Position Papers February 2024

Editorial Gavan Jennings In Passing: The Journey of T.S. Eliot Part Two: Into The Waste Land and Beyond Michael Kirke Will Leviathan save us? Margaret Hickey Church and community in a post-Christian world (Part One) James Bradshaw The tragedy that was the Reformation Tim O’Sullivan A world seen through the eyes of a “warped bird” Margaret Hickey 5 Recommended Reads for the New Year Dr Holly Ordway Twelve cues and trends in 2023 movies and series José María Aresté

Editorial Gavan Jennings In Passing: A Howling Emptiness Michael Kirke The hidden legacy of ordinary people Margaret Hickey A call to action for the twenty-somethings Luke Power The master of misguided philanthropy James Bradshaw God’s undying love for all of us Pat Hanratty Civilization at the crossroads David Gibney The Keys to the Kingdom: A Gentle But Firm Correction to The Chosen Dr Richard DeClue Film review: Cabrini Matthew Becklo

Editorial Gavan Jennings In Passing: Endgame or Game On? Part Two Michael Kirke The Evangelicals and a secularising America James Bradshaw The 1968 presidential election’s 2024 re-run James Bradshaw Creating safe, connected and anxious children Margaret Hickey The myths surrounding mythology David Gibney The uniqueness of the Book of Genesis Patrick Gorevan The Real Saint Patrick? Pat Hanratty Films: What IF Says About AI and Love Karl D. Stephan

This is the first consolidated WHO report on viral hepatitis epidemiology, service coverage and product access, with improved data for action. This report presents the latest estimates on the disease burden and the coverage of essential viral hepatitis services from 187 countries across the world. The report also updates progress made since 2019 in improving access to health products for both hepatitis B and C in low- and middle-income countries, with information from 38 countries that together comprise nearly 80% of global viral hepatitis infections and deaths. The report provides a regional perspective, analysing the barriers and opportunities for countries in each of the 6 WHO regions to expand access to health products for viral hepatitis. It presents actions for countries and stakeholders to accelerate the scaling up of effective viral hepatitis interventions within a public health approach.

This paper reviews the policy on Staff-Monitored Program with Executive Board Involvement (PMB). The PMB plays an important niche role in the Fund’s toolkit in supporting members in circumscribed circumstances, while not supplanting the Staff-Monitored Programs (SMPs) as the primary tool for building or rebuilding a track record towards a Fund arrangement that supports a UCT-quality program. Experience with the PMB is limited to three country cases over the past sixteen months. Further experience would be needed to draw more definitive conclusions in terms of the usefulness of the PMB vis-à-vis alternative instruments and a more parsimonious Fund toolkit. In this context, the PMB is kept in the toolkit, and it will be expected to be reviewed in three years.

About 1.3 billion of the world’s population are adolescents aged 10-19 years. Adolescents bear long periods of exposure to, and consequences of health risks yet are often least able to influence their environment and make decisions for their own well-being. Historically, the world has lacked comprehensive indicators for adolescent health, which has hindered the effective development of age-specific policies and interventions and tracking of progress towards health targets. This document presents a list of 47 indicators recommended by the Global Action for Measurement of Adolescent health (GAMA), established in 2018 by WHO in collaboration with UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, the World Bank Group, and the World Food Programme. The 47 adolescent health indicators are the result of a structured, participatory 5-year selection process. They are applicable to all adolescent population subgroups and span six domains: (1) programmes, policies and laws, (2) systems performance and interventions, (3) social, cultural, economic, educational, and environmental health determinants, (4) health behaviours and risks, (5) subjective well-being and (6) health outcomes and conditions. Most countries already have data for many of these indicators available. Bringing this information together will help benchmark progress, identify priorities for action, and allocate resources efficiently. By prioritizing adolescent health, young individuals are empowered to reach their full potential, and contribute to building healthier and sustainable communities and societies.

Hepatitis B (HBV) infection is a major public health problem and cause of chronic liver disease. The 2024 HBV guidelines provide updated evidence-informed recommendations on key priority topics. These include expanded and simplified treatment criteria for adults but now also for adolescents; expanded eligibility for antiviral prophylaxis for pregnant women to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HBV; improving HBV diagnostics through use of point-of-care HBV DNA viral load and reflex approaches to HBV DNA testing; who to test and how to test for HDV infection; and approaches to promote delivery of high-quality HBV services, including strategies to promote adherence to long-term antiviral therapy and retention in care. The 2024 guidelines include 11 updated chapters with new recommendations and also update existing chapters without new recommendations, such as those on treatment monitoring and surveillance for liver cancer.

There are signs that the global outlook has begun to brighten. Activity remains more resilient than expected, although with considerable divergence across economies, inflation is falling steadily and unemployment remains low. Global growth is projected to remain unchanged in 2024 and strengthen modestly in 2025, with inflation returning to target in most countries by the end of 2025.