The World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly recommended that babies born before 37 weeks of gestation (preterm) or with low birth weight should be provided immediate skin to skin contact with a caregiver, which in turn increases their chances of survival.  This recommendation by the global health agency is a significant change from the previous […] Continue reading ->
New report highlights the impact of social media on the health of young people in middle- and low-income countries.  The digital transformation of health offers both significant empowerment potential and significant risks for young people, according to a new study published Tuesday by the Global Health Centre of the Graduate Institute of International and Development […] Continue reading ->
In the aftermath of massive pandemic-related disruptions to family planning services, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that women can be taught to give themselves contraceptive injections. This is one of the practical measures to ensure the continuity of family planning services during epidemics that is contained in the WHO’s updated family planning handbook, which […] Continue reading ->
Colombia’s Congress has voted to impose taxes on ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks to curb obesity and address other health issues. Ultra-processed foods facing taxes are those with high added sugars, salt, and saturated fats, including sausages, cereals, jellies and jams, purees, sauces, condiments and seasoning.  These will face a 10% tax in September 2023, […] Continue reading ->
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT – As global delegations fight to keep the dream of limiting warming to 1.5C within reach, plastic pollution contaminating aquatic life, soil quality and the human body, is skyrocketing. The relentless growth of demand for plastics driven by subsidies for fossil fuels, coupled with the failure of recycling and waste management systems […] Continue reading ->
Deadlock may once again be the name of the game at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights—TRIPS, for short. A communication from Switzerland and Mexico questioning the need to extend the waiver on intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines to therapeutics and diagnostics is laying bare the divergences […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged governments worldwide to step up the supervision of vaccine manufacture and distribution, especially when public funding is used in vaccine R&D or manufacture, so as to prioritise essential vaccines and ensure they are distributed equitably.  The global health agency’s call to governments came as it released its annual […] Continue reading ->