Donald Trump has named Robert F Kennedy Jr as his choice for US health secretary, putting the controversial anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer in line to control some of the world’s most influential health agencies. Kennedy shot to political prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when his organisation, Children’s Health Defense, became a leading global voice […] Continue reading ->
The death toll in Sudan’s civil war is likely far higher than reported as violence, hunger and disease devastate Africa’s third-largest nation, a new study shows. More than 61,000 people have died in Khartoum state, the capital region where fighting began 14 months ago, according to research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical […] Continue reading ->
As 40,000 delegates’ flights streamed into Baku’s Heydar Aliyev airport over the weekend, battle lines were drawn on the opening day of COP29 in the Azerbaijani capital as developing countries demanded wealthy nations commit trillions of dollars to combat the climate crisis. The high-stakes climate mega-conference launched on Monday, just weeks after its less prominent […] Continue reading ->
Two million lives could be saved annually through urgent climate action, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Thursday in a stark message to negotiators ahead of next week’s climate summit in Baku, warning that rising temperatures are wreaking havoc on global health, disrupting healthcare systems and fueling disease outbreaks worldwide. The new WHO report, […] Continue reading ->
Nearly 200 nations have backed a groundbreaking global action plan linking health and the natural world at the close of UN biodiversity negotiations in Cali, Colombia, marking a rare victory in a summit otherwise characterised by disappointment. The final agreement on a “health and biodiversity action plan” was approved as a voluntary rather than mandatory […] Continue reading ->
Global climate plans will cut emissions by just 2.6% by 2030, falling 40% short of what’s needed to keep a future within the Paris agreement’s 1.5C goal alive, according to a report released Monday by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The combined emissions cut by the national climate plans, known as […] Continue reading ->
Only 35 countries have submitted the national strategies required by the UN biodiversity treaty showing how they’ll meet its binding nature protection targets. While 33 of these plans recognise links between human health and biodiversity, they offer few specifics on implementation and policy, a Health Policy Watch analysis found. Negotiators in Cali aim to bridge […] Continue reading ->
Global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions remain catastrophically off track, with current policies putting the world on course for a 3.1°C temperature rise by century’s end, the UN Environment Programme warned Thursday in its annual “Emissions Gap” report. To keep the 1.5°C target alive, nations must slash emissions by 42% by 2030 and 57% […] Continue reading ->
BERLIN – Countries worldwide, regardless of income level, can halve premature death rates by 2050, a new Lancet report presented at the closing of the World Health Summit in Berlin suggests. Fifteen key health threats are driving premature deaths worldwide, with tobacco use leading the pack “by far”, the Lancet Commission for Investing in Health […] Continue reading ->
BERLIN – The World Health Organization secured $1 billion in pledges at a landmark fundraising event in Berlin on Monday, kickstarting a major campaign by the UN agency to overhaul its funding model and enhance its ability to tackle global health emergencies. The billion-dollar total includes $700 million in new pledges from European nations and […] Continue reading ->