New global guidelines to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were finally passed by the World Health Assembly on Friday afternoon after a mammoth day-and-a-half of member states’ inputs. The guidelines update the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “Best Buys” published in 2017 and focus on the four key risk factors for NCDs – tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy diet […] Continue reading ->
The United for Self-Care Coalition made calls to expand the current World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines on self-care during a panel event, “Self-Care a Foundational Component of Health System Sustainability,” at the 76th World Health Assembly on Wednesday. The United for Self-Care Coalition, a new coalition of like-minded groups and experts, marked their call to action […] Continue reading ->
An impossibly long list of member states lined up to address universal health coverage (UHC) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the World Health Assembly on Thursday afternoon, indicating the centrality of these issues for countries. There was near-universal support for primary health services to be the backbone of UHC, with disease prevention as the other […] Continue reading ->
 GENEVA – Global health conversations are much deeper at present because everyone has been affected by COVID-19 – and this opens up the possibility of building an “all-of-society” approach before the next pandemic, said Sylvie Brand, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention. “We have seen during this pandemic […] Continue reading ->
Countries expressed concern at an uptick in polio cases last year and discussed ways to double down on routine immunizations – interrupted by the pandemic and conflicts – at Thursday’s World Health Assembly. Polio is currently the only official global public health emergency.  Afghanistan and Pakistan are the last two remaining countries where the virus […] Continue reading ->
In what has become an annual ritual, the World Health Assembly adopted a decision on Wednesday decrying the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories, and calling on WHO to monitor progress in recommendations for reform by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The decision was approved by 76 votes to 13, with 35 abstentions […] Continue reading ->