Half the world lacks access to essential health services – UN-backed report
New York, Dec 14(Just Earth News): At least half of the world's population cannot obtain essential health services, and nearly 100 million people are being pushed into extreme poverty each year due to the out-of-pocket health expenses they must pay, according to a United Nations-backed study.
One in 10 medicines in developing countries substandard or falsified – UN health agency
New York, Nov 30(Just Earth News): Substandard or fake medicines that fail to prevent and cure disease – and could even cause death – are becoming more and more prevalent, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned, calling on Governments to take urgent actions to tackle this global problem.
Nearly 21 million people now have access to HIV treatment – UN agency
New York, Nov 22(Just Earth News): About 20.9 million people now have access to the antiretroviral therapy, according to a new report by the UN agency leading the global push to end AIDS, spotlighting that this remarkable progress has been made possible by people living with HIV demanding their rights, strong leadership and financial commitment.
Some 25 million unsafe abortions occur each year, UN health agency warns
New York, Sept 29(Just Earth News): About 25 million unsafe abortions, accounting for 45 per cent of all abortions, occurred every year from 2010 to 2014 worldwide, with 97 per cent of those unsafe procedures occurring in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, a new United Nations study has found.
‘All roads should lead to universal healthcare,’ says new WHO chief
New York, May 25(Just Earth News): The newly-elected head of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, outlined his priorities for journalists at the agency’s headquarters on Wednesday in Geneva, where he stressed the need for Member States to provide healthcare for all and to implement international health regulations.
Low and middle income countries bear disproportionate burden of cervical cancer – UN agency
New York, Feb 3 (Just Earth News): Noting that cervical cancer kills more than 250,000 women every year and that 85 per cent of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, the United Nations health agency underlined the importance of vaccinating girls against the cancer-causing virus and screening programmes to detect and treat precancerous lesions.
New direct funding available for low- and middle-income countries to regulate tobacco – UN
New York, Nov 9 (Just Earth News): New funding is now available to support tobacco control implementation for low and middle income countries through the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) , currently the strongest global instrument to control tobacco.
UN health agency names Michael Bloomberg Global Ambassador on noncommunicable diseases
New York, Aug 18 (Just Earth News): The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday named Michael R. Bloomberg, former New York City mayor and philanthropist, as its Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs).
New York, July 12 (Just Earth News): When Dr. Oriol Mitjà , a Spanish technical adviser for the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO), arrived in Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea, he expected to stay only a month. But after meeting hundreds of children covered in debilitating lesions, he stayed on, found a cure for their ailment, and spurred an international campaign that, if successful, will lead to the eradication of only the second disease in history.
Films with on-screen smoking should carry warnings to protect children: WHO
New York, Feb 2 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Noting that films showing on-screen smoking have enticed millions of young people around the world into tobacco addiction, the United Nations health agency on Monday called for them to be rated and display warnings to save children from subsequent disability and death.
Zika virus an international public health emergency: WHO
New York, Feb 2 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Meeting on Monday on the Zika virus outbreak, the World Health Organization announced that the recent cluster of neurological disorders and neonatal malformations reported in the Americas region constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
Five polio-free years in South-East Asia Region, announces WHO
New York, Jan 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations health agency on Tuesday announced that the South-East Asia Region has completed five years without any case of wild poliovirus, a highly infectious disease that invades the nervous system and for which there is still no cure.
Oral cholera vaccines to double to 6 million doses after WHO approves new supplier
New York, Jan 9 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Faced with a global shortage of oral cholera vaccines (OCV), the United Nations health agency announced on Friday that supply should double this year to six million doses, with further increases later, after it approved a third producer to fight a disease that kills up to 142,000 people annually.
'We can consign rabies to the history books' with plan to eliminate virus: WHO
New York, Dec 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Against the backdrop of one person dying every 10 minutes from rabies and that treatment for those bitten can cost 40 days of wages in some countries, the United Nations announced on Thursday a new framework to eliminate human rabies and save tens of thousands of lives each year by ensuring ready availability of vaccines and treatment, and emphasizing mass dog vaccinations to tackle the disease at its source.
UN health agency outlines global trends and looks ahead to 2030 targets
New York, Dec 9 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday issued a comprehensive analysis of global health trends since 2000, and laid out actions that should be prioritized over the next 15 years to achieve the newly-agreed United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), saying that universal health care is the “linchpin of development in health.â€