By 2050, around 70% of the global population is projected to reside in urban areas. While cities provide numerous advantages, they can also pose health risks to people and the environment. “Thoughtful planning and creation of inclusive urban spaces can have a significant impact on reducing the number of deaths attributed to poor air quality, […] Continue reading ->
International humanitarian law is clear that “even if health care facilities are being used for military purposes, there are stringent conditions which apply to taking action against them, including a duty to warn and to wait after warning”, said Steven Solomon, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) principal legal officer. “Disproportionate attacks are strictly prohibited. All […] Continue reading ->
      A milestone World Health Organization (WHO) decision to recognise noma (cancrum oris or gangrenous stomatitis) as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) is the result of a longstanding campaign waged for over a decade by global health researchers and advocates in Geneva and beyond. Proponents believe that inclusion can offer noma’s victims the […] Continue reading ->
WHO has released a novel set of guidelines on the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence (AI) in large multi-modal models (LMMs), a type of generative AI frequently used in healthcare. The guidelines include 40 recommendations for governments as well as other actors, such as technology companies and health care providers. Based on 2021 WHO […] Continue reading ->
Improving disease surveillance, strengthening primary healthcare, and being able to expand quickly during a crisis are some of the important lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic that can be applied to ‘Disease X’, according to health experts speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday. “Disease X is a placeholder for unknown diseases,” […] Continue reading ->
“It’s not just about people with disabilities, this is about all of us,” stresses Pascal Bijleveld, the CEO of ATscale Global Partnership, an organization established in 2018 to advocate for assistive technologies (AT) access, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The first-ever global campaign to expand access, ‘Unlock the Everyday’, was launched on Tuesday at […] Continue reading ->
LUSAKA, Zambia – Ensuring that Africa can manufacture its own vaccines will represent “the second independence of Africa”, Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said at the start of the Conference for Public Health in Africa 2023 (CPHIA) on Monday. “Many African countries got their […] Continue reading ->
As the Global North poaches African doctors, healthcare falls to overworked and unmentored interns, some of whom learn medical procedures from YouTube. Fifteen of the world’s (fiscally) richest countries have over 55,000 African doctors in their health systems, a new data analysis by The Continent shows. These are doctors who qualified before entering those countries.  […] Continue reading ->