PEACE LEADERSHIP on Climate Change: PEACE INSPIRATION: 'Happy' Afghan girls compete at...

PEACE LEADERSHIP on Climate Change: PEACE INSPIRATION: 'Happy' Afghan girls compete at...: 'Happy' Afghan girls compete at robotics meet after US visa woes : "Huddled around a small table in the halls of a cavernous W...

Resetting the Mind: Israeli 'mental first-aid' method..."What we can do is stop the helplessness." "The opposite of helplessness is effective action. That's why first of all we need to activate the person, to diminish the helplessness...The two main goals are to quickly return a person to being functional in a way that would reduce the risk of getting killed, and reducing the risk for more serious disorders" in the future, such as PTSD,.

"Moshe Farchi says Israel's decades of conflict have afforded it "lots of experience" in dealing with trauma, leading to effective and science-based models of work.

"We made many mistakes and are learning from them," the head of stress, trauma and resilience studies at Israel's Tel-Hai College told AFP.

Farchi's model was developed during his years in the Israeli army, where he served as a mental health officer.

He saw shortcomings in such treatment because it "failed to reduce the element of anxiety and perception of the event as traumatic."

Farchi, a clinical social worker by training, also utilised his experience as a volunteer first responder in emergency medical organisations.

His principles are simple, easily applicable and, to the layman, possibly counterintuitive.

They are employed in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event such as an attack, serving as mental first-aid.

"One thinks that a person in distress should be contained, held," he told AFP.

But providing emotional support activates the recipient's emotional part of the brain at the expense of the area responsible for the ability to think and make decisions, he said.

- 'Resetting' the brain -

Thinking and making decisions are what the person needs to do in order to be freed of a "sense of helplessness."

"The given is that we can't stop the threat -- the rocket has hit, the event has taken place," he said. "What we can do is stop the helplessness."

"The opposite of helplessness is effective action. That's why first of all we need to activate the person, to diminish the helplessness," Farchi said.

Activating the person includes asking concrete and factual questions, giving him or her the ability to make decisions -- initially easy ones, such as if they want to drink a glass of water or take a break.

The idea of "resetting" a person who underwent a traumatic event using Farchi's method can have both immediate and long-term positive effects, according to the psychiatrist who currently heads the clinical branch in the Israeli army's mental health department.

"The two main goals are to quickly return a person to being functional in a way that would reduce the risk of getting killed, and reducing the risk for more serious disorders" in the future, such as PTSD, said Lieutenant Colonel Dr Ariel Ben Yehuda.

People in life-threatening situations tend to feel confused, lonely, frozen or disoriented, said Ben Yehuda, and "Farchi's method addresses these issues."

"This isn't psychiatric treatment, rather something very focused. You can do it in two minutes, but the idea is to 'reset' the person," Ben Yehuda noted.

The system is currently being implemented as part of soldiers' medical training, and takes just a few hours to teach.

- 'Not left alone' -

One place where Farchi has taken his method is the British city of Manchester where a suicide bombing killed 22 and wounded more than 100 on May 22.

The attack came as Dov Benyaacov-Kurtzman, a Scotland-born social worker who had lived in Israel for years, was working in Manchester on establishing a centre to provide emergency response for stress and trauma.

Benyaacov-Kurtzman had planned to launch his organisation, called Heads Up, in six months.

But the Manchester attack galvanised him into starting work and reaching out to Farchi to help with training the group's professionals and volunteers.

"At that moment they called and said 'come'," Farchi said recently in Tel Aviv before flying to Manchester.

Farchi has already trained local professionals who can carry out a "cultural translation" of the method in countries such as Germany, the Philippines and Argentina.

He was also set to travel for training in London.

A key aspect of Farchi's method is that it should not be reserved for professionals, but spread to as many people as possible.

The 2014 conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip was an opportunity to examine Farchi's method.

Residents in Ofakim, an Israeli town that was subject to heavy rocket fire from Gaza, underwent Farchi's intervention, showing no occurrence of PTSD in the months following the war, Farchi said.

"The chance that a person (experiencing trauma) will be next to a professional is very small, but that a layman will be next to him is very high," Farchi said."



'via Blog this'Israeli 'mental first-aid' method offered to attack victims abroad:

Wellness Pilipinas International: WELLNESS IN ENVIRONMENT: Pililla windmill farm amo...

WELLNESS IN ENVIRONMENT: Pililla windmill farm among selected venues for celebration of ASEAN’s 50th anniversary

 "RIZAL, Philippines — Alongside the Philippines’ chairmanship of the ASEAN Summit is the celebration of ASEAN’s 50th founding anniversary.

For this, various activities will be held in different parts of the country for the celebration.

One of the activities will be held at the windmill farm in the town of Pililla, Rizal.

The town of Pililla is preparing special and memorable activities for the participants of the ASEAN founding anniversary celebration.

“So we’re planning activity here at the wind farm, and we’re going to try to light up some of the turbines in the ASEAN colors of red, blue and yellow. It will be done at 7:00 pm,” said Pililla tourism office OIC Jojo Masinsin.

The windmill farm in Pililla is a private electricity producing farm that supplies electricity to over 60,000 households in many parts of Luzon.

There are 27 wind turbines that stand on a hill overlooking Laguna de Bay.

said this is a chance to show the world the beauty of Pililla despite being a small town.

“This wind farm is operated by the private corporation Altenergy Wind One Corporation. But even though they’re a private corporation they help promote tourism for us. They’re very generous in allowing us to use their place for the tourists,” Masinsin said

Wellness Pilipinas International: WELLNESS IN ENVIRONMENT: Pililla windmill farm amo...:  "RIZAL, Philippines — Alongside the Philippines’ chairmanship of the ASEAN Summit is the celebration of ASEAN’s 50th founding anniver...

Wellness Pilipinas International: WHO Update: Investing in health targets within the...

WHO Update: Investing in health targets within the Sustainable Development Goals could prevent 97 million premature deaths globally between now and 2030, and add as much as 8.4 years of life expectancy reports the new publication, "The SDG Health Price Tag

"World Health Organization estimates cost of reaching global health targets by 2030

News release

17 JULY 2017 | GENEVA - The SDG Health Price Tag, published today in The Lancet Global Health, estimates the costs and benefits of progressively expanding health services in order to reach 16 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) health targets in 67 low- and middle-income countries that account for 75% of the world’s population.

The analysis shows that investments to expand services towards universal health coverage and the other SDG health targets could prevent 97 million premature deaths globally between now and 2030, and add as much as 8.4 years of life expectancy in some countries. While most countries can afford the investments needed, the poorest nations will need assistance to reach the targets.

"Universal health coverage is ultimately a political choice. It is the responsibility of every country and national government to pursue it," Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, wrote in a commentary accompanying the paper in The Lancet Global Health.

The SDG Health Price Tag models two scenarios: an “ambitious” scenario in which investments are sufficient for countries to attain the health targets in the SDGs by 2030, and a “progress” scenario in which countries get two thirds or more of the way to the targets.

In both scenarios, health systems investments such as employing more health workers; building and operating new clinics, hospitals and laboratories; and buying medical equipment account for about 75% of the total. The remaining costs are for medicines, vaccines, syringes and other commodities used to prevent or treat specific diseases, and for activities such as training, health campaigns and outreach to vulnerable communities.

Under the "ambitious" scenario, achieving the SDG health targets would require new investments increasing over time from an initial US$ 134 billion annually to $371 billion, or $58 per person, by 2030.

The analysis shows that 85% of these costs can be met with domestic resources, although as many as 32 of the world’s poorest countries will face an annual gap of up to US$ 54 billion and will continue to need external assistance. High-income countries were not included in the analysis but other estimates show they can all afford to provide universal health coverage with essential health services to their citizens.

The ambitious scenario includes adding more than 23 million health workers, and building more than 415 000 new health facilities, 91% of which would be primary health care centres.

These investments would boost health spending as a proportion of gross domestic product across all 67 countries from an average of 5.6% to 7.5%. The global average for health spending as a proportion of GDP is 9.9%. Although higher spending does not necessarily translate to improved health, making the right investments at the right time can.

Read more: Wellness Pilipinas International: WHO Update: Investing in health targets within the...: "World Health Organization estimates cost of reaching global health targets by 2030 News release 17 JULY 2017 | GENEVA - The SDG H...

Study finds our Sun is like other stars, resolving mystery

"Our Sun is much like other stars, and not an anomaly because of its magnetic poles that flip every 11 years, scientists said.

The report in the journal Science aims to lay to rest the controversy over whether our solar system's star is cyclic, like other nearby, solar-type stars.

"We have shed light on a fundamental mechanism which determines the length of these cycles, which helps us understand the cycle itself over the long-term," lead author Antoine Strugarek, a researcher at the University of Montreal, told AFP.

"We can therefore say of the Sun's next magnetic cycle in 10 or 20 years will be intense, long or short, which helps us understand among other things what kind of satellites to put in orbit and the most favorable launch windows."

Activity on the Sun, from the number of sunspots to levels of radiation and ejection of material, varies on an 11-year cycle.

These changes are driven by the Sun's magnetic field.

Scientists have long believed that our Sun was unusual because it did not match the magnetic cycles observed on other solar-type stars.

So researchers carried out a series of simulations of stellar magnetic fields, and showed that the Sun's magnetic cycle depends on its rotation rate and luminosity, said the report.

They compared their simulations with observations of cyclic activity in nearby solar-type stars, and found that indeed, the cycle periods of the Sun and other solar-type stars all follow the same relationship.

"This research shows that the 11-year cycle is the principal cycle of all solar-type stars," said Allan Sacha Brun, Head of the Laboratory Dynamics of Stars and their Environment and principal investigator of the European Research Council project called STARS2.


"



'via Blog this'Source: Study finds our Sun is like other stars, resolving mystery:

Cook Islands creates huge Pacific Ocean marine reserve: "The idea is not to ban commercial fishing or mineral exploration outright, but to ensure it is carried out in a sustainable manner. However, there will be a core no-fishing zone totalling about 320,000 sq km, extending 50 nautical miles from the coastline of each island", Kevin Iro, Environmentalist

 "The Cook Islands has created one of the world's largest marine sanctuaries, protecting a vast swathe of the Pacific Ocean more than three times the size of France.

Legislation setting up the 1.9 million square kilometre (735,000 square mile) reserve passed through the tiny nation's parliament late Thursday.

Environmentalist Kevin Iro, who first proposed the idea more than five years ago, said it was a landmark achievement that would help preserve the ocean for future generations.

"It's a historic time, particularly because everyone supported it, including our traditional leaders who spearheaded the whole thing," he told AFP.

The Cook Islands has a population of just 10,000 and its 15 islands have a combined landmass of 236 sq km, barely the size of Washington DC.

But its isolated position in the Pacific, about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii with no near neighbours, means it has a huge maritime territory.

Iro said Cook Islanders had an affinity with the ocean and viewed it as sacred but overfishing and pollution had damaged the marine environment, including the coral reefs that once ringed all the islands.

He said the marine reserve, known as Marae Moana, would give the environment a chance to heal, allowing the islanders to protect their legacy.

"When I moved back here (from New Zealand) about 16 years ago I saw what was happening to the lagoons and reefs and really wanted to protect them for my kids," he said.

"I want them to have the same experience I did as a boy growing up."

The idea is not to ban commercial fishing or mineral exploration outright, but to ensure it is carried out in a sustainable manner.

However, there will be a core no-fishing zone totalling about 320,000 sq km, extending 50 nautical miles from the coastline of each island.

Prime Minister Henry Puna said Marae Moana provided a blueprint for managing ocean environments worldwide.

"Together we had a vision to turn our little country into the cleanest and greenest tourism destination in the whole wide world," the Cook Islands News quoted him as telling parliament.

"We not only recognise that the ocean brings us revenue in terms of fishery and tourism and potentially sea bed minerals -– it also provides us with clean air, clean water, and clean food to nourish and sustain us.""



'via Blog this'Cook Islands creates huge Pacific Ocean marine reserve:- AFP News

Cook Islands creates huge Pacific Ocean marine reserve: "The idea is not to ban commercial fishing or mineral exploration outright, but to ensure it is carried out in a sustainable manner. However, there will be a core no-fishing zone totalling about 320,000 sq km, extending 50 nautical miles from the coastline of each island", Kevin Iro, Environmentalist

"The Cook Islands has created one of the world's largest marine sanctuaries, protecting a vast swathe of the Pacific Ocean more than three times the size of France.

Legislation setting up the 1.9 million square kilometre (735,000 square mile) reserve passed through the tiny nation's parliament late Thursday.

Environmentalist Kevin Iro, who first proposed the idea more than five years ago, said it was a landmark achievement that would help preserve the ocean for future generations.

"It's a historic time, particularly because everyone supported it, including our traditional leaders who spearheaded the whole thing," he told AFP.

The Cook Islands has a population of just 10,000 and its 15 islands have a combined landmass of 236 sq km, barely the size of Washington DC.

But its isolated position in the Pacific, about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii with no near neighbours, means it has a huge maritime territory.

Iro said Cook Islanders had an affinity with the ocean and viewed it as sacred but overfishing and pollution had damaged the marine environment, including the coral reefs that once ringed all the islands.

He said the marine reserve, known as Marae Moana, would give the environment a chance to heal, allowing the islanders to protect their legacy.

"When I moved back here (from New Zealand) about 16 years ago I saw what was happening to the lagoons and reefs and really wanted to protect them for my kids," he said.

"I want them to have the same experience I did as a boy growing up."

The idea is not to ban commercial fishing or mineral exploration outright, but to ensure it is carried out in a sustainable manner.

However, there will be a core no-fishing zone totalling about 320,000 sq km, extending 50 nautical miles from the coastline of each island.

Prime Minister Henry Puna said Marae Moana provided a blueprint for managing ocean environments worldwide.

"Together we had a vision to turn our little country into the cleanest and greenest tourism destination in the whole wide world," the Cook Islands News quoted him as telling parliament.

"We not only recognise that the ocean brings us revenue in terms of fishery and tourism and potentially sea bed minerals -– it also provides us with clean air, clean water, and clean food to nourish and sustain us."

Puna's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment."



'via Blog this'AFP News, Cook Islands creates huge Pacific Ocean marine reserve: