The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and WHO today signed a new Memorandum of Understanding, reaffirming the critical role that parliamentarians play in enabling good health to foster stable and equitable societies. The new five-year memorandum was signed by Mr Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General, and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, at the 148th IPU Assembly, which is taking place in… Read More

Immediate action is needed to stem an unprecedented multi-year upsurge in cholera cases worldwide, according to the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision. Actions include investing in access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, testing and detecting outbreaks quickly, improving quality of and access to healthcare, and fast-tracking additional production of affordable oral cholera vaccine (OCV) doses to better… Read More

A high-powered intervention by 23 former national Presidents, 22 former Prime Ministers, a former UN General Secretary and 3 Nobel Laureates is being made today to press for an urgent agreement from international negotiators on a Pandemic Accord, under the Constitution of the World Health Organizaion, to bolster the world’s collective preparedness and response to future pandemics.  Former UN General Secretary Ban-ki Moon, New Zealand’s… Read More

Older women and women with disabilities face particular risk of abuse, yet their situation is largely hidden in most global and national violence-related data, according to two new publications released today by the World Health Organization (WHO). The health agency is calling for better research across countries that will help ensure these women are counted, and that their specific needs… Read More

WHO has launched a new network for coronaviruses, CoViNet, to facilitate and coordinate global expertise and capacities for early and accurate detection, monitoring and assessment of SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV and novel coronaviruses of public health importance. CoViNet expands on the WHO COVID-19 reference laboratory network established during the early days of the pandemic.  Initially, the lab network was focused on SARS-CoV-2,… Read More

WHO Member States agreed to resume negotiations aimed at finalizing a pandemic agreement during 29 April to 10 May. The decision came at today’s end of two weeks of intensive country-led discussions on critical subjects aimed at making all countries of the world better prepared for, and able to effectively and equitably respond to, future pandemics. This ninth meeting of… Read More

Ahead of World Health Day, focused on ‘My Health, My Right’, the World Health Organization (WHO) announces the launch of S.A.R.A.H., a digital health promoter prototype with enhanced empathetic response powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI). S.A.R.A.H. is a Smart AI Resource Assistant for Health that represents an evolution of AI-powered health information avatars, using new language models and cutting-edge… Read More

More than 1.2 million cholera rapid diagnostic tests will be shipped to 14 countries in largest-ever global deployment, with the first shipment landing today in Malawi. This first official deployment of tests through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, will improve timely detection and monitoring of outbreaks, effectiveness of vaccination campaigns in response to current outbreaks, and targeting of future preventive vaccination… Read More

To mark World Health Day (7 April), the World Health Organization (WHO) is running the “My health, my right” campaign to champion the right to health of everyone, everywhere. The campaign advocates for ensuring universal access to quality health services, education, and information, as well as safe drinking water, clean air, good nutrition, quality housing, decent working and environmental conditions,… Read More

A WHO-led multi-agency mission accessed Al-Shifa Hospital in north Gaza on 5 April to conduct a preliminary assessment of the extent of destruction and identify needs to guide future efforts to restore the facility. The highly complex mission was conducted in close partnership with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Mine Action Service… Read More