Jul 27, 2019, at 06:51 am
New York, July 27 (IBNS): Calling for “bold political leadership” ahead of World Hepatitis Day, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday urged countries to take advantage of recent reductions in the costs of diagnosing and treating viral hepatitis and scale up investments in disease elimination.
UN health agency ‘strongly recommends’ dolutegravir antiretroviral medication to manage HIV
Jul 23, 2019, at 09:13 am
New York, July 23 (IBNS): Based on new evidence, the United Nations health agency on Monday announced it was recommending the use of the antiretroviral drug dolutegravir (DTG) – which, with other medication, treats HIV/AIDS – as the preferred first- and second-line treatment for all cases, including pregnant women and those who have the potential to give birth.
Don’t panic, support DR Congo in fight against deadly Ebola virus, UN health agency urges
Jul 20, 2019, at 06:49 am
New York, July 20 (IBNS): Ebola virus is just one challenge among many facing communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, reiterating an appeal for the international community to show support and solidarity for its people.
One-in-five suffers mental health condition in conflict zones, new UN figures reveal
Jun 12, 2019, at 09:55 am
New York, June 12 (IBNS): More than one-in-five people living in conflict-affected areas suffers from a mental illness, according to a new report based on UN figures, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to call for increased, sustained investment in mental health services in those zones.
End ‘shame, isolation and segregation’ of fistula sufferers, urges UN reproductive health chief
May 24, 2019, at 04:26 pm
New York, May 24 (IBNS): Although obstetric fistula has largely been eliminated in developed countries, more than two million women and girls still live with the painful and disfiguring condition, according to UN data.
May 15, 2019, at 08:47 am
New York, May 15 (IBNS): Key lifestyle choices such as getting regular exercise, not smoking or drinking too much, can reduce the risk of dementia and cognitive decline, the UN health agency said on Tuesday.
African elephants under continued threat of poaching, warns UN-backed report
May 11, 2019, at 06:15 am
New York, May 11 (IBNS): An updated assessment by a United Nations Environment Programme-administered treaty has confirmed that poaching continues to threaten the long-term survival of the African elephant.
Apr 28, 2019, at 04:28 pm
New York, Apr 28 (IBNS): Winning the race against climate change to keep our planet livable and on a healthy trajectory requires action rooted in sustainable solutions aligned with the Paris Agreement and the UN-driven 2030 Agendafor sustainable development, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Saturday.
Under-fives' daily screen time should be kept to 60 minutes only, warns WHO
Apr 25, 2019, at 08:38 am
New York, Apr 25 (IBNS): Toddlers should spend no more than 60 minutes passively watching a screen every day, while babies under 12 months should have none, to ensure that they grow up fit and well, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, as part of a campaign to tackle the global obesity crisis.
New malaria vaccine trial in Malawi marks ‘an innovation milestone', declares UN health agency
Apr 24, 2019, at 09:23 am
New York, Apr 24 (IBNS): A new vaccine against deadly malaria which has been 30 years in development, was made available for the first time to infants in Malawi on Tuesday, marking an “innovation milestone”, said the World Health Organization (WHO).
Canada: A global measles crisis underway, warns UN agency chiefs
Apr 16, 2019, at 06:59 pm
United Nations, Apr 16 (IBNS): Noting a 300 per cent surge in the number of measles cases during the first three months of this year, compared to the same period last year, two UN agency heads declared on Monday that we now stand “in the middle of a global measles crisis.”
Women outliving men ‘everywhere’, new UN health agency statistics report shows
Apr 05, 2019, at 08:51 am
New York, Apr 5 (IBNS): Average life-expectancy globally has increased by five-and-a-half years since the turn of the century, and women outlive men “everywhere”, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
Apr 03, 2019, at 09:04 am
New York, Apr 3 (IBNS): Around 900,000 doses of cholera vaccine arrived in Mozambique on Tuesday to help stave off a possible epidemic, after the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai, amid reports that the disease has already infected more than 1,000 people in affected areas.
Cyclone Idai: emergency getting ‘bigger by the hour’, warns UN food agency
Mar 20, 2019, at 09:16 am
New York, Mar 20 (IBNS): The full scale of the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai in south-west Africa is becoming clearer, the UN said on Tuesday, warning that the emergency “is getting bigger by the hour”.
Mar 14, 2019, at 09:13 am
New York, Mar 14 (IBNS): Despite a decline in new HIV infections globally, a UN report launched on Wednesday highlights that nearly all people who inject drugs live in countries that do not provide suitable harm-reduction service coverage, meaning they are denied adequate access to essential health services.
UN unveils global influenza strategy to prevent ‘real’ threat of pandemic
Mar 12, 2019, at 08:55 am
New York, Mar 12 (IBNS): A new UN-led plan has been unveiled to tackle the estimated one billion cases of influenza which occur each year, and protect against the “real” threat of a global pandemic, the head of the organization’s health agency said on Monday.
Feb 23, 2019, at 09:26 am
New York, Feb 23 (IBNS): With the biodiversity of plants cultivated for food shrinking, the global population’s health, livelihoods and environment are under severe threat. This warning from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) comes as the UN agency releases a new report – the first of its kind – on the state of the world’s biodiversity in food and agriculture.
Boat made of recycled plastic and flip-flops inspires fight for cleaner seas along African coast
Feb 13, 2019, at 09:12 am
New York, Feb 13 (IBNS): After completing a historic 500km journey from the Kenyan island of Lamu to the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, the world’s first ever traditional “dhow” sailing boat made entirely from recycled plastic, known as the Flipflopi, has successfully raised awareness of the need to overcome one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges: plastic pollution.
‘End the ongoing atrocities’ against people with albinism in Malawi, say UN rights experts
Feb 09, 2019, at 09:44 am
New York, Feb 9 (IBNS): After a recent "savage” killing and the abduction of a one-year-old baby in Malawi, United Nations experts have urged the Government to take immediate action to protect people with albinism and “end the ongoing atrocities”.
Feb 02, 2019, at 10:21 am
New York, Feb 2 (IBNS):“High impact weather” has gripped much of the world so far this year, the UN weather agency, WMO, reported on Friday, with “dangerous and extreme cold in North America, record high heat and wildfires in Australia, heavy rains in parts of South America, and heavy snow on the Alps and Himalayas.
Feb 02, 2019, at 10:05 am
New York, Feb 2 (IBNS): “Brave” UN teams and partners leading the fight against deadly Ebola disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) along with Government authorities and peacekeepers there, have been key in helping protect communities, a top World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Friday, six months after the latest outbreak began.
Boom in Artificial Intelligence patents, points to ‘quantum leap’ in tech: UN report
Feb 01, 2019, at 08:42 am
New York, Feb 1 (IBNS): The “upsurge” in patent applications for devices and machines powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the last five years, suggests that it could soon revolutionize all areas of daily life far beyond the tech world, a UN report suggested on Thursday.
UN lauds special chemistry of the periodic table, kicking off 150th anniversary celebrations
Jan 30, 2019, at 08:53 am
New York, Jan 30 (IBNS): On Tuesday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements at its headquarters in Paris, kicking off a series of events and activities to be held throughout the year, as the world celebrates the 150th anniversary since its creation by Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev.
At COP24, countries agree concrete way forward to bring the Paris climate deal to life
Dec 16, 2018, at 04:04 pm
New York, Dec 16 (IBNS): After two weeks of crunch negotiations – with overtime – the almost 200 parties gathered in Katowice, Poland, for the United Nations COP24 two-week climate change conference, adopted on Saturday a “robust” set of implementing guidelines for the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, aimed at keeping global warming well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels.
Better care, stronger laws needed to save 30 million babies on the brink of death
Dec 14, 2018, at 08:45 am
New York, Dec 14 (IBNS): Nearly 30 million babies each year - nearly a quarter of the total - are born too soon, too small or become sick, requiring specialized care to survive beyond the first month of life, according to a new report by a global coalition that includes the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO).
Better care, stronger laws needed to save 30 million babies on the brink of death
Dec 13, 2018, at 09:26 am
New York, Dec 13 (IBNS): Nearly 30 million babies are born too soon, too small or become sick, requiring specialized care to survive beyond the first month of life, according to a new report by a global coalition that includes the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO).
UN space-based tool opens new horizons to track land-use on Earth’s surface
Dec 13, 2018, at 09:16 am
New York, Dec 13 (IBNS): Satellite-based tracking to chart how land is being used on the earth’s surface is about to get much easier and more accessible, the UN food agency has announced, launching a new online portal developed in collaboration with the United States Space Agency, NASA.
Dec 13, 2018, at 09:02 am
New York, Dec 13 (IBNS): With roadblocks continuing at the COP24 climate change conference over how to implement the historic 2015 Paris Agreement, United Nations chief António Guterres returned to Poland on Wednesday, to challenge the more than 100 Government leaders gathered in Katowice to find consensus and “finish the job.”
UN pushes for universal health care on International Day
Dec 13, 2018, at 08:58 am
New York, Dec 13 (IBNS): Universal health care for all, leaving no one behind, by 2030: that’s the call going out on International Universal Health Coverage Day, which this year falls on Wednesday. Why 2030? Because that’s the target date for completion of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of which (SDG3), calls for the promotion of healthy lives and well-being for all.
‘Going green’ is good business says private sector at UN’s COP24 climate conference
Dec 11, 2018, at 08:17 am
New York, Dec 11 (IBNS): Businesses across the world should no longer be viewed solely as greenhouse gas emissions culprits, but more as indispensable partners for climate action, who stand to increase profits from “going green”. That was the key message as the United Nations COP24 climate change conference went into its second week in Katowice, Poland.