Category: Development

Released on Tuesday, the WHO Economic Council’s new brief, Financing Health for All, points to three main actions: create fiscal space, direct investments, and the administration of public and private finance.  On public spending, the experts say that easing constraints imposed by outdated economic assumptions and reversing reforms that lead to big health care cuts, would allow spending to increase significantly.  According to the brief, investments to ensure equal access to healthcare for everyone, should become the central purpose of economic activity. Public… Read More

That grim estimate features in a new WHO working paper based on the 3.45 million coronavirus-related deaths reported globally to the UN health agency up to May; a figure that WHO said may well be at least 60 per cent lower than the actual number of victims.   To highlight the need for better protection, WHO was joined by global partners working to end the pandemic, to issue an urgent call for concrete action on… Read More

“Millions of women globally had limited or no access to maternal and new-born healthcare, some 14 million women lost access to contraception, and specialized services for victims of gender-based violence became inaccessible, when they were needed most”, said Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng. The Special Rapporteur pointed out that lockdowns, movement restrictions and diversion of funds due to COVID-19 have “jeopardized access… Read More

That’s the equivalent of four children every day, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said. Urging all parties to the conflict to stop the fighting, he added that “Yemen is the most difficult place in the world to be a child. And, incredulously, it is getting worse.”   ‘World’s worst’ humanitarian crisis  Yemen’s humanitarian crisis continues to be “the world’s worst” according to Mr. Elder, who said that… Read More

Mr. Drogba, from Côte d’Ivoire, will promote WHO’s top tips on how physical activity can lead to a healthier and happier life, and also highlight the value of sports, particularly for youth.  The Ivorian striker is best known internationally for his long and record-setting career at Chelsea Football Club, and for having been named African Footballer of the Year in 2006, and 2009. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team.   He also has a long… Read More

The vaccination campaign will begin on 8 November, and will be the first in over three years to reach all children in Afghanistan.  This includes more than three million children in parts of the country who have previously remained inaccessible to inoculation campaigns against the infectious disease, which can cause paralysis and death.  UNICEF and @WHO welcome the decision by the Taliban leadership supporting the resumption of house-to-house… Read More

World Food Day is not only a reminder of the importance of what we eat to everyone on the planet, but also “a call to action to achieve food security around the world”, the UN chief said in his message marking the day on Friday. Commemorated annually on 15 October, Secretary-General António Guterres pointed out that currently, almost 40 per… Read More

Where opportunities do exist, older adults or people with disabilities may simply not have access to them.   To improve this situation, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for better and fairer opportunities for physical activity to improve overall health.   In a new advocacy brief, Fair Play: Building a strong physical activity system for more active people, the agency asks decision-makers across the health, sport, education and transport sectors, to promote the benefits more.  For WHO Deputy… Read More

New data from the UN health agency highlighted how years of global progress in tackling the preventable disease had been “reversed” since the pandemic overwhelmed health care systems in 2020, preventing vulnerable people from seeking help.  Lockdowns had also stymied many people’s access to essential health care services, WHO’s 2021 Global TB report insisted, before issuing the additional warning that… Read More

The proposed members of the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) were selected for their expertise in areas such as epidemiology, animal health, clinical medicine, virology and genomics.   WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the news during his regular briefing from Geneva.  “SAGO will advise WHO on the development of a global framework to… Read More