Cook Islands' first Joint External Evaluation seeks to strengthen health security
The island is vulnerable to natural disasters, outbreaks and the impacts of climate change, and the JEE mission looked at how they respond to it's health risks.
World Health Organisation's Director of Pacific technical support, Dr Mark Jacobs who led the mission, says they only work with countries who freely volunteer to participate.
"The Cook Islands saw this as an important thing they want to do...it really shows how much commitment there is by the Cook Islands into improving their capacity," said Dr Jacobs.
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ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Authorities aware of concerns about mother's drug use in months before baby died, coroner finds
Queensland child safety authorities were aware of concerns about a mother's drug use in the months before her baby starved to death while she was on a drug binge, a coroner has found. Warning: The following story contains content which may distress. In June 2019, the eight-month-old boy was left in a cot and not checked again for about 21 hours while his mother and her partner were doing drugs for three days. The baby had received 'no or minimal' food or fluid during that time. His cause of death was severe acute dehydration and acute malnutrition. A forensic paediatric review said the hour before his death 'would have been extremely distressing physically and emotionally'. The baby's mother and her former partner were originally charged with murder but have since pleaded guilty to his manslaughter. As part of a coronial investigation, Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard examined the 'adequacy' of the Department of Child Safety's response to known concerns about the mother's ability to care for the baby in the lead up to his death. In February 2019, authorities received two separate notifications about concerns over her ability to meet the child's medical needs. The baby was assessed as being "at risk of neglect due to inadequate basic care and emotional harm," the findings said. The next month, authorities received more information about concerns for the baby. Those included the mother's drug-taking, mental health, history of domestic and family violence and financial poverty. In early April, Child Safety launched an Investigation and Assessment (I&A) which ultimately found the child was "in need of protection". The coronial findings said there was a delay of about six weeks between the notification in February and the I&A in April. The baby was highly vulnerable due to his age and lack of visibility in the community, "so an urgent departmental response was required," the findings said. Then, between mid-April and May, there was a "lapse in departmental action" because the allocated child safety officer took leave. The case wasn't reallocated because that officer had already started the process, sighted the child, and assessed there were "no immediate harm indicators". 'While the [baby's] teenage aunt and [neighbours] observed the consequences of [the mother's] increasing drug use on her ability to care for her children, this information was not available to [authorities],' Coroner Kirkegaard said. "Delay commencing the I&A and a lapse during this phase due to the child safety officer's emergent leave without the case being reallocated, meant plans for [the mother] to undergo urine drug screening were not implemented. Around May, the baby's aunt — who was 17-years-old — began spending more time at the family's unit to make sure the child was taken care of. She bought food for the baby and got up during the night to attend to him. Child safety officers visited the mother at home in late May and discussed an Intervention with Parental Agreement (IPA) — where the department works with a parent to meet the child's needs — which the mother agreed to a few days later. An internal department review team found the decision to leave the child in her care and start an IPA was "appropriate", given "the absence of any immediate harm indicators" and the mother being assessed as willing and able to work with authorities. "That said, there was some concern about her ability to engage on a medium to long-term basis given her history of avoiding or disengaging with services," the coroner's findings said. That findings said there were "missed opportunities" for child safety officers to "record observations" of the boy's physical appearance, speak with the mother about his eating routine and "sight" formula. Child safety officers involved with the family did not observe any signs of substance use by the mother during their engagement with her over April to June, the findings said. Coroner Kirkegaard said they also did not identify the emerging pattern of her disengagement with them after 31 May as indicative of her drug use. On June 3 — just weeks before the baby's death — child safety officers completed an assessment of the mother's strengths and needs. That assessment identified "drug use, domestic violence and mental health as priority areas of concern at that time". On June 7, officers visited the family's home, but a man answered the door saying the mother was not well, and the child was not sighted. Six days later, officers tried to contact the mother to organise a home visit, but she did not answer the call. The Child Death Review Panel looked at the case and said that six-day delay was "inadequate". Officers went back to the home on June 17 for an announced home visit. "It transpires that [the mother] had tried to cancel the visit that morning but when the child safety officer insisted the visit needed to go ahead, [she] said she was at her neighbour's unit and asked that the visit take place there," the findings said. "She said her neighbour was supporting her with the [baby]. "In truth, there were dog faeces in [the] unit which she did not want child safety officers to see." The findings said it was during that visit when the mother agreed to drug screening. The child safety officers who visited the family that day also told the internal departmental review team that the child "did not appear malnourished to them". According to the findings, the Child Death Review Panel considered the mother's "non-engagement throughout the IPA should have been considered more thoroughly and triggered more intrusive intervention". The baby died on June 21. Coroner Kirkegaard found his cause of death was severe acute dehydration and acute malnutrition. She said the baby's "utterly tragic death" illustrated the "ongoing challenge for child safety and other agencies supporting families where parents have problematic substance use". She said it was "vital" for frontline officers to be equipped with adequate training and support to identify substance use and understand the risk of harm to children and infants. Coroner Kirkegaard also added she strongly encouraged the current Commission of Inquiry into Queensland's child safety system "to closely examine Child Safety's resourcing to provide early assertive intervention for families like that of this vulnerable infant". She closed the investigation. Her findings did not detail why an inquest would not be held into the baby's death. The Department of Justice has been contacted for comment. Asked about the non-inquest findings, a spokeswoman for the Department of Child Safety said the Child Protection Act prevented them from talking about individual cases, 'however when there are failing and weaknesses, we will not shy away from making changes'. She said, since 2019, the department has strengthened its responses to vulnerable infants, including by updating its practice guidelines regarding high-risk infants. It has also established an alcohol and other drugs' state-wide practice leader to assist with how risks are assessed when parents or children are using alcohol or drugs.
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Smartphones affect young people's mental health so are dumbphones the answer?
How old were you when you got your first smartphone? For many Aussies born in the past two generations, such as Ekaager, 16, Kian, 15, Daiwik, 16, and Jiujiu, 15, smartphones have been a part of life since early childhood. "I think I was 12 or 11, around that age," Ekaager said. Kian said: "I think I was like 10 or 11." "I was definitely 12," Daiwik said. "Yeah, something like 12," Jiujiu said. A global 2024 study commissioned by tech company Human Mobile Devices (HMD) found that young people were being given smartphones at an average age of 11 years old. In some cases, smartphones were being introduced as young as three years old. This early introduction to smartphones has "dramatically reshaped childhood and adolescence", according to new research published in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities. Using survey data from more than 100,000 18 to 24-year-olds, researchers found that the younger those surveyed got a smartphone, from the age of 13 and under, the worse their mental health was. The specific symptoms reported included suicidal thoughts, aggression and detachment from reality. When asked what they thought about the findings, the teens BTN High spoke to said it made sense. "Especially because a lot of the platforms I use, like Instagram, can be a little addictive … it's hard for me to put it down," Lily, 15, said. "I remember in year 10 I was really at my lowest and I think that social media was the significant contributing factor to it," Eric, 17, said. Harsimrat, 15, said it was not just the mental health impacts. "There are many issues like attention span," he said. "Because even myself, sometimes in class, I just doze off because I just can't spend that much time looking at the board." Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg led a review into phone use in schools in 2018, which has since resulted in a nationwide ban on phones in public schools. Dr Carr-Gregg said that while the study's results were new, it was something experts had suspected. "I think it was 2007, the Apple iPhone was launched, we started replacing a play-based childhood with a screen-based childhood," he said. "And right across the western world … we have seen an increase in depression and anxiety and self-harm. "Therefore, this is just a confirmation of what we already knew." The study also recommends "graduated access restrictions," keeping anyone under 13 from having a smartphone, which Dr Carr-Gregg approves of. "Smartphones tend to be a distraction. They do interfere with sleep," he said. "They do create, I think, avenues for cyberbullying, extortion, those sorts of things. "So, for me, the result is from the university of the bleeding obvious, which is why I think a restriction, a delay, on young people having smartphones is sensible." Some of the teens BTN High spoke to also agreed it was a good idea. Lachlan, 15, said: "It's just probably for the better in future life." Others, like Angus, 16, weren't keen on it. "Thirteen is past that age where we … enter high school," he said. "I feel like phones are a big part of socialising and that sort of connection that many people rely on. "So I think it's a bit harsh." A "dumbphone", also known as a feature phone, is a basic device with limited functionality. No internet browsing, no apps, no complex multimedia functions – and that's the appeal for some young people, such as 18-year-old Jameson Butler. She is the co-founder of The Luddite Club, a group of teens in New York dedicated to promoting the conscious consumption of technology. "My sleep schedule was off the charts," Jameson said. "I was staying up until 3am. I was staying in my room, you know, on my phone. "And I just felt bad … I didn't feel there were any options or ways to combat that." Jameson said after ditching her smartphone, life improved. "I'm more present at family dinners. I do my schoolwork faster, I have better grades, I've become a lot less scatterbrained, and I've just become a lot more driven and ambitious." The Luddite Club has been gaining popularity. Jameson told the ABC's Brain Rot Podcast that she was seeing Luddite Clubs starting to pop up in Florida and Philadelphia, and she had even had some enquiries from Australia. While the dumbphone trend has been growing in the US and Europe, I want to find out if it is something young Aussies are doing too. After sitting at the University of Adelaide for more than an hour, no young people I spoke to even knew of anyone who used a dumbphone. "Yeah, this is too old," said one student. Harsimrat agreed, saying, "No, that's back in the old days." None of Dr Carr-Gregg's clients are on board either. "I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say I don't have one who's doing that," he said. "Once you've got a smartphone, I think the likelihood of you going back to a dumbphone is very, very small. "And that's because really the way in which my clients communicate with one another these days is through social media. "And therefore the smartphone is absolutely essential." Alex, 17, said a loss of connection might be putting young Aussies off. "I think there's a big fear of missing out," he said. "It's like if people aren't connected with their screens and social media and stuff, they … can't see what other people are posting, [what] they're doing on it. "A lot of my friends live in different places throughout the world, and I wouldn't be able to call them on a phone like that," Lily said. Despite social media being a major part of smartphone use, some teens, such as Alex, reckon Australia's incoming ban for under-16s won't change too many minds. "There are other things you can do on [smartphones], like games and stuff, even though you don't have social media," he said. Simar, 16, said in her case, a smartphone was handy for her parents to know her location because she had to walk to school by herself. Ekaager thinks young people will keep their smartphones and find ways around the ban. Nevertheless, Ekaager was open to giving the dumbphone trend a go, as was Eric. "Maybe I should with the current exam season coming up," Eric said. Lily agreed that it would be "a nice experiment to try". And Alex said, "I'd probably struggle to, but I would maybe give it a try just to improve my mental health."
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Another child dies from dengue fever as Samoa reports 2,200 cases since January
A third child has reportedly died from dengue fever in Samoa, which has now recorded more than 2,270 cases since the start of the year. In its latest update, for the week of 21-27 July, the Ministry of Health reported there were 1,350 dengue-like illness cases reported, 521 of which were laboratory-confirmed to be dengue fever. Local media are reporting a third dengue death from the country — a five-year-old who died at Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital. The child's mother told the Samoa Observer: "She had a fever, was vomiting, and she kept saying her head and tummy hurt. We took her to the hospital on Sunday, and by Tuesday at 8am, she passed away. I miss her every moment." Dengue fever cases surge in the Pacific There is also an unconfirmed report of a fourth death — another child. The Health Ministry said that, of lab-confirmed cases, 71 per cent of those affected are aged under 15. It is reiterating its messages for people to clean up and remove stagnant water sources which are potential breeding sites for mosquitoes and to wear suitable clothing and use mosquito nets and repellents. The Oceania Football Confederation said it is monitoring the outbreak with the under-16 women's championship scheduled to begin on Friday. Last week, the World Health Organisation's Pacific technical support director Dr Mark Jacobs told Pacific Waves that July regional data showed the number of suspected dengue cases at 18,766 — the highest since 2016. A breakdown of the WHO July data showed spread of the disease had been highest in Fiji, which had 13,702 suspected cases, followed by Tonga (2,087) and French Polynesia or Mā'ohi Nui (1,079). RNZ
