H1N1 pandemic highlights world health emergency vulnerabilities

This article from the Ethiopian Review discusses the current H1N1 pandemic, the vaccine for this strain of the flu, and the access to this vaccine across the world.

"When we have a whole worldwide pandemic and everybody's drawing down those same resources at the same time, it's kind of a perfect storm. What will the global supply chain mean when the developing world can't respond, as say, [the United States] can?"

Public Health In Developing Countries To Suffer Most From Climate Change

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070618102411.htm

-An article that may be helpful in the general understanding of Topic 2!

Are you ready??

You want to be coming to HSMUN 2010 prepared to face the issues our committee will be debating.

In case you don't know, here are this year's topics for WHO:

1. The Question of Access to Medication in Times of Health Crises

2. The Question of Health Impacts of Urbanization in Developing Countries.

You can find lots of information on these topics by going to the UN website or the WHO website. Also, the U of A Libraries Database may be useful in finding articles on these two topics if you have access to it.

Furthermore you should know how to write up a draft resolution for this conference. If you don't know how to, that's ok! There are lots of real UN draft resolutions online that you can look at so you know how they're formatted and the wording they use.

Happy researching, and we'll see you in February (prepared!)

Medical Crisis and H1N1

At this year's conference, one of our topics is on the access to medication in the times of crisis. Since right now the big international crisis is H1N1 flu we thought we would start on a little light note with a song on H1N1, but do remember it is still a serious matter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZBeOp_U_Tg

WELCOME

Welcome to HSMUN 2010!

We are Brandon Ash and Natalie Pon and we will be the dais staff for WHO at this year's High School Model UN conference.

Empower Women by Granting Reproductive Rights

Reproductive rights are directly tied to helping fight the spread of HIV/AIDS and empowering women. Convincing arguments about the need for the UN to address the lack of reproductive rights can be found in this article by Barbara Crossette. Crossette notes:
"Much more money now goes to fight HIV/AIDS, a shift justifiably related to the continuing spread of the still-incurable disease. But people in the reproductive health field are distressed by the widening gap between AIDS and family planning campaigns and the bizarre tendency to treat these as separate issues. Effective reproductive health services for women and men should be part of the arsenal against HIV/AIDS, now becoming a women's disease in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions. At least half a million women already die annually of pregnancy-related causes. Add AIDS and that's two lethal strikes against them, two terrible and often unnecessary vulnerabilities."