Palestine moved close to full recognition by WHO on Friday evening- with the broad approval of a World Health Assembly resolution that gives the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, which has limited governing authority in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, all the rights of WHO member states – short of the vote. The resolution, on “aligning […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA – For two years, the family of a soldier in the DRC army could not trace him until they discovered that he had been imprisoned – not for doing anything wrong but because he had a mental illness. “When we speak of disorders, we forget these affect human beings. People who need to be […] Continue reading ->
A new generation of portable molecular testing devices unveiled by the global non-profit FIND on Thursday has achieved accuracy levels previously only attainable in lab testing, a potential game-changer for healthcare in regions with limited access to clinics. These compact devices can test for multiple diseases using cartridges that analyze tissue, blood, or other bodily […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization’s 77th World Health Assembly passed a resolution on Wednesday calling on countries to bolster maternal and child health by expanding universal healthcare and strengthening primary healthcare, as progress in reducing maternal and child deaths has stagnated globally. The resolution, led by Somalia, commits countries to tackle the leading causes of maternal […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA – A resolution aimed at strengthening countries’ capacity to deal with “natural hazards” faced unexpected opposition over gender-related terminology at the World Health Assembly (WHA) on Thursday. This is despite the urgency of countries adapting their health services to address extreme weather events, which are becoming more common globally thanks to climate change. The […] Continue reading ->
WHO member states approved the first resolution on climate and health to come before the World Health Assembly in 16 years – even as 50°C temperatures in Delhi, flooding in southern Brazil and devastating Caribbean storms are driving home the message to more and more countries that climate change is real. In several hours of […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA – Just six countries in the world are on track to meet global targets to reduce non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. At the World Health Assembly (WHA) this week, every country – rich and poor – lamented their struggles to contain rising NCDs, which now cause […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged stakeholders in the health sector to collaborate in reorienting health systems towards a primary healthcare approach, a key priority in helping more people access universal health coverage (UHC). The organization has also called on countries to increase domestic spending on health and for banks to fund climate and […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA – The World Health Organization has made climate change its top priority in its four-year work plan adopted at the World Health Assembly this week, but significant gaps in climate health research could hinder the UN health body’s efforts, experts warned at the Geneva Health Forum on Tuesday. Current research on the effects of […] Continue reading ->
Cabo Verde, a group of 10 islands in the Central Atlantic Ocean, was declared malaria-free in January. This milestone makes it one of the 43 countries and territories globally recognised with this certification by the World Health Organization (WHO). Cabo Verde is only the third country in the WHO African region to be certified malaria-free […] Continue reading ->