Tobacco use has declined markedly since 2000, according to a new WHO report, but the reduction is insufficient to meet globally agreed targets aimed at protecting people from death and suffering from cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
One new case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) has been confirmed in Wangata, one of the three health zones of Mbandaka, a city of nearly 1.2 million people in Equateur Province in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo. United Nations troops are stationed in the area as part of the peacekeeping effort.
On 7 April, World Health Day, the World Health Organization marks its 70th anniversary. Over the past 7 decades, WHO has spearheaded efforts to rid the world of killer diseases like smallpox and to fight against deadly habits like tobacco use.
WHO’s first release of surveillance data on antibiotic resistance reveals high levels of resistance to a number of serious bacterial infections in both high- and low-income countries. WHO’s new Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System (GLASS) reveals widespread occurrence of antibiotic resistance among 500 000 people with suspected bacterial infections across 22 countries.
The WHO Executive Board, currently holding its 142nd session in Geneva, has appointed Dr Carissa Etienne for a second term as WHO Regional Director for Americas.
UNICEF welcomed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ announcement that Henrietta H. Fore will succeed Anthony Lake as UNICEF Executive Director when his term ends on 31 December 2017.
At least half of the world’s population cannot obtain essential health services, according to a new report from the World Bank and WHO. And each year, large numbers of households are being pushed into poverty because they must pay for health care out of their own pockets.
Up to 650 000 deaths annually are associated with respiratory diseases from seasonal influenza, according to new estimates by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC), the World Health Organization and global health partners.
“The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition”, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
An estimated one in ten medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified, according to new research from the World Health Organization (WHO). This means that people are taking medicines that fail to treat or prevent disease.