Six schoolchildren in the Ugandan capital of Kampala are the latest to be infected with Ebola, according to the country’s health minister on Wednesday – and with 15 cases in the densely populated city, some want the government to impose a lockdown. So far, there have been 109 confirmed cases, including 30 deaths, of the […] Continue reading ->
Africa faces some of the world’s most severe health impacts from air pollution – with five countries on the continent ranking among the ten most polluted countries in the world, according to a new report by the US-based research organization Health Effects Institute.  Those countries include Niger, Nigeria, Egypt, Mauritania and Cameroon, where the report, […] Continue reading ->
The existential project to save the planet set out by the 2016 Paris Agreement is in tatters. There is currently “no credible pathway” to limit increases in global temperatures to the 1.5°C degree target detailed in the accords, the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) said in its global emissions gap report released Thursday. The chance of […] Continue reading ->
Countries’ voluntary commitments to fight climate change will still mean an increase in global emissions by some 10.6% as of 2030, according to the latest report of UN Climate Change,  which tabulates the most recent ‘Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) of countries to the climate battle. This represents only a slight “improvement” over the commitments as […] Continue reading ->
China administered the world’s first oral aerosol COVID-19 vaccine boosters in Shanghai on Wednesday, as new lockdown measures were imposed on Wuhan, the supposed birthplace of the pandemic. Chinese vaccine manufacturer CanSino Biologics said in a media statement that the inclusion of its vaccine in Shanghai’s booster vaccination program marked “the start of the rollout […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the alarm over drug-resistant fungi as it released its first-ever priority list of fungal pathogens at risk from antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Nineteen species of fungi have been identified by the global health agency as representing “the greatest threat to public health” due to their growing drug resistance.   Meanwhile, […] Continue reading ->
Most countries are failing dismally to promote physical exercise despite inactivity playing a major role in heart disease, obesity and diabetes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO’s newly released Global status report on physical activity 2022 measures the extent to which governments are implementing recommendations to increase physical activity across all ages […] Continue reading ->
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers’ Network (DCVMN) have thrown their weight behind the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) proposal to improve access to vaccines in future pandemics. The proposal, known as the Berlin Declaration, outlines how the pharmaceutical industry would reserve an allocation of real-time production of […] Continue reading ->