With Gaza’s Rafah crossing into Egypt closed by an advancing Israeli incursion, and Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing shut since last Sunday’s Hamas missile attack, Gaza hospitals have only about three days left of fuel and medical supplies, said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Wednesday. The global health agency is making contingency plans for […] Continue reading ->
While no cases of human-to-human transmission have been recorded in the current H5N1 avian outbreak, scientists are concerned about its transmission speed in mammals and whether this might result in a mutated pathogen that can infect people more easily. “H5N1 is (an) influenza infection, predominantly started in poultry and ducks and has spread effectively over […] Continue reading ->
Immunisation has saved at least 154 million lives over the past 50 years, since the World Health Organization (WHO) launched its Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in 1974. Of the lives saved, 146 million were children under five, and 101 million were babies. Global infant deaths have reduced by 40% and more than halved in […] Continue reading ->
A team of researchers from the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford have identified diabetes, traffic-related air pollution exposures and alcohol use as the most harmful out of 15 modifiable risk factors for dementia. Their paper, published last month in Nature Communications, examines how genetic traits and modifiable risk factors affect […] Continue reading ->
Amidst the anticipated increase in vaccine-preventable diseases as the global population ages, a first-of-its-kind study has underscored the dual benefits of adult immunization programs. Beyond saving lives and preventing severe illnesses, the study found these programs offer substantial financial advantages to nations by reducing the need for costly hospitalizations and emergency medical interventions and avoiding […] Continue reading ->
Nestlé’s shareholders have a golden opportunity to call on the food giant to promote healthier lives in almost two hundred countries by backing a bold resolution at the multinational’s Annual General Meeting this week. Doing so can protect their profits in the long-haul. Backed by a coalition of five institutional investors with $ 1.68 trillion […] Continue reading ->
Health stories are not just about medical facts; they are intricate tapestries woven with economic, political, and social threads, according to two international health journalists. Stephanie Nolen, a global health reporter for The New York Times, and Paul Adepoju, a Nigeria-based freelance health journalist and scientist who writes for Health Policy Watch, were guests on […] Continue reading ->
A European Court ruling Tuesday that Switzerland was violating human rights by not acting fast enough on climate change has been hailed by legal experts as a global precedent – and by WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as an important recognition of the links between climate change and health. The #ClimateCrisis is here […] Continue reading ->
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 ->
Each woman in the health workforce is powerful, capable of transforming individual lives, communities, and nations when supported in her role. Women health workers deliver care to approximately five billion people, mostly as nurses, midwives, and community health workers. They contribute $3 trillion to global health annually, half in unpaid work. Despite constituting 70% of […] Continue reading ->