Public health
Health care policy and administration
Activists demand big hike in booze taxes
The Thai government should increase taxes on alcohol just as it has done with cigarettes in order to discourage new drinkers, the Centre for Alcohol Studies says. Sawitree Assanangkornchai, the centre’s director said alcoholic beverages were considered dangerous and created health and social problems ranging ...
‘No HIV outbreak’ in Kandal village, say WHO, local authorities
Following consternation this week over the Cambodian government’s decision to cease HIV testing in Peam village, health authorities released a statement on 25 February seeking to ally any fears of an outbreak. In January, five of 47 villagers tested by a local NGO returned positive results, with ...
Polio program to continue after some miss out
Health officials are to continue their polio vaccination campaign beyond the official end of the program, which was on 22 February, as it emerged that even in downtown Yangon less than half the under-fives eligible had been inoculated. The US$4 million Supplementary Polio Immunisation Campaign targeted 4.6 ...
Needle demand too high: report
As a Kandal village braces for an investigation into a cluster of HIV cases, the US Centers for Disease Control on 19 February published a new report on the now-infamous HIV outbreak in Battambang’s Roka commune, pointing to high demand for medical injections and a lack ...
H1N1 case confirmed in Phnom Penh
A patient who has been confirmed to have swine flu is receiving treatment at Cambodia’s Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital, though hospital and Health Ministry officials on 20 February downplayed the significance of the case. A 2009 swine flu pandemic saw close to 500 people infected in Cambodia, with five ...
Narong eases ThaiHealth budget freeze
Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Narong Pipatanasai has approved budget disbursements for some projects under the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) after about 1.64 billion baht was earlier frozen due to suspected misspending. Adm Narong signed off on the budget allocation for some of the foundation’s projects ...
Zika national guidelines planned in Myanmar
Health officials are drawing up plans to help protect Myanmar against the Zika virus. Dr Soe Lwin Nyein, director general of the department of public health, said earlier this week that nationwide guidelines would be issued soon. A symposium on Zika virus infection held at the ...
Fighting infant mortality with phone alerts
A new Cambodian maternal-health initiative is seeking to patch a persistent knowledge gap among new mothers by providing information via mobile phone alerts on optimal post-natal care during the first 1,000 days of a baby’s life. Cambodia’s national infant mortality rate, despite improvements, remains stubbornly high ...
Polio campaign to target almost 5m children
Striking what they hope will be a death blow against polio, Myanmar health officials are preparing for a nationwide assault. The Supplementary Polio Immunisation Campaign will take place from 20 to 22 February, National Immunisation Day. The campaign will target 4.6 million under-fives, administering both oral ...
Vientiane prepares dengue prevention
Vientiane authorities are seeking measures to prevent dengue at the initial stages as the disease may return following the severe outbreaks in the country from 2010 to 2013. The authorities held a meeting last week to learn lessons from previous years in controlling the epidemic and ...
