PAHO News – October 23, 2003

In this issue:
- DIABETES PANDEMIC: MILLIONS AFFECTED AREN’T AWARE OF THEIR CONDITION
- IMPROVED ACCESS TO TREATMENT URGED FOR CHILDREN WITH MENTAL HEALTH
PROBLEMS
- “DISASTERS: PREPAREDNESS AND MITIGATION IN THE AMERICAS” OCTOBER 2003
ISSUE NOW AVAILABLE
- FLOUR FORTIFICATION WITH IRON, FOLIC ACID AND VITAMIN B12 IN THE
AMERICAS
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DIABETES PANDEMIC: MILLIONS AFFECTED AREN’T AWARE OF THEIR CONDITION
Education, solidarity and coordinated work are the keys to fighting the
diabetes pandemic, according to experts and diabetics at a meeting this
week in Washington.  Facing a projection that there will be 45 million
people with diabetes by the year 2010, the Declaration of the Americas
on Diabetes (DOTA), a continental coalition, met at the headquarters of
the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to strengthen partnerships
among physicians, patients, the pharmaceutical industry and the
community. Dr. Joxel García, PAHO’s deputy director, opened the meeting
saying that diabetes is a disease with pandemic characteristics in the
Americas. One of the most serious points that García noted is that a
third of those who suffer from diabetes do not know of their condition.
“Imagine that, of the 45 million people that will be diabetics in 2010,
15 million will not know it,” he said. “We have made much progress in
education on the disease but we have to ask journalists to give more
visibility to diabetes.”  Susana Feria, who chaired the encounter, has
worked with the International Federation of Diabetics for 35 years and
has been diabetic for 45 years. She said, “We need to make a greater
impact on the populations, on the people who already are diabetic and on
the enormous number of people who are at risk of becoming diabetic.”
Meeting participants who form part of the coalition include the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Diabetes
Association and the region’s health ministries. They are reviewing
successful examples of programs in communities, such as the group AYUDA
(American Youth Understanding Diabetes Abroad), which works with youth
camps in South America.  For more information, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/DD/PIN/pr031021.htm
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IMPROVED ACCESS TO TREATMENT URGED FOR CHILDREN WITH MENTAL HEALTH
PROBLEMS
In Latin America, between 15 percent and 23 percent of children and
adolescents suffer from mental health problems, but most of them do not
receive necessary treatment and care.  This situation was analyzed in a
meeting on "Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in Children and
Adolescents" at the headquarters of the Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO) this week. The meeting was held in the framework of World Mental
Health Day, observed every October 10.
This year, the campaign focused world attention on the identification,
treatment, and prevention of emotional and behavioral disorders in
children and adolescents. According to experts, early detection and
treatment of these problems is essential in avoiding future antisocial
behavior and the excessive costs of later therapies.  “Child and
adolescent mental health is a global health problem and countries must
work intensively to improve access to treatment,” said Dr. Carissa
Etienne, assistant director of PAHO, at the opening of the session. PAHO
is committed to deal with these problems in its strategic plan for
2003-2007, she said. "We are offering technical cooperation to 17
countries in the Americas to work on specific mental health policies,"
she added, noting that the real impact will be achieved by working in
integrated actions that involve experts, decision-makers, and the
community.
Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are carrying out
innovative actions. For example, Chile has implemented constitutional,
legislative and regulatory measures that have an impact on mental health
in general and on children and adolescents in particular.  Brazil has
implemented the Brazilian Child and Adolescent Rights Act, which goes
beyond a simple declaration of child rights. It mandates the
implementation of these rights, stipulating that each Brazilian
municipality should have, at least, a Child Rights Council and a Child
Guardianship Council.  Jamaica and Costa Rica are researching new
programs to strengthen community empowerment for child health and
development, and prevention of psychiatric disorders in children. Costa
Rica's work involves a pilot study to test a depression treatment model
to protect children and strengthen the family.
Conclusions of the meeting on addressing child and adolescent mental
health needs cover providing a safe, supportive environment; providing
the information necessary for a better decision-making process; building
skills of professionals, health-care providers and patients; ensuring
access to adequate health services; and building partnerships to reach a
regional strategy on mental health for children and adolescents in Latin
America and the Caribbean. For more information on this story or on
mental health in general, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/DD/PIN/pr031022.htm
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“DISASTERS: PREPAREDNESS AND MITIGATION IN THE AMERICAS” OCTOBER 2003
ISSUE NOW AVAILABLE
The October 2003 issue of PAHO’s Disasters newsletter is now available
online in both PDF and HTML formats.  In general, the newsletter deals
with issues of disaster preparedness and planning, including training,
assistance programs and intersectoral planning.  The newsletter also
includes more specific information on particular disasters which affect
regions of the Americas, such as earthquakes and hurricanes.  This
month’s issue deals with the management of dead bodies after disasters.
It also includes a supplement on water and disasters.  To download the
newsletter in either format, visit:
http://www.paho.org/english/dd/ped/newsletter.htm
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FLOUR FORTIFICATION WITH IRON, FOLIC ACID AND VITAMIN B12 IN THE
AMERICAS
The PAHO Regional Nutrition Unit jointly sponsored a regional meeting
with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the March of
Dimes Birth Defects Foundation (MOD) and the United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF) on October 9 – 10, 2003; the meeting was hosted by the
Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INTA) of the University of
Chile.  This regional meeting was the next step in the process of
translating current scientific and programmatic knowledge into practice,
by transferring the knowledge on optimizing flour fortification into the
hands of program implementers in the Americas. Twenty countries from
Central and South America attended.  The objectives of the meeting were
to: review the nutritional status in terms of iron, folate and vitamin
B12 deficiencies in the Americas and the situation of flour
fortification; to review and discuss the experiences and lessons learned
from national flour fortification programs; to review the conclusions
and recommendations of the technical consultations on "Iron Compounds
for Food Fortification" (PAHO/ILSI/USAID/INACG) and "Recommended Levels
of Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 Fortification" (PAHO/MOD/CDC); and, to
discuss and identify programmatic solutions to optimize flour
fortification in the Americas.  For more information, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/AD/FCH/NU/RegionalFlourMeeting.htm
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