Healthy Reading : Gianni Murzi's Health Checkup for this Week

This week there are several articles and email exchanges that I want to bring to your attention.

First is the discussion about CRC and BMS between Peter Graves and Ms Gabrielle ‘Gay’ Palmer. Ms Palmer points our attention to a long article of The Guardian—an important article that I invite you to read, as it has worrisome implications. See also the comments added by Janet Nelson and Tewabech Bishaw.

The Guardian article reports that Bill Gates, and other billionaires are investing in an enterprise to industrially produce human breastmilk. This is not producing more substitutes for breast milk, but rather a plan to culture actual mammary cells and using them to produce the closest possible product to real human breastmilk.

Ms Palmer objects by asking why should corporations make money out of human milk. Should then breastfeeding women be entitled to a salary for their work?  

Delivering breastmilk - this most fundamental public health intervention - is an act of high responsibility,  yet it is still ignored and undervalued. Women in all countries rich and poor still have to choose to feed their babies over employment and many other responsibilities.  Meanwhile they are besieged by mass marketing and manipulation, general ignorance and cultural prejudice.”

The second major health issue this week is the promising research that may lead - sooner than we may imagine - to the production and subsequent distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine. Habib Hammam introduced us to the man behind Moderna, and several other XUNICEF members have commented.  In particular, note Saad Houry's comments below the aritcle on his contacts with Yukie Mokuo on UNICEF's plans for COVID vaccination in Lebanon.

 Agop Kayayan appealed for an equitable distribution of the vaccine both between and within countries.  Farid Rahman called for efforts to ensure that UNICEF staff and families as well as UN retirees are assured of access to vaccination.  Farid points out that in developed countries this may not be an issue, but in less-developed parts of the world, access can be a major concern.

Richard Horton, however, in his editorial in The Lancet, cautions against excessive optimism. As Horton says “2020 has been a year of incredible scientific achievement... Many people are feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. But there is still much to learn and many barriers to overcome. On Nov 14, five days after the announcement by Pfizer, 663 772 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded, the largest number in a single day. It is a dangerous moment to be complacent.”

 

Associated with this trend is a guidance by the UN Medical Service on access to testing and vaccination for UN staff.    and an article by The Guardian reporting pledges made at the G20 virtual meeting, where UK and Germany have plans ready to start early vaccination by the end of 2020 or early 2021. 

I also point your attention to the article in the Guardian mentioning the key role  UNICEF will play in shipping “nearly two billion doses of Covid-19  to developing countries next year.

Best regards, Gianni