Health Advice Lifestyle 

New guidance aims to reduce bloodstream infections from catheter use

The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes the first global guidelines to prevent the occurrence of bloodstream and other infections caused by use of catheters placed in minor blood vessels during medical procedures. Poor practices in the insertion, maintenance, and removal of these catheters carry a high risk of introducing germs directly to the bloodstream, which can lead to serious conditions… Read More
Health Advice Lifestyle 

Governments agree to continue their steady progress on proposed pandemic agreement ahead of the World Health Assembly

Governments of the world today agreed to continue working on a proposed pandemic agreement, and to further refine the draft, ahead of the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly that starts 27 May 2024. Governments meeting at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva agreed to resume hybrid and in-person discussions over coming weeks to advance work on critical issues, including around… Read More
Development Health Advice 

World News in Brief: Vaccine ‘patches’ trial shows promise, lowering catheter infection risk, Guantanamo detainee facing revictimisation

But now, there could be an easier alternative in the form of patches that can be simply applied to the skin, much like a sticking plaster. Early data from a vaccine patch trial in the Gambia has shown promising indications that it could be effective in protecting children from measles. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has been helping to… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Patients in Rafah ‘afraid to seek services’, WHO reports

The current situation has reached an “unprecedented emergency level”, he said, and the most recent evacuation order by Israel has forced tens of thousands to flee. As part of the contingency effort, WHO and partners have been establishing field hospitals and supporting restoration of the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, which will be used as a main referral hospital… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Peace or war, midwives keep delivering

This year the vital role of midwives during the ongoing climate crisis is in the spotlight.  Every two minutes, a woman or girl dies due to pregnancy-related complications, a figure that climate change threatens to exacerbate said UNFPA, underscoring the crucial role that midwives play in mitigating these risks.  “When crisis strikes, midwives are often first on the scene, especially… Read More
Development Health Advice 

‘Just in case’ antibiotics widely overused during COVID-19, says UN health agency

In an alert, WHO noted that although just eight per cent of hospitalised coronavirus patients also had bacterial infections which can be treated with antibiotics, a staggering three in four were given them on a “just in case” basis. At no point during the global pandemic did the UN health agency recommend using antibiotics to treat COVID-19, insisted WHO spokesperson… Read More
Health Advice Lifestyle 

Spain’s Secretary of State for Health discusses health priorities with WHO

WHO welcomed Mr Javier Padilla Bernáldez, Spain’s Secretary of State for Health and his delegation on 23 and 24 April 2024 to discuss joint global health priorities. Amongst others, Spain’s focus is on universal health coverage and health systems strengthening; pandemic response and emergency medical teams; organ and tissue transplantation; malaria and other tropical diseases; and polio. During the visit,… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Teen alcohol and nicotine use in Europe is up, WHO urges preventive measures

Data covering all three areas revealed that more than one in two 15-year-olds experimented with alcohol, while one in five teenagers recently used e-cigarettes, the UN health agency said, in a call for urgent preventive measures.  “The widespread use of harmful substances among children in many countries across the European Region – and beyond – is a serious public health… Read More
Development Health Advice 

New global campaign boosts lifesaving vaccines

The Humanly Possible joint global communication campaign aims to boost vaccination programmes around the world, with support from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “Thanks to vaccinations, more children now survive and thrive past their fifth birthday than at any other point in history,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. Indeed, global immunisation programmes… Read More