Countries around the world face higher risks of extreme weather events like floods, droughts and extreme heat as the ongoing El Niño intensifies and extends, with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) now assessing it will become the strongest in history. In its latest update, WMO assessed with 100% certainty that El Niño — the result […] Continue reading ->
Over the past week, the race for the next World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General has started to take shape. Governments have publicly put forward prospective candidates, WHO is already listing them on a website, and some candidates are beginning to make their case publicly. Dr Hans Kluge has even released a manifesto laying out how […] Continue reading ->
The world has failed to meet the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) declared on Wednesday. In a sprawling 141-page report, UNEP found there is no realistic pathway to prevent warming from exceeding the threshold. “The most stringent emission reduction pathways that were available around the […] Continue reading ->
A draft charter on “family, sovereignty and values”, which would significantly undermine the rights of African women and girls, is not likely to be presented to the African Union (AU) General Assembly next February – despite a push from its conservative sponsors. “That draft instrument has not got to the AU yet, and it is […] Continue reading ->
KATHMANDU – Shekhar Lamichhane is grieving even as he struggles to breathe. The 65-year-old asthma patient needs oxygen support. Some of his family members, including siblings, were swept away in Nepal’s flash flood on 26 August when glacial ice and rock slammed into the valley below near the Nepal–China border. “I am on oxygen support. […] Continue reading ->
Around 200,000 people in the Israeli-occupied West Bank will lose access to vital food aid from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) due to funding cuts, exacerbating food insecurity. In the Gaza Strip, the nutrition and health crisis is set to worsen further due to a lack of medical supplies and sanitation, the World […] Continue reading ->
Two sets of dogmas contend in Afghanistan: those of the Taliban and the West. Neither side pays the real price for their beliefs. Ordinary Afghans do with their lives. Some aid agencies labour quietly to bring help and hope through a dozen practical ways that bypass competing doctrines. They deserve support. In March last year, […] Continue reading ->
The antiretroviral medicine lenacapavir, delivered via injection every six months, is almost completely effective in preventing HIV. But it is expensive at present, and millions will need to be initiated on it every year to make a dent on HIV transmission in South Africa. CAPE TOWN – South Africa has the biggest population of people […] Continue reading ->
BENGALURU – India’s flagship air pollution action plan, the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), has mostly failed to deliver, according to research presented at the eighth India Clean Air Summit. Officials, scientists, and other experts highlighted the 2019 program’s severe shortcomings and red-flagged critical gaps. An “NCAP 2.0′ has been widely expected, but the central […] Continue reading ->
After months of speculation, prospective candidates in the race to become the next Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) are now emerging. At the same time, member states have launched a process to review the global health architecture, with the aim of clarifying roles, strengthening coordination, and aligning financing more closely with national, regional, […] Continue reading ->