Category: Development

The number of new deaths from the coronavirus levelled off after a six-week decrease, with just over 60,000 new deaths reported. Europe and the Americas continued to account for nearly eight in 10 of all cases and deaths, while the only region to report a decline in fatalities was the Western Pacific, down nearly a third, compared to the previous… Read More

“In January, I said that the world was on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure unless urgent steps were taken to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines”, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) told journalists at a regular news briefing.  “Today, AstraZeneca announced positive results from a trial of the vaccine among 32,000+ people in ??… Read More

Women have suffered the worst impacts of COVID not only on the frontlines of healthcare, but also through the loss of jobs as the informal economy shrinks; an alarming spike in domestic violence; and the unpaid care burden that threatens to push 47 million additional women into extreme poverty, said a report published on Monday by UN Women, the UN… Read More

Latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) from more than 80 countries, showed a reduction in treatment of 21 per cent in the first year of the pandemic, compared with 2019. “#Tuberculosis is preventable & treatable, but remains 1 of the ?’s top infectious killers because too many people go undiagnosed. Improved screening is essential to rapidly identify people… Read More

During the early ‘90s, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan successfully raised funds to get antiretroviral drugs to those affected by the HIV epidemic. Many of the children of those patients are still alive today thanks to her work. As part of the podcast series, Awake At Night, she shares her insights with the UN’s head of communications, Melissa Fleming. Getting vaccines to… Read More

After six weeks of decline in January and February, cases are now increasing in most regions of the world.  Meanwhile, deaths are falling, though at a slower rate.  “These are worrying trends as we continue to see the impact of variants, opening up of societies, and inequitable vaccine rollout”, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking during his regular briefing… Read More

In a new report, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) highlighted that infections rose in warm seasons in 2020 – the first year of the pandemic – and that “there is no evidence” that this could not happen again in 2021.  “At this stage, evidence does not support the use of meteorological and air quality factors as a basis for… Read More

In a virtual press conference from Geneva, SAGE hailed the one-dose Janssen shot – produced by a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary – as a safe and lifesaving addition to the three other vaccines it has already approved for use: Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. The expert panel also noted that clotting episodes – also known as hypercoagulable events – were a… Read More

In many countries, if COVID-19 infections are confirmed or suspected, newborn babies are being routinely separated from their mothers, putting them at higher risk of death and lifelong health complications, according to the agency.  Newborns need close contact with parents, especially mothers, after birth. However, in many countries, if #COVID19 infections are confirmed or suspected, newborn ? are separated from… Read More

Agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists that WHO’s Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety has been reviewing available data on the vaccine and will meet with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Tuesday. Germany, France Italy and Spain have become the latest countries to temporarily halt use of the shot, following reports of blood clots in people who received the… Read More