Routine childhood immunisation across 57 low income countries declined slightly for the second consecutive year in 2021, following massive pandemic-related interruptions in vaccine coverage in 2020, according to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Vaccine coverage stood at 77%, one percent less than in 2020. Preliminary data between January and May 2022, however, shows signs of improvement […] Continue reading ->
A new UN report showing that half of the world’s health care facilities fail to meet the basic standard for providing hygiene services like soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub highlights the widespread global risk of disease spread and infections to patients and health care providers. About two-thirds of all health care facilities […] Continue reading ->
Twelve African nations have joined with the United Nations and other international organizations in forming a new alliance that will work to prevent new infant HIV infections and to ensure no child living with HIV is denied treatment by the end of the decade. Proponents of the new Global Alliance for Ending AIDS in Children […] Continue reading ->
Two years of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a cumulative 5% decline in basic vaccine coverage and disrupted routine immunizations globally from 2020 – 2021, reports a new analysis of the state of routine immunizations across 57 lower-income countries. The analysis, by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, indicates that signs of recovery are beginning to emerge […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization and UNICEF have sounded the alarm on the largest sustained decline in global childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years, with 25 million infants missing out on lifesaving routine vaccines. The percentage of children who received three doses of vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) – a marker for immunization coverage […] Continue reading ->
Russia’s ongoing refusal to let Ukranian grain lift its blockade of Black Sea ports is causing a global food crisis and has led to allegations that the country is weaponizing” the world’s food supply. Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the world will face a “severe food crisis” as Russia’s war continues […] 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 ->
A 79% rise in the reported measles cases in the first two months of 2022, compared to the same period last year, has raised concerns over the possibility of an outbreak that could affect millions of children this year. Pandemic-related disruptions, increasing inequalities in access to vaccines, and the diversion of resources from routine immunization […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization and UNICEF welcome the decision made by Taliban to support the resumption of house-to-house polio vaccination across Afghanistan. The vaccination campaign, which begins 8 November, will be the first in over three years to reach all children in Afghanistan, including more than 3.3 million children in some parts of the country […] 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 ->