Wednesday
15Oct2008

Primary Health Care - Overcoming Inequities

Yesterday, the World Health Organization issued its annual World Health Report which, on the 30th anniversary of the Alma-Ata Declaration, once again renews its vows to the critical issue of primary health care. Indeed, after decades of sailing adrift and billions spent on seemingly promising vertical programs, the foundations of health systems have slowly but surely dismantled or witnessed varying degrees of neglect. Please read this very important document as it highlights a topic crucial to the wellbeing of our nation and region at a time when we are being devastated by chronic diseases.

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Saturday
12Jul2008

Health For All Revisited - Part 1

A right approach to health sector reform. In a disorganized and exceedingly bureaucratic health system, it is tempting for the ill-informed policymaker to engage in the "band-aid" approach to achieve quick fixes that appease both the public and legislators in times of crisis. We have discussed numerous examples of this in the past. Furthermore, providers, who have been reluctant to engage in significant attempts to reform the system, except when dealing with matters of remuneration, remain disconnected from the policy-making arena. Indeed, in an environment lacking exposure to even basic education in principles of public policy, management, and economics related to health, understanding the sector as a whole, beyond ones restricted clinical domain, remains a daunting endeavor. For this reason, we will expose a series of articles addressing key concepts in health sector reform using the framework adopted by experts representing institutions such as Harvard University, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank, among others.

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Wednesday
25Jun2008

Losing Perspective

Kuwait and the neighboring GCC countries have unique social structures. Despite high growth rates, there seems to be an unrelenting need to import skilled manpower and foreign expertise. Expatriates constitute about 80% of the labor force and form an estimated 65% of the population. This tells you that the majority of expatriates are in the working age group, while Kuwaitis are distributed more evenly across the age spectrum.

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Monday
25Feb2008

86 Restaurants in 16 km

The World Health Organization lists Kuwait as the 8th fattest country in the world with a 74.2% prevalence of overweight individuals, behind Nauru (94.5%), Federated States of Micronesia (91.1%), Cook Islands (90.9%), Tonga (90.8%), Niue (81.7%), Samoa (80.4%) and Palau (78.4%). This small group of Pacific Island countries has a genetic propensity for larger muscular physiques, and abdominal fatness has long been considered a symbol of wealth and prosperity for Pacific Islanders. Second to this cluster of small Pacific Islands is Kuwait. We are heavier than the Americans and report the highest rate of obesity of all Gulf Arab countries. We have the highest prevalence of hypertension and elevated cholesterol levels in all the Gulf region and we rank 5th for the global prevalence of diabetes behind Nauru, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Small-scale national studies report that only 2 - 5% of our population is physically active despite the fact that International Diabetes Federation tells us that up to 80% of type 2 diabetes is preventable by adopting a healthy diet and increasing physical activity.

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Wednesday
06Feb2008

BIOpsy: Educational opportunities @ Cyprus International Institute

Cyprus International Institute

CII posterThe Cyprus International Institute for the Environment and Public Health, in association with the Harvard School of Public Health, is announcing the following educational programs and scholarships:

"We have a world class 1 year Masters Program in Environmental Health which is taught by faculty from Harvard and other prestigious scholars from around the globe. We are offering a number of scholarships for this program and are hoping you can help us by spreading the word to any interested students. The deadline to apply for Academic Year 08-09 is March 1st. There is no application fee and tuition for the year is 7500 Euros.

We also are offering the following two upcoming Continuing Professional Education Courses (you can locate the flyers of the events on our website under the Calendar section):

Treating Nicotine Addiction: What you can do to help your patients quit smoking. This 2 day training course will be taught by Drs. Greg Connolly, Dr Robert West, Dr Taru Kinnunen, and Dr Georges Saade. April 7 - 8, 2008 in Nicosia Cyprus. The course is modestly priced at 300 Euros and a number of scholarships will be offered. The registration deadline is March 20, 2008 and seats are limited. Nutrition, Obesity & Diabetes. This 3-day training course will be taught by world renowned faculty to include Harvard University's Dr. Ed Horton, Dr. Frank Hu, Dr. David Nathan, and Dr. Walter Willet and University of Athens Dr Dimitrios Linos. This 3-day training course will take place in Limassol Cyprus on May 12 - 14, 2008 and the course is modestly priced at 500 Euros. A number of scholarships will be offered and primary consideration will be given to physicians and health care workers working in public hospitals in the government sector of their respective countries. The registration deadline is April 15, 2008 and seats are limited." For more information please visit www.hsph.harvard.edu/cyprus

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