Category: Development

“This is the best deal in town. No question. This will pay itself off within 36 hours, once we get international travel and trade mobility moving again”, said Dr. Bruce Aylward, Senior Advisor to the WHO Director General and lead for the coalition, known as ACT Accelerator. ACT Accelerator, or the “Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator” in full, is the… Read More

It’s come about through an alliance of the world’s largest youth movements and organizations, together with the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Foundation. The “Global Youth Mobilization for Generation Disrupted” is being led by the so-called ‘Big 6’ youth organizations (Young Men’s Christian Association, YMCA; World Young Women’s Christian Association, YWCA; World Organization of the Scout Movement;… Read More

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) announced the next phase of its Supplies Partnership to secure essential contraception and maternal health medicines for millions of women and adolescent girls over the next decade.  “The global community must act now with commitments to support women and girls”, stressed UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem.… Read More

In a new report, released on Monday, the two agencies also warned that an alarming number of health care facilities do not have access to effective hand hygiene and are unable to segregate waste safely.  “Working in a health care facility without water, sanitation and hygiene is akin to sending nurses and doctors to work without personal protective equipment”, said Tedros… Read More

“For Universal Health Coverage Day, let us commit to ending this crisis and build a safer and healthier future by investing in health systems that protect us all — now”, declared the UN chief, adding that: “This year’s pandemic has shown us that no one is safe until everyone is safe.” In his message on the Day, marked annually on… Read More

This week the United Kingdom began rollout of a vaccine developed by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech, and more nations are expected to follow suit very soon.  “To have safe and effective vaccines against a virus that was completely unknown to us only a year ago is an astounding scientific achievement”, Tedros said, speaking during his regular briefing from Geneva. … Read More

The 2019 Global Health Estimates, released on Wednesday, “clearly highlight” the need for increased attention on preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, as well as tackling injuries, according to WHO.  “These new estimates are another reminder that we need to rapidly step up prevention, diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO… Read More

Tobacco kills up to half of its users, claiming more than 8 million lives each year. Over 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke, according to WHO.  Smoking is also a known risk factor for many respiratory illnesses, and smokers are… Read More

“What we have learned about schooling during the time of COVID is clear: the benefits of keeping schools open, far outweigh the costs of closing them, and nationwide closures of schools should be avoided at all costs”, Robert Jenkins, UNICEF Global Chief of Education, said in a statement.  Closing schools did not help in the fight against COVID-19, but simply… Read More

“People at highest risk of serious disease or death as a result of age, are also a high priority group because protecting them will reduce severe disease and death and take the burden off health systems”, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, speaking in Geneva.   “As supply increases, the next groups would include those who have higher risk… Read More