Governments have been advised to impose ‘sin taxes’ on tobacco, alcohol and other unhealthy products to offset the severity of cuts to official development assistance (ODA), World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a tuberculosis meeting on Thursday. His statements came two days after the administration of US President Donald Trump […] Continue reading ->
Most countries’ climate action plans refer to the health benefits of adaptation and mitigation strategies, such as reduced air pollution, but few actually track them. And as World Environment Day is observed Thursday, global climate commitments remain extraordinarily weak.  Only 21 countries out of the 195 parties to the UN Paris Agreement have submitted updated […] Continue reading ->
Over 30 health organizations representing 12 million doctors, nurses, and public health professionals globally have pledged to no longer work with advertising agencies that partner with the fossil fuel industry, citing conflicts of interest and the resulting health effects from industry disinformation campaigns. The organizations span five continents and include prominent groups such as Médecins […] Continue reading ->
Adopting a pandemic agreement and securing a 20% increase in member states’ fees to support the World Health Organization (WHO) were the 78th World Health Assembly’s greatest achievements. “The words ‘historic’ and ‘landmark’ are overused, but they are perfectly apt to describe the adoption last Tuesday of the WHO pandemic agreement. Likewise, your approval of […] Continue reading ->
A new WHO Climate Change and Health Action plan was approved by a key World Health Assembly (WHA) Committee Tuesday evening – after hours of high-stakes, high-drama parliamentary maneuvers by a cluster of oil-rich World Health Organization (WHO) member states to shelve the plan failed.   WHO member states accepted the original plan by a vote […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Assembly delivered a landmark victory for traditional medicine and indigenous cultures Monday evening, approving a strategy that calls for increased investment in research and integrating ancient healing practices into modern healthcare systems worldwide. The approval marks a breakthrough moment for advocates of traditional medicine, with nations across Asia, Africa, the Middle East […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Assembly has finally closed a loophole used by infant formula manufacturers to market their product: digital marketing. Back in 1981, when the International code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes was adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, digital marketing did not exist. Updated regulations were introduced in 2012 , but […] Continue reading ->