Category: Development

In recommendations specifically aimed at under-fives for the first time, the UN health agency said that some than 40 million children around the globe – around six per cent of the total – are overweight. Of that number, half are in Africa and Asia, it noted.  Infants (less than 1 year) should be physically active several times a day in… Read More

The disease remains on the of the world’s leading killers, with one child dying every two minutes. Most of the fatalities are in Africa, where more than 250,000 children die each year. Known officially as the RTS,S, vaccine, it will also be introduced in Ghana and Kenya in the coming weeks. “We have seen tremendous gains from bed nets and… Read More

To inspire confidence in the power and safety of vaccines, UNICEF is using the hashtag #VaccinesWork for the global campaign, centred around World Immunization Week, which runs from 24 to 30 April. “We want the awareness that #VaccinesWork, to go viral,” said Robin Nandy, UNICEF’s Chief of Immunization. “This campaign is an opportunity to show the world that social media can… Read More

In a new report underlining ILO’s message that no paid work should threaten your wellbeing, your safety or your life, the agency identifies several new or existing occupational risks of growing concern, that affect women more than men. These include modern working practices overall, world population growth, increased digital connectivity and climate change, which are believed to account for losses… Read More

“Cases have soared across the world, including in places where measles had previously been eliminated, like the United States”, asserted Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). Measles is almost entirely preventable through two doses of a safe and effective vaccine, despite being highly contagious. The UN… Read More

“This is a global human rights issue”, said WHO Assistant Director-General for Medicines and Health Products Mariângela Simão on Saturday at the WHO Forum on Medicines in Johannesburg. “Everyone has a right to access quality healthcare”. The forum on fair pricing and access to medicines provided a discussion platform for governments, civil society organizations and the pharmaceutical industry to identify strategies to reduce… Read More

Monica Ferro, Director of UNFPA Geneva, said the figures were “worrisome” and it was essential to raise the level of consent and access to vital health services, for millions of women around the world. “Don’t forget: each one of these numbers is a person”, she added.  The findings, relating to women aged 15-49, are being published for the first time, as part of UNFPA’s State of… Read More

Speaking at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, during an event to launch the Day, the WHO chief said that all people deserve access to health services, “when and where they need them, without financial hardship.” However, half the world’s population, he said, still lacks access to essential health services, with around 100 million people pushed into extreme poverty each… Read More

“Whether it’s homicide, road accidents, suicide, cardiovascular disease – time and time again, men are doing worse than women”, said Dr. Richard Cibulskis, main author of WHO’s World Health Statistics Overview 2019. Apart from the average increase from 66.5 years, to 72 years overall, its findings also show that “healthy” life expectancy – the number of years individuals live in full… Read More