Armed assault of Russia on Ukraine and looming danger on regional mental health: a call for action by psychiatrists in conflict settings

The Russian-Ukrainian socio-political relationship is embroiled in centuries of conflicts, bloodshed and brutal invasions. The modern dissension dates back to the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia in the aftermath of the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity and has been escalating rapidly during the recent months. The tensions between the two nations have boiled over to the Russian forces entering Ukrainian soil from the North, South, and East on 24 February 2022. This puts the lives of millions of people at risk, particularly those residing in Eastern Ukraine who are estimated to be around 14 million people and also residents of major cities in other parts of the country (Ukraine, 2022). The ongoing armed conflict will have a deleterious impact on their mental health and social wellbeing. The fear of further armed aggression will force people to leave their homes and will lead to dire mental health consequences (Jazeera, Reference Jazeera2022)

Contact examination in leprosy: a success story

Introduction: Leprosy is an infectious disease spread by respiratory droplets. Contact examination ofindex cases is recommended for new case detection and as a disease control measure. Public healthauthorities are entrusted with contact examination.Objectives: We report two interventions carried out at the dermatology clinic Base Hospital Homagamawith good results. We planned to analyze the yield of a hospital based contact examination clinic andto assess the success of public health interventions to find infective cases.Methods: Intervention 1; All new cases registered in 2016 were requested to bring household contactsfor examination. All contacts who presented were examined for skin lesions. All clinically diagnosedcases were started on MDT. All suspicious lesions were biopsied. Intervention 2; 5 new cases of singlelesion tuberculoid leprosy, including 3 children, from the same location were detected. Surveys of theschool where the children studied and a house to house survey were carried out.Results: Intervention 1; There were 110 contacts listed for 32 index cases. Twenty one (21) cases(65.6%) brought 63 contacts for examination. Eleven (11) contacts for 6 index cases (28.9% indexcases) were positive for leprosy. Intervention 2; The house to house survey revealed a case oflepromatous leprosy (BI 6+) living next to the first index case. 3 members of his extended family hadsingle lesion leprosy.Conclusions: Contact examination clinic is a productive method for early case detection. A wellplanned house to house survey would also yield successful results

Parity of esteem: A global COVID-19 vaccination approach for people with mental illnesses, based on facts from 34 countries; recommendations and solutions.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has detrimental effects on physical and mental health. Patients with severe mental illness are at higher risk of contracting the virus due to social determinants of health. Vulnerable populations include the elderly, people with pre-existing conditions, and those exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Unfortunately, only a few countries have updated vaccination strategies to prioritize patients with mental illnesses. Therefore, we aimed to explore whether individuals with mental disorders are prioritized in vaccine allocation strategies in different world regions. They are often neglected in policymaking but are highly vulnerable to the threatening complications of COVID-19. METHODS: A questionnaire was developed to record details regarding COVID-19 vaccination and prioritizations for groups of persons with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), mental disorders, and substance use disorders (SUDs). RESULTS: Most countries surveyed (80%) reported healthcare delivery via a nationalized health service. It was found that 82% of the countries had set up advisory groups, but only 26% included a mental health professional. Most frequently, malignancy (68%) was prioritized followed by diabetes type 2 (62%) and type 1 (59%). Only nine countries (26%) prioritized mental health conditions. CONCLUSION: The spread of the coronavirus has exposed both the strengths and flaws of our healthcare systems. The most vulnerable groups suffered the most and were hit first and faced most challenges. These findings raise awareness that patients with mental illnesses have been overlooked in immunization campaigns. The range of their mortality, morbidity, and quality of life could have widened due to this delay

Developing capacities for disaster risk reduction in the built environment: capacity analysis in Sri Lanka

This paper introduces a framework for capacity development for disaster risk reduction in the built environment. The framework was developed as a part of an ongoing research which aims to strengthen the capacities of individuals and institutions in the built environment to ensure that disaster risk reduction meets its mission and goals in a sustainable way. It is presented as a matrix that identifies four stages of capacity development against six groups of stakeholders in the built environment. The stages and the stakeholder groups were derived through a series of expert interviews and a comprehensive literature review. The four stages are named as Analysis, Creation, Utilisation and Retention. This paper in its latter sections focuses on the first stage, Analysis, and presents some of the initial findings of the research. Analysis attempts to capture capacity gaps in the relevant context in order to identify required capacity development. The study reviews literature on Sri Lanka and discusses such capacity gaps. Problems in the regulatory structure, deficiencies in necessary laws and regulations including problems in their implementation, and lack of required resources and skills have been identified as the major capacity gaps in the country