Category: Development

The campaign to end open defecation also raised awareness about the benefits of hand-washing., by © WSSCC/Hiroyuki Saito In this under-developed area, sanitation has hitherto been lacking. “Previously, the people did not have toilets, they did not see the necessity of having a proper place to defecate,” says Raju Prajad Sah, the local Chief Administrative Officer. He describes how open… Read More

The deadly viral disease is “very close” to disappearing altogether, with the number of affected children having dropped by 99 per cent since 1988, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced on World Polio Day, marked each 24 October, positioning the world closer than ever to its total eradication. Then: In 1988 the wild poliovirus existed in 125 countries.Now: In 2019 the wild… Read More

Lead exposure killed more than one million people in 2017, according to data cited by WHO, which is why the UN agency and partners are this week urging countries to take action to ban lead paint. “Lead has devastating consequences on our health and in particular on the health of our children, causing lifelong intellectual disabilities,” said Dr, Maria Neira,… Read More

The World Health Organization (WHO) convened its Emergency Committee on the disease which concluded with a call for sustained political commitment and continued cross-border screenings, among other recommendations. The outbreak began in August 2018 and there have been 3,114 confirmed cases and 2,123 deaths, according to latest figures. It is occurring in an area long affected by armed group activity,… Read More

Caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, TB commonly causes persistent coughing, fatigue and weight loss. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and its latest Global TB Report, around 10 million people developed TB in 2018 and three million sufferers “are not getting the care they need”. Countries where people suffer most are China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines,… Read More

Obesity rates soar due to dramatic global diet shift, says UN food agency Eating food high in starch, sugar, fats and salt; combined with a sedentary lifestyle, is a recipe for soaring global obesity rates, even in countries where many still suffer from hunger. On World Food Day, on Wednesday, the UN’s food agency, FAO, called for action to make healthy, sustainable… Read More

The shift away from seasonal, mainly plant-based and fibre-rich food has occurred in recent decades, as a result of globalization, urbanization and growth in income, says FAO, as busy consumers in urban areas find less time to cook at home, and rely increasingly on fast-food outlets, street food vendors and take-away meals. This has led to a situation whereby almost… Read More

‘Alarmingly high’ number of children malnourished worldwide: UNICEF report Across the globe, at least one-in-three children under-five are malnourished and not developing properly, UNICEF revealed on Tuesday, in its most comprehensive report on children, food and nutrition in 20 years. “An alarmingly high number of children are suffering the consequences of poor diets and a food system that is failing… Read More

“An alarmingly high number of children are suffering the consequences of poor diets and a food system that is failing them,” the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) warned.   Around 200 million children under-five are either undernourished or overweight, while one-in-three globally – and almost two-thirds of children between the fragile ages of six months to two years – are not fed food that nurtures proper development, The State of the World’s… Read More

Pinpointing the problem “How can we allow food to be thrown away when more than 820 million people in the world continue to go hungry every day?”, asked FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu in the foreword to his agency’s report.  The study contains fresh estimates of the scale of the problem, enabling a better understanding of the challenge, and suggesting possible solutions,… Read More