Asia Pacific countries face onslaught of health problems
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)