As Afghanistan’s fragile health system battles for survival, hard-earned gains of the past 20 years in the tenacious battle against polio are under threat. But on a hopeful note, the new Taliban regime has just launched its first national polio vaccine campaign – reversing years of opposition to the life-saving intervention.  Afghanistan witnessed the lowest […] Continue reading ->
Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, over ninety percent of countries continue to face ongoing disruptions to their health systems, according to a survey published Monday evening by the World Health Organization. The WHO Global Pulse Survey, the third of its kind since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, analysed responses from 129 countries, […] Continue reading ->
Mexico City officials have been dishing out the animal worm treatment, ivermectin, to citizens with COVID-19 – and published a paper in which they apparently attempted to manufacture evidence that the treatment could reduce COVID-19 hospitalisation to justify their actions. The paper was removed from the social science platform, SocArXiv, last week for trying to provide […] Continue reading ->
Cancer services remain backlogged in many parts of the world due to the effects of the two-year-long COVID pandemic – even as Europe hopes a pandemic “ceasefire that could bring us enduring peace” , said WHO’s European Regional Director Hans Kluge Thursday on the eve of World Cancer Day.   Meanwhile, in Latin America, routine childhood […] Continue reading ->
Switzerland could be the next European country to lift virtually all COVID restrictions, federal officials said Wednesday – despite warnings from the World Health Organization, headquartered in Geneva, that a total relaxation of the pandemic rules could be premature. In a press briefing on Wednesday, Swiss federal government officials lifted all work-from-home and some quarantine […] Continue reading ->
An innovative WHO “Health for Peace Initiative” that aims to build bridges in conflict zone and humanitarian settings through global health initiatives ran into some rough waters at last week’s Executive Board meeting – with the United States saying that it should include a human rights element – while Russia warned WHO against “politicizing” its […] Continue reading ->
Researchers find two antibodies in common in people with long-COVID, the lingering post-infection condition that was recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) last October. But scientists say symptoms and how many people develop the virus are still unclear. By Maayan Hoffman A sizable portion of the 370 million people infected with SARS-COV2 experience Post-Acute […] Continue reading ->
As the 150th Executive Board Meeting of the WHO closed Saturday, attention focused on the inability of the WHO governing board to reach consensus on critical issues that it had debated – including a more sustainable financing framework as well as a clear way forward on a proposed new pandemic legal accord, reforms of global […] Continue reading ->