An estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with TB last year, an increase of 4.5 per cent over 2020, and 1.6 million people died from the disease, including 187,000 who were HIV-positive.  The burden of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) also increased by three per cent during the same period, with some 450,000 new cases of a type that is resistant to… Read More

If not, then look no further than the UN World Health Organization (WHO), which has just catalogued the 19 fungi that represent the greatest public health risk today. The aim of listing these fungal “priority pathogens” is to promote research and strengthen our response to fungal infections and antifungal resistance. People most at risk are those with underlying health problems or a weakened immune system,… Read More

“I visited several cholera treatment centres in the most affected neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince and saw heart-breaking scenes; children who were so malnourished, it was difficult to insert a drip into their arms or legs; adults who were clearly very ill. What immediately struck me was the intense smell of chlorine disinfectant, which is used to sterilize the immediate environment, clearly… Read More

Providing water and sanitation for everyone on the planet is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed by all 193 UN Member States in 2015.  The report revealed that although more than two billion people gained access to safe drinking water over the past two decades, a quarter of the world’s population is still being left behind.  A basic… Read More