Lancet,Early Online Publication, http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)60548-X/abstract#

McColl H et al (18 June 2010),’ Rehabilitation of torture survivors in five countries: common themes and challenges. International Journal of Mental Health Systems 2010, 4(16) http://www.ijmhs.com/content/4/1/16/abstract

O'Brien DP et al (17 June 2010), ‘Provision of antiretroviral treatment in conflict settings: the experience of Medecins Sans Frontieres’, Conflict and Health, 4(12)http://www.conflictandhealth.com/content/4/1/12

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health. UN General Assembly. Human Rights Council, Fourteenth session, Agenda item 3: Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, April 2010: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/14session/A.HRC.14.20.pdf

Schmunis GA, Yadon ZE.(July-August 2010), ‘Chagas disease: a Latin American health problem becoming a world health problem’, Acta Tropica, 115(1-2), pp. 14-21. Abstract:http://bit.ly/dahWn8

Silverman JG (2010), ‘Key to prevent HIV in women: reduce gender-based violence’,Lancet, Early Online Publication, http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)60971-3/fulltext

Weaver M (19 May 2010), ‘Lethal injections: no healthcare professionals should be involved’,

BMJ, 340:c2643 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/340/may19_2/c2643

Weitlauf J.C et al (2010), ‘Sexual Violence, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and the Pelvic Examination: How Do Beliefs about the Safety, Necessity, and Utility of the Examination Influence Patient Experiences?’Journal of Women's Health, ePub. Full abstract: http://www.safetylit.org/citations/index.php?fuseaction=citations.viewdetails&citationIds%5B%5D=citjournalarticle_194807_28