The number of people facing hunger in Sudan has doubled over the past year, with nearly over 42% of the country’s 46 million people facing high levels of food insecurity, a senior Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in the country said Friday. “The food situation in the country is deeply alarming,” Adam Yao, FAO […] Continue reading ->
Ultra-processed products are usurping healthier, minimally processed foods in much of the world. Breakfasts are too often pre-packaged and sugar-laden, while lunches are loaded with sodium and wrapped in plastic – products that have been transformed using industrial processes and filled with additives to make them highly palatable. The widespread consumption of these foods and […] Continue reading ->
Some 300 million people have been protected from becoming smokers in the 15 years since WHO launched the ‘MPOWER’ package of recommended policies for reducing smoking prevalence in countries worldwide, declared Kelly Henning, of Bloomberg Philanthropies, at a press conference in Geneva this week. She was speaking at a WHO briefing launching the 2023 WHO […] Continue reading ->
Some 5.6 billion people – 71% of the world’s population – are now covered by at least one tobacco protection policy adopted by their national governments, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report published today. That is five times more people than were protected in 2007, when the comprehensive set of anti-smoking policies, […] Continue reading ->
Firearms were the leading causes of death amongst children and teenagers aged 1-17 in the US in 2020 and 2021, according to a new study published by KFF, a US-based policy think tank. The number of children dying in firearm-related incidents in the US has doubled since 2013, and now ranks higher than other causes […] Continue reading ->
Russia has withdrawn from a UN-brokered agreement that allowed Ukraine to safely export grains from its ports in the Black Sea. The move is expected to have a significant impact on global food prices, imperilling the food security of millions around the world. “I deeply regret Russia’s decision to terminate the implementation of the Black […] Continue reading ->
Aspartame Linked to Liver Cancer but Evidence ‘Limited’: New Findings by International Cancer Agency
In groundbreaking new research, experts at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have raised a cautious red flag about the artificial sweetener, aspartame, and its link to liver cancer, but stress that evidence is “limited”. IARC’s Dr Mary Schubauer-Berigan described the artificial sweetener as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” based on “limited evidence” of […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated patients’ difficulties in accessing medication for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), but there is a range of measures countries can take to mitigate this – and a pandemic accord could address some of the structural weaknesses. COVID-19 had a disproportionate and far-reaching impact on people living with NCDs. Not only were they more […] Continue reading ->
Six years, five months and six days after suffering a stroke that paralyzed her left side, Madeline Niebanck shared her story of recovery at World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters. Niebanck, 28, spoke to delegates on Monday gathered for a global summit to strengthen financing for and access to rehabilitation care in health systems. She called […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organiztion (WHO) has been far too slow in providing financial, psychological and legal assistance to victims of sexual assault and exploitation committed by its staff in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the 2018-2020 Ebola response, a veteran international investigator said at a WHO press conference on Friday. Hervé Gogo, presenting […] Continue reading ->