[NAIROBI] While deaths from some traditional pollution sources, like domestic cookstoves and unsafe water and sanitation are declining, increased exposures to “modern” sources of pollution, such as chemicals and outdoor air pollution, mean that pollution-related mortality remains steady at about 9 million a year. This is a key finding of a new report on “Pollution […] Continue reading ->
There are now seven confirmed cases of monkeypox in the United Kingdom, and all but one case of the virus appears to have been transmitted locally in the UK, including among men having sex with men, the World Health Organization confirmed in a media briefing on Tuesday. The smallpox-related virus, which circulates widely in central […] Continue reading ->
Nearly 1.4 million people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPR Korea) are suspected of having been infected with COVID-19 in just the past three weeks, WHO officials said today. The global health agency has offered diagnostics, vaccines, medicines and other support, but with no clear response to date from the isolated Asian nation […] Continue reading ->
What are the paths health systems can take to a more disease-free world? And related to that, why do we talk about the total “eradication” of some diseases, like polio, whereas for others, “elimination as a public health problem” or simply disease “control” that shrinks an epidemic into an endemic disease is a more realistic […] Continue reading ->
From wheelchairs to memory aids, over 2.5 billion people in the world today need at least one assistive device either for communication, vision, mobility, as well as for certain cognitive functions, like memory aids. And the number is set to rise to 3.5 billion people by 2050 due to an ageing population and the prevalence […] Continue reading ->
Within the last five years, Africa CDC has grown into a “formidable” public health agency. But equally formidable challenges remain for the agency, which must provide advice and guidance on Ebola, cholera, measles – as well facing yet another surge in COVID cases in South Africa – the country hardest hit by SARS-CoV2, says outgoing […] Continue reading ->
With a target to raise at least $18 billion to save 20 million lives, and reduce mortality from HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria by 64%, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria is gearing up to implement its ambitious new strategy to defeat these longstanding pandemics by 2030. However, even though TB kills more […] Continue reading ->
The United States National Institute of Health (NIH) has finalized an agreement with WHO’s COVID-19 patent sharing facility (C-TAP) to share the patent rights on 11 government-funded coronavirus medicine and vaccine technologies – in what is perhaps the most significant agreement to date with WHO to share closely-guarded pharma know-how. The announcement was made today […] Continue reading ->
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) published a toolkit on Thursday in honour of International Nurses Day (IND) to help countries turn global goals and strategies established by the World Health Organisation (WHO) into action on the countr. Each year, International Nurses Day is observed on 12 May, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. “We have the WHO […] Continue reading ->
China has defended its strict “no-COVID” strategy and called WHO “irresponsible” following critical remarks from the head of the World Health Organization. WHO Secretary-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing Tuesday that China’s strategy was no longer sustainable in the face of the more infectious but less lethal Omicron. “When we talk about […] Continue reading ->