Tag: Health News

WHO has updated its guidelines on mask wearing in community settings, COVID-19 treatments, and clinical management. This is part of a continuous process of reviewing such materials, working with guideline development groups composed of independent, international experts who consider the latest available evidence and the changing epidemiology. Masks continue to be a key tool against COVID-19 WHO continues to recommend… Read More

The Government of Barbados, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization are holding a high-level technical meeting on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health with Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The discussion focusses on progress, challenges, and opportunities to scale up multi-sector actions on NCDs and mental health and to set out recommendations to scale up… Read More

Earlier today, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke with Minister Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission, about the COVID-19 situation in the country. WHO appreciates this meeting, as well as the public release of information on the overall situation.   Chinese officials provided information to WHO and in a press conference on a range of topics, including outpatient… Read More

The adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis (TB) services has brought the urgency of vaccine development efforts into sharp focus. Speaking earlier today at a high-level panel on TB at the World Economic Forum, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, announced plans to establish a new TB Vaccine Accelerator Council. The Council will facilitate… Read More

A high-level meeting took place on 30 December between WHO and China about the current surge in COVID-19 cases, to seek further information on the situation, and to offer WHO’s expertise and further support. High-level officials from China’s National Health Commission and the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration briefed WHO on China’s evolving strategy and actions in the areas… Read More

The Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) meets regularly to review the latest scientific evidence on circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants and advises WHO on whether a change in public health strategies is warranted. The TAG-VE met on 3 January 2023 to discuss the COVID-19 situation in mainland China. During the meeting, scientists from the China CDC presented genomic data from… Read More

NEW YORK/GENEVA/WASHINGTON D.C., 10 January 2023 – An estimated 5 million children died before their fifth birthday and another 2.1 million children and youth aged between 5–24 years lost their lives in 2021, according to the latest estimates released by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME). In a separate report also released today, the group… Read More

United Nations agencies are calling for urgent action to protect the most vulnerable children in the 15 countries hardest hit by an unprecedented food and nutrition crisis. Conflict, climate shocks, the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, and rising costs of living are leaving increasing numbers of children acutely malnourished while key health, nutrition and other life-saving services are becoming less accessible.… Read More

The decision by Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to ban women from working in humanitarian nongovernmental organizations is a major blow for vulnerable communities, for women, for children, and for the entire country. Female staff are key to every aspect of the humanitarian response in Afghanistan. They are teachers, nutrition experts, team leaders, community health workers, vaccinators, nurses, doctors, and heads… Read More

On 29 November 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the World Health Organization (WHO) signed a new multi-annual agreement for US$ 36.68 million in core voluntary contributions for the period 2022-2025. Core voluntary contributions are funds that WHO can use and allocate as needed to address health priorities and challenges. Flexible funding such as this allows… Read More