The World Health Organization has recommended to the UN Secretary General that cannabis and cannabis resin be removed from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs – a classification of drugs with “particularly dangerous properties”, including narcotics such as fentanyl, heroin and other opioids. Continue reading ->
The fair pricing of medicines and the transparency of costs were underlined as key by many nongovernmental organisations last week during a discussion at the World Health Organization Executive Board on access to medicines. The Board heard about staggering numbers of people deprived of access to medication and health products, with examples from patients with epilepsy, kidney diseases and other illnesses preventing them from getting better or surviving their condition. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization Executive Board last week heard about what the lack of access to medicines and other health services has meant in real life. These ranged from the heart-wrenching story of a baby girl needing and getting pain-killing medication to ease her life and passing to bring attention to the need for palliative care, to millions of children not getting the treatment they need to treat tuberculosis or heart diseases. Continue reading ->
Cancer patients in developing countries often cannot get drugs for moderate and severe pain relief, due to the lack of access to opioid drugs. Access to cancer pain treatment needs to be eased, despite legitimate concerns about opioid abuse in some countries, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Continue reading ->
Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali, celebrated its first car-free day today, while a Kenyan telecom company was reported to have launched a major initiative to install 3,000 low-cost air pollution sensors around the country, in response to growing fears about air pollution’s health impacts. Continue reading ->
At the World Health Organization Executive Board meeting this week, the proposed inclusion of gaming disorder into the latest version of the WHO disease classification system drew unequivocal support from civil society groups present, but no direct mention from member states aside from the United States, which called the proposed inclusion “premature.” Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization is exploring ways to expand relationships with non-governmental organizations, including broader collaborations on key global health priorities and a possible informal consultation with civil society every year, Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Gheyebresus told WHO’s Executive Board today. Continue reading ->
Representatives of Italy and the United States today asked the World Health Organization to remove a summary of evidence on how taxes on sugar-sweetened drinks may help reduce unhealthy sugar consumption from its latest progress report on tackling non-communicable disease (NCDs). Continue reading ->
A substantive discussion took place at the World Health Organization Executive Board meeting yesterday in response to a recently released WHO report on cancer drug pricing. Among the variety of perspectives expressed, many formed consensus in calling for increased transparency of research and development (R&D) costs and equitable access to innovative cancer drugs. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization Executive Board meeting consists of many lengthy and arduous sessions. In the spirit of increasing physical activity to address non-communicable diseases - and possibly help delegates move to successful conclusions - here is a glimpse of a WHO physical exercise break from this week, set to a Chinese dance video. Continue reading ->