Category: Development

It has become increasingly apparent that, for some time, some individuals and organizations are intent on spreading false information online. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, claims that certain drugs or remedies are miracle cures, or that the pandemic is a hoax, have circulated on social media platforms. Whilst there are those who are sharing these articles, videos and images… Read More

The wide use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials has led to growing resistance to their effectiveness.   It is estimated that each year, 700,000 people die from AMR-related causes and FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Keith Sumption said that if no actions are taken, the annual tally could soar to some 10 million by 2050.   HIV drug resistance  The warning comes as the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest HIV Drug Resistance Report revealed that in 2020,… Read More

In its weekly epidemiological update, the UN health agency noted that infections in Europe had increased by almost twice the global average.  Vaccine review for kids  In a related development, WHO said that is it continuing to review emerging evidence on the need for and timing of vaccinating children with COVID-19 vaccines that have received Emergency Use Listing (EUL).  To date, the agency has issued EULs for eight COVID-19… Read More

The updated recommendation from the UN health agency comes after it first described Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Associated With COVID-19, or MIS-C for short, last May.   “MIS-C is a rare but serious condition where children with COVID-19 develop inflammation affecting different organs of the body”, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told journalists at a scheduled briefing in Geneva.   “Children with this condition need specialized care and may need to be admitted to intensive care. Although MIS-C… Read More

Presenting the findings of a six-month accountability report, Co-chairs Helen Clark, former President of New Zealand, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia, warned that “uneven” progress in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause illness, deaths and economic losses.   Calling for Heads of State and Government to come together to make faster progress, especially at the UN General Assembly, the two leaders pointed out that with much of the groundwork done, now is the time to end the… Read More

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, alongside celebrities, First Ladies, cancer survivors and health and community organizations, have united to raise awareness and mobilize efforts, one year after the UN agency launched a landmark global initiative on cervical cancer elimination.  ‘We have the tools’  They pointed to inequalities in accessing lifesaving tools and treatment, similar to what is happening during the… Read More

In a joint declaration on Tuesday, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) committed to assisting the School Meals Coalition in which over 60 countries envision a nutritious meal in school for every child in need by 2030. Led… Read More

The oral antiviral therapy PF-07321332 is designed to block the activity of the SARS-CoV-2-3CL protease, an enzyme the coronavirus needs to replicate.  It is administered together with low dose ritonavir, used in some treatments for HIV and hepatitis C.  Landmark agreement  The agreement will allow the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) to sub-license PF-07321332 for production and distribution by qualified… Read More

And according to the fourth WHO global tobacco trends report, that number is expected to continue to drop to 1.27 billion by 2025.    Sixty countries are now on track to achieving the voluntary global target of a 30% per cent reduction by 2025, an increase from two years ago, when only 32 countries were on course.  Encouraging news  For WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, the numbers are very encouraging, but more work must be done.  “We still have a long way… Read More

The low cost is possible thanks to a new partnership between the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), MedAccess and SD Biosensor.  Each year, around 1.3 million women living with HIV become pregnant and just under one million pregnant women are infected with syphilis.    Despite affordable diagnostics and treatment being available, undiagnosed and untreated infections continue to affect the lives of many mothers and their children.  An exciting development  According to WHO, the rapid diagnostic… Read More