Asia Pacific countries face onslaught of health problems

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Health experts from 13 countries concluded on Friday their five-day conference called Asia-Pacific Social Sciences and Medicine voicing a warning over the multitude of health problems besieging the region.

The experts also urged close cooperation among member countries to deal with the serious situation in which some old health problems such as infections had not yet been solved but were already aggravated by the emergence of new, non-infectious diseases.

"There's so much to be done. We can't solve the problems if we don't come together," said Fatima Castillo, a professor at the University of the Philippines, who was also a member of the conference's steering committee.

She told a media briefing that the conference has called on all sectors in the community -- including policy-makers, community workers, educators and the mass media -- to form partnerships both within a country and across the region to deal with the problems.

The fast spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the poor's lack of access to health services, the emergence of non- infectious diseases related to changes in people's diet and lifestyle, are all examples of many serious problems that most Asia-Pacific countries are currently facing.

The biggest problem to contend with, however, Castillo pointed, was that "while infectious diseases like malaria have not yet been conquered, there come new diseases."

The conference also identified health costs in the region that are increasing as health care had been increasingly privatized.

"More and more people are unable to afford the high cost of health care, especially that in private clinics and hospitals," she said.

The economic policies of many governments in the region facing the economic meltdown, according to the conference, had further led to deprivation and difficulties for the poor in getting good health care.

The importance of the mass media in health development was also discussed in several sessions during the conference.

The mass media was considered to be playing an important role in public education and in disseminating correct information about health-related issues, Castillo said.

Unfortunately, some media reports sometimes contained misinformation. One specific example discussed in the conference was the media-distorted view in reports on violence against women.

"In reporting violence against women, some mass media portray the women as parties to be blamed. Therefore, we appeal to the media to help us correct this misinformation which can put women in danger of further abuse and violence," Castillo said.

The other conclusion of the conference was that health promotion cannot be separated from the freedom and empowerment of a community.

"If people have the freedom to participate in planning their health program and are free from fear, their health is being promoted. If not, their health condition is being devalued," Castillo said. (swa)