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Food safety standards save lives
News, Poonam Khetrapal, Published on 12/06/2023
» Food safety standards are vital to facilitate fair and transparent international food trade and consumer health protection by reducing the incidence of foodborne diseases. Every year, foodborne diseases affect 1-in-10 people worldwide. According to WHO South-East Asia Region, foodborne diseases cause 150 million illnesses, 175,000 deaths, and 12 million disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Therefore, operative food standards must integrate safety and quality into every aspect of food production and service to ensure the supply of safe and wholesome food.
Plan to build back better in SE Asia
News, Poonam Khetrapal, Published on 14/09/2021
» The world is at a crossroads. Almost two years since SARS-CoV-2 was detected, some countries globally are returning normal, or something very close. Many more countries -- including in the WHO South-East Asia Region -- continue to aggressively respond, battling new and more transmissible variants. Social and economic disruptions continue.
Don't forget about viral hepatitis
Oped, Poonam Khetrapal, Published on 29/07/2021
» The World Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asia region is intensifying action to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. Globally, an estimated 296 million people live with chronic hepatitis B and around 58 million live with chronic hepatitis C. In 2019, viral hepatitis caused nearly 1.1 million deaths globally, despite the existence of safe and effective vaccines that can prevent hepatitis B and antiviral drugs that can manage chronic hepatitis B and cure most cases of hepatitis C. An estimated 60 million people in the region live with chronic hepatitis B and around 10.5 million live with chronic hepatitis C. In 2019, around 180,000 people in the region died of hepatitis B and about 38,000 died of hepatitis C -- both completely manageable.