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Japan Forward
3 days ago
- Health
- Japan Forward
To Reform WHO, Prevent US Withdrawal, Taiwan's Exclusion
このページを 日本語 で読む Taking in the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Assembly (WHA) of the World Health Organization (WHO) recently adopted the Pandemic Accord. It calls for strengthening measures to improve international cooperation to prevent and respond to future pandemics. For example, it promotes the transfer of technology and knowledge related to vaccine manufacturing to developing countries. Likewise, it advocates for the rapid sharing of information on pathogens. We remember the challenges and welcome the adoption of the accord. After all, viruses recognize no borders. That's why the denial of Taiwan's participation as an observer in the WHO General Assembly is so problematic. Once again, as in the past, this was due to obstruction from China. Eight countries, including Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, issued a joint press statement contending that excluding Taiwan was "completely unjustified." Nevertheless, Taiwan remains excluded from the General Assembly. World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland (©Kyodo) A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson declared that Taiwan has sufficient unimpeded channels to communicate and cooperate with WHO in the technical domain. Then he claimed the "so-called 'gap' in global anti-epidemic efforts is nothing but a politically-driven lie." On the contrary, the truth is that it is Beijing that is peddling political lies. China cannot be allowed to willfully create blank spaces on the world health map. Unfortunately, the United States has announced its intention to withdraw from the WHO and did not attend the WHA. In a video address to the general assembly, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr criticized the organization. "Not only has the WHO capitulated to political pressure from China, it's also failed to maintain an organization characterized by transparency and fair governance by and for its Member States," said Secretary Kennedy. He observed that the Pandemic Accord would "lock in all of the dysfunction of the WHO pandemic response." Saying, "we're not going to participate in that," he also suggested other nations consider leaving the WHO. Secretary Kennedy's views of China's influence on WHO are certainly valid. When the COVID-19 outbreak first occurred, China's government under Xi Jinping failed to disclose information promptly. The time lag allowed the virus to spread around the world with calamitous results. US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy. (©Getty via Kyodo） WHO's declaration of a global health emergency was also delayed. Despite those facts, Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus bent over backwards to please China in words and deeds. He even commended China for taking "swift and effective measures" after its repeated failures. Meanwhile, the US is a major manufacturer of vaccines. Its withdrawal from the WHO will create a tremendous vacuum. Moreover, China will replace the US as the number one contributor to the WHO budget, further increasing Beijing's influence. In that case, the WHO will lose even more transparency and fair governance. Such an outcome would not be desirable for either the world or America itself. Washington should reconsider its withdrawal from WHO and act responsibly as a member of the international community. Japan, the United States, Europe, and other nations must work together to reform the WHO. Simultaneously, they should begin planning for the election of WHO's next director general in 2027. Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong attended the 2025 WHA and met with Tedros. He told the director general, "China stands ready to work with the WHO to promote the building of a global community of health for all." The fact is, however, that a WHO led by China will do the exact opposite. Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun このページを 日本語 で読む
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
US govt targets food, chemicals in child health report
A commission led by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has issued a report that says processed food, chemicals, stress and overprescription of medications and vaccines may be factors behind chronic illness in children in the United States. Kennedy said the commission's report was a "clarion call to do something with utmost urgency to end this crisis" of increasing rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, cancer, mental health disorders, allergies and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. It did not call for specific regulatory changes or restrictions on pesticides used in farming, as some farm groups had feared, and instead said the chemicals should be further researched. It echoed previous Kennedy statements that highly processed foods and additives are health risks and that the food industry is too influential in the crafting of public health recommendations like the Dietary Guidelines. .@PressSec: The MAHA Commission Report "identifies four major factories that are contributing to the rise of childhood chronic disease":- Poor diet- Environmental chemical exposure- Lack of physical activity - Overmedicalization — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 22, 2025 Speaking at a press conference, he said there was a consensus to prioritise what he called the ultra-processed food crisis. The report also takes aim at the US childhood vaccination schedule, saying the number of vaccines children are recommended to receive is more than in many European countries. It said the links between vaccines and chronic disease and the effects of vaccine injury should be studied. Thursday's report outlining the causes was due this week and will be followed by policy prescriptions due in August. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission to investigate chronic illness and deliver an action plan to fight childhood diseases. The commission is jointly run by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the White House, with Kennedy serving as its chair and the Domestic Policy Council chief as executive director. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and other cabinet members sit on it, as do federal health agency chiefs and senior White House officials. Before the report's publication, farm lobby groups had warned that criticising specific farm practices could impede collaboration on the administration's health agenda and put food production at risk. As next steps, the report called for enhanced surveillance and safety research into drugs and childhood health outcomes and clinical studies comparing whole-food to processed-food diets in children. The report says that ultra-processed foods, which it describes as industrially-manufactured food products, are associated with poor health. It cites infant formula as an ultra-processed food that is concerning, saying that parents are increasingly buying European brands.
Washington Post
21-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Rubio, Van Hollen clash over Trump's foreign policy
RFK Jr. has big plans for your food. Here are the facts. 2 weeks ago
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Congressional Democrats push Trump to restore $2.5B in public health grants
Florida's Democratic delegation wants the Trump administration to reverse its cuts to public health research funding Galvanized by the loss of $2.5 billion in federal public health funding, the eight Democratic members of the Florida Congressional delegation sent a letter to the Trump administration Tuesday calling on it to immediately review and reinstate the grants, including $42 million for HIV research. HIV is the virus that, without treatment, can cause someone to have acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. In a letter to President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr, the Democrats said public health shouldn't be a 'casualty of political ideology' and called on the administration to reverse its policies. 'We are especially alarmed by the termination of $42 million in grants for HIV research. Florida has the third-highest rate of new HIV diagnoses in the country, and our communities rely on these programs to test, treat and prevent the spread of HIV. During your first term, you pledged your commitment to ending the HIV epidemic in the United States. We hope you will renew this commitment and reinstate these grants.' U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz , Kathy Castor, Frederica Wilson, Darren Soto, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Maxwell Frost and Jared Moskowitz signed onto the letter. 'These grants support vital public health initiatives, including childhood immunizations, infectious disease control, mental health programs, and HIV prevention and treatment,' the letter says.
Washington Post
19-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Walmart will raise prices due to tariffs
RFK Jr. has big plans for your food. Here are the facts. 2 weeks ago
