WHO approves world's first pandemic agreement
After three years of tense negotiations, the World Health Organization members have approved the world's first Pandemic Agreement.
This will shape future responses to global pandemics – but, it begs the question, why has it taken three years to get it to this point?
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The Age
a day ago
- The Age
The Australian doctors saving lives in Gaza
The missions involve sending Australian doctors via Jordan, as part of the World Health Organisation's Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) initiative. The doctors gain access to the Gaza Strip via a United Nations convoy. Once in Gaza, they are put to work at one of the few remaining hospitals in the enclave. Loading Alattar keeps his voice steady as he attempts to describe some of the situations he faced, navigating multiple mass casualty events a day. He describes a young mother losing her children, working out where to send the recently orphaned, designating who was and wasn't worth saving, and how he did what he could with what little equipment he had. 'We didn't have notes or forms. I wrote information on people's bodies, like their names and conditions. We saved lives, but I watched so many people die from easily remedied situations. I watched people, kids, die because we didn't have operating equipment or antibiotics,' he says. 'I sent people away to die on painkillers because we couldn't help them. Kids with brain matter hanging out of their heads, with organs outside their bodies.' He pauses for a moment, shaking his head, before describing the 'waves of horror' that would come with mass casualty incidents, attempting crowd control in parts of the hospital not designed to be an emergency department. 'It was chaos at all times, almost always very emotionally charged. And it didn't have doors we could close, or ways to control who comes in and out,' he says. 'People would bring their loved ones on their shoulders. They would be brought in piled up in trucks. Sometimes people were brought in on the backs of donkeys. 'And you try and talk to them and process them, but, at times, these are the minutes before their loved one dies in their hands. So you just do what you can.' PANZMA was founded by a group of Australian-Palestinian medical professionals in Melbourne in 2020. Loading At first, it focused on education and sending medical supplies into Gaza. But after Israel invaded Gaza as a result of the October 7 Hamas attack, it shifted focus to finding a way to send doctors from Australia to support local emergency departments. After working through mountains of bureaucracy to gain the credentials to join the WHO's emergency medical team missions, PANZMA was finally registered with the EMT program in April 2024, and sent its first doctors to Gaza the following month. It is the only Australian organisation registered under the program, and has organised 14 missions, including 10 this year. Professor Mohammad Irhimeh, PANZMA's recently elected president who has acted as a director of its medical missions, says the only way his organisation has been consistently allowed into the Strip is their persistence and narrow focus. 'We don't engage in politics, we don't do humanitarian work, we don't do anything else, and that is how we have consistently been able to get seats in the WHO's program,' he says. He manages every stage of a mission – preparation, management and returns – personally, involving himself in as many details as possible. In preparing doctors, Irhimeh organises planning sessions, pyschological support and security checks. He personally vets applicants, combing through their social media profiles and even their bags as they pack, to ensure they will not be rejected by Israel's stringent vetting process. 'I force the doctors to film themselves packing in Australia, and then again in Jordan, when they leave for Gaza.' Because they are deployed into an active war zone, every movement must be registered with the Israeli Defence Force, which means Irhimeh is in constant contact with both the doctors and military officials. He has to apply for every movement, including morning and evening commutes. Food, water, supplies, housing, electricity and even finances are all organised by Irhimeh, with the doctors only allowed 1000 shekels at entry, roughly equivalent to $438. That means PANZMA has had to hire logistics officers based in Gaza, who scrounge for supplies and food, and drive its doctors to and from the hospitals. While Irhimeh is thankful that so far every mission has been a success, with no incidents or injuries, it has left the doctor with frayed nerves. 'I am exhausted,' he says. 'I have been doing this for a year and a half, every micro issue managed. And to go from no missions to a mission a month has been excruciating. Loading 'I am so tired, but I can't stop. Because this is my duty, this is what I need to do.' PANZMA's success in getting doctors into Gaza has meant it is now fielding international applicants. Until recently, its groundbreaking work was unacknowledged by the federal government, which Irhimeh expressed some frustration with. A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she had recently met with the group and 'appreciated their first-hand insights into the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza'. 'They discussed the severe restrictions facing all humanitarian organisations seeking to deliver aid into Gaza. 'The government continues to engage with PANZMA on their proposals.' Israel has begun allowing some basic aid back into Gaza, after an 11-week blockade intended to pressure Hamas, who still hold 55 hostages, after taking 251 and killing 1200 people in October 2023, according to Israeli tallies. In response, Israel's military has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, mostly women and children. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced about 90 per cent of the territory's population, leaving people there almost completely dependent on international aid. Loading Despite the horrors Alattar has witnessed, despite the challenges, the hungry days, sleepless nights and the heartbreak, he is somehow keen to return. 'I feel guilty, I feel like I should be back there, helping them. I want to go back.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Re-imagining your home for the next chapter
O'Connell advocates for what she describes as 'decluttering with purpose'. That means focussing on the items you truly use and love, then making a fun project of donating and selling the rest. By decluttering with purpose — rather than just haphazardly heaping items into a bin bag — 'you're not just throwing it away, you're actually passing it on to someone else who could use it better than you can'. If you're thinking about rightsizing your home for somewhere easier to look after, you should also consider where that next home is located — because easy access to services like health care, transport, walkable environments and community centres or programs can make all the difference as you age. Future-proofing your home for the years to come Rightsizing can be a great opportunity to ensure our homes are as accessible as possible for the decades to come. And future-proofing your home 'doesn't have to be expensive, and it doesn't have to mean renovations', says O'Connell. There are many minor adjustments you can make to help you stay independent and at home for longer. These include replacing doorknobs, which due to conditions such as arthritis, may become difficult to turn as you age, with simple levers. Door hinges can be offset so you can widen the doorway for future accessibility needs if required. And adding grab rails to toilets and showers can help you move around the bathroom with confidence. Brighter lighting, especially in stairways and hallways, can increase visibility and reduce fall risk, as can adding contrasting colours on the edges of steps. You might also consider installing smart-home technology that offers features like voice-activated assistance to control lights, video doorbells and alarms. Again, it's never too early to start on these changes. 'I do think starting early and making changes gradually makes it more affordable,' says O'Connell. 'And small changes now can equal more autonomy later.' Bonus tips for setting yourself up for healthy ageing Here's a statistic that might surprise you: 'Only around 25 per cent of age-related decline is genetic,' says O'Connell. 'So, what that means is that we can do an awful lot to help ourselves live well now and into our later years.' In her work with LiveUp, a national platform designed to help older Australians stay well as they age, O'Connell uses healthy ageing principles set out by the World Health Organization. That includes encouraging simple but effective steps like getting physically active and eating well, staying socially connected, joining clubs, volunteering, learning new skills to keep the brain sharp, as well as getting regular health checks to catch any small issues before they become big ones. O'Connell believes that both in and outside of the home, with a little forward planning, you can set yourself up to be able to do what you both need and want to be able to do in the future.
The Australian
6 days ago
- The Australian
Two new cases of malaria detected in Queensland, brings infection total to 71
An outbreak of a potentially fatal disease continues in the Sunshine State as authorities race to investigate two more locally acquired cases, bringing the total number of infections this year to 71. Queensland Health confirmed a second locally acquired infection was recently identified in the Torres Strait Islands local government area. Ninety-seven per cent of the cases this year to date have come from overseas, predominantly Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. There are now 71 cases of the potentially deadly disease recorded in the Sunshine State to date this year. Picture: WHO It is a major increase in numbers, with 69 infections recorded in the same period in 2024, 50 in 2023, 20 in 2022 and only four in 2021. The presence of floodwaters is believed to be a key reason for the spike. Malaria is preventable and curable, and is not able to be passed from person to person, but rather spread through the bites of some infected Anopheles mosquitoes. 'We don't have mosquitoes capable of passing malaria on all throughout the country, but certainly in the more tropical parts of our country, the Northern Territory and northern parts of Queensland,' Mater Health infectious diseases director Paul Griffin said. 'That's why in those areas we need to give people that advice to make sure we reduce the chance of local transmission. Mater Health infectious diseases director Paul Griffin said it was important to advise Australians on how to avoid being bitten. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards 'With more significant types of malaria, the severe consequences can be involvement of the brain, so cerebral malaria and even death,' he told ABC News. 'It is something that we do need to take seriously and make sure we take steps to limit how much it is able to be passed on in our country.' According to the World Health Organisation, the most common early symptoms of malaria are fever, headache and chills. They typically start within 10 to 15 days of getting bitten by an infected mosquito. Hannah Wilcox Cadet Reporter Hannah Wilcox is part of News Corp's National Cadet Program's 2024 cohort. She has previously written for both digital and print publications. Hannah Wilcox
