Respiratory infections contracted in early childhood nearly double the risk of dying prematurely from respiratory diseases as an adult, according to a new study published in The Lancet. The study followed a British cohort of over 3,500 people from their births in 1946, and then again between the ages of 26 and 73 years of […] Continue reading ->
More than half of the world’s population may be overweight or obese by 2035—with the sharpest rise expected to occur among children and adolescents, according to a new report by the the World Obesity Federation. About 2.6 billion of the world’s 8 billion people are already overweight or obese, and COVID lockdowns likely exacerbated trends […] Continue reading ->
On the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the international community is grappling with how to hold Russia accountable for war crimes, while many Ukrainians are struggling mentally and physically. “Ukraine is a crime scene,” Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), told a United Nations (UN) session on the war in […] Continue reading ->
By the time you finish reading this article, at least two women will have died from complications in pregnancy or childbirth. In the next 24 hours, another 798 will lose their lives. Nearly all of these women will be from low-and lower middle-income countries, and nearly all of their deaths will have been preventable. These […] Continue reading ->
Nine months after John Nkengasong left Africa CDC to head PEPFAR, the African Union has now elected a Director General for the continent’s leading public health institution who has the task of finding new ways to engage continental and global leaders in Africa’s public health challenges in the post-COVID era. A new Director-General has been […] Continue reading ->
The deaths of children and young people related to contaminated cough syrups made by Indian companies have exposed India’s lack of regulation, which is also enabling the over-consumption of over-the-counter cough syrups in the country. After completing her household chores, 42-year-old Shameema Akhter was tending to a cow outside her home in Shangas village in […] Continue reading ->
Infant formula companies have “pathologised” normal baby behaviour to promote their products, and there should be “an international, legal treaty” to prevent their marketing, according to health experts. In addition, political lobbying by milk formula companies to influence public policy should be sharply curtailed. These are some of the suggestions contained in a three-part series […] Continue reading ->
The world has changed since the World Health Organization (WHO) was founded 75 years ago. Established as the specialized health agency of the United Nations in 1948, WHO has played a critical role in addressing global health challenges, disease control, and providing health services to neglected populations ever since. This week, global health leaders gathered […] Continue reading ->
A new 10-point proposal by the World Health Organization’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for improving preparedness and response to health emergencies received mixed reviews from WHO member states in Monday’s opening session of this week’s Executive Board (EB) meeting, the agency’s 34-member governing body. It was the first substantive issue to be tackled […] Continue reading ->
Supporting 100 million tobacco users to quit, increasing exclusive breastfeeding for babies under six months to 48% globally, and helping 63 countries to build climate-resilient health systems are some of the recent successes of the World Health Organization (WHO), said Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Addressing the opening of the WHO’s executive board (EB) […] Continue reading ->