Development Health Advice 

Explainer: What is famine?

With the release of the latest food security report from the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) on war-ravaged Gaza since December, World Food Programme (WFP) chief economist Arif Husain walked UN News through the process. What is the threshold for famine? Famine is essentially a technical term, referring to a population that faces widespread malnutrition and hunger-related deaths due… Read More
Development Health Advice 

‘Historic milestone’ as child mortality hits record low of 4.9 million in 2022

Figures released by the UN Interagency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) reveal the global under-five mortality rate has declined by 51 per cent since 2000. Some countries such as Cambodia, Malawi, Mongolia and Rwanda reduced under-five mortality rate by over 75 per cent over the time period. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell praised the dedicated efforts of midwives,… Read More
Development Health Advice 

WHO: Investments and myth-busting to improve hearing

“Only one out of five people are actually accessing hearing rehabilitation of those who need it,” said Dr. Shelly Chadha, in charge of WHO’s work on prevention of deafness and hearing loss, speaking to journalists in Geneva on Friday. Ahead of World Hearing Day, marked on 3 March, she recalled that the global health agency has repeatedly drawn attention to… Read More
Development Health Advice 

At least one in eight people now obese

That’s one billion people who lived with the disease in 2022, a number that has doubled among adults and quadrupled among five to 19-year-olds since 1990, according to data from the study, published in The Lancet, a renowned United Kingdom-based medical journal. “This new study highlights the importance of preventing and managing obesity from early life to adulthood through diet,… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Senior officials call for action and solutions at UN Environment Assembly

“Your efforts are urgent,” he said in a video message to the sixth edition of the UN Environmental Assembly (UNEA-6).  “Our planet is on the brink, ecosystems are collapsing, our climate is imploding and humanity is to blame.”  Action now  The UNEA is the world’s highest decision-making body on the environment and aims to help restore harmony between people and nature. … Read More
Development Health Advice 

No medicine, no hope: Doctors describe life under Israeli attack in Gaza

“Life is very difficult here,” hospital manager Dr. Haidar Al-Qudra told UN News. Currently, only 12 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are “partially functioning”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with the rest destroyed by Israel’s near constant bombardment of the enclave. As the war in Gaza enters its fifth month, Israeli forces continue to raid healthcare facilities, with Al… Read More
Development Health Advice 

World News in Brief: Noncommunicable diseases in emergencies, aid plan for Haiti, peace efforts in CAR

NCDs are responsible for 75 per cent of deaths worldwide, and it is estimated that strokes and heart attacks are up to three times more likely following a disaster, they said.  To save more lives, they are meeting in Denmark this week to ensure that care and treatment for NCDs are included as a standard part of humanitarian emergency preparedness… Read More
Development Health Advice 

‘Let’s make breastfeeding at work, work’, urge UN agencies

In the last decade, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding has increased by a remarkable 10 percentage points, to 48 per cent globally, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Promoting and supporting breastfeeding at workplaces can help drive the progress higher and towards the global target of 70 per cent by 2030, they said.… Read More
Development Health Advice 

WHO hails Mauritius, Netherlands for tobacco control measures but global risks remain

Hailing Mauritius and the Netherlands for implementing all of the UN health agency’s MPOWER tobacco control measures – a feat matched to date only by only Brazil and Türkiye – the WHO said that 2.3 billion people in 44 countries remain unprotected by tobacco control measures, exposing them to sickness and the economic burden of addiction.  In 53 countries, complete… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Sudan health crisis reaches ‘gravely serious levels’: WHO

Cases of infectious diseases and other illness have been reported among displaced populations who have sought shelter in hard-to-reach locations, where health services are limited. “The scale of the health crisis is enormous. We are working hard to step up our response, delivering critical medical and other emergency health supplies,” said Dr. Nima Saeed Abid, WHO Representative in Sudan, speaking… Read More