Latest news

Addressing Emergency Care in Afghanistan

WHO/T. Hongisto

17 April 2018 – After fighting broke out in the rural district of Chark-Logar, Salim and his family were forced to flee their home. During the firefight, Salim was shot in the stomach. It took Salim two hours until he reached a first aid post.

Salim's story is not unusual in today's Afghanistan, where the already overwhelmed health facilities are often unable to absorb the burden. The Ministry of Health, with support from the Health Cluster, led by WHO, is struggling to rebuild a health system badly damaged after years of conflict.

• Feature story

• Adolescent health
• Breastfeeding
• Yellow fever
• World Health Day

Belize prioritizes health challenges faced by its youth

UNICEF Belize

16 April 2018 – Violence, particularly homicide, sexual violence and bullying, is a significant adolescent health issue in Belize. Teenage boys are more likely to drop out of school and become involved with violent gangs or other illegal activities. To improve the situation, WHO is working with the Belize Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to develop a national adolescent health strategy that targets all health challenges holistically, rather than focusing on one or two.

• Feature story

Guidance to promote breastfeeding in health facilities

11 April 2018 – Breastfeeding all babies for the first 2 years would save the lives of more than 820 000 children under age 5 annually.

WHO and UNICEF today issued new 10-step guidance to increase support for breastfeeding in health facilities that provide maternity and newborn services.

• News release
• Implementation guidance
• Infographics

Nearly one billion in Africa to be protected against yellow fever by 2026

WHO

10 April 2018 – Nearly one billion people will be vaccinated against yellow fever in 27 high-risk African countries by 2026 with support from WHO, Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF and more than 50 health partners. The commitment is part of the Eliminate Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE) in Africa strategy, which was launched by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole, Nigeria’s Minister of Health and partners at a regional meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, today.

• News release

Celebrating World Health Day

6 April 2018 – On World Health Day, 7 April, WHO 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.

To celebrate this occasion, UN Postal Administration, has issued stamps to highlight universal health coverage, this year's theme for the World Health Day, as a subject of universal concern to the peoples of the world.

• News release
• World Health Day - 7 April 2018
• unstamps.org (page 8)

Highlights

• Denmark hosts the WHO Global Dialogue on Partnerships for Sustainable Financing of Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control
  April 2018 – Noncommunicable diseases are responsible for 40 million deaths globally every year. Tackling NCDs is a global priority, but despite this, investment is still lacking and action is needed to reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target 3.4 of reducing premature deaths from NCDs by one third by 2030. In response, Denmark is co-hosting the WHO Global Dialogue in Copenhagen from 9 to 11 April 2018.

• WHO supports 16 African countries to protect against Listeriosis
  March 2018 - WHO has reached out to 16 African nations to provide support for preparedness and response to a listeriosis outbreak that started in South Africa in 2017 but is now threatening other countries on the continent.

• Call for Europe’s commitment to increase investment to end TB
  March 2018 – The number of new tuberculosis (TB) patients has been decreasing at an average rate of 4.3% yearly in the last decade in the WHO European Region. Despite being the fastest decline in the world, the trend is insufficient to achieve the target of ending the TB epidemic by 2030.

• Diphtheria vaccination campaign for 2.7 million children concludes in Yemen
  March 2018 – WHO, UNICEF and national health authorities have completed a large-scale vaccination campaign to control the spread of diphtheria in Yemen. The campaign targeted nearly 2.7 million children aged 6 weeks to 15 years in 11 governorates.