Category: Development

“Although we’re still learning about the virus, what’s clear is that this is not just a virus that kills people.  To a significant number of people, this virus poses a range of serious long-term effects,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking in Geneva on Friday during the UN agency’s latest virtual press conference.  The situation also underscores how herd immunity… Read More

“COVID-19 has caused untold suffering especially to families living in the poor urban areas who normally rely on informal day-to-day employment; many families in the coastal region are struggling just to feed themselves”, said Lauren Landis, WFP’s Kenya Country Director.  With the help of local and national authorities in Kenya, the World Food Programme (WFP) has begun rolling out aid… Read More

Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Michelle Bachelet, UN human rights chief (OHCHR), said it was time to ensure the benefits of science could be shared by all.   Science not ‘only for the few’  “In these difficult times, the best health technologies and discoveries cannot… Read More

New analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the global standard for gauging food insecurity, revealed that in some areas more than one in four children were acutely malnourished.  “Acute malnutrition rates among children below five years old are the highest ever recorded in parts of southern Yemen, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification”, said UN Children’s Fund… Read More

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), informed journalists that “intensive care units are filling up to capacity in some places, particularly in Europe and North America”.  Meanwhile over the weekend, numerous world leaders re-evaluated their situation, the UN health agency chief noted, and “took action to limit the spread of the virus”. No one wants lockdowns… Read More

The Berlin-based summit is backed by the UN World Health Organization (WHO), involving 100 countries, and around 2,500 participants, geared towards improving health worldwide and respond to global health challenges. Secretary-General António Guterres in his video message, ran through the many disruptive effects of the coronavirus pandemic beyond the loss of more than 1,147,000 lives as of Sunday, and 42.5 million… Read More

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said some countries were now on a “dangerous track” and the worrying rise was leading to hospitals and ICUs “running close or above capacity – and we’re still only in October.”  “We urge leaders to take immediate action, to prevent further unnecessary deaths, and essential health services collapsing, and schools shutting again.”  Action needed  The WHO Director-General said countries needed to “conduct… Read More

António Guterres will on Wednesday launch the #PledgetoPause campaign as part of wider efforts to create what the UN hopes will be “a new social media norm” to help combat the impact of viral misinformation.  The campaign is based on research which indicates that taking a brief pause before sharing information can significantly lessen the inclination to share shocking or… Read More

“I know there’s fatigue but the virus has shown that when we let our guard down, it can surge back at breakneck speed and threaten hospitals and health systems”, agency chief Tedros Adhanam Ghebreyesus told journalists on Monday.  Last week, WHO reported that the pandemic has entered a worrying phase as the northern hemisphere winter season approaches.  At the time,… Read More