30-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza in the country
Till 30thJanuary, 2021 outbreaks of Avian Influenza (Bird flu) have been confirmed in 10 States/UTs (Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir) for poultry birds and in 13 States/UTs (Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Bihar) for Crow/Migratory/ Wild birds.
Avian Influenza has been confirmed in domestic fowl in Udhampur (Dhantwal West) district of Jammu and Kashmir UT.
Further, Avian Influenza has been confirmed in crow samples in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh; Paschim Champaran district of Bihar and in samples from peacock in Udhampur (Dhantwal West) as well as samples of crow in Poonch of UT of Jammu & Kashmir.
Sanitization Certificate has been issued and Post Operation Surveillance Plan (POSP) is in place for all the epicentres of poultry outbreak in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Control and Containment Operations (Cleaning and Disinfection) are going on in the affected epicentres of Haryana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Surveillance work is continued at the places where positive results have been reported in species of birds excluding poultry.
Compensation is paid to farmers whose poultry birds, eggs and poultry feed are culled/disposed of by the State as per the Action Plan. The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Government of India provides funds to states / UTs on a 50:50 sharing basis under ASCAD component of its LH & DC Scheme.
All the States are reporting to the Department on daily basis regarding the control measures adopted by the States/UTs based on the Revised Action Plan for Prevention, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza 2021.
The Department is maintaining its efforts to generate awareness about Avian through platforms including social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook handles.
28-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza in the country
Till 28th January, 2021 outbreaks of Avian Influenza (Bird flu) have been confirmed in 9 States (Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab) for poultry birds and in 12 States (Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab) for Crow/Migratory/ Wild birds. Avian Influenza has been confirmed in poultry samples from Dera Bassi, SAS Nagar district of Punjab.
Further, Avian Influenza has been confirmed in crow in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir (Sopore); from Peacock in Yavatmal district and Owl in Nanded district of Maharashtra.
However peahen and Titar samples submitted from Rajkot and Junagarh district of Gujarat have been tested negative for Avian Influenza Virus. Control and Containment Operations (Cleaning and Disinfection) are going on in the affected epicentres of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
Surveillance work is continued at the places where positive results have been reported in other species of birds excluding Poultry.
Compensation is paid to farmers whose poultry birds, eggs and poultry feed are culled/disposed of by the State as per the Action Plan. The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Government of India provides funds to states / UTs on a 50:50 sharing basis under ASCAD component of its LH & DC Scheme.
All the States are reporting to the Department on daily basis regarding the control measures adopted by the States/UTs based on the Revised Action Plan for Prevention, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza 2021. The Department is taking continuous efforts to generate awareness about Avian through platforms including social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook handles.
27-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza in the country
Till 27thJanuary, 2021 outbreaks of Avian Influenza (Bird flu) have been confirmed in 9 States (Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab) for poultry birds and in 12 States (Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab) for Crow/Migratory/ Wild birds.
Avian Influenza has been confirmed in poultry samples from Nanded, Solapur, Pune, Ahmednagar, Buldhana, Akola, Nashik and Hingoli districts of Maharashtra; Bhavnagar district of Gujarat and Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh.
Further, Avian Influenza has been confirmed in crow in Uttarakhand (Rudraprayag Forest Division); in Titar in Junagadh(Gujarat) and in peacock in Beed (Maharashtra).
Control and Containment Operations (Cleaning and Disinfection) are going on in the affected epicentres of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Surveillance work is continued at the places where positive results have been reported in other species of birds excluding Poultry.
Compensation is paid to farmers whose poultry birds, eggs and poultry feed are culled/disposed of by the State as per the Action Plan. The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Government of India provides funds to states / UTs on a 50:50 sharing basis under ASCAD component of its LH & DC Scheme. The Government of Maharashtra has sanctioned a compensation package of Rs.130 Lakh for culling of poultry and other birds, eggs and poultry feed and operational cost of disease control within 1 km radius of the infected area, under the Bird Flu Disease Control Program.
All the States are reporting to the Department on daily basis regarding the control measures adopted by the States/UTs based on the Revised Action Plan for Prevention, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza 2021. The Department is taking continuous efforts to generate awareness about Avian through platforms including social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook handles.
20-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza (bird flu) in the country
Till 20th January, 2021 outbreaks of Avian Influenza have been confirmed in 6 States (Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Punjab) for poultry birds and in 10 States (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab) for Crow/Migratory/ Wild birds.
Further, Avian Influenza has been confirmed in poultry samples from Dera Bassi, SAS Nagar, Punjab. Avian Influenza has been confirmed in Crow in the States of Punjab (SAS Nagar and Pinjore, Panchkula).
Control and Containment Operations are going on in the affected epicentres of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh & Haryana
The central team formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country has visited Satara, Latur, Parbhani and Beed districts of Maharashtra to monitor the epicenters of AI outbreak and conducting epidemiological studies.
All the States are reporting to the Department on daily basis regarding the control measures adopted by the States/UTs based on the Revised Action Plan for Preparedness, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza 2021.
The Department is taking continuous efforts to generate awareness about Avian through platforms including social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook handles. Further, at the Department’s behest, Ministry of Civil Aviation has requested DGCA to advise the airlines to allow transportation of samples suspected for Avian Influenza to NIHSAD, Bhopal for confirmation of the disease.
18-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza in the country
Till 18th January, 2021 outbreaks of Avian Influenza have been confirmed in 5 States for poultry birds and in 9 States for Crow/Migratory/ Wild birds.
Further, Avian Influenza has been confirmed in samples of dead heron from Tis Hazari, New Delhi and in crow from Red Fort, Delhi and advisory in this regard has been issued to the Delhi for taking necessary action.
In Maharashtra, RRTs has been deployed and culling of poultry birds is underway in all the affected epicentres. Culling operations have been completed in CPDO, Mumbai and cleaning and disinfection is in process. Similarly, culling and sanitization operations have been completed in the epicenters of Latur district in Village Kendrewadi, Ahmedpur, Village Sukani, and Village Tondar (Vajrawadi) in Udgir taluk and village Kurdwadi in Ausa taluk.
Further, in Madhya Pradesh (Districts of Harda and Mandsaur) and Chhattisgarh (District Balod), RRTs have been deployed for culling of poultry birds around 1Km radius of epicentres of the outbreak in poultry. Culling operation of poultry is continuing in the epicentres of Haryana (District Panchkula).
The central team formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country is visiting the affected sites and has visited Maharashtra to monitor the epicenters of AI outbreak and conducting epidemiological studies. Visit to Kerala is over.
The Department is taking continuous efforts to generate awareness about Avian through platforms including social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook handles.
17-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza in the country
Till 17th January, 2021 cases of Avian Influenza have been confirmed in poultry at Central Poultry Development Organization (CPDO (WR), Mumbai of Maharashtra, and Kheda Road, in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh.
Further, Avian Influenza has been confirmed in crows at Panna, Sanchi, Raisen, Balaghat, and in birds at Sheopur (crow, owl) and Mandsaur(swan, pigeon) districts of Madhya Pradesh; Bastar (crow, pigeon) and Dantewada (crow) districts of Chhattisgarh; crow samples from Haridwar and Lansdowne forest range of Uttarakhand.
Additionally, in Delhi, Heron sample in Rohini have been tested positive for avian influenza.
In Maharashtra, RRTs has been deployed and culling of poultry birds is underway in all the affected epicentres including CPDO, Mumbai. Further, in Madhya Pradesh, RRTs have been deployed. Culling operation of poultry is continuing in the epicentres of Haryana.
Today, samples tested from Rajasthan and Gujarat have been found negative for AI.
The central team formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country are visiting the affected sites and conducting epidemiological studies.
States have been requested to rethink their decisions to impose ban on sale of poultry and poultry products and allow such selling sourced from the non-infected areas/states. Consumption of well cooked chicken and eggs is safe for humans. Further, consumers should not pay heed to baseless rumours that are unscientific and often lead to confusion. These adversely affect not only poultry and egg markets but also poultry and maize farmers, who are already affected by the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown.
Maharashtra Animal Husbandry Department have started a Toll Free Helpline Number for farmers to report any unusual mortality of birds. The state government has put requisite information on Avian Influenza in line with the revised Avian Influenza Action Plan 2021 for both, the departmental officials and the general public. As gathered, necessary notifications regarding “infected area”, etc. to check spread of the disease, have already been issued by the state.
It is also informed that in order to contain the incidences of Bird Flu without delay, the exercise of the powers conferred under Prevention And Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009, the state government has delegated all its requisite powers on District Collectors within their local jurisdiction in the state for prevention, control and eradication of Avian Influenza.
Following the advisories of the department, states are undertaking awareness generation activities through newspaper advertisements, social media platforms etc. Also, continuous efforts to generate awareness about Avian Influenza and how to deal with the situation is being shared among the general public through various media platforms including social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook handles.
16-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza in the country
Till 16 January, 2021 cases of Avian Influenza have been confirmed in poultry in Latur, Parbhani, Nanded, Pune, Solapur, Yavatmal, Ahmednagar, Beed and Raigad districts of Maharashtra.
Moreover, Avian Influenza has been confirmed in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh (crow); Surat, Navsari and Narmada districts of Gujarat (crow); Dehradun district of Uttarakhand (crow); Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh (crow). Additionally, in Delhi, Pigeon and brown fish owl in Najafgarh and Heron in Rohini have tested positive for avian influenza.
As per the report, received from Central Poultry Development Organisation Mumbai, Govt of India unusual mortality of poultry have been found in the farm. The samples have been sent to the designated laboratory for testing.
In the State of Chhattisgarh RRTs has been deployed and culling of poultry is underway in epicentre of Balod district. Further, in Madhya Pradesh also RRTs have been deployed. Culling operation of poultry is underway in the epicentre of Harda district of Madhya Pradesh.
The central teams formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country are visiting the affected sites and conducting epistemological studies.
States have been requested to rethink their decisions to impose ban on sale of poultry and poultry products and allow selling of poultry and poultry products sourced from the non-infected areas/states. It is reiterated that consumption of well cooked chicken and eggs is safe for humans. Consumers should not heed to baseless rumours that are unscientific and often lead to confusion. These adversely affect poultry and egg markets and thereby poultry and maize farmers, who are already affected by the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown.
Following the advisories of the department, states are undertaking awareness generation activities through newspaper advertisements, social media platforms etc. Also, continues efforts to generate awareness about Avian Influenza and how to deal with the situation is being shared among the general public through various media platforms including social media platforms like Twitter and Face book handles.
15-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza in the country
As of 15 January, 2021, Avian Influenza (AI) has been confirmed in wild birds in Burhanpur, Rajgarh, Dindori, Chhindwara, Mandla, Harda, Dhar, Sagar and Satna districts of Madhya Pradesh (crows and pigeons).; Dehradun district of Uttarakhand (Crows and Kite); Rohini in Delhi (crow) and Jaipur Zoo in Rajasthan (Duck and Black Stork).
Moreover, cases of AI in poultry has been confirmed from Anand/ Bhagirath Kalosiya in Harda district of Madhya Pradesh and G.S. Poultry farm Balod district of Chhattisgarh. Altogether, 11 states in the country have been affected by AI.
Steps to make the general public aware about the disease is being undertaken. Also, efforts to remove misinformation about avian influenza among the people is underway.
In pursuance of the VC meeting with the Animal Husbandry Departments of the States / UTs, Secretary (DAHD) has also written to the Chief Secretaries / Administrators of states / UTs AI is not new to the country but has been reported every year since 2006. The country has been effectively controlling the disease. It was reiterated that the virus gets destroyed easily at 70 degrees Centigrade and therefore, properly cooked poultry and poultry products are safe for human consumption. Accordingly, states have been requested to instruct the authorities concerned not to impose ban and allow selling of poultry and poultry products sourced from AI-free areas / states.
14-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza in the country
On 14th January, 2021 additional cases of avian influenza among crows have been confirmed in Dangs district of Gujarat. After successfully finishing the culling operations, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have completed sanitization activities.
In Haryana, samples from four poultry farms have been confirmed to be positive for avian influenza (H5N8). The farms are: Maharaja poultry farm in Khatauli; Tara poultry farm, Batour and Singla poultry farm in Mauli village of Panchkula district of Haryana.
The central teams formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country are visiting the affected sites and conducting epistemological studies. The Department requested Ministry of Civil Aviation GOI to allow uninterrupted transportation of samples for expeditious testing of Avian Influenza in designated laboratories.
In the light of the findings that many states were banning supply of poultry and poultry products from other states, it was suggested to review such policy as this would add to the negative impact on the poultry industry. Further, there is no scientific report available that infection of AI viruses spread through processed products. Consumption of well-cooked chicken and eggs does not pose any risk to humans.
In view of the reports received from the designated laboratory that samples of commercial poultry from Ghazipur Mandi, Delhi confirmed that these were negative for AI, FAHD Minister, shri Giriraj Singh emphasized on removing the ban on sale of poultry and poultry products in a virtual meeting today along with the Deputy CM shri Manish Sisodia and Mayors of MCD Delhi. The Government of NCT of Delhi revoked the aforementioned ban with immediate effect.
Following the advisories of the department, states are undertaking awareness generation activities through newspaper advertisements, social media platforms etc. Also, constant efforts to generate awareness about Avian Influenza and how to deal with the situation is being shared among the general public through various media platforms including social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook handles.
11-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza in the country
Till January 11, 2021, Avian Influenza has been confirmed in 10 states of the country. ICAR- NIHSAD has confirmed death of crows and migratory/wild birds in Tonk, Karauli, Bhilwara districts of Rajasthan; and Valsad, Vadodara and Surat districts of Gujarat. Further, death of crows were confirmed in Kotdwar and Dehradun districts of Uttarakhand. In Delhi, crows and ducks, respectively, were reported dead in New Delhi and Sanjay lake areas.
Additionally, outbreak of Avian influenza has been among poultry in Parbhani district while AI is confirmed from Mumbai, Thane, Dapoli, Beed in crows in Maharashtra.
In Haryana, culling of infected birds is underway for the control and containment of the spread of the disease. A Central team has visited Himachal Pradesh and will reach Panchkula on 11 January, 2021 for carrying out monitoring the epicentre sites and conducting epidemiological investigation.
States have been requested to build awareness among the public and avoid the spread of misinformation. States/ UTs have been requested to increase surveillance around water bodies, live bird markets, zoos, poultry farms, etc. along with proper disposal of carcass, and strengthening of bio-security in poultry farms. Moreover, maintaining adequate stock of PPE kits and accessories required for culling operations. Secretary DAHD requested State Animal Husbandry departments to ensure effective communication and coordination with Health authorities for close vigilance of the disease status and avoid any chances of jumping of the disease into humans.
9-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza in the country
After confirmation of Avian Influenza positive samples from ICAR-NIHSAD in poultry (two poultry farms) of Panchkula district, Haryana, positive cases of Avian Influenza in migratory birds were reported in Shivpuri, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Agar, Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh, Zoological Park, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh and Pratapgarh and Dausa districts of Rajasthan. The Department has issued advisory to the affected States so as to avoid further spread of disease. So far, the disease has been confirmed from seven states (Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh).
Reports of unusual mortality of birds have been received from State of Chhattisgarh in the night of 08/01/2021 and morning of 09/01/2021 in poultry and wild birds in Balod district, Chhattisgarh. The State has constituted RRT teams for emergency situation and also sent the samples to designated laboratory.
Further, reports of unusual mortality in ducks have also been received from Sanjay lake, Delhi. Samples have been sent to the designated laboratory for testing. Samples of dead crows have also been sent to NIHSAD from Mumbai, Thane, Dapoli, Parbhani and Beed districts of Maharashtra for confirmation of AI.
Meanwhile culling operations have been completed in both the affected districts of Kerala and Post Operational Surveillance Programme guidelines have been issued to the State of Kerala. Central teams deployed to visit the affected states of Kerala, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh for monitoring and for epidemiological investigation have reached Kerala.
In a communication to the Chief Secretaries /Administrators of the States/UTs, Secretary DAHD requested State Animal Husbandry departments to ensure effective communication and coordination with Health authorities for close vigilance of the disease status and avoid any chances of jumping of the disease into humans. Besides increasing surveillance around water bodies, live bird markets, zoos, poultry farms, etc. proper disposal of carcass, and strengthening of bio-security in poultry farms have to be ensured. States were also requested to be prepared for any eventuality of Avian lnfluenza and were requested to ensure sufficient stock of PPE kits and accessories required for culling operations. Chief Secretaries / Administrators were requested to
arrange to issue appropriate advisories to quell consumer reactions, affected by rumors and increase awareness regarding safety of poultry or poultry products that are safe for consumption following boiling/ cooking procedures. The DAHD’s support to the states was also ensured.
6-Jan-2021: Status of Avian Influenza in the country
Avian Influenza (AI) viruses have been circulating worldwide for centuries with four known major outbreaks recorded in the last century. India notified the first outbreak of avian influenza in 2006. Infection in humans is not yet reported in India though the disease is zoonotic. There is no direct evidence that AI viruses can be transmitted to humans via the consumption of contaminated poultry products. Implementing management practices that incorporate bio security principles, personal hygiene, and cleaning and disinfection protocols, as well as cooking and processing standards, are effective means of controlling the spread of the AI viruses.
In India, the disease spreads mainly by migratory birds coming into India during winter months i.e. from September – October to February – March. The secondary spread by human handling (through fomites) cannot be ruled out.
In view of a threat of global outbreak of AI, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Government of India had prepared an action plan in 2005 which was revised in 2006, 2012 , 2015 and 2021 for guidance of State Government for prevention, control and containment of Avian Influenza in the Country (refer DAHD website https://dahd.nic.in/sites/default/filess/Action%20Plan%20-%20as%20on23.3.15.docx-final.pdf10.pdf).
Following post operation surveillance plan (POSP) after completion of Avian Influenza outbreak control in 2020 and containment operation at different epicenters, the country freedom from AI was declared w.e.f. 30th September 2020.
In view of the past experience regarding the reports of the disease in winter season, periodic advisories have been issued to all states/UTs before commencement of winter for keeping necessary vigil, enhancing surveillance, keeping strategic reserves of supplies (PPE kits, etc.), preparedness to handle eventualities and IEC for public awareness. Other support provided by the Department to the States/UTs include
- Technical support from referral lab i.e. ICAR-NIHSAD, Bhopal
- Funding support to States/UTs to undertake culling and compensation
- Funding to states under ASCAD scheme
- Training of veterinary work force
- Support for strengthening RDDLs / CDDL
The last preparatory advisory / communication was issued to all States/UTs on 22.10.2020.
Present outbreak
After confirmation of positive samples from ICAR-NIHSAD, AI has been reported from the following States (at 12 epicentres) –
- Rajasthan(crow) – Baran, Kota, Jhalawar
- Madhya Pradesh(crow) – Mandsaur, Indore, Malwa
- Himachal Pradesh (migratory birds) - Kangra
- Kerala (poultry-duck) - Kottayam, Alappuzha (4 epicentres)
Accordingly, an advisory has been issued each to the States of Rajasthan and MP on 1st January 2021, so as to avoid further spread of the infection. As per the information received from State of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan control measures is being taken as per the guidelines of National Action Plan of Avian Influenza. Another advisory has been issued on 5th January, 2021 to HP where the State has been advised to take measures so as to avoid further spread of disease to poultry. As per the report received, Kerala has already initiated control and containment operations from 05.01.20121 at epicentres and culling process is in operation.
Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India has also set up a control room in New Delhi to keep watch on the situation and to take stock on daily basis of preventive and control measures undertaken by State authorities.
The measures suggested to the affected States to contain the disease and prevent further spread as per the Action Plan on Avian Influenza include strengthening the biosecurity of poultry farms, disinfection of affected areas, proper disposal of dead birds/carcasses, timely collection and submission of samples for confirmation and further surveillance, intensification of surveillance plan as well as the general guidelines for prevention of disease spread from affected birds to poultry and human. Coordination with forest department for reporting any unusual mortality of birds was also suggested to the States. The other states were also requested to keep a vigil on any unusual mortality amongst birds and to report immediately to take necessary measures.
15-Jul-2020: The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2020
This joint report is issued annually by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization. It presents the latest estimates on food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition at the global and regional levels. The 2020 edition continues to signal that significant challenges remain in the fight against food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms.
Almost 690 million people around the world went hungry in 2019. High costs and low affordability also mean billions cannot eat healthily or nutritiously. As progress in fighting hunger stalls, the COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying the vulnerabilities and inadequacies of global food systems. While it is too early to assess the full impact of the lockdowns and other containment measures, at least another 83 million to 132 million people may go hungry in 2020. If recent trends continue, the Zero Hunger target of the Sustainable Development Goals will not be achieved by 2030.
The report urges the transformation of food systems to reduce the cost of nutritious foods and increase the affordability of healthy diets. The study calls on governments to:
- Mainstream nutrition in their approaches to agriculture
- Work to cut cost-escalating factors in the production, storage, transport, distribution and marketing of food, including reducing inefficiencies, and food loss and waste
- Support local small-scale producers to grow and sell more nutritious foods, and secure their access to markets
- Prioritize children's nutrition as the category in greatest need
- Foster behaviour change through education and communication
- Embed nutrition in national social protection systems and investment strategies.
10-Jul-2019: The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2019.
This joint report is issued annually by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization. It presents the latest estimates on food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition at the global and regional levels. The 2019 edition continues to signal that significant challenges remain in the fight against food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms.
Among other highlights, this edition finds that:
- More than 820 million people in the world were still hungry in 2018, underscoring the immense challenge of achieving the Zero Hunger target by 2030.
- Hunger is on the rise in almost all African subregions, making Africa the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment. Hunger is also slowly rising in Latin America and the Caribbean, while Western Asia shows a continuous increase since 2010, with more than 12 percent of its population undernourished today.
- A greater focus on overweight and obesity, including child overweight and adult obesity, is needed to better understand the different dimensions of these nutrition challenges.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 also presents an in-depth analysis of the impacts of economic slowdowns and downturns on food security and nutrition.
The report calls for action to safeguard food security and nutrition through economic and social policies that help counteract the effects of such slowdowns and downturns – including guaranteeing funding of social safety nets and ensuring universal access to health and education. It calls for action, as well, to tackle inequalities at all levels through multisectoral policies making it possible to more sustainably avert food insecurity and malnutrition.
24-Dec-2018: Ten threats to global health in 2019
The world is facing multiple health challenges. These range from outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and diphtheria, increasing reports of drug-resistant pathogens, growing rates of obesity and physical inactivity to the health impacts of environmental pollution and climate change and multiple humanitarian crises.
To address these and other threats, 2019 sees the start of the World Health Organization’s new 5-year strategic plan – the 13th General Programme of Work. This plan focuses on a triple billion target: ensuring 1 billion more people benefit from access to universal health coverage, 1 billion more people are protected from health emergencies and 1 billion more people enjoy better health and well-being. Reaching this goal will require addressing the threats to health from a variety of angles.
Here are 10 of the many issues that will demand attention from WHO and health partners in 2019.
Air pollution and climate change: Nine out of ten people breathe polluted air every day. In 2019, air pollution is considered by WHO as the greatest environmental risk to health. Microscopic pollutants in the air can penetrate respiratory and circulatory systems, damaging the lungs, heart and brain, killing 7 million people prematurely every year from diseases such as cancer, stroke, heart and lung disease. Around 90% of these deaths are in low- and middle-income countries, with high volumes of emissions from industry, transport and agriculture, as well as dirty cookstoves and fuels in homes.
The primary cause of air pollution (burning fossil fuels) is also a major contributor to climate change, which impacts people’s health in different ways. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause 250 000 additional deaths per year, from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress.
In October 2018, WHO held its first ever Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health in Geneva. Countries and organizations made more than 70 commitments to improve air quality. This year, the United Nations Climate Summit in September will aim to strengthen climate action and ambition worldwide. Even if all the commitments made by countries for the Paris Agreement are achieved, the world is still on a course to warm by more than 3°C this century.
Noncommunicable diseases: Noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, are collectively responsible for over 70% of all deaths worldwide, or 41 million people. This includes 15 million people dying prematurely, aged between 30 and 69.
Over 85% of these premature deaths are in low- and middle-income countries. The rise of these diseases has been driven by five major risk factors: tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and air pollution. These risk factors also exacerbate mental health issues, that may originate from an early age: half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14, but most cases go undetected and untreated – suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-19 year-olds.
Among many things, this year WHO will work with governments to help them meet the global target of reducing physical inactivity by 15% by 2030 – through such actions as implementing the ACTIVE policy toolkit to help get more people being active every day.
Global influenza pandemic: The world will face another influenza pandemic – the only thing we don’t know is when it will hit and how severe it will be. Global defences are only as effective as the weakest link in any country’s health emergency preparedness and response system.
WHO is constantly monitoring the circulation of influenza viruses to detect potential pandemic strains: 153 institutions in 114 countries are involved in global surveillance and response.
Every year, WHO recommends which strains should be included in the flu vaccine to protect people from seasonal flu. In the event that a new flu strain develops pandemic potential, WHO has set up a unique partnership with all the major players to ensure effective and equitable access to diagnostics, vaccines and antivirals (treatments), especially in developing countries.
Fragile and vulnerable settings: More than 1.6 billion people (22% of the global population) live in places where protracted crises (through a combination of challenges such as drought, famine, conflict, and population displacement) and weak health services leave them without access to basic care.
Fragile settings exist in almost all regions of the world, and these are where half of the key targets in the sustainable development goals, including on child and maternal health, remains unmet.
WHO will continue to work in these countries to strengthen health systems so that they are better prepared to detect and respond to outbreaks, as well as able to deliver high quality health services, including immunization.
Antimicrobial resistance: The development of antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials are some of modern medicine’s greatest successes. Now, time with these drugs is running out. Antimicrobial resistance – the ability of bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi to resist these medicines – threatens to send us back to a time when we were unable to easily treat infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhoea, and salmonellosis. The inability to prevent infections could seriously compromise surgery and procedures such as chemotherapy.
Resistance to tuberculosis drugs is a formidable obstacle to fighting a disease that causes around 10 million people to fall ill, and 1.6 million to die, every year. In 2017, around 600 000 cases of tuberculosis were resistant to rifampicin – the most effective first-line drug – and 82% of these people had multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
Drug resistance is driven by the overuse of antimicrobials in people, but also in animals, especially those used for food production, as well as in the environment. WHO is working with these sectors to implement a global action plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance by increasing awareness and knowledge, reducing infection, and encouraging prudent use of antimicrobials.
Ebola and other high-threat pathogens: In 2018, the Democratic Republic of the Congo saw two separate Ebola outbreaks, both of which spread to cities of more than 1 million people. One of the affected provinces is also in an active conflict zone.
This shows that the context in which an epidemic of a high-threat pathogen like Ebola erupts is critical – what happened in rural outbreaks in the past doesn’t always apply to densely populated urban areas or conflict-affected areas.
At a conference on Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies held last December, participants from the public health, animal health, transport and tourism sectors focussed on the growing challenges of tackling outbreaks and health emergencies in urban areas. They called for WHO and partners to designate 2019 as a “Year of action on preparedness for health emergencies”.
WHO’s R&D Blueprint identifies diseases and pathogens that have potential to cause a public health emergency but lack effective treatments and vaccines. This watchlist for priority research and development includes Ebola, several other haemorrhagic fevers, Zika, Nipah, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and disease X, which represents the need to prepare for an unknown pathogen that could cause a serious epidemic.
Weak primary health care: Primary health care is usually the first point of contact people have with their health care system, and ideally should provide comprehensive, affordable, community-based care throughout life.
Primary health care can meet the majority of a person’s health needs of the course of their life. Health systems with strong primary health care are needed to achieve universal health coverage.
Yet many countries do not have adequate primary health care facilities. This neglect may be a lack of resources in low- or middle-income countries, but possibly also a focus in the past few decades on single disease programmes. In October 2018, WHO co-hosted a major global conference in Astana, Kazakhstan at which all countries committed to renew the commitment to primary health care made in the Alma-Ata declaration in 1978.
In 2019, WHO will work with partners to revitalize and strengthen primary health care in countries, and follow up on specific commitments made by in the Astana Declaration.
Vaccine hesitancy: The reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines – threatens to reverse progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective ways of avoiding disease – it currently prevents 2-3 million deaths a year, and a further 1.5 million could be avoided if global coverage of vaccinations improved.
Measles, for example, has seen a 30% increase in cases globally. The reasons for this rise are complex, and not all of these cases are due to vaccine hesitancy. However, some countries that were close to eliminating the disease have seen a resurgence.
The reasons why people choose not to vaccinate are complex; a vaccines advisory group to WHO identified complacency, inconvenience in accessing vaccines, and lack of confidence are key reasons underlying hesitancy. Health workers, especially those in communities, remain the most trusted advisor and influencer of vaccination decisions, and they must be supported to provide trusted, credible information on vaccines.
In 2019, WHO will ramp up work to eliminate cervical cancer worldwide by increasing coverage of the HPV vaccine, among other interventions. 2019 may also be the year when transmission of wild poliovirus is stopped in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Last year, less than 30 cases were reported in both countries. WHO and partners are committed to supporting these countries to vaccinate every last child to eradicate this crippling disease for good.
Dengue: Dengue, a mosquito-borne disease that causes flu-like symptoms and can be lethal and kill up to 20% of those with severe dengue, has been a growing threat for decades.
A high number of cases occur in the rainy seasons of countries such as Bangladesh and India. Now, its season in these countries is lengthening significantly (in 2018, Bangladesh saw the highest number of deaths in almost two decades), and the disease is spreading to less tropical and more temperate countries such as Nepal, that have not traditionally seen the disease.
An estimated 40% of the world is at risk of dengue fever, and there are around 390 million infections a year. WHO’s Dengue control strategy aims to reduce deaths by 50% by 2020.
HIV: The progress made against HIV has been enormous in terms of getting people tested, providing them with antiretrovirals (22 million are on treatment), and providing access to preventive measures such as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP, which is when people at risk of HIV take antiretrovirals to prevent infection).
However, the epidemic continues to rage with nearly a million people every year dying of HIV/AIDS. Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 70 million people have acquired the infection, and about 35 million people have died. Today, around 37 million worldwide live with HIV. Reaching people like sex workers, people in prison, men who have sex with men, or transgender people is hugely challenging. Often these groups are excluded from health services. A group increasingly affected by HIV are young girls and women (aged 15–24), who are particularly at high risk and account for 1 in 4 HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa despite being only 10% of the population.
This year, WHO will work with countries to support the introduction of self-testing so that more people living with HIV know their status and can receive treatment (or preventive measures in the case of a negative test result). One activity will be to act on new guidance announced In December 2018, by WHO and the International Labour Organization to support companies and organizations to offer HIV self-tests in the workplace.