Global health leaders need to prioritize action against oral diseases – which impact nearly half of the world’s population. While noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which cause some 74% of all deaths, are getting increased attention from global health influencers, there is one elephant in the room that has received insufficient attention to date. Oral disease. That’s […] Continue reading ->
While WHO’s recent Executive Board meeting saw a considerable amount of sound and fury over the proposed pandemic treaty, an obscurely titled but vital appendix of updated “best buys” to combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) was also briefly on stage.  This new set of cost-effective recipes to combat what are now the world’s biggest killers provides […] Continue reading ->
On 27 February, World Health Organization member states will meet to commence formal negotiations on a global pandemic preparedness agreement – unofficially turning the page from responding to COVID-19 to readying ourselves for future health emergencies. While the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) of member states have already held a series of meetings, as well as […] Continue reading ->
Alcohol is the second biggest cause of cancer after tobacco, and Movendi is mobilizing communities worldwide to publicize the link At the WHO’s 152th Executive Board, an updated list of policy “best buys” to prevent and control non-communicable diseases (NCDs) was presented. The EB decided unanimously to adopt the updated list of cost-effective interventions in […] Continue reading ->
After three years of its “Zero COVID” policy, the Chinese government allowed a return to relative normalcy for its citizens in early December 2022. Due to the ongoing transmission of Omicron and its numerous COVID subvariants in China, the sudden policy shift was accompanied by rapid community transmission across the country and high numbers of […] Continue reading ->
Successful intervention is urgently needed – and entirely possible.  Cancer kills nearly 10 million people a year, but the risk of dying from cancer varies greatly depending on where in the world you live. About 70%  of these deaths are in low- and middle-income countries – and the disparity is worsening. A Lancet Oncology Commission […] Continue reading ->
The number of people requiring treatment for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) decreased from 2.19 to 1.65 billion between 2010 and 2021 – an impressive 25 percent decline. However, interlinked challenges, including the COVID pandemic and, now, accelerating patterns of climate change are putting this progress at risk.  On World NTD Day, we need to recognise […] Continue reading ->
This month, world leaders gathered in Montreal for a major UN conference on biodiversity, aiming to reach an agreement on how to stop species loss. The Fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – COP15 for short–  has drawn tens of thousands of people. Delayed several times, it is the first […] Continue reading ->
On the occasion of Universal Health Coverage Day, thought leaders on the front lines outline the challenges and opportunities of health systems in conflicts. The last decade of 12-year-old Zaynab’s life has been spent in an informal settlement in Lebanon, after her family fled from the Syrian conflict. She shares a three-room tent with her […] Continue reading ->