The second international symposium on community health workers (CHWs) will be held in the city on November 22-24 with about 500 participants from more than 35 countries to share practical knowledge and experience about CHWs related policy and programmes.

The theme of the symposium is ‘Potentials of Community Health Workers in Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the Context of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

icddr,b in collaboration with the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Government of Bangladesh; James P. Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH) and Save the Children, Bangladesh is organising the event.

Organisers made the announcement at a press conference at the DGHS on Tuesday.

The symposium is supported by the USAID, European Union, UKaid, MSH, Vital Strategies, BRAC, UNICEF, UNFPA, and WHO.

Additional Director General (Admin), DGHS Prof Dr Nasima Sultana shared the background of the symposium.

She said the community health workers are unsung heroes and have been a powerful workforce in promoting health services around the world.

“Informally originated in China in the 1920s, they were initially engaged in birth and death registration, vaccination, providing basic health education and first-aid services. Presently, the CHWs are considered as ‘alternative solutions’ and has received increased attention in many LMICs including Bangladesh.”

She also spoke about the prevalence of non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries including in Bangladesh.

Scientist and Project Director SHARE Project, Health Systems and Population Studies Division, icddr,b Dr. Iqbal Anwar presented the historical aspects of community health workers and the past symposium.

The theme further expanded to four subthemes - CHWs programmes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), CHWs and Universal Health Coverage (UHC), CHWs in special situation such as urban health care, disaster and climate change and humanitarian context; and CHWs programmes and prevention and control of NCDs.

Some 141 abstracts of 232 were selected for oral and poster presentation while 20 young participants from LMICs were selected for scholarship based on the merit of their abstract.

The symposium brings academics, health experts, development partners and other relevant professionals to a common platform to discuss about the successes and challenges with the CHWs.

These will also enable formulation of better strategic pathways of how CHWs can help communities to win the new fight against NCDs further to attain UHC and Sustainable Development Goal- 3 targets.

Prof. Dr. Md. Abul Hashem Khan, Line Director, Community Based Health Care (CBHC), DGHS, MOHFW, Professor Dr. Sabina Faiz Rashid, Dean JPGSPH, and Dr Farzana Islam, Project Director, Save the Children, Bangladesh and Dr. Samir Kanti Sarker, Ex- Line Director, MIS, DGHS were also present at the press conference.

The 1st International Symposium on CHWs was held in 2017 in Kampala, Uganda and has showcased the contribution of the CHW programmes across different areas of health related to sustainable development goals (SDGs).

China's National Press and Publication Administration has issued a notice on preventing minors from becoming addicted to online games.

The document emphasizes the shared responsibilities of online game providers, government agencies and social forces in jointly managing and governing the issue, according to the administration.

The document asks all online game users to register with their identification information and strictly limits the window and total length of time for minors to access online games on a daily basis.

It also bans paid online game services for users under the age of eight and puts a limit on the amount of money minors aged above eight can pay for online game services on a daily and monthly basis.

No matter how busy you are, running, even for as little as once a week or less, will make you live longer regardless of your sex, according to Australian research published on Tuesday.

The research showed that even running once a week for 50 minutes or less, at speeds below 8 km an hour appeared to have significant health and longevity benefits.

Scientists from Victoria University, the University of Sydney and the University of Southern Queensland in Australia analysed conference presentations, doctoral thesis and dissertations in a broad range of academic databases to reach their conclusion.

They combined the results from 14 suitable studies which tracked the health of 232,149 people over periods of between 5.5 and 35 years, of those participants 25,951 died.

Their meta-analysis showed any amount of running was associated with a 27 percent lower risk of death and reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer by 30 percent and 23 percent respectively, compared with no running.

Interestingly, the research also showed that increasing frequency, duration and pace of running wasn't associated with the further lowering of risk of death from any cause.

As an observational study, the research can't reveal how running reduces the risk of death from any cause and researchers caution that the number and methods adopted in their research may have influenced their results.

Around 5,700 deaths from liver cancer have been recorded in the UK in 2017, increasing from 3,200 deaths in 2007, according to the latest figures released on Friday by Cancer Research UK.

Of all cancer types, liver cancer has had the largest increase in death rates between 2007 and 2017, and the most rapid rise in deaths since UK records began, the figures showed.

Liver cancer is one of the hardest cancers to treat, and five-year survival can range from anywhere between six percent and 37 percent depending on age and gender, according to Cancer Research UK.

The disease is difficult to treat mainly because it can be hard to spot at an early stage as it often doesn't cause symptoms until it has progressed.

While there are several factors affecting liver cancer risk, being overweight or obese and smoking are two of the biggest preventable causes. Some 23 percent of liver cancer cases can be linked to being overweight or obese, and 20 percent can be linked to smoking. Overall, around half of cases are preventable, said Cancer Research UK.

Every year, around 5,900 people are diagnosed with liver cancer in the UK, and this number is projected to rise by 38 percent between 2014 and 2035, according to Cancer Research UK.

"A lot of progress has been made saving lives from cancer, but it's worrying to see deaths from liver cancer increasing at such an alarming rate. Far too many lives are being lost, which is why we're funding more research into this area. And aiming to understand more about the biology of the disease to develop better treatments," said Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK.

One million Australians with a range of serious mental health conditions are going untreated every year, while the economic toll of mental illness has reached about 180 billion Australian dollars (124 billion U.S. dollars), according to a new report.

The report, compiled by the Productivity Commission and released on Thursday, sheds new light on the depth of the problem of mental illness in Australia, revealing as many as 3.9 million many people suffer from complaints ranging from anxiety and depression, to psychosis and personality disorders.

One in eight visits to the GP (general practitioners) are now related to mental health issues, and mental health presentations at hospital emergency departments have risen by about 70 percent over the past 15 years, the report said.

It estimated there were 3.9 million people in Australia suffering from some form of mental illness, but only 2.9 million were accessing support and services, hence the "missing" million people.

In its detailed examination of mental illness, the commission found it was costing the nation approximately 345 million U.S. dollars a day, and recommended thorough policy amendments in the health system, as well as workplaces, housing and the justice system.

The report emphasises the need for better support for young people.

Productivity Commission Chair Michael Brennan said in a media release, "75 percent of those who develop mental illness first experience symptoms before they turn 25, and mental ill-health in critical schooling and employment years has long lasting effects for not only your job prospects but many aspects of your life. Getting help early is key to prevention and better outcomes."

According to the report, over their lifetime, one in two Australians will be affected by mental ill-health including anxiety and depression and up to a million people don't get the help they need.

"Mental ill-health has huge impacts on people, communities and our economy but mental health is treated as an add-on to the physical health system. This has to change," Brennan said.