Development Health Advice 

COVID-19: ‘Unacceptable’ deals and delays, hampering lifesaving COVAX deliveries 

It’s a year since the innovative scheme was born, in a bid to guarantee timely access to everyone, regardless of their income, status or location, to life-saving jabs, as the pandemic gripped the world.  “Yet, the global picture of access to COVID-19 vaccines is unacceptable”, said the statement released on Wednesday.  “In the critical months during which COVAX was created, signed… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Make mental health a priority across the board, UN chief urges 

António Guterres was speaking at a high-level event on Mental Health Interventions for Peacebuilding in Conflict and Humanitarian settings.  “Vulnerability and mental health problems are part of our collective human experience and should be treated as seriously as physical health issues, including during a global pandemic”, he said.  Connections  For Mr. Guterres, peacebuilding, mental health and psychosocial support are deeply interconnected. He reminded that “people… Read More
Development Health Advice 

COVID-19 Delta variant still ‘most concerning’, say WHO experts

“I think the Delta variant for me is the one that’s most concerning because of the increased transmissibility,” said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the agency’s Technical Lead for COVID-19, speaking during an online question and answer session. “It’s doubly transmissible compared to the ancestral strain, which means that it can spread to more people.” Virus evolving Dr. Van Kerkhove said… Read More
Development Health Advice 

WHO to G20 Health Ministers: Meet COVID-19 pledges, support regional vaccine manufacturing

Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pointed out that “many countries continue to face steep increases in cases and deaths” – despite that more than five billion vaccines have been administered globally. “But almost 75 per cent of those doses have been administered in just 10 countries”, he explained, adding that at 2 per cent, Africa has the lowest… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Haiti earthquake: Waterborne disease poses new threat to children

“The lives of thousands of earthquake-affected children and families are now at risk, just because they don’t have access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene”, Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative in Haiti said on Thursday. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake that ripped through the Caribbean island State on 14 August, was followed days later by Tropical Depression Grace, which exacerbated the suffering and increased the devastation.… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Improving air quality ‘key’ to confronting global environmental crises

“Yet, air quality continues to deteriorate despite the increase in laws and regulations seeking to address air pollution”, UNEP chief Inger Andersen said in the foreword to the Global Assessment of Air Pollution Legislation (GAAPL). Findings on air quality legislation in 194 countries and the European Union (EU), reveal that despite the international movement of pollutants which impact air quality, only… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Improve support for rising numbers living with dementia, urges WHO

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global status report on the public health response to dementia, reveals that the European Region hosts half of all countries offering effective support. Yet even in Europe, many plans are expiring, or have already expired, indicating a need for renewed government commitments. “Dementia robs millions of people of their memories, independence and dignity, but it also… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Producing COVID-19 vaccines in Latin America will ease shortages, protect more people

PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne announced the launch of the Regional Platform to Advance the Manufacturing of COVID-19 Vaccines and other Health Technologies in the Americas, describing as an initiative that will “coordinate across sectors – health, science and technology and industry – to strengthen their capacity to produce new technologies”. The UN official explained the need for the platform,… Read More
Development Health Advice 

COVID-19: New Mu variant could be more vaccine-resistant

In its weekly epidemiological update, published on Tuesday, WHO warned it was becoming increasingly prevalent in Colombia and Ecuador, and showed signs of possible resistance to vaccines. Mu was first identified in Colombia in January 2021, and since then, there have been “sporadic reports” of cases and outbreaks in South America and Europe, WHO said. While the global prevalence of Mu… Read More
Development Health Advice 

New data-driven hub aims to detect and prevent next pandemic

The WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, will bring together diverse partnerships from several disciplines, and the latest technology, so that data and intelligence are shared for the common good. Critically, it will support experts and policy-makers worldwide to be able to forecast, detect and assess epidemic and pandemic risks so that they can respond rapidly to future public… Read More
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