Dr. Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the agency’s Emergencies Programme, delivered opening remarks at a UN General Assembly meeting on Wednesday where ambassadors were briefed by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPPR).  “We must seize the moment. In the coming months and years, other crises will demand our attention, and distract us from the urgency of taking… Read More

While some progress has been made, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that globally, “access to prevention, testing, and treatment services for viral hepatitis remains far too low”.  “Over 350 million people have chronic hepatitis, an estimated 80 per cent of them can’t access the care they need”, he added.  ‘Make our voices heard’  The day, observed annually on 28 July, aims to raise awareness of viral hepatitis, an… Read More

Latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed a “substantial” uptick in the Americas and the Western Pacific, which jumped 30 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.  This contributed to a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus deaths overall, which climbed by 21 per cent compared with last week, to more than 69,000.  In the last week, global #COVID19 cases INCREASED by ~6.5% & deaths INCREASED by ~20.6% Last week >69,000 people died. This is an absolute travesty because… Read More

Compared with 2007, more than four times as many people — some 5.3 billion — are now covered by at least one WHO-recommended tobacco control measure. These six MPOWER measures are: Monitoring tobacco use and preventive measures Protecting people from tobacco smoke; offering help to quit Warning about the dangers of tobacco Enforcing bans on advertising Promotion and sponsorship Raising taxes on… Read More

The final report from the Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free initiative, issued in Geneva on Wednesday, warns that progress on ending AIDS among children, adolescents and young women has stalled and requires urgent action.  Four-fold increase  The five-year framework began in 2015 and followed on from a global plan to reduce new HIV infections among children by that year,… Read More

Speaking in the Japanese capital Tokyo, he said the world must unite with “determination, dedication and discipline” to triumph over the COVID-19 pandemic.  “More than any other event (the Games) have the power to bring the world together; to inspire; to show what is possible,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) told the International Olympic Committee, with the Olympic flame in his hand.  He warned that the world was now… Read More

Games and sports of all kind, have always helped reduce anxieties, improve mental health, and survive times of crisis.   Over the past few months, the overall interest in chess has reportedly doubled with more players than ever playing in events online.  A combination of strategic and scientific thinking, combined with elements of pure art, chess is one of the most cultural of games handed down over generations, the UN recognizes.  Crossing barriers Affordable and inclusive, chess can be played anywhere and played by all – across the barriers of language, age, gender, physical… Read More

Briefing on behalf of the UN chief, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, painted a grim picture of civilian executions, arbitrary arrests, detentions, forced displacement and sexual violence against children, on a massive scale, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.  She also spoke of “brutal attacks” in Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen, where 20 million people are living “face-to-face” with hunger.  “We are in uncharted waters”, she said, with the “sheer scale of humanitarian needs” never greater.   This year the UN and its partners are seeking to assist 160 million people – its highest number ever.  ‘Relentless’ attacks  The “hurricane of humanitarian crises” is compounded by a “relentless wave… Read More

This is the highest number since 2009, and nearly four million more than recorded in the year preceding the crisis, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.  “Even as countries clamour to get their hands on COVID-19 vaccines, we have gone backwards on other vaccinations, leaving children at risk from devastating but… Read More