Category: Health Advice

The World Health Organization, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) with support from UNICEF are set to work with telecommunication companies to text people directly on their mobile phones with vital health messaging to help protect them from COVID-19. These text messages will reach billions of people that aren’t able to connect to the internet for information. Now more than ever,… Read More

Detecting iron deficiency early during pregnancy and in young children is crucial. Iron deficiency in children under two years of age can have significant and irreversible effects on brain development. This can lead to negative consequences on learning and school performance later in life. Cognitive development of a child can also be affected if a mother is iron deficient during… Read More

The heads of the United Nations’ major agencies have issued a warning of the risk of COVID-19 to the world’s most vulnerable countries. International donors have pledged around a quarter of the US$2 billion the UN requested in the Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19 in March.  Following is the text of the open letter:   Dear donor community, Humanity is collectively facing its most daunting… Read More

Shutting down immunization services in the COVID-19 pandemic risks triggering a resurgence of diseases that can be prevented with safe and effective vaccines, warns WHO in the lead-up to World Immunization Week (24-30 April).  When immunization services are disrupted, even for brief periods during emergencies, the risk of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks, such as measles and polio, increase. Last year’s deadly measles… Read More

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO has seen a dramatic increase in the number of cyber attacks directed at its staff, and email scams targeting the public at large.  This week, some 450 active WHO email addresses and passwords were leaked online along with thousands belonging to others working on the novel coronavirus response.  The leaked credentials did… Read More

All over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant loss of life, disrupting livelihoods, and threatening the recent advances in health and progress towards global development goals highlighted in the 2020 World Health Statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO) today. “The good news is that people around the world are living longer and healthier lives. The bad… Read More

COVID 19 is disrupting life-saving immunization services around the world, putting millions of children – in rich and poor countries alike – at risk of diseases like diphtheria, measles and polio. This stark warning comes from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance ahead of the Global Vaccine Summit on 4 June, at which world leaders will… Read More

A new report by WHO, UNICEF, and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) reveals that despite efforts to stop the harmful promotion of breast-milk substitutes, countries are still falling short in protecting parents from misleading information. The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for stronger legislation to protect families from false claims about the safety of breast-milk substitutes or aggressive… Read More

WHO, the United Nations Foundation and Illumination have partnered to launch a Public Service Announcement (PSA) that reinforces safe and healthy practices during these challenging times, featuring Illumination’s globally beloved Gru and the Minions. The PSA focuses on lifesaving behaviors to help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19, including physical distancing, being active at home and remaining kind to each other… Read More

The World Health Organization is today launching a new kit for school students aged 13-17 to alert them to the tobacco industry tactics used to hook them to addictive products. Every year the tobacco industry invests more than USD 9 billion to advertise its products. Increasingly, it is targeting young people with nicotine and tobacco products in a bid to… Read More