Victims of conflict face a double or triple whammy when trying to cope with mental health challenges. Even the most resilient may begin to experience symptoms of anxiety, anger and sleeplessness during wartime that last decades. And those with pre-existing conditions are forced to cope with the acute trauma provoked by experiences of death, destruction […] Continue reading ->
Global health and parliamentary leaders have offered to support The Gambia to maintain its ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), expressing “profound concern” over a recent attempt to reverse the ban. The business committee of Gambia’s parliament is currently contemplating whether to allow the passage of a Private Members Bill which aims to reverse the […] Continue reading ->
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), famous for busting Volkswagen’s Dieselgate, has a new ambition: Taking immediate action to shift to zero-emissions vehicles, significantly cutting ozone (O3) nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM2.5 pollution, and avoiding millions of cases of early death and paediatric asthma. Business-as-usual vehicle scenarios will lead to an increase. Because they […] Continue reading ->
WHO officials said that they are trying to expedite delivery of mpox vaccines to outbreak-stricken DR Congo through talks with the world’s only two mpox vaccine manufacturers, as well as appeals for vaccine donations and negotiations with DRC officials. But speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, WHO’s Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director of Health […] Continue reading ->
A leading Geneva-based global health organization has decried the lack of tests available for mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – where an outbreak declared in 2023 continues unchecked – saying that children are the main victims. “The mpox situation in the DRC is deeply alarming and the lack of tests for […] Continue reading ->
The number of children who died before their fifth birthday has dropped to 2.9 million in 2022, reaching a historic low, according to the latest estimates of under-5 mortality released today by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME). And since 2000, the global under-five mortality rate has declined by more […] Continue reading ->
A new declaration by health ministers from African countries that have the highest malaria burden has reaffirmed the “unwavering commitment to the accelerated reduction of malaria mortality”. The declaration, issued Wednesday by ministers convening in Yaoundé, Cameroon at an African-wide WHO conference on malaria, aims to revitalise the campaign to drive deaths from malaria further […] Continue reading ->
WHO’s director general says the battle against maternal mortality has stalled; Somalia calls for a new WHA resolution committing to stepped-up action on maternal and child deaths, a leading global health inequality. The battle against maternal mortality has stagnated and high rates of deaths continue to plague sub-Saharan Africa, as well as other low- and […] Continue reading ->
The US government will commit $4 million to tackle lead poisoning, supporting developing countries to curtail lead in consumer goods like paints and toys in which the use of lead is still widespread, USAID administrator Samantha Power announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Power also called for more resources and action towards the […] Continue reading ->
Measles cases and deaths have skyrocketed worldwide, with 37 countries experiencing large or disruptive outbreaks in 2022 compared to 22 in 2021, according to a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report, published on Wednesday, highlights the devastating impact of declining vaccination […] Continue reading ->