In an effort to improve injection safety across the globe, the
World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday began an expert meeting
to explore strategies aimed at promoting the use of safer
needles.
The three-day meeting, taking place at WHO headquarters on
Oct.23-25, will examine how to encourage countries and procurement
agencies to purchase the safest needles, how to encourage
manufacturers to lower the price of such products, and how to boost
countries' local manufacturing capacity, a WHO statement said.
WHO estimates that every year, 6 billion injections are given
globally with syringes or needles that are reused without
sterilization. This represents 40 percent of all injections given
in developing countries.
Since 1999, WHO has advised its member states to use needles
with safety features. However, many developing countries can not
afford these new technologies.
"The new technologies should be available to developing
countries, where injections are used more and where the risk of
infection transmission is greater," said Dr. Howard Zucker, WHO
assistant director-general for health technology and
pharmaceuticals.
According to WHO figures, unsafe injections and needle stick
injuries suffered by health-care workers together cause 33 percent
of new Hepatitis B infections and 2 million new cases of Hepatitis
C in the world each year.
In addition, unsafe injections in health-care settings account
for an estimated 5 percent of new HIV cases worldwide.
The use of syringes with features that prevent reuse and needle
stick injuries would avert about 1.3 million global deaths per year
by preventing infections and the epidemics caused by their spread,
WHO estimates.
(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2007)