On the eve of World Malaria Day, the United Nations health agency called today for accelerating scaled-up efforts to prevent malaria, which remains a major public health threat, killing one child every two minutes worldwide in 2015.
Vaccinations stave off 26 potentially deadly diseases, the United Nations health agency is emphasizing on the first day of World Immunization Week, which also marks the halfway point of the Organization's goal to stop millions of deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases.
The United Nations today cited “record-breaking” progress in controlling neglected tropical diseases – which blind, maim, disfigure and debilitate millions of people worldwide, especially in its poorest areas – as an estimated one billion people were reached with treatment for at least one of these diseases in 2015 alone, according to the Organization’s health agency.
Each year, 8.8 million people die from cancer, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, according to WHO figures.
“The pilot deployment of this first-generation vaccine marks a milestone in the fight against malaria,” stated Dr. Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme.
Report says there is mounting evidence that food systems may be major conduits of AMR.
According to the United Nations, the global rate of diabetes [...]
This year’s commemoration of World Mental Health Day focuses on Psychological First Aid: First-line of Support in Emergency Situations.
The pledges, made by long-standing and new partners in the Every Woman Every Child movement, are part of new commitments in support of the the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents' Health.
The use and misuse of antimicrobial drugs accelerates the emergence of drug-resistant strains, the WHO says.
"The United Nations has a moral responsibility to the victims of the cholera epidemic," a statement from Ban Ki-moon said.
These diseases, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, and injuries are responsible for 43 million deaths each year.
Warning of a possible rise in heatwave deaths due to climate change, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction called for measures to reduce mortality from this natural hazard.
As the 21st International AIDS Conference wrapped up, a UN official called for ending discrimination against patients, especially those from the most vulnerable populations.
Ahead of a special session on drugs at the UN, senior officials focused on the people affected by drugs and the shared responsibility in stopping the suffering caused by them.
Exact figures about FGM are hard to come by, but as many as two out of three girls from the indigenous Emberá group are subjected to the procedure.
“I am proud to be among so many champions in the cause of eliminating female genital mutilation,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said during his keynote address.
The most senior United Nations officials are urging the world to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM) by 2030, calling it a “violent practice” that scars girls for life, endangering their health, depriving them of their rights, and denying them the chance to reach their full potential.
To mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), officially celebrated on 6 February, an event will take place at UN headquarters on 8 February.
Ban Ki-moon called to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health issue while also reducing the burden that millions face from all cancers.
