Child rights during the COVID-19 pandemic : learning from child health-and-rights professionals across the World

The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of a child rights-based approach to policymaking and crisis management. Anchored in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 3P framework—provision, protection, and participation—forms the foundation for health professionals advocating for children’s rights. Expanding it with two additional domains—preparation and power—into a 5P framework has the potential to enhance child rights-based policies in times of crisis and future pandemics. The study aimed to (1) gather perspectives from child health-and-rights specialists on how children’s rights were highlighted during the early phase of the pandemic in their respective settings; and (2) evaluate the usefulness of the 5P framework in assessing children’s visibility and rights. A qualitative survey was distributed among child health-and-rights professionals; a total of 68 responses were analysed in Atlas.ti 9 from a multi-disciplinary group of policymakers and front-line professionals in eight world regions. As framed by the 5Ps, children’s rights were generally not safeguarded in the initial pandemic response and negatively impacted children’s health and wellbeing. Further, children lacked meaningful opportunities to raise their concerns to policymakers. The 5P framework holds the potential to shape an ethical child rights-based decision-making framework for future crises, both nationally and globally

The voices of children and young people during COVID-19: A critical review of methods

Aim: Critically review research methods used to elicit children and young people's views and experiences in the first year of COVID-19, using an ethical and child rights lens.Methods: A systematic search of peer- reviewed literature on children and young peo-ple's perspectives and experiences of COVID-19. LEGEND (Let Evidence Guide Every New Decision) tools were applied to assess the quality of included studies. The critical review methodology addressed four ethical parameters: (1) Duty of care; (2) Children and young people's consent; (3) Communication of findings; and (4) Reflexivity.Results: Two phases of searches identified 8131 studies; 27 studies were included for final analysis, representing 43,877 children and young people's views. Most studies were from high-income countries. Three major themes emerged: (a) Whose voices are heard; (b) How are children and young people heard; and (c) How do research-ers engage in reflexivity and ethical practice? Online surveys of children and young people from middle-class backgrounds dominated the research during COVID-19. Three studies actively involved children and young people in the research process; two documented a rights- based framework. There was limited attention paid to some ethical issues, particularly the lack of inclusion of children and young people in re-search processes.Conclusion: There are equity gaps in accessing the experiences of children and young people from disadvantaged settings. Most children and young people were not in-volved in shaping research methods by soliciting their voicesThe Icelandic Research Fund, grant no. 217579-051Pre-print (óritrýnt handrit

Per and polyfluorinated substances in the Nordic Countries:Use, occurence and toxicology

This Tema Nord report presents a study based on open information and custom market research to review the most common perfluorinated substances (PFC) with less focus on PFOS and PFOA.The study includes three major parts: 1) Identification of relevant per-and polyfluorinated substances and their use in various industrial sectors in the Nordic market by interviews with major players and database information. 2) Emissions to and occurence in the Nordic environment of the substances described in 1). 3) A summary of knowledge of the toxic effects on humans and the environment of substances prioritized in 2). There is a lack of physical chemical data, analystical reference substances, human and environmental occurrence and toxicology data, as well as market information regarding PFCs other than PFOA and PFOS and the current legislation cannot enforce disclosure of specific PFC substance information

Inter-population variations in concentrations, determinants of and correlations between 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)-ethylene (p,p'-DDE): a cross-sectional study of 3161 men and women from Inuit and European populations

BACKGROUND: The study is part of a collaborative project (Inuendo), aiming to assess the impact of dietary persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) on human fertility. The aims with the present study are to analyze inter-population variations in serum concentrations of 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)-ethylene (p,p'-DDE), to assess inter-population variations in biomarker correlations, and to evaluate the relative impact of different determinants for the inter-individual variations in POP-biomarkers. METHOD: In study populations of 3161 adults, comprising Greenlandic Inuits, Swedish fishermen and their wives, and inhabitants from Warsaw, Poland and Kharkiv, Ukraine, serum concentrations of CB-153 and p,p'-DDE, were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The median serum concentrations of CB-153 were for male and female Inuits 200 and 110, for Swedish fishermen 190 and their wives 84, for Kharkiv men and women 44 and 27, and for Warsaw men and women 17 and 11 ng/g lipids, respectively. The median serum concentrations of p,p'-DDE were for Kharkiv men and women 930 and 650, for male and female Inuits 560 and 300, for Warsaw men and women 530 and 380, and for Swedish fishermen 240 and their wives 140 ng/g lipids, respectively. The correlation coefficients between CB-153 and p,p'-DDE varied between 0.19 and 0.92, with the highest correlation among Inuits and the lowest among men from Warsaw. Men had averagely higher serum concentrations of CB-153 and p,p'-DDE, and there were positive associations between age and the POP-biomarkers, whereas the associations with BMI and smoking were inconsistent. Dietary seafood was of importance only in the Inuit and Swedish populations. CONCLUSION: CB-153 concentrations were much higher in Inuits and Swedish fishermen's populations than in the populations from Eastern Europe, whereas the pattern was different for p,p'-DDE showing highest concentrations in the Kharkiv population. The correlations between the POP-biomarkers varied considerably between the populations, underlining that exposure sources differ and that the choice of representative biomarkers of overall POP exposure has to be based on an analysis of the specific exposure situation for each population. Age and gender were consistent determinants of serum POPs; seafood was of importance only in the Inuit and Swedish populations

The forest of Brun : a historical view of forestry in southwest of Sweden

After the last is age there was a long period when there was no shortage of forest for peoples needs. People living in Sweden could use the forest resources at their will. Around 4000 years BC the inhabitants of southern Sweden started to use the agricultural system and people become more stationary. The farms were located together in groups and together they formed a social association, the village. Successively the population grew and in some areas the forest started to become a finite resource. Borders around villages and their forests and specific rules what was allowed to do or not to do within the forest were created. When exactly such rules and borders emerged nobody knows today, but from the time of the oldest written documents, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, it is clear there was already well developed laws about how to use the forest resources. The aim of this study was to give an overall view of the ownership of the forest in Sweden from the Middle Ages to the end of 1800 with a special focus on forest commons and the forest common "Brun" in southwestern Sweden in particular. The forests could from the time of the Middle Ages, be divided or undivided. If the forest was divided it could be owned by the king, the nobility or the state. People that wanted to use these forests had to pay tax to the owner. The undivided forest could be state common forest, village common forest or common forest. The state common forest was governed by the king and was used primarily as a hunting area. The village common land was controlled by the village habitants themselves and as long as they agreed, everything was ok but if they disagree it could en up with a divided forest. The common forest could not be divided. From the middle of the seventeenth century the historical documents specify three types of commons: parish common land, district common land and landscape common land. In this study I have also analysed a specific forest, a forest common called "Brun" situated in southwest of Sweden in the county Västergötland. The forest common Brun has mentioned in historic documents for at least 800 years. The reason it didn't become agriculture land is probably due to the topography. The forest is located on a ridge with some talus and the soil is not so nutrient rich. During the 300 years of my study, 1600-1900, the form of ownership of the forest common Brun has changed from a collective ownership during the 1600 to an individual ownership in the 1800 and in between, during the 1700 there was a period of state ownership. The forest was used for many purposes during this period, for example pasturage, firewood, shifting cultivation and new settlements.De första människorna som kom till vårt land efter istiden var samlar- och jägarfolk. De utnyttjade områden som var tillräckligt stora för sitt kringströvande liv och för dessa människor var skogen en oändlig resurs. Med tiden började de hålla husdjur och även i viss mån odla marken vilket var starten för jordbrukandet. De första säkra beläggen om att jordbrukandet fick fotfäste i Skandinavien är från ca 4000 f Kr (Ljunggren & Myrdal 1991). Jordbrukarna bildade ensamgårdar eller mindre gårdsgrupper som tillsammans kunde bilda en organisation i form av en by. Byarna låg i anslutning till mer odlingsvänliga marker och mellan dessa byar fanns större eller mindre skogsområden (Sveriges häradsallmänningar 1918). Denna skog, eller utmark som den också kallades blev med tiden en begränsad resurs i vissa områden och delades upp i skiftad eller oskiftad mark. Om skogen var skiftad kunde den vara av skatte-, krono- eller frälsenatur och de som utnyttjade marken fick betala en avgift till de olika ägarna. Oskiftade utmarker kunde vara av tre slag; kronoparker, byaskogar och allmänningar (Hill 1999 b). Kronoparkerna var kronans enskilda egendom där kungen bestämde hur skogen skulle utnyttjas. Byaskogarna ägdes samfällt av byamännen som i stort sett hade friheten att själva bestämma hur skogen skulle utnyttjas. Ett undantag var regeln om de bärande träden, framför allt ek och bok, som var undantagen till kronan och adeln. De skyddades till förmån för svinens ollonbete och till båtbyggen, vilka båda hade stor ekonomisk betydelse. Allmänningar var övrig samfälld skog och från mitten av 1600-talet nämns tre slag av allmänningar; sockenallmänning, häradsallmänning och landsallmänning. Sockenallmänningar var skogsområden som innehades av sockenborna och kunde nyttjas av dessa. Härads-/hundaresallmänningar var skogsområden som låg i gränsområden mot andra härader/hundare. De som kunde utnyttja denna skog var de jordägande bönderna i det härad/hundare som skogen hörde till. Men dessa bönder kunde inte nyttja skogen hur som helst, de var först tvungna ansöka om tillstånd hos häradstinget (Almquist 1928). Landsallmänningar hade i de flesta fall samma sorts regler som häradsallmänningarna. Skillnaden var att jordägare som kunde nyttja dessa kom från hela landskapet och att tillstånd söktes hos landstinget (Almquist 1928). I detta arbete har jag också analyserat ett specifikt skogsområde, skogen Brun i Västergötland. Denna skog har varit allmänning i olika varianter under minst 800 år och förmodligen ännu längre. Namnet finns med redan i våra äldsta bevarade källor från 1300-talet och står fortfarande med på fastighetskartor av idag. Samhället och människorna runt omkring har förändrats men skogen har alltid funnits i detta område. En av orsakerna till detta är förmodligen den höjdrygg och det kuperade landskap som präglar skogen Brun, detta gör det svårt att nyttja marken till jordbruk och liknande verksamhet. Under de ca 300 år jag studerat förändrades ägandeförhållandena från ett kollektivt ägande på 1600-talet till ett individuellt ägande på 1800- talet via en period av statligt ägande som kronoallmänning under 94 år under 1700-talet. Att studera ett område som skogen Brun ger ett djupare perspektiv på den skogsskötsel som vi ägnar oss åt idag. Tidsperspektivet i skogliga sammanhang är ett annat än den snabba takt samhället i övrigt följer. Det vi planterar idag ska avverkas i en tid som vi inte vet något om och som förmodligen har andra intressen och behov än de vi har. Kunskap om skogshistoria ger en bredare och djupare förståelse om till exempel skogsskötsel, skogspolitik, trädslagsval, klimatets inverkan. Kunskaper man har stor nytta av när man ska planera en lång framtid

Í skugga veikinda: Umhyggja foreldra, fötlun, frávik og systkini langveikra barna

Maðurinn hefur tilhneigingu til að flokka umhverfi sitt. Í öllum samfélögum fæðast börn sem bera með sér frávik af einhverju tagi en í sumum menningarheimum er það talinn efnahags- og þróunarfræðilegur hagur mæðra að bera út börn sem þykja ólífvænleg. Sumir fræðimenn benda á að þær mæður sem kjósa að koma þeim börnum til manns eru litnar hornauga þar sem það er talið bitna á líkum systkina þeirra til afkomu. Aðrir benda á að víðsvegar er raunin önnur þar sem eðlilegt þykir að annast þessi börn þar sem þau eru talin langveik eða fötluð og þarfnast umönnunar. Vestrænar fjölskyldur kjósa í auknum mæli að annast langveik og börn og fötluð innan fjölskyldunnar og taka systkini jafnan ríkan þátt í þessari umönnun. Fjallað er um hvaða áhrif þetta hefur á systkini langveikra barna og hvert viðhorf þeirra sé til þess að eiga systkini sem fellur illa að vestrænum hugmyndum um venjulega æsku. Helstu niðurstöður voru þær að reynslan þótti að mörgu leyti bæði jákvæð og neikvæð en þau fundu samt sem áður til skammar vegna aðstæðna sinna og áttu sjálf óhefðbundna æsku