Category: Development

In a statment to mark International Drug Users’ Day, UNAIDS said action is needed to address the negative effect criminalization has on HIV, viral hepatitis and other health issues.  The day, commemorated annually on 1 November, affirms the rights of this population.    “UNAIDS calls for the full involvement of communities of people who use drugs in achieving legal reform… Read More

In a statement issued to mark the crossing of this “painful threshold”, the UN chief said the “devastating milestone reminds us that we are failing much of the world. While wealthy countries are rolling out third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, only about five per cent of the people in Africa are fully vaccinated.”   Our world has reached another… Read More

As a storyteller at the Minamata Disease Municipal Museum, Mr. Ogata helps to keep alive the memory of what is considered to be one of the most serious Japanese pollution incidents of the Twentieth Century. The incident was caused by the release of toxic chemicals from an industrial plant, which accumulated in shellfish and fish, and were then eaten by… Read More

The funding for the Access to COVID Tools (ACT) Accelerator – the UN-backed global initiative to end the pandemic – is critical to prevent some five million additional potential deaths, as well as $5.3 trillion in global economic losses.  “This weekend, the leaders of the @g20org countries will meet in Rome. Together, these countries have the ability to make the… Read More

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  On public spending, the experts say that easing constraints imposed by outdated economic assumptions and reversing reforms that lead to big health care cuts, would allow spending to increase significantly.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