While almost 92% of the world’s population now has basic access to electricity – an improvement since 2022 – over 666 million people remain without access, and the world is off track to reach universal access by 2030, according to the Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2025 released on Wednesday. “Clean cooking access […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization decried Thursday’s direct hit by Iran on one of Israel’s largest hospitals, Soroka Medical Center, which put the 1200-bed facility serving most of the country’s southern region largely out of operation. In an X post, WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also deplored the deaths of three Iranian Red Crescent […] Continue reading ->
The Trump administration’s cancellation of hundreds of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants “represents racial discrimination”, and were null and void, ruled United States District Court Judge William Young on Monday. This follows the cancellation of some 2,100 NIH research grants valued over than $12bn based on their links to “diversity, equity and inclusion” or […] Continue reading ->
Economic insecurity is a major factor driving declining fertility globally, according to the 2025 State of World Population report produced by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Financial worries – including job insecurity, housing and childcare costs – were key factors influencing over half of those interviewed to opt for fewer or no children, according […] Continue reading ->
The quest for new treatment options for newborns with drug-resistant sepsis took another step forward this week with the enrollment of the first baby in a trial of a combination of three older antibiotics. It is the second part of a clinical trial by the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) to evaluate various […] Continue reading ->
CEO of Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) Dr Delese Mimi Darko has been appointed the inaugural Director-General of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) by the agency’s Conference of State Parties (CoSP) at a meeting in Rwanda this week. Darko has a “wealth of experience and a distinguished track record in regulatory excellence”, according to […] Continue reading ->
Philanthropist Bill Gates announced on Monday that the majority of the $200 billion he plans to donate over the next 20 years will be spent in Africa. The focus will be “on partnering with governments that prioritise the health and wellbeing of their people”, Gates told government leaders, diplomats and partners during an address at […] Continue reading ->
As the world observes ‘No Tobacco Day’, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on governments to ban all flavours in tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, pouches, hookahs and e-cigarettes – which are playing an increasing role in hooking young people to tobacco products. Over 50 countries have banned flavoured tobacco, but manufacturers are […] Continue reading ->
Africa needs 6.4 million mpox vaccines in the next few months to address the outbreak, which is now concentrated in Sierra Leone, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Three-quarters of Africa’s confirmed new mpox cases are in Sierra Leone, all concentrated in high-density areas in all districts, with 648 […] Continue reading ->
From hospitals facing up to 80% antibiotic resistance to gonorrhoea that is resistant to almost all treatment, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious and growing problem, countries told the World Health Assembly (WHA) on Tuesday. But it has been 10 years since the global action plan on antimicrobial resistance was adopted, and the WHA endorsed […] Continue reading ->