The ouster of Bangladesh’s long-ruling Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a student-led revolution this week could reverberate through the World Health Organization (WHO), where her daughter holds a key regional post. Saima Wazed, installed earlier this year as regional director for WHO’s South-East Asia (WHO-SEARO) office after a contested election, now faces increased scrutiny following […] Continue reading ->
A surge in mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has spilled over to neighbouring countries, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to consider declaring a new international emergency as several nations report their first-ever cases of the virus. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced Wednesday he will convene an emergency committee […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the risks of over-reliance on global supply chains for essential health products. Disruptions led to severe delays and shortages of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, with low- and middle-income countries bearing the brunt. Vaccine inequality starkly highlighted Africa’s vulnerability. Yet this crisis unveiled a unique opportunity for the continent: a chance to […] Continue reading ->
India will contribute $85 million over a decade to the World Health Organization’s Global Traditional Medicine Center, the WHO announced. The center, located in the Indian western city of Jamnagar, aims to strengthen the evidence base for traditional medicine and provide data on related policies, practices and public use. The donation is part of a […] Continue reading ->
Climate change is endangering children’s health at every stage of development, threatening to reverse decades of progress in reducing child mortality worldwide, according to a new UNICEF report. The U.N. children’s agency’s “Threat to Progress” report released last week consolidates growing evidence of climate change’s effects on children’s health, identifying six major hazards: extreme heat, […] Continue reading ->
New research suggests long-term exposure to wildfire smoke may significantly increase dementia risk, posing a greater threat to brain health than other forms of air pollution. The study, presented this week at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, examined a decade of electronic medical records for 1.2 million older adults in Southern California from 2009 to […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) vast European region – 53 countries, including the entire European Union, Russia and even Israel – is often excluded from cheaper medicine deals because of member states’ high- and middle-income status. But one of the flagship programmes of WHO regional director Dr Hans Kluge is the Novel Medicines Platform (NMP), […] Continue reading ->
As climate change drives disease outbreaks, the world remains ill-prepared for another pandemic – lacking in collaborative surveillance, diagnostic tools and finance, speakers told the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit (GPPS) in Brazil. The two-day summit, attended by a global who’s who of pandemic experts, aimed to “reinvigorate the momentum for pandemic preparedness and response” – […] Continue reading ->