Development Health Advice 

COVID-19: Don’t underestimate Omicron, WHO chief warns

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, told reporters from WHO headquarters in Geneva that the variant was now present in 77 countries. Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. We’re concerned that people are dismissing Omicron as mild”, he said. “Surely, we have learned by now that we underestimate this virus… Read More
Development Health Advice 

New platform for childhood cancer medicines counters ‘unacceptable imbalance’ in survival rates

The Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the United States, seeks to counter an “unacceptable imbalance” in survival rates.  It offers an innovative approach in cancer care by addressing medicine availability in low and middle-income countries, which WHO said is often complicated by higher… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Investing $1 per person annually could save 7 million lives in low, lower-middle income nations

Seven out of ten deaths in the world are caused by NCDs – which include heart disease, diabetes, cancer and respiratory disease – but the vast majority of these deaths are preventable, according to a new report released by WHO on Monday. The UN health agency’s tried and tested NCD so-called ‘Best Buy’ interventions are evidence-based effective public health interventions,… Read More
Development Health Advice 

More than half a billion pushed into extreme poverty due to health costs

The findings launched on International Universal Health Coverage Day, highlighting the devastating impact of COVID-19 on people’s ability to obtain healthcare and pay for it. The #COVID19 pandemic has made it increasingly difficult for people to pay for care. Even before the pandemic, half a billion people were being pushed into extreme poverty as they had to pay for health care… Read More
Development Health Advice 

COVID-19: WHO says countries can now use one or two courses of the Janssen vaccine

The one-dose schedule is already authorized under the Emergency Use Listing Procedure, the agency explained in their updated recommendations, but now a second dose “may be appropriate”, the UN health agency said.   For WHO, in some circumstances, using one dose may have advantages.   Many countries face severe vaccine supply constraints, combined with a high disease burden.   In these cases, a single dose of the vaccine is efficacious and makes… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Vaccine hoarding will prolong COVID warns WHO, as agency mulls early Omicron data

The development follows reassurance from the World Health Organization (WHO) that available vaccines “hold up very well” in protecting people from the worst forms of coronavirus sickness for six months or more, with a “minor, modest reduction” thereafter, particularly among over-65s or those with underlying medical conditions. “The neutralization data has an underpinning, but it’s really the clinical data that… Read More
Development Health Advice 

WHO: Omicron could have ‘major impact’, but no definitive answers yet 

That was one key takeaway from Wednesday’s latest weekly briefing on the virus from WHO Director General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, speaking to journalists in Geneva.   So far, Omicron has been reported in 57 countries, and WHO expects the number to continue growing.  Tedros highlighted “a consistent picture of rapid increase in transmission” but said that the exact rate of increase relative to other variants remains difficult to quantify.  Despite some data from South Africa suggesting increased risk of… Read More
Development Health Advice 

WHO: Omicron could have ‘major impact’, but no definitive answers yet 

That was one key takeaway from Wednesday’s latest weekly briefing on the virus from WHO Director General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, speaking to journalists in Geneva.   So far, Omicron has been reported in 57 countries, and WHO expects the number to continue growing.  Tedros highlighted “a consistent picture of rapid increase in transmission” but said that the exact rate of increase relative to other variants remains difficult to quantify.  Despite some data from South Africa suggesting increased risk of… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Countries with regulations against industrially produced trans fats tripled over the past year 

Around 940 million people living in high-income countries are protected by these policies, but no one living in low-income countries has the same regulatory protection, so far.  Trans fat is an artificial compound that can be found in cakes, cookies, biscuits, packaged foods, cooking oils and spreads. WHO estimates that consumption of these fats cause around 500,000 deaths per year due to coronary heart disease.  According to the agency,… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Plastics in soil threaten food security, health, and environment: FAO

While plastic refuse littering beaches and oceans draws high-profile attention, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Assessment of agricultural plastics and their sustainability: a call for action suggests that the land we use to grow our food is contaminated with even larger quantities of plastic pollutants. “Soils are one of the main receptors of agricultural plastics and are known to… Read More
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