WHO news

Director-General leads WHO delegation to the Belt and Road Forum for Health Cooperation

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 09:05:00 GMT

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will lead WHO’s delegation to the Belt and Road High Level Meeting for Health Cooperation: Towards a Health Silk Road to be held in Beijing, 18–19 August 2017, as part of his first official visit to the People’s Republic of China since taking office on 1 July 2017.

Dr Tedros’ visit is to establish a new vision for WHO-China strategic partnership for the next 5–7 years. He will meet with high level leadership in the State Council; National Health and Family Planning Commission; Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Commerce; and the Government of China. Topics to be discussed during their meetings will include how best to utilize the Belt and Road initiative to keep people safe, how to advance universal health coverage in the countries included in the initiative, and to discuss more broadly the role of China in global health.

Cholera count reaches 500 000 in Yemen

Mon, 14 Aug 2017 10:25:00 GMT

The total number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen this year hit the half a million mark on Sunday, and nearly 2000 people have died since the outbreak began to spread rapidly at the end of April.

The overall caseload nationwide has declined since early July, particularly in the worst affected areas. But suspected cases of the deadly waterborne disease continue to rage across the country, infecting an estimated 5000 people per day.

Statement of the 14th IHR Emergency Committee regarding the international spread of poliovirus

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 10:20:00 GMT

The fourteenth meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the international spread of poliovirus was convened by the Director General on 3 August 2017 at WHO headquarters with members, advisers and invited member states attending via teleconference.

The Emergency Committee reviewed the data on wild poliovirus (WPV1) and circulating vaccine derived polioviruses (cVDPV). The Secretariat presented a report of progress for affected IHR States Parties subject to Temporary Recommendations. The following IHR States Parties presented an update on the current situation and the implementation of the WHO Temporary Recommendations since the Committee last met on 24 April2017: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria.

Babies and mothers worldwide failed by lack of investment in breastfeeding

Tue, 01 Aug 2017 02:00:00 GMT

No country in the world fully meets recommended standards for breastfeeding, according to a new report by UNICEF and WHO in collaboration with the Global Breastfeeding Collective, a new initiative to increase global breastfeeding rates.

Eliminate hepatitis: WHO

Thu, 27 Jul 2017 17:00:00 GMT

New WHO data from 28 countries - representing approximately 70% of the global hepatitis burden - indicate that efforts to eliminate hepatitis are gaining momentum. Published to coincide with World Hepatitis Day, the data reveal that nearly all 28 countries have established high-level national hepatitis elimination committees (with plans and targets in place) and more than half have allocated dedicated funding for hepatitis responses.

On World Hepatitis Day, WHO is calling on countries to continue to translate their commitments into increased services to eliminate hepatitis. This week, WHO has also added a new generic treatment to its list of WHO-prequalified hepatitis C medicines to increase access to therapy, and is promoting prevention through injection safety: a key factor in reducing hepatitis B and C transmission.

Statement by UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake, WFP Executive Director, David Beasley and WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, following their joint visit to Yemen

Wed, 26 Jul 2017 09:50:00 GMT

Statement by UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake, WFP Executive Director, David Beasley and WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, following their joint visit to Yemen

WHO urges action against HIV drug resistance threat

Thu, 20 Jul 2017 15:57:00 GMT

WHO has detailed an increasing trend of resistance to HIV drugs in a new report, warning that this is a growing threat. The 2017 WHO HIV drug resistance report shows that in 6 of the 11 countries surveyed, over 10% of people starting antiretroviral therapy had a strain of HIV resistant to the most widely used medicines.

WHO report finds dramatic increase in life-saving tobacco control policies in last decade

Wed, 19 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic finds that more countries have implemented tobacco control policies, ranging from graphic pack warnings and advertising bans to no smoking areas.

WHO estimates cost of reaching global health targets by 2030

Mon, 17 Jul 2017 15:57:00 GMT

The SDG Health Price Tag, published today in The Lancet Global Health, estimates the costs and benefits of progressively expanding health services in order to reach 16 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) health targets in 67 low- and middle-income countries that account for 75% of the world’s population.

1 in 10 infants worldwide did not receive any vaccinations in 2016

Mon, 17 Jul 2017 15:00:00 GMT

Worldwide, 12.9 million infants, nearly 1 in 10, did not receive any vaccinations in 2016, according to the most recent WHO and UNICEF immunization estimates.

Comments (0) - Read and Add your own Comments