Category: Development

The advice marks a significant departure from earlier practice, reflecting the immense health benefits of ensuring caregivers – generally mothers – and preterm or small babies, can stay close after birth, without any separation.  WHO recommends that skin to skin contact, also known as “kangaroo mother care”, should begin immediately after these little ones take their first breath, without any… Read More

It is the first to examine the implications of COVID-19 for vaccine markets and highlights the disparity in access around the world. The report says that the way the global market is not fully conducive to the development, supply and access for essential vaccines – with some regions depending almost entirely on others for vaccine supply. “The right to health… Read More

The study gives the example of Dhaka, Bangladesh, where under a scenario of very high emissions by 2100, additional deaths due to climate change could rise to nearly twice the country’s current annual death rate from all cancers, and 10 times its annual road traffic fatalities. “Because of human action, the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is reaching… Read More

Public health risks are increasing, driven by damaged infrastructure, stagnant water and inadequate sanitation facilities, the UN health agency said. Dr. Richard Brennan, WHO Regional Emergency Director, said that the catastrophe has pushed the country to the brink and that diseases are rampant. Over 540,000 malaria cases have been reported. Other health threats include increasing cases of diarrheal diseases, an… Read More

The first case was reported to WHO by the Ministry of Public Health on 6 October, and there have been 381 laboratory-confirmed cases. While the outbreak was initially confined to northern districts, it has spread rapidly said WHO’s office in Lebanon, with laboratory-confirmed cases now reported from all eight governorates and 18 out of 26 districts. Serotype Vibrio cholerae O1… Read More

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

And the price of inaction and staying on the couch, will be severe, WHO said – around $27 billion in extra healthcare costs. The Global status report on physical activity 2022, measures the extent to which governments are implementing recommendations to increase physical activity across all ages and abilities.  Data from 194 countries show that overall, progress is slow and… Read More