COPENHAGEN – While conflict and natural disasters are usually played out in the media against dramatic scenes of mass casualty response and rescue teams, there’s an iceberg of chronic health conditions that can be even more life threatening and these need far greater attention in emergency response. That is the theme of a global high […] Continue reading ->
After Kenya banned plastic bags back in 2018, an academic’s quest for alternative packaging has led to the development of eco-friendly sanitary towels. Dr Jackline Kisota wants her product to empower young girls while also conserving the environment she told the launch last October, which was graced by potential investors and UN representatives. According to […] Continue reading ->
Nearly 18 million people face acute hunger in Sudan – 37% of the population – the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned Monday. Five million people are experiencing emergency levels of hunger, including 700,000 children. The World Health Organization (WHO) also called attention to the rise in infectious diseases as a result of the […] Continue reading ->
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), has announced the creation of a pooled African medicines procurement mechanism at the 37th African Union Summit, which ended yesterday. The mechanism aims to spearhead “a new era of predictable demand for African manufacturers, empowering them to plan for the long-term and establish a robust […] Continue reading ->
A wide array of stakeholders are looking toward the upcoming World Health Assembly this May to conclude negotiations on a new pandemic accord that seeks to make the world more prepared for the next pandemic. And most would agree that the primary task of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), established by the World Health Assembly […] Continue reading ->
One year after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake wracked Türkiye and Syria, some 690,000 people remain displaced in southern Türkiye, out of the 3 million people that initially lost their homes when the natural disaster hit in the early morning of 6 February 2023. Another 40,000 Syrians remain internally displaced mainly in the northern region of […] 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 ->
CAIRO, Egypt -Some 70% of countries globally have weak national medicines regulatory systems. But the launch of the African Medicines Agency should help address many of the shortcomings on the African continent, said speakers at the 6th Scientific Conference on Medicines Regulation in Africa (SCoMRA), convened here in mid-December. The conference, organized by the African Union […] Continue reading ->
Incidence of dengue virus has soared in 2023 to near historically high levels, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Friday, with more than 5 million cases worldwide and 5,000 deaths from the virus that still lacks an effective treatment or vaccine. Moreover, formerly dengue-free countries in southern Europe, such as France, Italy and Spain […] Continue reading ->