The World Health Organization (WHO) received $1.7 billion in new pledges of financial support at the G20 meeting this week, taking the total of voluntary pledges so far to $3.8 billion for the coming four years. With this, the WHO has met 53% of its investment requirement for its 2025–2028 strategy, in WHO parlance, the 14th […] Continue reading ->
The director-general of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is “back to work” following an overnight stay in a Rio hospital during his trip to the G20 summit, the WHO chief said Thursday. The reason for the hospital visit, first reported by the Brazilian paper O Globo, was not disclosed in a statement […] Continue reading ->
Donald Trump has named Robert F Kennedy Jr as his choice for US health secretary, putting the controversial anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer in line to control some of the world’s most influential health agencies. Kennedy shot to political prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when his organisation, Children’s Health Defense, became a leading global voice […] Continue reading ->
With plans underway for a new “Independent Panel” on Antimicrobial Resistance, endorsed at September’s UN High-Level AMR Meeting, the new body must become a strong scientific authority. It should have the power to “challenge” the agencies that create it and address both human and animal health factors driving drug-resistant pathogens. That was a key message […] Continue reading ->
BAKU – The World Health Organization and United Nations Climate Conference (COP29) host, Azerbaijan, issued a joint call to countries on Wednesday to adopt more “healthy'” Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) in their next set of plans for climate action. The next NCDs are due to be submitted in early 2025. But as carbon dioxide (CO2) […] Continue reading ->
WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed to Israel to reverse this week’s decision by the country’s Knesset, or parliament, to close the Jerusalem-based operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), saying that “there is simply no other alternative to UNRWA.” Tedros also said that the third phase […] Continue reading ->
MINYA GOVERNORATE, EGYPT – Nine-year-old Adam needs an insulin shot before meals, and seems unphased when his father checks his sugar levels with a finger pricking. He looks away when a small blood drop wells on the tip of his finger. Adam turns back to his plate of rice and stewed vegetables, continuing to ramble […] Continue reading ->
The final phase of a planned polio campaign in northern Gaza has been postponed due to escalating violence in the area, the World Health Organization announced on Wednesday. “Due to the escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders, and lack of assured humanitarian pauses across most of northern Gaza, the Polio Technical Committee for Gaza… […] Continue reading ->
A sod-turning ceremony in Mombasa, Kenya, on Tuesday marked the launch of the East African Programme on Oxygen Access (EAPOA), which aims to massively boost access to medical oxygen in the region. Unitaid is investing $22 million in support for Kenyan manufacturers Hewatele and Synergy, and Tanzania Oxygen Limited to set up Africa’s first liquid […] Continue reading ->
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a new ruling that requires drinking water systems to replace lead pipes within 10 years. The rule also strengthens requirements to locate lead pipes, improve testing for lead in water, and ensure that exposure is minimized while lead pipe replacement efforts are underway. “Families like yours, exposed […] Continue reading ->