On 8 May 1980, the 33rd World Health Assembly officially declared: ‘The world and all its peoples have won freedom from smallpox.’ The declaration marked the end of a disease that had plagued humanity for at least 3 000 years, killing 300 million people in the 20th century alone. It was ended, thanks to a…
WHO and the European Investment Bank enhance cooperation to support countries in addressing the health impact of COVID-19 The first phase will address urgent needs and strengthen primary health care in ten African countries Enhanced WHO-EIB partnership will scale up financing to assure the chain of essential supplies, including personal protective equipment, diagnostics and clinical…
A clearer picture of the global impact New research from the Global Maternal Sepsis Study (GLOSS), a major WHO/HRP initiative, shows that infection has a much larger impact on global maternal mortality and morbidity than previously thought. The results from GLOSS, published in The Lancet Global Health, are the first to provide data on frequency…
LOS ANGELES: The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Thursday scrapped controversial plans to stage a fight card later this month as the United States battles the coronavirus pandemic. The mixed martial arts organisation had planned to hold UFC 249 without fans at an undisclosed location, reportedly an Indian tribal reservation in California. However in an abrupt…
GLOSSARY AGAMIC. Unmarried; unmarriageable, sometimes non-sexed. AGENIC. Lacking in reproductive power; sterile. AMPHIMIXIS. That form of reproduction which involves the mingling of substance from two individuals so as to effect a mixture of hereditary characteristics. It includes the phenomena of conjugation and fertilization among both unicellular and multicellular organisms. ANABOLISM. See METABOLISM. ANAMNESIC. Pertaining to or aiding…
Gulf states have tightened lockdown measures in large cities, and with Dubai’s shops closed and almost no people on the streets, peacocks that normally live in nearby gardens ventured out to explore other areas of the Middle Eastern city. A flock of geese searched for food inside a temple in Nagaon, in India’s state of…
The Twenty-fourth meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) on the international spread of poliovirus was convened by the Director General on 26 March 2020 with committee members only attending via teleconference, supported by the WHO Secretariat. In order to ease the burden on affected State Parties in the exceptional…
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact across the world. Efforts to contain the coronavirus are vital to the health of the world’s population, but they are also exposing children to increased risk of violence – including maltreatment, gender-based violence and sexual exploitation. As leaders of organisations committed to ending violence against children,…
Amnesty International has said that armed conflicts and state repression were causes of human rights abuses in Africa. The organisation in its annual review of human rights in the region on Tuesday said rights defenders in Africa were persecuted and harassed for standing up and speaking out against governments. According to the report, there…
WUHAN: The central Chinese city of Wuhan began allowing people to leave on Wednesday for the first time since it was locked down 76 days ago to contain the novel coronavirus, despite fears of a second wave of infection if such restrictions are eased too soon. China sealed off the city of 11 million people…