More than 25 000 people across the globe have accessed real-time knowledge from WHO experts on how to detect, prevent, respond to and control the new coronavirus in the 10 days since the launch of an open online training. The learning team of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme worked with technical experts to quickly develop…
WHO is convening a global research and innovation forum to mobilize international action in response to the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV). “Harnessing the power of science is critical for bringing this outbreak under control,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “There are questions we need answers to, and tools we need developed as quickly as…
To fight further spread of the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China and globally, and protect states with weaker health systems, the international community has launched a US$675 million preparedness and response plan covering the months of February through to April 2020. “My biggest worry is that there are countries today who do not have…
Joint statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr Natalia Kanem, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the occasion of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation – “When Tabitha was growing up in rural Kenya, most of her 16-year-old peers…
Female genital mutilation (FGM) exacts a crippling economic as well as human cost, according to World Health Organization (WHO). “FGM is not only a catastrophic abuse of human rights that significantly harms the physical and mental health of millions of girls and women; it is also a drain on a country’s vital economic resources,” said…
New research casts doubt on the true effectiveness of a common type of surgery used to ease shoulder pain. A British research team tracked outcomes for patients who underwent “decompression surgery” to treat shoulder impingement – a condition where a shoulder tendon rubs and catches in the joint. In decompression surgery, a small area of…
The key to preventing obesity in future generations is to make their parents healthier before they conceive, leading health researchers suggest. In a series of papers, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, the researchers say that the time before couples conceive represents a missed opportunity to prevent the transmission of obesity risk from one…
Propranolol, a beta-blocker commonly prescribed to treat irregular heart rates and other conditions, has significant anti-cancer properties, say researchers in a new clinical study published in ecancermedicalscience. The Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project, an international collaboration between the Anticancer Fund, Belgium, and US based GlobalCures, says that existing and widely-used non-cancer drugs may represent…
A new study indicates that playing video games for a limited amount of time each week may provide benefits to children, but too much can be detrimental. The findings are published in the Annals of Neurology. There’s much debate over the potential benefits and risks of video gaming in children and teens. To provide some…
E-cigarette vapour is much less harmful to lung cells than cigarette smoke. Lab tests show that, unlike tobacco smoke, which causes oxidative stress and cell death, e-cigarette vapour does not. Oxidative stress and cell death are driving factors in the development of many smoking-related diseases such as COPD and lung cancer. Vapour from e-cigarettes has…