This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. The response to the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) must be rooted in the country’s local health structures and avoid “asymmetrical” suffering by treating those in state-controlled and rebel-run areas the same, says a leading Congolese virologist. The current epidemic […] Continue reading ->
As the Bundibugyo Virus Disease (BVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda reached 608 confirmed cases and 102 deaths, global health leaders called for “an end to the cycle of panic and neglect” in response to disease outbreaks. Describing the Ebola outbreak as a “preventable disaster”, the leaders have written […] Continue reading ->
The Global Diabetes Compact aims to improve diagnosis, care, and access to life-saving medications for those with diabetes. Already, countries in high-burden regions have improved along these key metrics. But as the number of people living with diabetes is projected to increase nearly 50% globally by 2050, much more needs to be accomplished. In a […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention launched a joint continental preparedness response plan to address the current Ebola outbreak on Friday, based on 11 pillars and a $518 million budget. Earlier this week, the two groups reduced their Ebola case projections substantially after testing the backlog of […] Continue reading ->
Unsafe food causes 1.5 million deaths and 866 million illnesses each year – a burden similar to tuberculosis, according to World Health Organization (WHO) research published in The Lancet this week. The research assessed 42 major foodborne hazards – including bacteria, viruses, parasites and chemicals – from 194 countries between 2000 and 2021. Foodborne diseases […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization’s estimate of the number of suspected, but as yet unconfirmed, cases of the deadly Ebola Bundibugyo virus has sharply declined from over 1000 a week ago to just 116 today, WHO on Wednesday. That doesn’t mean that the tide has yet turned on the outbreak. But WHO officials sounded notes of […] Continue reading ->
Tobacco companies have helped to engineer ultra-processed food (UPF) and scale up the industry, developing and distributing addictive products that are driving obesity, cancer, dementia and chronic diseases like diabetes. This is according to one of the most comprehensive reviews of the drivers and impact of UFP, published in the American Journal of Public Health […] Continue reading ->
Global leaders and policymakers must prepare for above-average temperatures until at least August due to El Niño conditions, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned. In a new update, the WMO indicated an 80% likelihood of an El Niño event during June–August, with a 90% probability that this could continue until at least November. Rainfall and […] Continue reading ->
Ghana’s Parliament passed one of the most extensive, repressive anti-LGBT laws in the world late Friday, introducing prison terms for people who simply identify as lesbian and gay – but human rights groups say there was no quorum when it did so. Only 32 of the 276 Members of Parliament were present when the Human […] Continue reading ->
Three investigational vaccine candidates for the Ebola Bundibugyo virus are being “urgently accelerated towards clinical trials”, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced on Monday. There are no licensed vaccines for the Bundibugyo virus, and none are in clinical development. This is the strain of Ebola currently driving the outbreak in the Democratic Republic […] Continue reading ->