Latest news with #EDS
Scoop
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
EDS Submissions Highlight Serious Concerns Over Government's Resource Management Changes
The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) has today filed its very extensive submissions on the Government's review of national direction under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The proposals, which are spread across three packages of Infrastructure and Development, Primary Sector and Freshwater, present an overwhelming shift towards prioritising use and development at the expense of the natural environment. National direction is the 'engine room' of the RMA. Regional policy statements and regional and district plans must 'give effect' to it and decision-makers on resource consent applications must 'have regard' to it. It therefore has significant ramifications for resource management decision-making. 'Taken together, the changes set out pose a significant risk to indigenous biodiversity, freshwater, wetlands, elite soils and the coastal marine environment. They will result in more inappropriate and environmentally damaging activities occurring in New Zealand's most sensitive places,' says EDS Chief Operating Officer and lawyer, Shay Schlaepfer. 'The environment is not in a healthy state. Monitoring shows ongoing declines in freshwater quality, more threatened and at risk species, a reduction in food producing land, continued loss of remaining wetlands and a marine environment under threat. 'The proposals are wilfully ignorant of that context. They are being pushed through under a 'growth at all costs' mentality that will result in more pollution for longer and more destruction of nature. This is not what the RMA provides for. 'EDS's key concerns with the proposals are: 1. Forestry review too narrow: The proposed changes fail to address systemic issues with forestry regulations which are resulting in extensive and damaging slash and sedimentation mobilisation events with corresponding devastating impacts on receiving environments and communities. 2. Infrastructure proposal lacks environmental considerations: The Government's expansive vision for infrastructure and development comes with no corresponding focus on protecting the natural environment. 3. Increased mining and quarrying in sensitive areas: The proposed changes will facilitate more mining and quarrying activities, directly threatening New Zealand's indigenous biodiversity, vulnerable wetlands and highly productive land. 4. Freshwater management at risk: The proposed changes would unwind decades of freshwater management progress, undermining hard-won legal protections in favour of short-term economic interests. 5. Natural hazards not taken seriously: A gaping hole in the proposals is any regulation to stop building in high hazards areas. If New Zealand is to get real about climate adaptation it needs to prioritise not making the situation worse in the first place. 'The review of national direction is being undertaken before replacement resource management laws are enacted in 'phase 3' of the Government's programme of RMA reform. Progressing substantial national direction review under a regime that is to be replaced, and then implementing those new instruments in a new regime which Ministers describe as being radically different, is a confusing, unstructured and backwards approach. 'This has been exacerbated by Minister Bishop's recent 'plan stop' announcement which has compounded uncertainty about how the package of national direction changes will be implemented. The Government needs to stop rushing and progress resource management reform on a more strategic, coherent footing. 'Most importantly, Government needs to acknowledge that economic growth and good environmental outcomes are both achievable. EDS's submissions propose changes to the policy settings which would bring the instruments into a more acceptable and lawful outcome,' concluded Ms Schlaepfer. Environmental Defence Society EDS speaks for the environment. It has influence. Since 1971, EDS has been driving environmental protection in Aotearoa New Zealand through law and policy change. That's why it's one of this country's most influential non- profit organisations when it comes to achieving better environmental outcomes. EDS has expertise in key disciplines including law, planning, landscape and science. It operates as a policy think-tank, a litigation advocate, and a collaborator – bringing together the private and public sectors for constructive engagement. EDS runs conferences and seminars on topical issues, including an annual Environmental Summit and the Climate Change and Business Conference. EDS is a registered charity and donations to it are tax-deductible.
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- Health
- NZ Herald
Rare disorder derails BoP footballer's US dreams
But that didn't help. Instead, it got much worse. A gastroenterologist told her she had gastritis following an endoscopy. 'He loaded me up with nausea meds, antacids and everything and then I went back to America.' She struggled through her second year playing in the US. Back in New Zealand, a colonoscopy revealed inflammation in her large intestine, which led to a Crohn's disease diagnosis. She started treatment for Crohn's, including weekly injections, but did not see improvements. Three years ago, Rachel Weatherly was in the US on a football scholarship when she suddenly started vomiting and feeling unwell. She said when she had to switch from private healthcare to public for financial reasons, everything 'fell apart'. The specialist ruled out Crohn's and concluded she had an eating disorder. She said she felt let down. 'They wouldn't do anything. They basically said it was eating disorders. I was going downhill real fast, losing weight a lot faster. I wasn't really keeping anything down.' Weatherly said she spent many appointments describing her symptoms, including constant pain, nausea, exhaustion and inability to eat without excruciating pain. Her own research led her to believe she was experiencing abdominal vascular compressions. 'I found a bunch of stories within NZ, predominantly young women, and they basically had the exact same story as me. They helped guide me through the diagnostic process,' said Weatherly. Rachel Weatherly couldn't eat or drink, and was losing weight and becoming malnourished, before she was put on a feeding tube. Late last year she visited a private specialist who raised suspicion of EDS while consulting about the possibility of AVCS. He ordered a CT scan and a Doppler ultrasound and diagnosed one compression before suggesting she get the scan reviewed by experts overseas who specialise and treat AVCS. A surgeon in Germany reviewed her imaging and diagnosed her with three compressions. He recommended surgery in Germany. There were also options to have it in Spain and Australia. Weatherly said the estimated cost was $60,000 to $150,000. She hoped to fly to Australia next month to meet with a surgeon who had also reviewed her imaging. If he couldn't help, she planned to go to Germany. Treatment in the meantime included using a nasogastric feeding tube. The surgery is controversial and has been described as 'experimental', with some New Zealand vascular surgeons raising concerns about the lack of medical literature to support it. Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora national chief medical officer Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard said a very careful assessment of how AVCS was diagnosed and treated in New Zealand was required. Stokes-Lampard said there was little data available to back a diagnosis, as it was a relatively rare disease. 'Health New Zealand has established a national vascular multidisciplinary meeting which is available to review patients who may have one of these vascular complications.' This aimed to ensure patients received the most appropriate care. 'This meeting will determine whether a case requires surgery and, if it does, whether this is best managed without surgery or recommend surgery that could be done via the High-Cost Treatment Pool [funding for treatment overseas] or locally, depending on the individual's circumstance,' Stokes-Lampard said. 'For these types of conditions, we find that many patients respond well to treatment without the need for further interventions. 'Surgical treatment is not always considered the best option for an individual, particularly because the level of complexity and uncertainty varies from case to case.' Stokes-Lampard said in these instances, an individual might still wish to receive treatment overseas but would need to fund it themselves. Athenree mother-of-two Pamela Coburn, 41, recently underwent surgery in Germany. Photo / Brydie Thompson Weatherly has found support from other Kiwis with EDS and AVCS, including meeting Tauranga mum-of-two, Pamela Coburn. Coburn had her last-resort surgery for AVCS in Germany a year ago. Coburn said within four months after the surgery, she had no symptoms or pain related to AVCS. She would do it again tomorrow if needed, even though the costs were substantial. 'I have my life back,' she said. Athenree mother-of-two Pamela Coburn, 41 (left), recently underwent surgery in Germany. Rachel Weatherly, 23, a former Tauranga Moana Football Club player from Whakatāne, is currently fundraising so she too can get surgery. Photo / Brydie Thompson Weatherly's father, Peter Weatherly, said his daughter was a fighter. 'She does not give up on anything.' 'Even last year when Rachel was unwell, still on all the meds she decided she was going to do a pre-apprenticeship to be an electrician.' While juggling relentless symptoms and countless medical appointments, she managed to earn the second-highest grade in her class. With the support of her local football club, community and a Givealittle fundraiser under way, Weatherly is fighting not just for her own health, but for awareness and change in the health system. 'No one should have to go through what me and many others have been through,' she said. 'If we can make the road a little easier for the next person, that's the goal.'
Scoop
6 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Another Offensive Launched In The Government's War On Nature
Last week the Minister for Resource Management Reform, Chris Bishop, announced that the government would be intervening, yet again, to prevent councils from progressing environmental protections under the Resource Management Act (RMA). Legislation will prohibit the notification of any new changes to regional policy statements and regional and district plans. It will also prevent notified plan changes from going ahead if they have not yet had a hearing. These will need to be withdrawn within 90 days. The legislation will be passed before the end of the year. 'This is extremely unwelcome and yet another salvo in this government's war on nature,' said, EDS CEO Gary Taylor. 'It would, effectively, prevent any further implementation of national direction under the Resource Management Act, like the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity. It will also stop councils from improving any environmental outcomes in plans. 'The justification is that it would be inefficient for councils to make changes to their plans when the RMA is set to be replaced with a new system in a couple of years' time. The rhetoric is all about wasted effort. 'But what's truly inefficient is to spend the better part of a decade creating and implementing national direction and then scrapping it. Or for years of work and investment by councils to prepare plans, and even notify them, to be abruptly frozen because of future legislation that we still know very little about and which a new government might repeal anyway. 'The changes are also being framed as a kindness – to relieve pressure on struggling councils. But most councils and their constituents don't want to be patronised and actually want a better natural environment. Between now and when the new resource management system is stood up in 2027, the environment will continue to decline. 'Astonishingly, all private plan changes will still be allowed. So too will work that delivers on the Government's priorities like housing and urban development. 'Councils will be able to apply to the Minister for an exemption to progress other plan changes. But this will be completely discretionary, and not linked to the purpose of the RMA. And it is likely councils will simply not bother to apply where they know they will be denied. 'To top it off, the law change is being done by an Amendment Paper, which means an 11th hour change to the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Bill. This will completely bypass scrutiny by select committee and public submissions. Local government won't have a say. 'It is not just another central government attack on the environment and localism, but also on the democratic process itself,' concluded Mr Taylor. Environmental Defence Society EDS speaks for the environment. It has influence. Since 1971, EDS has been driving environmental protection in Aotearoa New Zealand through law and policy change. That's why it's one of this country's most influential non- profit organisations when it comes to achieving better environmental outcomes. EDS has expertise in key disciplines including law, planning, landscape and science. It operates as a policy think-tank, a litigation advocate, and a collaborator – bringing together the private and public sectors for constructive engagement. EDS runs conferences and seminars on topical issues, including an annual Environmental Summit and the Climate Change and Business Conference. EDS is a registered charity and donations to it are tax-deductible.
Gulf Today
12-07-2025
- Health
- Gulf Today
Dermatology campaign to focus on eczema prevention
A genetically-induced skin disease, commonest in boys and women shall be the centrepiece campaign of dermatologists in the UAE and a Saudi-Arabia-headquartered pharmaceutical firm, this academic year until July 2026. The partnership between the Emirates Dermatology Society (EDS) and the Jamjoom Pharma, which has branches in Dubai and Cairo, Egypt, was formalised with the July 4 signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the capital, way ahead of the 'ECZPLORE' September launch. It is 'ECZPLORE' because the campaign is about eczema. EDS president Dr. Ayman Al Naeem told Gulf Today on Friday: 'Eczema has become one of the most pressing skin health issues in the UAE. It affects one in five children and often gets worse, because of the heat, the humidity and the air-conditioning; generally our climate.' Referring to the EDS data, when enquired regarding the youngest and oldest patients, the gender ratio, and the prevalence in the country's multi-racial landscape, Al Naeem said: 'The condition can appear as early as the first few weeks of life, although such an early onset is rare.' Rare too, it is, among septuagenarians and octogenarians who have been found to also be suffering from the disease, which counts 'environmental factors' namely 'allergens, climate, stress and irritants,' particularly those with 'family history and mutations in skin barrier genes like filaggrin,' a protein – a as a cause. These, as in the 'Atopic Dermatitis Insights on Global Prevalence, Health Care Implications and the Impact of COVID-19,' Kyung Hee University College of Medicine (Seoul, South Korea) medical student-researcher Jiyen Oh, noted that by 2050, global incidence would be at 148 million cases 'with minimal change in the prevalence rate.' The research was published in 'The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.' Oh studied the co-relation of eczema, otherwise known as Atopic Dermatitis, with asthma and COVID-19. Oh wrote that the skin disease shall have higher incidences in 'high-income countries likely influenced by environmental factors, urbanisation and better diagnostic capabilities.' Al Naeem pointed out that a campaign is crucial because 'beyond the skin, eczema affects how children sleep, play, learn and interact. For many families, it is a daily emotional and physical struggle.' Jamjoom Pharma-Gulf/Levant/Export Markets general manager Dr. Samer Lezzaiq said they are looking forward at partnerships with relevant authorities and educational institutions even as 'five major schools across the five largest cities in the UAE will be targeted.' 'This campaign is a national call to action designed to reach over one million individuals through digital platforms, schools and on-ground events,' Lezzaiq added, stressing that these are necessary; for, apart from the basic general knowledge, 'guidance on lifestyle modifications' are key to help patients and their households. 'Selection of the five major schools will be randomised. Primary targets are children between two and 12 years old,' said Lezzaiq. He answered in the negative when asked if secondary and tertiary educational institutions were included, as teenagers and young adults may be eczema sufferers as well: 'The age group most affected are the ages two and 12. Secondary schools, colleges, and universities fall outside of the current scope.' From Al Naeem: 'The highest prevalence is typically seen during childhood. In terms of gender distribution, it is more common in boys. This trend shifts in adulthood, with a higher prevalence observed in women.' He repeated Lezzaiq's mention of alterations in lifestyle, pointing out that while 'eczema is not fully preventable, its onset and flare-ups can be significantly reduced' through stress management, early treatment, avoiding triggers, and maintaining a healthy skin barrier with the use of breathable clothing and moisturisers to protect the skin barrier. Other highlights of the MoU, the signing of which was witnessed by EDS vice president Dr. Muna Al Murrawi and EDS-Scientific Committee head Dr. Fatima Albreiki: n The delivery of educational tools which include colouring books to help understand their condition while storybooks foster empathy and hope. n The delivery of lifestyle magazines and quick guides for families, caregivers and other support individuals to complete lifestyle modification among the patients. n The delivery of resources and other materials for healthcare professionals.
Time of India
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
What is Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS): Lena Dunham's rare condition that affects skin, joints, and more
Source: Instagram/ Lena Dunham In the era of body positivity and acceptance, Lena Dunham has faced a great deal of criticism from netizens and even the industry over her weight. But the Girls creator and actor is far from a pushover. She has openly addressed the internet's relentless obsession with her body. In a recent interview with The Times, Lena said, 'I expected that people would have a response to the kind of sex the show was depicting or the level of nudity, but the idea that my body, the shape of my body, would become such a hotbed for discussion? It was insane.' So intense was the public's focus on her body that in 2013, Howard Stern referred to the Netflix star as 'a little fat girl,' and the following year, Jezebel magazine offered $10,000 for the unretouched version of her Vogue cover to expose any photo editing. Source: Instagram/ Lena Dunham Lena shared that these things didn't matter to her much, and she has largely managed the criticism surrounding her appearance and self-image. While not the sole reason, Lena gradually stepped out of the spotlight after her show went off air in 2017. Now, eight years later, Dunham is back with a new rom-com series called Too Much on Netflix. Yet the intense scrutiny persists, with many on the internet still trolling her. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Upto 15% Discount for Salaried Individuals ICICI Pru Life Insurance Plan Get Quote Undo In another interview with Variety, Lena explained, 'I have had my body change because of life, illness, aging, menopause. And it is merciless wherever you are.' This is not the first time Lena has spoken about her body struggles; she has previously shared that her weight fluctuations were influenced by health issues, including endometriosis, a hysterectomy, and recovery from prescription drug addiction. In a 2018 Instagram post, she shared side-by-side photos comparing herself at 138 pounds, when she was struggling with chronic pain and addiction, to 162 pounds, describing herself as 'happy, joyous & free' after gaining 24 pounds. Source: Instagram/ Lena Dunham In 2019, Lena also revealed that she was suffering from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), responding to paparazzi photos showing her walking with a cane. She said, 'An Ehlers-Danlos syndrome flare means that I need support from more than just my friends… so thank you, sweet cane!' But what is EDS? Symptoms and causes of EDS Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) refer to a group of 13 inherited connective tissue disorders caused by genetic changes that affect the structure and function of connective tissue. Each type of EDS has its own unique features and specific diagnostic criteria. However, some symptoms are common across all types, including joint hypermobility (an unusually wide range of motion in the joints), skin hyperextensibility (skin that can be stretched beyond the normal range), and tissue fragility(skin that bruises easily). EDS can affect people differently. For some, the condition is relatively mild, while for others, the symptoms can be disabling. The various types of EDS are caused by faults in certain genes that weaken connective tissue. Depending on the specific type, the faulty gene may be inherited from one parent or both. In some cases, the gene change is not inherited but occurs spontaneously in the person for the first time. Some of the rarer, more severe forms of EDS can even be life-threatening. What's the risk age? People of all ages can be diagnosed with National Center for Biotechnology Information says infants with some of the disorder types can take a longer time to sit, stand and walk. 'Those loose joints are unstable and prone to dislocation and chronic pain,' the center says. Another type may cause hip dislocation in infants at birth, according to the center. Types of EDS There are 13 types of EDS, most of which are rare of which Hypermobile EDS (hEDS) is the most common type. Arthrochalasia EDS (aEDS): Characterized by severe joint hypermobility and dislocations, with skin hyperextensibility and atrophic scarring. Brittle Cornea Syndrome (BCS): Associated with thin, fragile corneas, leading to frequent eye injuries and potential vision loss. Cardiac-valvular EDS (cvEDS): Primarily affects the heart valves, causing them to weaken and leak, potentially leading to heart failure. Classical EDS (cEDS): The most well-known type, characterized by skin hyperextensibility, atrophic scarring, and joint hypermobility. Classical-like EDS (clEDS): Shares some features with cEDS, but with potentially more severe skin and joint issues. Dermatosparaxis EDS (dEDS): Characterized by extremely fragile and sagging skin, often with hernias and other complications. Hypermobile EDS (hEDS): The most common type, distinguished by joint hypermobility, pain, and fatigue. Kyphoscoliotic EDS (kEDS): Features progressive spinal curvature (kyphoscoliosis), joint hypermobility, and muscle weakness. Musculocontractural EDS (mcEDS): Involves muscle and joint contractures, along with skin and skeletal abnormalities. Myopathic EDS (mEDS): Characterized by muscle weakness and atrophy, in addition to joint hypermobility and other EDS features. Periodontal EDS (pEDS): Primarily affects the gums and teeth, causing early tooth loss and gum disease. Spondylodysplastic EDS (spEDS): Involves skeletal abnormalities, including short stature, and may affect the spine and limbs. Vascular EDS (vEDS): The most serious type, characterized by fragile blood vessels that can rupture, potentially causing life-threatening complications. This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here.
