Development Health Advice 

Ignoring COVID-19 will just perpetuate it, WHO warns 

That message from the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Eastern Mediterranean region, indicated that the pandemic is far from over, wherever you may live.  Citing the latest modelling data, Ahmed Al-Mandhari said that 22 countries and territories in the region would probably see more than 17 million cases and over 314,000 deaths by the end of the year.  Despite the holiday season, “failure… Read More
Development Health Advice 

WHO warns against blanket boosters, as vaccine inequity persists 

“No country can boost its way out of the pandemic,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking in Geneva during his final press briefing for the year.  “And boosters cannot be seen as a ticket to go ahead with planned celebrations, without the need for other precautions,” he added.  Diverting vaccine supply  The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on… Read More
Development Health Advice 

‘Consistent evidence’ of Omicron’s spread vs Delta: WHO’s Tedros

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists at WHO Headquarters in Geneva that it was also more likely that people who have been vaccinated, or recovered from the virus, could be infected, or reinfected. Omicron is a variant of the virus that causes #COVID19. To protect yourself and others: 💉 Get vaccinated as soon as it’s your turn😷 #WearAMask↔️ Keep physical distance and… Read More
Development Health Advice 

WHO lists 9th COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use  

The vaccine is produced by the Serum Institute of India, under licence from Novavax, and will now be part of the COVAX facility portfolio, boosting efforts to vaccinate more people in lower-income countries.  WHO Assistant-Director General for Access to Medicines and Health Products, Dr. Mariângela Simão, said that “even with new variants emerging, vaccines remain one of the most effective tools to protect people against serious illness and death from SARS-COV-2.”  She said WHO… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Omicron: School closures must be ‘avoided whenever possible’

“When COVID-19 community transmission increases and stringent public health measures become a necessity, schools must be the last places to close and the first to re-open”, argued Henrietta Fore. The new cases are being fuelled, increasingly, by Omicron; the new variant of concern that public health experts and scientists are working hard to understand and assess. Amid rising uncertainty, many governments are weighing… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Lifesaving support for new mothers in crisis-wracked Afghanistan

“Shortages of equipment, supplies and medicine, a lack of fuel and heating facilities, especially now with winter approaching, and uncertain support from partners are just some of the challenges we’re facing,” said Shahla Oruzgani, head midwife at the maternity hospital. At the Ahmad Shah Baba Hospital, where Dr. Aqila Bahrami works, the outlook is no less bleak. “We used to… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Migrant workers still at great risk despite key role in global economy

As exemplified by the many roles of migrants considered ‘essential’ during the COVID-19 pandemic, the report highlights an increase in demand for their labour. Foreign doctors account for 33 per cent of the United Kingdom’s physicians, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and there is an overall reliance on foreign healthcare workers in Europe and the… Read More
Development Health Advice 

COVID-19 cases and deaths in the Americas triple in 2021

Dr. Carissa Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), delivered her final briefing of the year, providing a regional update and reflections on the crisis.  📢 “#COVID19 does not simply go away, so we need to employ all the resources we have to ❌ stop it: 💉 vaccines, 😷 masks,🧍🏾‍♂️ ⬅️➡️ 🧍🏾‍♂️social distancing, and, of course, 🔬surveillance”, @DirOPSPAHO… Read More
Development Health Advice 

UN agency begins COVID vaccine rollout for 7,500 stranded migrants in Yemen 

IOM’s Chief of Mission, Christa Rottensteiner, explained that “immunizing people on the move is key to combatting the spread of the disease.”  An estimated 36,000 migrants have been stranded on their journeys due to mobility restrictions, nearly 3,500 in Ma’rib alone. Many are sleeping in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions where the virus can easily spread.   “Vaccinating against COVID-19 is even more crucial in places like Ma’rib where ongoing conflict continues… Read More
Development Health Advice 

No return to normal without universal COVID jabs: General Assembly President

“Unless we can vaccinate the world, there is no way out of this. You see different types of variants coming out, and this is going to continue,” Abdulla Shahid told journalists in New York.   He said he would convene a high-level event in the General Assembly on 13 January with the goal of ensuring equitable access and delivery of vaccines… Read More
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