Institute of Public Administration and Management

Hunger strikes are commonly reported in places of detention, and Australia has some of the most restrictive immigration detention policies globally. Despite this, little is known about hunger strikes among immigration detainees in Australia. We aimed to examine the prevalence, precipitants, characteristics, and management of hunger strikes among asylum seekers in Australian onshore immigration detention. Via Freedom of Information, we obtained incident reports for all hunger strikes recorded in Australian onshore immigration detention between 3 October 2009 and 26 May 2011. Our primary methodological approach was content analysis. Data relating to hunger strike prevalence, detention type, location, gender, precipitating factors, and management of hunger strikes were extracted from each report. Hunger strike episode rates per 1000 asylum seekers were calculated using average adult population figures for 1) the entire onshore immigration detention network; 2) each held detention type (i.e., Immigration Detention Centres [IDCs], Immigration Transit Accommodation [ITA], Immigration Residential Housing [IRH], and Alternative Places of Detention [APODs]); and 3) each facility. Three hundred twenty eight hunger strikes were included in the analyses. The hunger strike episode rate was 76/1000 asylum seekers (95

This study examines the sociocultural impact of adolescent bio-physiological development on sexual health. By using three key metrics: sexual intercourse by age 15, self-reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs) symptoms, and condom use at last intercourse. Results reveal significant gender disparities: 9% of girls reported first intercourse by age 15 against 2% of boys; 14% of girls reported STI symptoms against 4% of boys; and 32% of girls used condoms at last intercourse, against 60% of boys. Theoretically grounded in double standard theory and the social determinants of health framework, analyses link the disparities in this result to sociocultural norms, including gendered stigmatization around female sexuality, lack of comprehensive sex education (CSE), and power imbalance in sexual decision-making that amplify biological vulnerabilities. The study highlights the need for gender trans-formative interventions, scaling (CSE) policies that challenge the gender double standards phenomenon, empowering girls to negotiate condom use, and expanding STI screening for girls. By integrating these biological and sociocultural perspectives, this study underscores the importance of addressing structural inequities geared toward the advancement of adolescent sexual health equity.

Sustainable development aspires to "leave no one behind"1. Even so, limited attention has been paid to small-scale fisheries (SSF) and their importance in eradicating poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Through a collaborative and multidimensional data-driven approach, we have estimated that SSF provide at least 40% (37.3 million tonnes) of global fisheries catches and 2.3 billion people with, on average, 20% of their dietary intake across six key micronutrients essential for human health. Globally, the livelihood of 1 in every 12 people, nearly half of them women, depends at least partly on small-scale fishing, in total generating 44% (US$77.2 billion) of the economic value of all fisheries landed. Regionally, Asian SSF provide fish, support livelihoods and supply nutrition to the largest number of people. Relative to the total capture of the fisheries sector (comprising large-scale and small-scale fisheries), across all regions, African SSF supply the most catch and nutrition, and SSF in Oceania improve the most livelihoods. Maintaining and increasing these multidimensional SSF contributions to sustainable development requires targeted and effective actions, especially increasing the engagement of fisherfolk in shared management and governance. Without management and governance focused on the multidimensional contributions of SSF, the marginalization of millions of fishers and fishworkers will worsen.

Globally, over 280 million individuals suffer from mental disorders, and almost 85% in low-resource settings do not receive any therapy. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), many patients are forced to either live with untreated mental illness or seek care from traditional or religious leaders due to the high treatment cost. This literature review identifies pathways to access mental health services and proposed a collaborative model for care across SSA. We systematically searched five electronic databases (Embase and MEDLINE via OVID, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Global Index Medicus) using the following search terms, 'pathways to care', 'mental disorders,' and 'sub-Saharan Africa' for primary studies reporting on pathways to care for mental disorders in SSA. There were no restrictions on the study's date. Overall, the electronic database search produced 3399 search results, of which we retrieved 194 articles for full-text screening and 29 studies included in the analysis. This study finds that traditional and faith-based healers play an integral role in the pathway to care; more than 70% used traditional and religious healers as the first point of care for mental health care. The median duration for the delay in seeking treatment in a health facility was six months. Patients who sought care from traditional and faith healers were found to have experienced the most prolonged delay without treatment. Age, gender, level of education, marital status, and geographical location were some of the factors associated with the pathway choice. Patients who sought care from traditional and faith healers as the first point of care were found to have experienced the most extended delay without treatment when they arrived at the hospital. The study proposes and recommends a new model for collaboration between biomedical, traditional and faith-based healers that focuses on education through training and adopting a new referral framework.