A new report on global nutrition from the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals just how much the COVID-19 pandemic hurt the world’s efforts to improve healthy eating and reduce diet-related noncommunicable diseases. Despite declaring 2016-2025 as the “United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition,” the UN General Assembly’s efforts to bolster nutrition […] Continue reading ->
Higher taxes and warning labels on unhealthy food, cigarettes and alcohol, and better screening for cancers, are on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) updated list of “best buys” to address non-communicable diseases (NCD) discussed by member states at the body’s Executive Board meeting on Thursday. The list was updated in response to the lack of […] Continue reading ->
Israeli and international public health professionals have published a letter in the Lancet expressing deep concern over an Israeli government decision to cancel the country’s sweetened beverage tax, which was only passed in November 2021. These senior scholars said the decision to revoke the tax sends a message that the government lacks respect for science […] Continue reading ->
Five billion people around the world have no protection against industrially produced trans fats (ITFAs), putting them at risk of heart disease and death, the World Health Organization said. ITFAs are responsible for over 500,000 premature deaths from coronary heart disease every year. Commonly found in baked goods, cooking oils, and packaged foods, ITFAs are […] Continue reading ->
Over 85% of Fiji’s residents die of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), primarily strokes, heart disease and diabetes. Almost two-thirds of adults in the south Pacific country are overweight and 30% are obese. Similarly, three-quarters of the residents of Vanuatu, a collection of 80 islands also in the south Pacific, die prematurely of NCDs, primarily strokes and […] Continue reading ->
CVS and Walgreens, the two largest pharmacy chains in the United States, totaling nearly 18,000 locations nationwide, announced plans on Wednesday to carry the abortion medication mifepristone after the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) relaxed rules for distributing the pill earlier this week. The new rule updates FDA labeling to allow any pharmacy that undergoes […] Continue reading ->
Taxing sugary drinks can be a win for health and government revenue, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) at the launch of its first ever tax manual for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) on Tuesday. “SSBs have little to no added nutritional value, but their consumption is significantly associated with tooth decay, weight gain and obesity, […] Continue reading ->
On the occasion of Universal Health Coverage Day, thought leaders on the front lines outline the challenges and opportunities of health systems in conflicts. The last decade of 12-year-old Zaynab’s life has been spent in an informal settlement in Lebanon, after her family fled from the Syrian conflict. She shares a three-room tent with her […] Continue reading ->
For five years, the NCD Alliance has been calling out that those directly affected by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have mostly been absent from the decision-making that affects their health and lives directly and indirectly through several initiatives. One of them, “Our Views, Our Voices,” a series of multimedia diaries, recently celebrated five years since its […] Continue reading ->
As we observe Universal Health Coverage day, it’s time to look again at gender barriers to health care, and particularly health care for chronic diseases. Monowara lives in the Khulna Division of Bangladesh. A mother of four, she is from a rural community experiencing significant levels of poverty. Now in her sixties, she spent 13 […] Continue reading ->