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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 23rd 2026 - 17:53 UTC

Tag: World Health Organization (WHO)

  • Thursday, May 29th 2014 - 02:45 UTC

    WHO calls on countries to raise taxes on tobacco to prevent addiction

    Every 6 seconds someone dies from tobacco use; tobacco kills up to half of its users.

    On World No Tobacco Day (31 May), WHO calls on countries to raise taxes on tobacco to encourage users to stop and prevent other people from becoming addicted to tobacco. Based on 2012 data, WHO estimates that increasing tobacco taxes by 50%, all countries would reduce the number of smokers by 49 million within the next three years and ultimately save 11 million lives.

  • Monday, May 19th 2014 - 21:00 UTC

    WHO's Dr. Chan targets childhood obesity: “our children are getting fatter”

    Dr.Chan announced a high-level Commission will produce a consensus report specifying approaches

    World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan voiced deep concern about the increase worldwide of childhood obesity, with numbers climbing fastest in developing countries. “As the 2014 World Health Statistics report bluntly states, ‘Our children are getting fatter,’” she said during her opening speech to the Health Assembly on Monday in Geneva.

  • Monday, May 19th 2014 - 13:54 UTC

    People living longer, both in rich and poor countries, says latest WHO report

    “Global life expectancy has improved because fewer children are dying before their fifth birthday” said Dr Margaret Chan

    People everywhere are living longer, according to the World Health Statistics 2014 published this week by the World Health Organization (WHO). Based on global averages, a girl who was born in 2012 can expect to live to around 73 years, and a boy to the age of 68. This is six years longer than the average global life expectancy for a child born in 1990.

  • Saturday, May 17th 2014 - 06:16 UTC

    Worldwide 3.3 million deaths in 2012 were caused by harmful use of alcohol

    On average every person in the world aged 15 years or older drinks 6.2 liters of pure alcohol per year

    Worldwide, 3.3 million deaths in 2012 were due to harmful use of alcohol, says a new report launched by the World Health Organization (WHO). Alcohol consumption can not only lead to dependence but also increases people’s risk of developing more than 200 diseases including liver cirrhosis and some cancers. In addition, harmful drinking can lead to violence and injuries.

  • Tuesday, May 6th 2014 - 06:41 UTC

    WHO declares a polio international public health emergency

    Assistant director general Aylward said that 74 cases have been detected this year

    The World Health Organization warned Monday that polio has reemerged as a public health emergency, after new cases of the crippling disease began surfacing and spreading across borders from countries like Syria and Pakistan.

  • Sunday, May 4th 2014 - 13:52 UTC

    Bacteria antibiotic resistance is winning the day and a major threat to public health

    Dr Keiji Fukuda: in the post-antibiotic era, ”many common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill”

    A new report by WHO–its first to look at antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance, globally–reveals that this serious threat is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right now in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country.

  • Wednesday, March 26th 2014 - 06:09 UTC

    Air pollution exposure responsible for 7 million deaths in 2012, says WHO

    External air pollution can be appreciated in the overcrowded cities with clogged transport systems

    In new estimates the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that in 2012 around 7 million people died - one in eight of total global deaths – as a result of air pollution exposure. This finding more than doubles previous estimates and confirms that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk. Reducing air pollution could save millions of lives.

  • Friday, October 11th 2013 - 18:19 UTC

    WHO calls for the phase out of mercury fever-thermometers by 2020

    Mercury is one of the top ten chemicals of major public health concern says WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan

    The World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Care without Harm organisation have joined forces to launch a new initiative to get mercury removed from all medical measuring devices by 2020.

  • Tuesday, July 23rd 2013 - 17:22 UTC

    Cardiovascular diseases remain number one cause of death, says WHO

    Road traffic accidents have made it among the top 10 leading causes in 2011.

    Cardiovascular diseases remain the number one cause of death throughout the world, and killed nearly 17 million people in 2011, that is 3 in every 10 deaths. Of these, 7 million people died of ischemic heart disease and 6.2 million from stroke, reports the World Health Organization.

  • Thursday, July 11th 2013 - 06:58 UTC

    One third of world’s population benefits from effective tobacco control measure

    Population covered by ban on tobacco advertising has doubled

    At 2.3 billion, the number of people worldwide covered by at least one life-saving measure to limit tobacco use has more than doubled in the last five years, according to the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2013. The number of people covered by bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, the focus of this year’s report, increased by almost 400 million people residing mainly in low- and middle-income countries.