On Friday, the Ebola taskforce of Kassanda district in Uganda delivered the remains of four people that succumbed to the the virus for burial to their home village of Kitongo. Three of the bodies belong to family members who died from exposure to the virus after they exhumed a loved one they had lost to […] Continue reading ->
Hospitals in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince face the threat of shutting down if fuel supplies for diesel power generators and vital medical supplies aren’t made available soon, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned Friday. “We will not be able to operate our medical facilities for more than a few weeks if we do not have access […] Continue reading ->
A shortage of cholera vaccines and a number of outbreaks have prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to advise countries to administer single doses of the vaccine instead of the usual two doses. So far, 29 countries have reported cholera outbreaks, with Haiti, Syria and Malawi dealing with large outbreaks. The standard preventive approach to […] Continue reading ->
The spread of a cholera outbreak to an overcrowded Haitian prison, of Ebola virus to Uganda’s capital city of Kampala, and increased incidence of malaria, dengue, measles and cholera in flood-swamped Pakistan were among the long list of health emergencies needing urgent attention and investments – as compared to the trillions being invested right now […] Continue reading ->
Over 90% of appeals for urgent hunger-related funding made through the United Nations humanitarian system were not fully funded in 2021, according to a report produced by Action Against Hunger. While global funding has increased by 233% over the past decade, overall humanitarian needs are up 500%. “This means that 42% fewer UN appeals are […] Continue reading ->
Leaders of a coalition of former Tuareg and Arab rebels in Mali signed a written pledge on civilian protections for health and medical facilities during armed conflict, reflecting global efforts to stem attacks on health facilities, transport, and patients that have became more frequent since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. The two leaders with […] Continue reading ->
TEL AVIV – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will likely have long-lasting impacts on public health in Europe, both directly and in terms of global challenges related to food security and climate. That was among the key messages from the World Health Organization’s Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge at […] Continue reading ->
The number of people on tuberculosis treatment rebounded to 5.3 million in 2021 and is nearing pre-pandemic levels of 5.5 million, according to a new Global Fund report. That’s an encouraging sign of progress after treatment plummeted to just 4.5 million people in 2020, the report, released on Monday, notes. Overall, the new report shows […] Continue reading ->
In one of the first concrete measures to attempt to redress huge inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Washington-based World Bank formally established a new billion-dollar financial intermediary fund (FIF) to invest in helping the world – particularly low- and middle-income countries – strengthen defenses against pandemics and epidemics. FIF’s governing board officially set […] Continue reading ->
The submission period for the second round of public hearings to inform the development of a new international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response is now open and will The World Health Organization (WHO) is inviting interested parties to submit a video statement in response to the question: Based on your experience with the […] Continue reading ->