Poland Urges WHO Pandemic Accord Delay Amid Political Strife at Board Meeting Over Gaza and Ukraine 26/01/2024 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Poland on Thursday suggested that it might be better to delay the approval of a new World Health Organization (WHO) pandemic accord, beyond the planned May 2024 deadline – so as to get to an “ambitious, clear and consistent” agreement. The Polish trial balloon seemed to break ranks with the drumbeat of recent statements by […] Continue reading -> International Medical Teams Withdraw from Central Gaza Hospital as Fighting Intensifies 08/01/2024 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and two other international relief agencies all said that they are withdrawing emergency medical teams from Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza after intensified fighting around the hospital area made it impossible for staff to continue emergency care functions. “After days of artillery fighting in Gaza’s Middle Area, Israeli forces […] Continue reading -> Dengue Cases Approach Historic Highs Worldwide; Local Transmission Seen In Europe 22/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher 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 -> From Libya to Afghanistan, 140 Million People Trapped in Humanitarian Crises in Eastern Mediterranean Region 19/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher From earthquakes in Afghanistan to floods in Libya and the conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region, is beset with one of the world’s largest concentrations of people trapped in humanitarian crises and in desperate need of emergency health services, food aid, as well as peace, said Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director […] Continue reading -> WHO Governing Board Approves Consensus Resolution on Gaza Health and Humanitarian Situation 10/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher In a fragile show of unity, the World Health Organization Executive Board approved a draft resolution calling for “immediate, sustained and unimpeded” humanitarian relief to beleaguered Gaza, including safe passage of health personnel and supplies, as well as ambulances and patients. The WHO EB move, which will clear the resolution for approval by the May World […] Continue reading -> Israeli Troops Enter Shifa Hospital – WHO Decries Move as “Totally Unacceptable” 15/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Israel launched what it described as a “targeted operation” into Gaza’s besieged Shifa Hospital early Wednesday morning – which was immediately denounced by the World Health Organization as “unacceptable” and contrary to international law – regardless of whether Hamas made use of the facility for military purposes. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, an Israeli delegation visiting Geneva […] Continue reading -> Fierce Gunbattles Waged Around Northern Gaza Hospitals 14/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Fierce gun battles between Israeli and Hamas forces raged in the vicinity of several strategically located hospitals in northern Gaza over the weekend and into Monday – leaving the fate of the remaining patients hanging in the balance. At Al Shifa hospital, hospital staff were reportedly trying to keep some 37 premature babies warm by […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> Eastern Mediterranean Countries Deserve Better Health: Will the New WHO Regional Director Deliver That? 24/08/2023 Mukesh Kapila For most people, electing the regional director – or chief health officer – for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will not set the pulse racing. Is this just another shuffling of chairs around the world’s bureaucratic table? Even among global health nerds, it will trigger just a faint tremor. […] Continue reading -> Childhood Immunization Rebounds – But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels 18/07/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
International Medical Teams Withdraw from Central Gaza Hospital as Fighting Intensifies 08/01/2024 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and two other international relief agencies all said that they are withdrawing emergency medical teams from Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza after intensified fighting around the hospital area made it impossible for staff to continue emergency care functions. “After days of artillery fighting in Gaza’s Middle Area, Israeli forces […] Continue reading -> Dengue Cases Approach Historic Highs Worldwide; Local Transmission Seen In Europe 22/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher 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 -> From Libya to Afghanistan, 140 Million People Trapped in Humanitarian Crises in Eastern Mediterranean Region 19/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher From earthquakes in Afghanistan to floods in Libya and the conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region, is beset with one of the world’s largest concentrations of people trapped in humanitarian crises and in desperate need of emergency health services, food aid, as well as peace, said Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director […] Continue reading -> WHO Governing Board Approves Consensus Resolution on Gaza Health and Humanitarian Situation 10/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher In a fragile show of unity, the World Health Organization Executive Board approved a draft resolution calling for “immediate, sustained and unimpeded” humanitarian relief to beleaguered Gaza, including safe passage of health personnel and supplies, as well as ambulances and patients. The WHO EB move, which will clear the resolution for approval by the May World […] Continue reading -> Israeli Troops Enter Shifa Hospital – WHO Decries Move as “Totally Unacceptable” 15/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Israel launched what it described as a “targeted operation” into Gaza’s besieged Shifa Hospital early Wednesday morning – which was immediately denounced by the World Health Organization as “unacceptable” and contrary to international law – regardless of whether Hamas made use of the facility for military purposes. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, an Israeli delegation visiting Geneva […] Continue reading -> Fierce Gunbattles Waged Around Northern Gaza Hospitals 14/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Fierce gun battles between Israeli and Hamas forces raged in the vicinity of several strategically located hospitals in northern Gaza over the weekend and into Monday – leaving the fate of the remaining patients hanging in the balance. At Al Shifa hospital, hospital staff were reportedly trying to keep some 37 premature babies warm by […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> Eastern Mediterranean Countries Deserve Better Health: Will the New WHO Regional Director Deliver That? 24/08/2023 Mukesh Kapila For most people, electing the regional director – or chief health officer – for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will not set the pulse racing. Is this just another shuffling of chairs around the world’s bureaucratic table? Even among global health nerds, it will trigger just a faint tremor. […] Continue reading -> Childhood Immunization Rebounds – But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels 18/07/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
Dengue Cases Approach Historic Highs Worldwide; Local Transmission Seen In Europe 22/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher 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 -> From Libya to Afghanistan, 140 Million People Trapped in Humanitarian Crises in Eastern Mediterranean Region 19/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher From earthquakes in Afghanistan to floods in Libya and the conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region, is beset with one of the world’s largest concentrations of people trapped in humanitarian crises and in desperate need of emergency health services, food aid, as well as peace, said Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director […] Continue reading -> WHO Governing Board Approves Consensus Resolution on Gaza Health and Humanitarian Situation 10/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher In a fragile show of unity, the World Health Organization Executive Board approved a draft resolution calling for “immediate, sustained and unimpeded” humanitarian relief to beleaguered Gaza, including safe passage of health personnel and supplies, as well as ambulances and patients. The WHO EB move, which will clear the resolution for approval by the May World […] Continue reading -> Israeli Troops Enter Shifa Hospital – WHO Decries Move as “Totally Unacceptable” 15/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Israel launched what it described as a “targeted operation” into Gaza’s besieged Shifa Hospital early Wednesday morning – which was immediately denounced by the World Health Organization as “unacceptable” and contrary to international law – regardless of whether Hamas made use of the facility for military purposes. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, an Israeli delegation visiting Geneva […] Continue reading -> Fierce Gunbattles Waged Around Northern Gaza Hospitals 14/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Fierce gun battles between Israeli and Hamas forces raged in the vicinity of several strategically located hospitals in northern Gaza over the weekend and into Monday – leaving the fate of the remaining patients hanging in the balance. At Al Shifa hospital, hospital staff were reportedly trying to keep some 37 premature babies warm by […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> Eastern Mediterranean Countries Deserve Better Health: Will the New WHO Regional Director Deliver That? 24/08/2023 Mukesh Kapila For most people, electing the regional director – or chief health officer – for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will not set the pulse racing. Is this just another shuffling of chairs around the world’s bureaucratic table? Even among global health nerds, it will trigger just a faint tremor. […] Continue reading -> Childhood Immunization Rebounds – But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels 18/07/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
From Libya to Afghanistan, 140 Million People Trapped in Humanitarian Crises in Eastern Mediterranean Region 19/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher From earthquakes in Afghanistan to floods in Libya and the conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region, is beset with one of the world’s largest concentrations of people trapped in humanitarian crises and in desperate need of emergency health services, food aid, as well as peace, said Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director […] Continue reading -> WHO Governing Board Approves Consensus Resolution on Gaza Health and Humanitarian Situation 10/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher In a fragile show of unity, the World Health Organization Executive Board approved a draft resolution calling for “immediate, sustained and unimpeded” humanitarian relief to beleaguered Gaza, including safe passage of health personnel and supplies, as well as ambulances and patients. The WHO EB move, which will clear the resolution for approval by the May World […] Continue reading -> Israeli Troops Enter Shifa Hospital – WHO Decries Move as “Totally Unacceptable” 15/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Israel launched what it described as a “targeted operation” into Gaza’s besieged Shifa Hospital early Wednesday morning – which was immediately denounced by the World Health Organization as “unacceptable” and contrary to international law – regardless of whether Hamas made use of the facility for military purposes. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, an Israeli delegation visiting Geneva […] Continue reading -> Fierce Gunbattles Waged Around Northern Gaza Hospitals 14/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Fierce gun battles between Israeli and Hamas forces raged in the vicinity of several strategically located hospitals in northern Gaza over the weekend and into Monday – leaving the fate of the remaining patients hanging in the balance. At Al Shifa hospital, hospital staff were reportedly trying to keep some 37 premature babies warm by […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> Eastern Mediterranean Countries Deserve Better Health: Will the New WHO Regional Director Deliver That? 24/08/2023 Mukesh Kapila For most people, electing the regional director – or chief health officer – for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will not set the pulse racing. Is this just another shuffling of chairs around the world’s bureaucratic table? Even among global health nerds, it will trigger just a faint tremor. […] Continue reading -> Childhood Immunization Rebounds – But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels 18/07/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
WHO Governing Board Approves Consensus Resolution on Gaza Health and Humanitarian Situation 10/12/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher In a fragile show of unity, the World Health Organization Executive Board approved a draft resolution calling for “immediate, sustained and unimpeded” humanitarian relief to beleaguered Gaza, including safe passage of health personnel and supplies, as well as ambulances and patients. The WHO EB move, which will clear the resolution for approval by the May World […] Continue reading -> Israeli Troops Enter Shifa Hospital – WHO Decries Move as “Totally Unacceptable” 15/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Israel launched what it described as a “targeted operation” into Gaza’s besieged Shifa Hospital early Wednesday morning – which was immediately denounced by the World Health Organization as “unacceptable” and contrary to international law – regardless of whether Hamas made use of the facility for military purposes. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, an Israeli delegation visiting Geneva […] Continue reading -> Fierce Gunbattles Waged Around Northern Gaza Hospitals 14/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Fierce gun battles between Israeli and Hamas forces raged in the vicinity of several strategically located hospitals in northern Gaza over the weekend and into Monday – leaving the fate of the remaining patients hanging in the balance. At Al Shifa hospital, hospital staff were reportedly trying to keep some 37 premature babies warm by […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> Eastern Mediterranean Countries Deserve Better Health: Will the New WHO Regional Director Deliver That? 24/08/2023 Mukesh Kapila For most people, electing the regional director – or chief health officer – for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will not set the pulse racing. Is this just another shuffling of chairs around the world’s bureaucratic table? Even among global health nerds, it will trigger just a faint tremor. […] Continue reading -> Childhood Immunization Rebounds – But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels 18/07/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
Israeli Troops Enter Shifa Hospital – WHO Decries Move as “Totally Unacceptable” 15/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Israel launched what it described as a “targeted operation” into Gaza’s besieged Shifa Hospital early Wednesday morning – which was immediately denounced by the World Health Organization as “unacceptable” and contrary to international law – regardless of whether Hamas made use of the facility for military purposes. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, an Israeli delegation visiting Geneva […] Continue reading -> Fierce Gunbattles Waged Around Northern Gaza Hospitals 14/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Fierce gun battles between Israeli and Hamas forces raged in the vicinity of several strategically located hospitals in northern Gaza over the weekend and into Monday – leaving the fate of the remaining patients hanging in the balance. At Al Shifa hospital, hospital staff were reportedly trying to keep some 37 premature babies warm by […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> Eastern Mediterranean Countries Deserve Better Health: Will the New WHO Regional Director Deliver That? 24/08/2023 Mukesh Kapila For most people, electing the regional director – or chief health officer – for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will not set the pulse racing. Is this just another shuffling of chairs around the world’s bureaucratic table? Even among global health nerds, it will trigger just a faint tremor. […] Continue reading -> Childhood Immunization Rebounds – But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels 18/07/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
Fierce Gunbattles Waged Around Northern Gaza Hospitals 14/11/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Fierce gun battles between Israeli and Hamas forces raged in the vicinity of several strategically located hospitals in northern Gaza over the weekend and into Monday – leaving the fate of the remaining patients hanging in the balance. At Al Shifa hospital, hospital staff were reportedly trying to keep some 37 premature babies warm by […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> Eastern Mediterranean Countries Deserve Better Health: Will the New WHO Regional Director Deliver That? 24/08/2023 Mukesh Kapila For most people, electing the regional director – or chief health officer – for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will not set the pulse racing. Is this just another shuffling of chairs around the world’s bureaucratic table? Even among global health nerds, it will trigger just a faint tremor. […] Continue reading -> Childhood Immunization Rebounds – But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels 18/07/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> Eastern Mediterranean Countries Deserve Better Health: Will the New WHO Regional Director Deliver That? 24/08/2023 Mukesh Kapila For most people, electing the regional director – or chief health officer – for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will not set the pulse racing. Is this just another shuffling of chairs around the world’s bureaucratic table? Even among global health nerds, it will trigger just a faint tremor. […] Continue reading -> Childhood Immunization Rebounds – But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels 18/07/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
Eastern Mediterranean Countries Deserve Better Health: Will the New WHO Regional Director Deliver That? 24/08/2023 Mukesh Kapila For most people, electing the regional director – or chief health officer – for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will not set the pulse racing. Is this just another shuffling of chairs around the world’s bureaucratic table? Even among global health nerds, it will trigger just a faint tremor. […] Continue reading -> Childhood Immunization Rebounds – But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels 18/07/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
Childhood Immunization Rebounds – But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels 18/07/2023 Elaine Ruth Fletcher Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts