Category: Health Advice

A pregnant woman receives medical care at a mobile health clinic in Nigeria. © 2018 European Union The study, “Primary Health Care on the Road to Universal Health Coverage”, estimates that around 60 million lives could be saved by upping annual spending on primary health care in low and middle-income countries by some $200 billion per year. Whilst overall coverage has… Read More

Despite progress in childbirth safety, one woman or baby dies every 11 seconds Although childbirth survival rates are a “staggering success” compared with the year 2000, one pregnant woman or her child, still dies every 11 seconds from largely preventable causes, UN health experts have revealed. In a joint appeal for all nations to provide better medical care for all,… Read More

In a joint appeal for all nations to do more to provide better medical care for all, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) outlined several ways to help protect the 2.8 million pregnant women and newborns who die every year. A skilled pair of hands to help mothers and newborns around the time of birth,… Read More

“Speak up for patient safety!” is the slogan for the first World Patient Safety Day, observed this Tuesday, 17 September. The objective is to prevent and reduce risks, errors and harm, such as dispensing the wrong medication due to a mix-up over similar packaging. “No one should be harmed while receiving health care. And yet globally, at least five patients… Read More

Every 40 seconds, someone dies by suicide: WHO Despite progress in national prevention strategies, one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General lamented on Monday, highlighting key findings of the agency’s latest report on global suicide estimates. Speaking in Geneva ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “every death is a tragedy for family, friends… Read More

Speaking in Geneva ahead of World Suicide Prevention day, recognized on 10 September, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “every death is a tragedy for family friends and colleagues,” yet many more suicides can be prevented. All countries should “incorporate proven suicide prevention strategies into national health and education programmes in a sustainable way”, he added. Since WHO’s first report on… Read More

WHO welcomes Facebook commitment to stop vaccine misinformation from going viral The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday welcomed Facebook’s pledge to ensure users can separate fact from fiction when it comes to vaccines, across its platforms from Facebook Search, to Groups, Pages and forums. Following months of discussions between WHO and Facebook on the spread of inaccuracies when it comes to immunization, the social media… Read More

Following months of discussions between WHO and Facebook on the spread of inaccuracies when it comes to immunization, the social media giant has vowed to direct millions of users to “WHO’s accurate and reliable vaccine information in several languages, to ensure that vital health messages reach people who need them most”, WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebryesus said in a statement. “Vaccine… Read More

The Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) report, produced jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), reveals that while wheat production is estimated to be 2.2 million metric tonnes, compared with last year’s 29-year low of 1.2 million, it is still far below the pre-war average (2002-2011) of 4.1 million tonnes.… Read More

Speaking out anonymously through the youth engagement tool U-Report, almost three-quarters of young people also said social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, are the most common place for online bullying. “Connected classrooms mean school no longer ends once a student leaves class, and, unfortunately, neither does schoolyard bullying”, said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “Improving young people’s education experience means accounting… Read More