Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and colleagues arrived in Beijing on Monday, in efforts to understand the latest developments and strengthen partnerships in order to boost the overall response against the new respiratory disease.  In a message posted on Twitter, he said the UN agency also is working with countries everywhere to activate their response systems.  Coronaviruses are a large family of respiratory viruses that can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to the Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)… Read More

“Too many women and children affected by leprosy – also known as Hansen’s disease – are victims of stereotypes, physical and verbal abuse, delays of diagnosis and lack of adequate care”, declared Alice Cruz, UN Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members. The UN expert expressed concern over the “complete lack… Read More

The evolving outbreak that began in China is “a sign that every country needs to be ready to timely detect and manage outbreaks of any type”, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday.  Virus infections have now been reported on four continents, including in Australia, France and the United States, among recent travelers to China. Several other countries in… Read More

This was achieved following concerted efforts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Haitian Government and others, to address the root causes of cholera. “Cholera is a disease of inequity that unduly sickens and kills the poorest and most vulnerable people – those without access to clean water and sanitation,” said PAHO Director, Dr. Carissa F. Etienne. The last… Read More

However, after two days of deliberations, the WHO Emergency Committee, which advises the head of the agency, was divided on whether to declare a PHEIC. The disease has spread rapidly to several countries including Japan, Singapore and the USA, and Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, said in a press conference held in Geneva on Thursday that the outbreak poses a… Read More

Members of the WHO Emergency Committee deliberated until late on Wednesday evening, as they continue to study an outbreak of the new respiratory virus first identified in China, as cases continue to rise.   “There was an excellent discussion during the committee today, but it was also clear that to proceed, we need more information”, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in statement.  “The decision about whether or not to declare a public health emergency of… Read More

In a press release issued as the World Economic Forum gets fully underway in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said that the right to health “is eluding the poor and people trying to lift themselves out of poverty are being crushed by the unacceptably high costs of health care”, with at least half the world’s population… Read More

In a message released on social media, WHO said that the agency’s Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, will “convene an Emergency Committee on the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) under the International Health Regulations”, with the aim of ascertaining “whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, and what recommendations should be made to manage it”. The Chinese National Health Commission… Read More

While tobacco smokers face a significantly higher risk of post-surgical complications, including impaired heart and lung functions, infections and delayed wound healing, evidence from a new joint study by the World Health Organization (WHO), the University of Newcastle, Australia and the World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists reveals that patients who quit smoking are less likely to experience complications with… Read More

Two new WHO reports reveal that while some 50 new antibiotics and 10 biologics are under development, only 32 of the total target WHO-priority pathogens and the majority have very limited benefits when compared to existing antibiotics. “Never has the threat of antimicrobial resistance been more immediate and the need for solutions more urgent”, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.… Read More