Category: Health Advice

The studies from WHO Europe show that a high proportion of baby foods are incorrectly marketed as suitable for infants under the age of six months, when in fact much of it contains inappropriately high levels of sugar. WHO’s long-standing recommendation spells out that children should be breastfed, exclusively, for the first six months. Moreover, its 2016 global Guidance on… Read More

According to a joint study by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 10 countries accounted for 11.7 of the 19.4 million under and non-vaccinated youngsters in the world, in particular Nigeria (three million), India (2.6 million) and Pakistan (1.4 million).  At the same time, global protection against four diseases that are regarded as a gauge of overall coverage – diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis  and measles – has “stalled” at around 86 per cent since 2010, the study found.   95… Read More

New UN poverty report reveals ‘vast inequalities’ between countries There are vast inequalities across countries, and among the poorer segments of societies, says a new UN report published on Thursday. The 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), shows that, in the 101 countries studied – 31 low income, 68 middle income and 2 high… Read More

More than 150 countries use the UN’s Essential Medicines List, which contains around 460 drugs deemed critical to treat public health needs. This latest update adds 28 products for adults and 23 for children, and specifies new uses for 26 already-listed products, based on value for money, evidence and health impact. WHO added 12 tests to the WHO Essential Diagnostics… Read More

DR Congo: UN food agency triples aid in strife-hit Ituri province Food aid is being tripled for troubled Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to respond to what the World Food Programme (WFP) has described as the world’s second largest hunger crisis in the world, after Yemen. In addition to worsening hunger, communities in north-east DRC… Read More

“Misinformation about vaccines is as dangerous as a disease”, said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “It spreads fast and poses an imminent threat to public health”.  Over the last three decades, the world has seen significant improvements in the health and well-being of children, with vaccinations having contributed to a dramatic decrease in under-five deaths, according to UNICEF.    And… Read More

Amidst ‘high political tension’, UN chief appeals to G20 leaders for stronger commitment to climate action, economic cooperation  The annual G20 summit of leaders from the largest and fastest-growing economies, got underway on Friday in Osaka, Japan, against a backdrop of what UN Secretary-General António Guterres described as “a moment of high political tension”.  “We have global warming, but we… Read More

In an update on the situation in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, nearly 11 months after the outbreak began, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 2,284 cases of infection so far, and 1,540 deaths. At the same time, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, announced that a “robust” probe found that 117 people had been killed in “several massacres” involving… Read More

The study from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), also shows that the negative health consequences associated with drugs are more severe and widespread than previously thought, with around 35 million people suffering from drug use disorders and requiring treatment services. Higher figures attributed to improved research and data Some 11 million people injected drugs in 2017, 1.4… Read More

Fill teacher training gaps to tackle trauma, psychosocial challenges, urges UN cultural agency on World Refugee Day On World Refugee Day, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is calling for more support to fill the gaps in training for teachers on trauma and psychosocial assistance for migrant and refugee students. A new policy paper launched on Thursday by… Read More