A new generation of portable molecular testing devices unveiled by the global non-profit FIND on Thursday has achieved accuracy levels previously only attainable in lab testing, a potential game-changer for healthcare in regions with limited access to clinics. These compact devices can test for multiple diseases using cartridges that analyze tissue, blood, or other bodily […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA – Just six countries in the world are on track to meet global targets to reduce non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. At the World Health Assembly (WHA) this week, every country – rich and poor – lamented their struggles to contain rising NCDs, which now cause […] Continue reading ->
Cabo Verde, a group of 10 islands in the Central Atlantic Ocean, was declared malaria-free in January. This milestone makes it one of the 43 countries and territories globally recognised with this certification by the World Health Organization (WHO). Cabo Verde is only the third country in the WHO African region to be certified malaria-free […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA – The United States believes a “good deal” is within reach on the pandemic agreement, with parties “close to consensus,” Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra told reporters at the US Mission in Geneva on Wednesday. “There is a clear consensus that we can’t let the status quo be upon us […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA – Cardiometabolic diseases, a group of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, are on the rise globally, threatening life expectancy gains and burdening vulnerable economies with excess healthcare costs. These diseases already contribute to over 30% of global deaths each year. With one billion people now living […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA – Partnerships between industry, multilateral organizations, and other stakeholders are essential to overcoming challenges and improving access to innovations. This was the key message at an International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (IFPMA) event on Tuesday evening, held on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in Geneva. The gathering brought together representatives from the […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization plans to make climate change and its impact on health a major focus in the coming years, along with strengthening health systems, improving health equity and access, and preventing disease, according to the organization’s plan for its general program of work from 2025 to 2028. The four-year plan, known as GPW-14, […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA — Six of the ten leading risk factors for premature deaths and years of healthy life lost due to disability are within an individual’s control, according to new data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The study, the most comprehensive effort to quantify health loss worldwide to date, aims to identify and […] Continue reading ->
Although a draft pandemic agreement may take weeks or months longer to conclude, there are moves underfoot to try to quickly wrap up negotiations and get final member state sign-off on amendments to the 2005-era WHO International Health Regulations (IHR) at the this week’s World Health Assembly (WHA), said the co-chair of the working group […] Continue reading ->
A last ditch effort of WHO member states to finish negotiations on a pandemic accord has failed to yield agreement ahead of next week’s World Health Assembly (WHA) – with key articles in the draft text still unresolved including the thorny formula for global sharing of vaccines and medicines during international health emergencies. As of […] Continue reading ->