[WHO news release] Three quarters of people living with epilepsy in low-income countries do not get the treatment they need, increasing their risk of dying prematurely and condemning many to a life of stigma. These findings are part of a first-ever global report on Epilepsy, a public health imperative, released today by WHO and two […] Continue reading ->
The proportion of the world’s population using safely managed sanitation services increased from 28-45% between 2000 and 2017, according to the latest joint report of the World Health Organization and UNICEF on Progress in Household Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. However, huge service gaps still remain, with 4.2 billion people worldwide still lacking access to […] Continue reading ->
In what should prove reassuring to many women, a large clinical study in four African countries has found no significant difference in the risk of HIV infection among women using progestogen-based hormones or copper-bearing IUDs as contraception. However with “unacceptably high” rates of HIV infection among users of both contraceptive modes during the study, adoption […] Continue reading ->
Extending the reach of primary health care systems to provide malaria services to those in the most hard-to-reach places has become part and parcel to the global malaria response, and according to experts, is paving the way for the expansion of other essential health services – and moving the world closer towards realising universal health […] Continue reading ->
[WHO News Release] Kampala, 11 June 2019 – The Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) have confirmed a case of Ebola Virus Disease in Uganda. Although there have been numerous previous alerts, this is the first confirmed case in Uganda during the Ebola outbreak on-going in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. Image Credits: […] Continue reading ->
[UNAIDS Press Release] GENEVA, 11 June 2019— UNAIDS applauds the landmark decision of the High Court of Botswana to declare unconstitutional key provisions of Sections 164 and 167 of the Botswana Penal Code. Those provisions criminalized certain private sexual acts and have led to discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in […] Continue reading ->
A major agreement has been signed between Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and two private sector partners to deploy a new form of biometric fingerprint technology to give children – who may not even have a birth certificate – a complete medical record in order to track critical childhood vaccines. Image Credits: Simprints, Simprints . Continue reading ->
There has been a dramatic increase in security incidents around the epicentre of the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but a sharp decrease in hospital transmissions, increased vaccinations, and new measures to safeguard response teams, are positive signs, WHO officials told reporters today in a briefing. Image Credits: WHO/L.Mackenzie, Catherine […] Continue reading ->
[Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Press Release] Agencies warn of unprecedented situation in the DRC as cholera and measles epidemics compound Ebola challenges Geneva / Goma 27 May 2019 – More than 800,000 people will be immunised against cholera in North Kivu in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following the launch […] Continue reading ->
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is not related to the lack of means or experience to fight the epidemic, but the difficulty to reach communities, the World Health Organization Director-General told the World Health Assembly today. The DRC Minister of Health illustrated the complexity of the response, linked […] Continue reading ->