Many children in the global south are drinking more sugary drinks than milk – thanks to the aggressive promotion of ultra-processed food to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the past two decades. Global obesity and diabetes rates have exploded as a result of dietary changes, and these conditions have made people far more vulnerable […] Continue reading ->
Imagine you run a country and someone comes to you and says, “I have an idea for how you can make people healthier, reduce cancer by 20%, protect women and children, and even put money in your coffers for COVID-19 response, vaccines and recovery efforts.” It sounds implausible, even absurd. And yet, there is one […] Continue reading ->
The leading international organization for suicide prevention has called for the decriminalization of suicide – as well as greater investment by countries in suicide prevention, including greater restrictions on access to common suicide tools such as toxic pesticides and firearms. The appeals, by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and endorsed by the World […] Continue reading ->
KABUL – As the Taliban blitzed through towns and villages of Afghanistan finally capturing Kabul August 15, the war-ravaged country’s fragile health system was also crumbling, leaving the sick and vulnerable in despair. Over the past week, the health ministry’s previously daily updates of coronavirus infections, vaccinations and other key updates on public health have […] Continue reading ->
WHO Rolling Out Emergency Aid in Afghanistan – Stresses Importance of Retaining Women Health Workers
WHO has affirmed that it is staying in Afghanistan and providing emergency aid to the tens of thousands of recent victims of conflict and displacement – even as staff in some NGOs go into hiding or desperately seek to leave the country for fear of their lives. “The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to […] Continue reading ->
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) is expected to be a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change, bringing leaders together in Glasgow to accelerate progress on global climate action. The event is “the world’s best last chance to get runaway climate change under control,” said the COP26 organisers […] Continue reading ->
This article is the second in a three-part series on COVID-19 booster vaccines, which is an evolving discussion as more evidence emerges about the performance of vaccines against variants. Despite heated debates about doling out booster jabs in healthy people who are already fully vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, there seems to be consensus that at least […] Continue reading ->
While there has been significant global progress in curbing conventional tobacco products, newer tobacco and nicotine products such as e-cigarettes are evading regulation, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2021 report on the tobacco epidemic. Some 5.3 billion people are now covered by at least one of the six tobacco ‘MPower’ control measures recommended […] Continue reading ->
The world needs an investment of US$40 billion per year by 2030 to eradicate hunger. And these investments must be accompanied by major reforms in food systems to make them more efficient, resilient, and sustainable, said experts at a major global “pre-summit” on food systems, Monday. Transformations to food systems should focus on providing seed […] Continue reading ->
An estimated 1.5 million children worldwide have lost a parent, grandparent, or caregiver due to COVID-19, according to a new study published in The Lancet on Tuesday. The study, which was conducted by international researchers, including scientists from the World Health Organization (WHO), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the University of […] Continue reading ->