In a message dated 6/28/00 3:30:49 AM Central Daylight Time, AOL News writes: << Subj: Diseases Said Biggest World Disaster Date: 6/28/00 3:30:49 AM Central Daylight Time From: AOL News BCC: Ahab42 Diseases Said Biggest World Disaster .c The Associated Press By SUE LEEMAN LONDON (AP) - Thirteen million people died from preventable diseases last year - a sign of deteriorating public health services, according to a report published Wednesday by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Compared to floods and earthquakes, which grab news headlines and donors' cash, the uncontrolled spread of disease is a silent tragedy that steals far more lives, the federation's World Disasters Report said. An estimated 150 million people have died from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria alone since 1945, compared to 23 million in wars, the report said. Last year, 160 times more people died from AIDS, malaria, respiratory diseases and diarrhea than the number killed by natural disasters, including the massive earthquakes in Turkey, floods in Venezuela and Indian cyclones, it added. ``Once a disease like AIDS reaches the kind of proportions we see in sub-Saharan Africa it is no longer a disease, it is a disaster,'' said Peter Walker, director of disaster policy for the federation. ``Such a widespread disease destroys the work force and shatters the economy.'' More than 23 million people in the region are estimated to have HIV, the disease that causes AIDS - 70 percent of the global total, the report said. Across the world, 300 people now die hourly from AIDS, it said. The report noted that in 1998, the level of international emergency aid rose for the first time in four years but funding for primary health care continued to drop. Health funding for developing nations from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development sank to the lowest levels since 1991, it said. Public expenditure on health in poor countries averages just 1 percent of gross domestic product, compared to 6 percent in rich countries, the report said. This means that diseases that once were under control are reappearing, it said, noting several examples. Malaria, which kills 2.6 million people a year, 70 percent of them children, is appearing in countries such as Azerbaijan and Tajikistan. North Korea has reported 40,000 new cases of tuberculosis this year. Russian cases of syphilis have increased 40-fold since the collapse of the Soviet Union. ``Governments are slipping on their responsibilities for immunization and basic preventive health care,'' said Dr. Hakan Sandbladh, the federation's senior health officer. ``But pouring money into national health systems is not cost-effective because 70 percent of it gets siphoned into big hospitals.'' The report said changing people's behavior saves more lives than spending money on expensive institutions and equipment. ``Impressive real results come from widespread community health programs to vaccinate children against preventable disease and encouraging people to protect themselves from malaria by using treated bed nets or from AIDS by using condoms,'' it said. The report praised low-cost, community-driven health campaigns, citing herbal healers in Uganda who are helping HIV sufferers, Cambodian volunteers who are reducing the grip of dengue fever, and communities that promote meningitis vaccination in Sudan. AP-NY-06-28-00 0430EDT Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. Announcement: America Online has added Reuters newswires to News Profiles. To add Reuters articles to your daily news delivery, go to KW: <A HREF="aol://5862:146">News Profiles</A> and click on "Modify Your News Profiles." Then click "Edit" and add Reuters from the list on the left. To edit your profile, go to keyword <A HREF="aol://1722:NewsProfiles">NewsPro files</A>. For all of today's news, go to keyword <A HREF="aol://1722:News">News</A>. >>
Diseases Said Biggest World Disaster .c The Associated Press By SUE LEEMAN LONDON (AP) - Thirteen million people died from preventable diseases last year - a sign of deteriorating public health services, according to a report published Wednesday by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Compared to floods and earthquakes, which grab news headlines and donors' cash, the uncontrolled spread of disease is a silent tragedy that steals far more lives, the federation's World Disasters Report said. An estimated 150 million people have died from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria alone since 1945, compared to 23 million in wars, the report said. Last year, 160 times more people died from AIDS, malaria, respiratory diseases and diarrhea than the number killed by natural disasters, including the massive earthquakes in Turkey, floods in Venezuela and Indian cyclones, it added. ``Once a disease like AIDS reaches the kind of proportions we see in sub-Saharan Africa it is no longer a disease, it is a disaster,'' said Peter Walker, director of disaster policy for the federation. ``Such a widespread disease destroys the work force and shatters the economy.'' More than 23 million people in the region are estimated to have HIV, the disease that causes AIDS - 70 percent of the global total, the report said. Across the world, 300 people now die hourly from AIDS, it said. The report noted that in 1998, the level of international emergency aid rose for the first time in four years but funding for primary health care continued to drop. Health funding for developing nations from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development sank to the lowest levels since 1991, it said. Public expenditure on health in poor countries averages just 1 percent of gross domestic product, compared to 6 percent in rich countries, the report said. This means that diseases that once were under control are reappearing, it said, noting several examples. Malaria, which kills 2.6 million people a year, 70 percent of them children, is appearing in countries such as Azerbaijan and Tajikistan. North Korea has reported 40,000 new cases of tuberculosis this year. Russian cases of syphilis have increased 40-fold since the collapse of the Soviet Union. ``Governments are slipping on their responsibilities for immunization and basic preventive health care,'' said Dr. Hakan Sandbladh, the federation's senior health officer. ``But pouring money into national health systems is not cost-effective because 70 percent of it gets siphoned into big hospitals.'' The report said changing people's behavior saves more lives than spending money on expensive institutions and equipment. ``Impressive real results come from widespread community health programs to vaccinate children against preventable disease and encouraging people to protect themselves from malaria by using treated bed nets or from AIDS by using condoms,'' it said. The report praised low-cost, community-driven health campaigns, citing herbal healers in Uganda who are helping HIV sufferers, Cambodian volunteers who are reducing the grip of dengue fever, and communities that promote meningitis vaccination in Sudan. AP-NY-06-28-00 0430EDT Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. Announcement: America Online has added Reuters newswires to News Profiles. To add Reuters articles to your daily news delivery, go to KW: <A HREF="aol://5862:146">News Profiles</A> and click on "Modify Your News Profiles." Then click "Edit" and add Reuters from the list on the left. To edit your profile, go to keyword <A HREF="aol://1722:NewsProfiles">NewsProfiles</A>. For all of today's news, go to keyword <A HREF="aol://1722:News">News</A>.
