The voices of the children’s choir echoed in the conference hall as a reminder that more than one billion children who experience some form of violence each year. Their performance was part of the historic first high-level ministerial conference to end violence against children in Bogota late last week, which brought together government delegations, children, […] Continue reading ->
WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed to Israel to reverse this week’s decision by the country’s Knesset, or parliament, to close the Jerusalem-based operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), saying that “there is simply no other alternative to UNRWA.”  Tedros also said that the third phase […] Continue reading ->
The final phase of a planned polio campaign in northern Gaza has been postponed due to escalating violence in the area, the World Health Organization announced on Wednesday. “Due to the escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders, and lack of assured humanitarian pauses across most of northern Gaza, the Polio Technical Committee for Gaza… […] Continue reading ->
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a new ruling that requires drinking water systems to replace lead pipes within 10 years.  The rule also strengthens requirements to locate lead pipes, improve testing for lead in water, and ensure that exposure is minimized while lead pipe replacement efforts are underway. “Families like yours, exposed […] Continue reading ->
Israelis in southern and northern Israel huddled in shelters under missile and rocket fire from Gaza’s Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia. Palestinians in northern Gaza were being forced to relocate away from yet another incursion of Israeli tanks into densely populated urban areas, including Jabalia refugee camp. Lebanese in southern Lebanon fled at a thickening […] Continue reading ->
For the first time ever, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that pregnant women be vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), or that their newborns receive a dose of monoclonal antibodies to protect them against severe RSV disease, which has seen a global resurgence as the COVID-19 pandemic waned.  In 2022-2023, RSV was the […] Continue reading ->
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is planning to launch its mpox vaccination campaign in early October, marking a critical step in the fight against the ongoing outbreak across Africa, said Dr Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the African Centres for Disease Control and Protection (Africa CDC), on Thursday.  Kaseya spoke at a press briefing following […] Continue reading ->
Africa has the highest rate of suicide in the world, and the lowest per capita spending on mental health – with critical shortages, in particular, of community health workers and facilities that could help prevent many mental health conditions from becoming even more severe.  Two recent high-profile suicides in Tanzania have cast a stark spotlight […] Continue reading ->