Ahead of a critical G20 meeting this weekend, WHO and its partners are asking the world’s leading industrialized nations to come up with another US$ 23.4 billion over the course of the coming year to address stark shortages in COVID vaccines, tests and treatments remain dismally low in Africa and other parts of the developing […] Continue reading ->
Only five African countries are likely to reach a WHO global goal of vaccinating 40% of their populations by the end of the year, and the continent’s roll-outs may be slowed further by a global shortage of the syringes need to administer vaccines. UNICEF has reported an imminent shortfall of up to 2.2 billion syringes […] Continue reading ->
An ambitious wish list of global economic and fiscal measures that the world should adopt to combat the COVID-19 pandemic has been floated by the World Health Organization- just ahead of a critical G-20 meeting of the world’s most industrialized nations this weekend. These include proposals for massive debt relief to debt-ridden countries and a […] Continue reading ->
Some civil society organisations (CSO) are sceptical about whether a ‘pandemic treaty’ is the best way to address future global health crises, while treaty supporters say it will provide a legal framework binding countries and global health bodies to more agile and rapid responses to future outbreaks. A session Monday sponsored by the Geneva Global […] Continue reading ->
World On Course for 2.7°C Temperature Rise by 2100 – Even If All Current Climate Commitments Are Met
The latest climate commitments from 165 of the 192 countries that are signatories to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement would still lead to a global temperature rise of 2.7°C by the end of the century, according to an updated United Nations analysis of climate commitments and their impacts. Major emitters including China and India, remain […] Continue reading ->
Surging fossil fuel use to feed a COVID economic recovery and record numbers of heat-wave days for older groups and agricultural workers; these are just a few of the sobering messages contained in the new Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, just 10 days before the start of the Glasgow Climate Conference. The report, […] Continue reading ->
Football star Didier Drogba aims to use his new position as the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Sport and Health to promote healthy lifestyles, especially to young people. “Many people do not have access to health services and non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes are rising globally,” the former Chelsea striker […] Continue reading ->
Africa is estimated to have seven times more COVID-19 cases and three times as many deaths as officially reported, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa region. This means that the continent could have around 59 million cases and 634,500 deaths. “We’re using a model to estimate the degree of under-estimation. Our analysis indicates […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has named 26 scientists to a new Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), which will take forward the work of the international expert group that led an initial mission to Wuhan in January 2021, as well as investigating future pandemics. Six of the scientists are associated […] Continue reading ->
The most systematic study to date of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on mental health suggests that it has caused an additional 53 million cases of major depressive disorder, 76 million cases of anxiety across 204 countries in 2020 alone, according to a new Lancet study. The study, published just ahead of World Mental Health Day, […] Continue reading ->