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LHHSMUN: Sample Position Paper
Country
Name
LHHSMUN
Committee
Topic
I. Country Profile (EXAMPLE FOR THAILAND)
A. Government
1. Official Country Name: Kingdom of Thailand
2. Governmental System: Constitutional Monarchy
3. Head of State: King Adunyadet
4. Official Language(s): Thai, English
5. Region: Allies/Blocs: Japan, US, EU Members, NATO
B. People
1. Population and Growth Rate: 66,720,153
2. Major Religions/Cultures: Buddhist, Muslim, Christian
C. Economy
1. Economic System: Industrialized Economy
2. GDP and Growth Rate: $318 billion, 7.8%
3. Major Cities: Bankok, Pak Kret
4. Infrastructure Status: Solid infrastructure, 101 airports, several roads/bridges,
currently tampered by flooding
5. Trade Blocs/Associations: US, Japan, European/Asian nations
6. Balance of Trade: $193.5 billion in exports, $161 billion in imports
7. Major Exports/Imports: Exports: textiles, rice, rubber, automobiles, computers.
Imports: fuels, consumer goods, capital gods
8. Major Trade Partners: US, Japan, China, other Asian/European nations
9. Natural Resources: Tungsten, tin, natural gas, timber, lead, fish
10. Energy Sources (type and origin): coal, fossil fuels, natural gas which are all
mined/found in the nation or imported. Limited nuclear, solar, and wind plants.
D. Development (1 point)
1. Development Status: Thailand is a developing nation, set back by floods
currently
2. Climate: tropical, rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon
3. Environmental (problems, innovations, etc): massive floods, occasional
droughts
E. Military (2 points)
1. Military organization: there are 4 branches (army, navy, marines, air force)
2. Military expenditures (% GDP spent on defense): 1.8%
3. Major weapons, arsenal, nuclear capability, etc.: None
F. Conflicts/issues (3 points)
1. What are four problems/threats that affect this nation? air pollution, water
pollution, deforestation, flooding
2. Ethnic/cultural issues: little exposure to other cultures, several culture clashes
3. Refugee problems: mistreatment of refugees from neighboring countries
4. Major conflict both past and present: deforestation, flooding
G. United Nations (5 points)
1. Date admitted to the UN: December 16, 1946
2. Has the UN ever intervened in a conflict involving this nation? If so, where and
how? Human rights watch and border tensions with peacekeeping troops.
3. How does the country contribute to UN peacekeeping?
Peacekeeping training conducted in Thailand
4. Has the UN cited this nation for human rights violations? If so, why?
Human trafficking watch
5. Based on your research, what do you feel is at the heart of the nation’s identity?
The current flooding issue
H. Sources
MRSA – Position Paper
II. Background
Staphylococcus aureus, also known as “S. aureus” and “Staph” began to appear in
the 1880s.1 The infection usually lived on the skin and caused soft, painful skin conditions such
as impetigo and boils. 1 If left untreated or removed, these can develop into massive soars
characterized with puss, deeply exfoliated skin, and open wounds. 1 If the bacteria somehow
enters the body and gets under the skin or into the bloodstream, it can cause more serious
maladies such as boils, an abyss or fatal pneumonia, as well as other various, serious infections.2
Since the 1928 discovery of penicillin and it’s effectiveness as an antibiotic, by Alexander
Flemming, medical treatment for Staph has become successful and quite common.3 However,
like many bacteria, it slowly developed resistance to Penicillin between 1940 and 1950.1 Next,
erythromycin, streptomycin, and tetracycline were used as treatment, but Staph developed
resistance to this too.1 In 1959 Methicillin, a variation of Penicillin, was used to treat it but the
bacteria developed a resistance to it as well, marking the birth of MRSA, Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus Aureus. MRSA spread first throughout Europe, then Australia and to the rest of
the world, and is specifically prominent in developed nations, however recent statistics reveal
that MRSA is growing in prominence in the developing world. As MRSA spread, it branched
into two different branches; Healthcare Associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) which is contracted by
patients in hospitals, and Community Associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) which is contracted by
members of the general community, and is specifically prominent among athletes, prisoners, and
military recruits due to their frequent skin-to-skin contact. 4 MRSA has continued to grow
immune to all forms of antibiotic used against it, and for this reason it poses a huge threat to the
international community, as if new antibiotics and treatment methods are outrun by the evolving
bacteria, worldwide panics could ensue.
III. UN Involvement
Due to the fact that MRSA has become the most important pathogen that is associated
with healthcare treatments and resistance to antibiotics, the UN has been extremely involved in
worldwide monitoring, prevention, treatment and research initiatives. The World Health
Organization (WHO) is the main UN organization involved with MRSA, and it holds various
annual seminars and conferences to discuss the issue with the international community. WHO
launched the initial worldwide strategy for combating diseases caused by the growing resistance
that bacteria are developing towards antibiotics, called the “WHO Global Strategy for
Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance”. 6 One of the unique aspects of this strategy is that it
does not call for soley regional efforts but international collaboration. Any country that indulges
in poor prescribing techniques has the potential to reduce the effectiveness of antibacterial
treatment everywhere. The strategy recognizes that national governments have the responsibility
for containment and recommends the creation of legislative bodies to handle licensing, sales, and
distribution of antibacterial agents. 6 There are also many methods in which WHO assists nations
in their efforts. These include training personnel, provision of reagents, and software programs
to help monitor the resistance. The guidelines set for treatment by leaders and authorities are not
much different from usual treatment for infectious disease. Patient Isolation which includes
having only a few staff working with them and avoiding hospital moves. Staff precautions
which includes standard wearing of disposable garments (gloves and wrappings). And patient
discharge which is thoroughly cleaning the room and equipment used for an infected patient.
WHO also established guidelines for the use of antimicrobial substances used on food producing
animals. WHO works with various other organizations such as The Association for Professionals
in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC),which holds annual APIC/JCR/Joint Commission
Infection Prevention and Control Conferences to discuss ways to combat MRSA, and the
Infection Research association.5
IV. Country Policy/Possible Solutions
Afghanistan has received recent international attention in the medical world due to the
extensive cases of soldiers (mainly US) getting wounded in Afghanistan and contracting
diseases, such as HA-MRSA in the hospitals there. The contraction of MRSA is most frequent
when soldiers fracture bones. The site becomes infected with Osteomyelitis, which then makes
the wound more vulnerable to MRSA. The soldiers not only bring MRSA back to America, but
also spread throughout the Afghanistan civilian population. In this way, the infection morphs
into CA-MRSA. This has created problems for both the Afghanistan and US governments, and
MRSA recently surpassed HIV as the deadliest pathogen in the US. Because of this, both the US
and Afghanistan governments have been making concerted efforts to combat MRSA, with recent
success in using colistin-laced bone cement when treating injuries. This cement prevents the area
from becoming infected and subsequently prevents MRSA outbreaks. However, apart from these
military related infections, there have been relatively few cases of MRSA in Afghanistan. This is
largely due to the extreme emphasis the Muslim culture (which comprises 99% of the
population9) places on personal hygiene. Afghanistan medical officials promote sanitation in
healthcare as well as effective personal hygiene habits to prevent the spread of MRSA. However,
due to the impoverished nature of many of the nation’s healthcare facilities, these methods are
not extremely modernized. Many medical centers in rural areas also lack internet access,
resulting in Afghanistan’s lack of a centralized database to monitor the spread and treatment of
MRSA. Rural doctors also lack precautionary education on the hazards of the overuse of
antibiotics. For these reasons, Afghanistan advocates the creation of a centralized international
database, as a to be managed under the WHO with collection sites in every country, to monitor
the spread and treatment of MRSA. This will serve as an expansion of current statistical practices
in individual countries and therefore require minimal additional funding. Afghanistan also
promotes the education of rural healthcare officials on the transmission, epidemiology control
and treatment of MRSA through REACH (Rural Expansion of Afghanistan's Community-Based
Healthcare).10Furthermore, Afghanistan promotes the placing of stringent regulations for the use
of antibiotics on livestock, as well as awareness campaigns through standard government
sponsored media as well as seminars at local medical centers on MRSA and its spread,
prevention and treatment. Lastly, Afghanistan encourages increased research in developed
nations into alternative treatment methods than antibiotics, such as Jeff Brinker’s strategy of
using lipoproteins to bind the peptide which initiates harmful MRSA infections. Through
following these steps, the international community can most effectively combat MRSA and
prevent its development into the ultimate “super bug” completely oblivious to human
intervention.
Sources:
1. http://www3.niai d.nih.gov/topics/antimicrobialResistance/Examples/mrsa/history.html
2. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/
3.http://www.pnas.org/content/99/11/7687.full.pdf>
4. http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/understanding-mrsa-methicillinresistant-staphylococcus-aureus
5.http://www.infectionresearch.de/events/detail/event/1st_european_conference_on_mrsa_disease/
6. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs194/en/
7.http://www.apic.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Education/Conferences/PastEvents/ManagingM
RSAACallToAction/Managing_MRSA_A_Call.htm
8. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/136989.php
9. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html
10.
http://www.nonprofitexpert.com/countries/afghanistan.htm
IF YOU HAVE TWO TOPICS, YOUR BACKGROUND, UN INVOLVEMENT AND
COUNTRY POLICY FOR THE NEXT TOPIC GO HERE