The World Health Organization called on the international community to ramp up contributions to the US$ 148 million in funding required for the next six months’ Ebola outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of Congo – after infection rates saw a worrisome increase in recent weeks. Image Credits: World Bank Group/ V.Tremeau, WHO. Continue reading ->
The largest and most comprehensive study to date of the HIV prevention benefits of male circumcision for men who have sex with men (MSM) found that circumcision reduced the odds of HIV infection among this group by 42 percent in low- and middle-income countries, and overall by 23 percent. Image Credits: Avert/Gil Eilam/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Continue reading ->
[Press Release by UNAIDS] Five countries met the target three years ahead of the 2020 deadline and 18 more are on track; however, most countries are lagging behind and risk missing the target completely. UNAIDS urges countries to step up action. GENEVA, 22 March 2019—Ahead of World Tuberculosis Day, on 24 March 2019, UNAIDS […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization and global partners wrapped up a meeting today to develop a vision and strategy prototype for the post-2020 decade of action on vaccines and immunizations. This new plan of action for 2021-2030 will take a different approach that is more “bottom up” and collaborative in engaging countries and other stakeholders to […] Continue reading ->
[WHO Press Release] WHO has issued new guidance to improve treatment of multidrug resistant TB (MDR-TB). WHO is recommending shifting to fully oral regimens to treat people with MDR-TB. This new treatment course is more effective and is less likely to provoke adverse side effects. WHO recommends backing up treatment with active monitoring of drug safety and […] Continue reading ->
[By UN News] Safe water and access to proper sanitation are essential to eradicate poverty, build peaceful societies and ensure that no one is left behind on the path towards sustainable development, according to the 2019 UN World Water Development Report, launched on Tuesday in Geneva. Image Credits: UN Environment/ Hannah McNeish. Continue reading ->
Bacteria and other pathogens that are resistant to common anti-microbial medications appear to be most abundant in Africa, as well as parts of South-East Asia and other developing regions with a poor record of sewage and sanitation management, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons. Continue reading ->
Tobacco industry giants built some of the leading sugary drink brands that have been marketed to children over the past 50 years, reveals a major study published in The BMJ yesterday. Image Credits: The BMJ. Continue reading ->
Severe side effects make the current course of prolonged drug treatment difficult for many patients with Chagas disease, but a Phase II clinical trial in Bolivia may have found an alternative treatment that is both quicker and significantly safer. Image Credits: Ana Ferreira/DNDi. Continue reading ->
As posted by UNAIDS and UNDP in a press release: VIENNA/GENEVA, 15 March 2019—A coalition of United Nations Member States, United Nations entities and leading human rights experts meeting at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Austria, today launched a landmark set of international legal standards to transform and reshape global responses to the world drug […] Continue reading ->