Health workers, patients and civilians have been held hostage at the Mariupol regional intensive care hospital in Ukraine by Russian troops since Monday morning, according to the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR). Russian soldiers are using the hospital as a base to attack Ukrainian forces, and using the hostages as “human shields” according to […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed 6 million people so far, but the next pandemic threat could emerge unnecessarily from pathogen resistance to life-saving antibiotics and other anti-microbial drugs. What steps do we need to take now to head off this growing threat? For decades, antibiotics have been hailed as “wonder drugs” for their ability to […] Continue reading ->
The first session of the newly constituted Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to draft a “pandemic preparedness instrument” for the World Health Organization (WHO) began on Monday. The six-member body, representing all WHO regions, is made up of Precious Matsoso (South Africa), Roland Driece (the Netherlands), Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes (Brazil), Ahmed Salama Soliman (Egypt), […] Continue reading ->
With fewer than 1% of its 90 million citizens vaccinated against COVID-19, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has resorted to training teams of “rumour-busters” to tackle misinformation about the virus in order to encourage more people to get the vaccine. David Olela, communications lead for the DRC health ministry’s vaccination programme, admits that his […] Continue reading ->
COVID-19 cases reached their highest level in nearly two years in China on Sunday, with 1,437 cases on the mainland, according to China’s National Health Commission. Cases have more than doubled since 10 March when 588 cases were recorded. This surge in cases, driven by the Omicron variant, has prompted the country, which has a […] Continue reading ->
The mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines do not harm in vitro fertilization (IVF) success rates, according to a recent study, countering disinformation that vaccines could negatively affect fertility. In contrast, the SARS-CoV2 virus has been found to negatively affect the quality of embryos for couples who are undergoing IVF treatments and sperm. The peer-reviewed study, published in […] Continue reading ->
Two years after the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic on 11 March 2022, the developed world’s long-time fixation on the SARS-CoV2 virus, which has killed 6 million people, has suddenly shifted away from health to the war in Ukraine and sharply rising geopolitical tensions. Meanwhile high-income countries have dropped […] Continue reading ->
(LVIV, Ukraine via The New Humanitarian) – Over the course of just two weeks, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created a vast humanitarian crisis inside the country and sent more than 2.3 million people fleeing into neighbouring states. The UN has set out to raise more than $1 billion to support 18 million people it […] Continue reading ->
The applause has long ceased – while the ongoing pressures of the pandemic have left long-term scars on the physical, moral and mental health of the world’s nurses. Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, governments need to offer better solutions. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic, and the world […] Continue reading ->
Amid rising hunger due to COVID-19, conflict and climate change, the African Union (AU) has declared 2022 as the Year of Nutrition. Before 5am, Nigerian fishermen living in Lagos’s floating slum, Makoko, have paddled their wooden boats several kilometers into the main river for fishing activities. Their harvests are largely influenced by how far out […] Continue reading ->