Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL): It is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow—the spongy tissue inside bones where blood cells are made. The word “acute” in acute lymphocytic leukaemia comes from the fact that the disease progresses rapidly and creates immature blood cells rather than mature ones. It is the most common type of cancer in children. Symptoms include Bleeding from the gums, Bone pain, Fever, Frequent infections, frequent or severe nosebleeds, etc. It occurs when a bone marrow cell develops changes (mutations) in its genetic material, or DNA. A cell’s DNA contains the instructions that tell a cell what to do. Normally, the DNA tells the cell to grow at a set rate and to die at a set time. In ALL, the mutations tell the bone marrow cell to continue growing and dividing. When this happens, blood cell production becomes out of control. The bone marrow produces immature cells that develop into leukemic white blood cells called lymphoblasts. These abnormal cells are unable to function properly, and they can build up and crowd out healthy cells. It’s not clear what causes the DNA mutations that can lead to acute lymphocytic leukaemia. It may include chemotherapy or targeted drugs that specifically kill cancer cells.
Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative: It was announced at the 2022 Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo. It was announced to track “dark shipping” and build a “faster, wider, and more accurate maritime picture of near-real-time activities in partners’ waters”, integrating three critical regions in the Indo-Pacific — the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and the IOR. It is a technology and training initiative to enhance maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific region and to bring increased transparency to its critical waterways. It harnesses innovative technology, such as commercial satellite radio frequency data collection, to provide partners across Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean region and the Pacific with near real-time information on activities occurring in their maritime zones.
World Local Production Forum: It is an initiative of the World Health Organisation. The first WLPF was organised virtually in 2021.Theaim is to Increasing access to medicines and other health technologies. This forum provides Member States and the global community with a regular platform to shape strategies, galvanize collective action, and foster partnerships on sustainable local production to improve timely and equitable access to quality-assured health products. The Local Production and Assistance (LPA) Unit at the WLPF. The second WLPF aims
To provide a global platform to discuss key challenges in promoting local production and technology transfer.
To explore opportunities and mechanisms to tackle the bottlenecks.
To promote sustainable local production capacity to improve access to quality, safe and effective health products and technologies.
