It is with a deep sense of sadness and sorrow that WHO is announcing the passing on 10 February 2022 of Dr Mwelecele Ntuli Malecela, Director of WHO’s Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. Dr Malecela died after a prolonged illness at the age of 58. Dr Malecela will be remembered as an inspirational figure, a dedicated leader and… Read More

Lyon – The Government of France and WHO today announced a new €50 million contribution agreement that will help countries’ health systems overcome bottlenecks in the COVID-19 response and speed up equitable access to testing, treatments and vaccines. WHO is very grateful to the Government of France for its continued commitment to global unity in the response to the COVID-19… Read More

WHO has been permitted to deliver medical supplies to Tigray, Ethiopia, for the first time since July 2021, but there is no fuel to distribute them to health centres. The supplies, which are now in storage until they can be distributed, include essential medical equipment, personal protective equipment, antibiotics, medicines for malaria and diabetes, including insulin, treatment for severe acute… Read More

More than 1 billion people worldwide are obese – 650 million adults, 340 million adolescents and 39 million children. This number is still increasing. WHO estimates that by 2025, approximately 167 million people – adults and children – will become less healthy because they are overweight or obese. On the occasion of World Obesity Day 2022, WHO is urging countries… Read More

The World Health Organization (WHO) is releasing new guidelines on abortion care today, in a bid to protect the health of women and girls and help prevent over 25 million unsafe abortions that currently occur each year. “Being able to obtain safe abortion is a crucial part of health care,” said Craig Lissner, acting Director for Sexual and Reproductive Health… Read More

“Today, we call for an immediate cessation of all attacks on health care in Ukraine. These horrific attacks are killing and causing serious injuries to patients and health workers, destroying vital health infrastructure and forcing thousands to forgo accessing health services despite catastrophic needs. “To attack the most vulnerable – babies, children, pregnant women, and those already suffering from illness and disease, and health… Read More

The World Health Organization (WHO) and The International Labour Organization (ILO) have published a new guide on developing and implementing stronger occupational health and safety programmes for health workers, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exert great pressure on them. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the health sector was among the most hazardous sectors to work in – Dr Maria… Read More

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, met today with Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), to discuss the WHO-EIB initiative aiming at promoting an innovative impact investment that will support health systems strengthening in Africa with a focus on Primary Health Care (PHC). A joint statement was released. WHO welcomed the new EIB commitments to support impact… Read More