Assessing Changes in Inequality for Millennium Development Goals among Countries: Lessons for the Sustainable Development Goals

Gender and Age Trends in HIV Incidence in Turkey between 1990 and 2021: Joinpoint and Age-Period-Cohort Analyses

Background and Objectives: Despite a global decrease in HIV incidence, recent trends in Türkiye indicate a concerning rise, particularly among younger populations and women. This study investigates the local and regional dynamics influencing these trends using advanced epidemiological methodologies. Material and Methods: Utilizing Age-period-cohort analysis and joinpoint regression, we analysed HIV incidence and prevalence data from the Global Burden of Disease study for Türkiye. These methods allowed for a detailed examination of changes over time, identifying specific age groups and periods with significant shifts in incidence rates. Results: Key findings include a 13.03% increase in annual percentage change among males aged 15-19 and an 11.37% increase among females in the same age group. Additionally, the incidence rates among females have shown a significant rise after 2008. Conclusions: The rising HIV incidence in Türkiye reflects complex socio-economic, cultural, and biological factors, with significant increases among young people and women. Addressing these challenges requires targeted interventions, comprehensive educational programs, and inclusive healthcare services to align with global efforts and commitments. The study underscores the importance of incorporating young people in decision-making processes to effectively combat HIV in Türkiye.

Launching continuous kangaroo mother care through participatory action research in Iran

BACKGROUND

This study describes the launching of a unit for continuous kangaroo mother care (KMC) in a teaching hospital (Taleghani) in Iran.

METHODS

We used a participatory three-stage action research approach to establish a unit for continuous KMC: design (needs identification and planning for change); implementation (and reflection); and evaluation (and institutionalization). As part of the design and implementation stages, individual and focus group interviews were conducted with mothers, physicians, nurses, other healthcare personnel and policy makers. The evaluation was done by means of a standardized tool specifically developed for monitoring progress with the implementation of KMC.

RESULTS

Four themes relating to potential barriers to implementation emerged from the analysis of the staff interviews, namely barriers associated with the mother, the father, the physician and the health system. Mothers' experiences of barriers were grouped into five themes: personal discomfort, fear, healthcare provider attitudes and actions, infrastructure constraints and family matters. An implementation progress score of 27.05 out of 30 was achieved, indicating that the continuous KMC unit was on the path to institutionalization. Some of the gaps identified related to policies on resource allocation, the discharge and follow-up system, and the transportation of infants in the KMC position.

CONCLUSION

The study findings indicated that participatory action research is a suitable method for studying the establishment of a continuous KMC unit. When action research is practiced, there is a prospect of turning knowledge into action in the real world.

Global Economy: New Risks and Leadership Problems

After the global crisis of 2008–2009, the world economy entered the era of restructuring. This article focuses on the risks that a new leader will face in the process of shaping the world economy. The methods employed in the research include big data processing of continuous change and the results of the symmetric macroeconomic analysis based on the statistics collected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), The Word Bank (WB), Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Central banks and Treasuries. The study results proved that the recessionary processes, their depth and global nature, are caused by a combination of world financial system crises and general civilization problems. These new systemic risks for the world economy might result in new global crises that will limit the resources of international financial institutions for sustainable development. Besides, for most banks these crises will mean shifting a big share of derivatives to the off-balance liabilities, using Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in deals, followed by an increase in state and corporate debts, trade wars, a slowdown of economic development in China, and widening contradictions between global and national finances. Regular research and systematization have developed certain guidelines for the global economic restructuring process. First of all, it is recommended on the base of interstate compromises to focus on international agreements to ensure a solid foundation for global finance. On the basis of the comparative analysis carried out for the USA, China and other counties, it was made clear that no one leader in world economy in 21st century views the world reserve as based on the currency of one country only. Instead, there will be a slow transition to using Special Drawing Rights (SDR) with a basket from 15–20 currencies G20.

Rethinking 21st-Century Businesses: An Approach to Fourth Sector SMEs in Their Transition to a Sustainable Model Committed to SDGs

With barely ten years remaining to reach the goals included in the United Nations 2030 Agenda (UN2030A), there is still no agreed-upon universal criterion regarding how businesses can move firmly forward to achieve them. A significant number of laudable initiatives have emerged and been consolidated internationally, highlighting the need to change the outdated mainstream economic model based on continuous growth—whose maximum exponent is the macroeconomic magnitude “Gross Domestic Product” (GDP)—to another sustainable model which considers the ecological "people and planet-centered" oriented limits, prioritizing individual wellbeing and social prosperity, in line with the UN2030A. Facing the prevalent resistance to change, some innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are consciously addressing the transition on their own, but not without difficulties. The purpose of this article was to fill the gap in the social sciences literature by conducting in-depth interviews with Fourth Sector (4S) entrepreneurs, business leaders from purpose-driven companies, and academics, in order to approach and look into their perspective about the role that 4S SMEs are being called to execute to advance toward 2030. The two main contributions of this article are (1) 4S SMEs identify an urgent need to modify the current economic model with metrics aligned with UN2030A and (2) it is essential to assemble and build an “Engagement Ecosystem” through a systemic thinking approach to allow 4S SMEs to make real contributions to the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).