Preventable ‘meningitis belt’ deaths targeted in health agency action plan
People anywhere, at any age can be infected with meningitis, which is transmitted through respiratory secretions or droplets in close human contact. Low and...
World Health Day: Focusing on women’s physical and mental health around the world
Close to 300,000 women continue to die during pregnancy or childbirth each year. More than two million babies die in their first month of...
World News in Brief: Cholera surges worldwide, DR Congo update, WHO leads global health...
The UN health agency registered almost 810,000 cases and 5,900 deaths from the preventable disease in 2024; that’s about 50 per cent higher than...
‘Every piece tells a story’: Bombs to beauty, from Gaza to Ukraine
“The purpose was to transform the negative energy of destruction into the positive energy of creation,” said Ukrainian designer Stanislav Drokin, who turns shrapnel...
Deadly impacts of childhood stunting can be prevented, WFP insists
Childhood stunting from malnutrition is a global but preventable problem if adequate investment can be found, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on...
UNICEF condemns looting of lifesaving supplies for children in Sudan
The attack on one of the last operational hospitals in the area further deepened the ongoing humanitarian crisis sparked by the civil war between...
FAO warns of ‘unprecedented’ avian flu spread, in call for global action
Briefing Member States in Rome, FAO officials called for urgent action to strengthen biosecurity, surveillance and rapid-response mechanisms to curb the outbreak.FAO Deputy Director-General...
Reject bigotry and discrimination, UN chief says, urging everyone to combat Islamophobia
In a message marking Saturday’s International Day to Combat Islamophobia, Secretary-General António Guterres warned of racial profiling and discriminatory policies that violate human rights...
Europe grapples with highest number of measles cases in more than 25 years
“Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call,” warned Dr. Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for the European region.A total...
‘Rapid expansion’ of synthetic drugs reshaping illicit markets, UN anti-narcotics body warns
In its 2024 Annual Report, released on Tuesday, the INCB explains that unlike plant-based drugs, these substances can be made anywhere, without the need...
Bahrain’s pearling legacy: Reviving a millennia-old culture
“I always say that all Bahrainis have pearl diving in their blood,” Mohamed Alslaise, a pearl diver and field researcher for the Bahrain Institute...
DR Congo: WHO tracks deadly mysterious illness
In recent months, disease surveillance has identified increases in cases and fatalities on three occasions across different areas of the country, which triggered follow-up...
Packed with promise: Wisam’s journey back to school in Sudan
Despite the noise and bustle of classmates packing up, nine-year-old Wisam is focused on the picture she is bringing to life from her desk....
New report flags severity of US funding cuts to global AIDS response
UNAIDS said that at least one status report on the impact of cuts has been received from 55 different countries up to the start...
World News in Brief: Conflict in DR Congo, Europe’s ‘cradle to cane’ crisis, millions...
In an alert on Tuesday, UN aid coordinators OCHA said that six humanitarian workers have been killed since January – the latest victim was...
WHO marks 20 years of its lifesaving tobacco control treaty
The agency is this week celebrating the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) –...
Breast cancer cases projected to rise by nearly 40 per cent by 2050, WHO...
The findings, published in Nature Medicine on Monday, warn that if current trends continue, the world will see 3.2 million new breast cancer cases...
UN to continue Gaza vaccination campaign against polio
WHO said in a news release that more than 591,000 children under 10 years old will receive the vaccine to protect them from the...
US aid funding cuts put HIV prevention at risk, warns UNAIDS
The waiver allows the continuation or resumption of “life-saving humanitarian assistance” including HIV treatment.That means 20 million people living with HIV and whose medication is...
Iraq: How the world helped Mosul rise from the rubble of war
Now, with UN support, Mosul has risen from the ashes of war and its historic monuments which had been reduced to rubble, dot the...
Gaza: UN health agency urges rapid scale-up of medevacs as thousands remain in critical...
Speaking from Gaza, WHO Representative Rik Peeperkorn described a scene of widespread destruction, overwhelmed medical facilities and growing mental health needs, as the population...
‘Step Up the Pace’ and end female genital mutilation, UN says
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) refers to all procedures involving the partial or total removal of female external genitalia or other injuries to female genital...
Toxic air threatens children’s lives across East Asia and the Pacific, UNICEF warns
The analysis underscores the devastating impact of toxic air on young lives, with air pollution now linked to nearly one in four deaths of...
World News in Brief: Deadly virus outbreak in Uganda, $500 million human rights appeal,...
Health authorities in Kampala confirmed that one patient has died – a nurse who had sought treatment at various other medical facilities after developing...