In honour of World Oral Health Day, 20 March, three leading voices from the World Dental Federation highlight the unexpected linkages between the health of your mouth and that of the planet. It will come as a surprise to most people that the healthcare sector has a significant environmental impact. Healthcare systems are responsible for […] Continue reading ->
By 2030, 20% of women and 14% of men, or over 1 billion people, will be living with obesity globally, according to the new World Obesity Atlas 2022 published Friday. The new Atlas, launched on World Obesity Day, predicts that by that time, the number of people with obesity globally will have doubled since 2010. […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday appealed for a “humanitarian corridor” to enable it to deliver emergency medical supplies to sick and injured Ukrainians – particularly oxygen, insulin and equipment needed to treat battle wounds. The WHO appeal at a media briefing Wednesday came just hours before the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a […] Continue reading ->
As streams of Ukrainians leave their country to escape from Russian attacks, the World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned that they, and other migrants and refugees, are not being included in programmes to treat critical non-communicable diseases (NCDs), like diabetes, that can be deadly if treatment is not maintained. WHO’s NCD Director Dr Bente Mikkelsen […] Continue reading ->
United States cancer patients protesting the price of a prostate cancer drug that costs up to five times more in the US than in other high-income countries have recently revived a petition to lower it’s price – a battle that was lost during the administration of US President Barack Obama but seems to be gaining […] Continue reading ->
From barriers to treatment for people with hearing disabilities to preconceptions about albinism and inaccessible COVID testing for wheelchair users, participants in the Global Disability Summit took a fresh look at the wide range of discriminatory practices that an estimated 1 billion people – 15% of the world’s population – living with disabilities have to […] Continue reading ->
With about half of people suffering from depression in high income countries untreated or undiagnosed, with this number rising to 80-90% in low- and middle-income countries, a Lancet and World Psychiatric Association Commission have called for a unified response against this global crisis to reduce the burden of depression. Depression is estimated to impact 5% […] Continue reading ->
Speaking during a tour by WHO’s Director General of Cape Town’s new mRNA vaccine R&D hub that replicated the Moderna COVID vaccine, South Africa’s Health Minister affirms support for the continental-wide medicines regulatory authority. CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s Health Minister signalled that his country intends to join the African Medicines Agency – but that […] Continue reading ->
South Africa’s Competition Commission is pursuing prosecution against Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche for “alleged excessive pricing” of its breast cancer treatment drug, Trastuzumab (marketed as Herceptin). It estimates that some 10,000 women were unable to get the treatment they needed between 2011 and 2019 because of Trastuzumab’s cost. It has asked the country’s Competition Tribunal […] Continue reading ->
For the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Māori, cancer statistics are bleak, as they are 20% more likely to develop cancer, and twice as likely as non-Māori to die from it. But New Zealand-based Cancer Control Agency, Te Aho o Te Kahu, is trying to beat back against this inequity and close the gap […] Continue reading ->