Category: Development

The report, Impact of COVID-19 on the welfare of households with children, presents findings from data collected in 35 countries, and notes that households with three or more children were most likely to have come up short, with more than three-quarters experiencing a reduction in earnings. Going without food “Families cannot afford food or essential healthcare services. They cannot afford housing. It… Read More

The UN health agency’s assessment was made six weeks after the virus was declared a global health emergency when there were fewer than 100 cases and no deaths outside China.  Two years later, more than 6 million people have died. “Although reported cases and deaths are declining globally, and several countries have lifted restrictions, the pandemic is far from over… Read More

Craig Lissner, the UN health agency’s acting director for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, said on Wednesday’s launch, that “being able to obtain a safe abortion is a crucial part of healthcare”. “Nearly every death and injury that results from unsafe abortion is entirely preventable,” he insisted. “That’s why we recommend women and girls can access abortion and family… Read More

“The prospect of another cyclone was scary,” says Monica, who lives in Mbenje in Malawi’s Nsanje District. “We lived through the same experience with Cyclone Idai and then Cyclone Kenneth. We had to rebuild from scratch.” Word had spread through the village during the day that a powerful cyclone had hit neighbouring Mozambique, and on that Sunday evening two weeks… Read More

According to recent data, more than one billion people worldwide are obese, including 650 million adults, 340 million adolescents and 39 million children. With the numbers still increasing, WHO estimates that by 2025, approximately 167 million people will become less healthy because they are overweight or obese. Impacts of obesity Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat… Read More

The updated “living guidelines” on related therapeutics now include conditional recommendations on the medication, molnupiravir, the UN agency announced on Thursday. Citing concerns and data gaps, WHO advanced that molnupiravir should be provided “only to non-severe COVID-19 patients with the highest risk of hospitalization,” WHO alerted. Those are typically people who have not received a COVID-19 vaccination, older people, people with immunodeficiencies and those… Read More

The new international standard for safe listening at venues and events was launched ahead of World Hearing Day marked on 3 March on the theme, To hear for life, listen with care! It applies to all places and activities where amplified music is played.   Over 1.5 billion people globally live with hearing loss, and according to recent estimates this number… Read More

Findings in the UN health agency’s new report suggest that the greatest deterioration in mental health took place in the areas worst-hit by COVID-19 -where infections were high and social interaction was restricted. “The information we have now about the impact of COVID-19 on the world’s mental health is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO… Read More

The country has committed to provide $1.22 billion to support the ACT-Accelerator, the global partnership for equitable access to tests, treatments, vaccines, and personal protective equipment (PPE).  The mechanism requires $16.8 billion to meet urgent needs.  ‘Fair share’ calculation  Last month, the co-chairs of the ACT-Accelerator Facilitation Council – President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr… Read More

Addressing a high-level debate on universal vaccination, Abdulla Shahid highlighted the persistent inequity in access to these lifesaving medicines and the failure of the international community to protect everyone against the disease.  Immoral and impractical  “Let me be clear: vaccine inequity is immoral, and it is impractical,” he said, speaking from the iconic UN General Assembly Hall in New York. … Read More