PUTRAJAYA: Clinical waste at various medical facilities has increased by 17% since early February, in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, said Environment Minister Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (pix). He said the Department of Environment (DOE) had a comprehensive clinical waste management system (SW404 scheduled waste) in which all clinical waste is separated first…
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic raises a number of difficult ethical issues, related to e.g. clinical trials, social distancing, priority-setting, health-care workers’ rights and obligations etc. WHO has established an international Working Group on Ethics & COVID-19 in order to develop advice on key ethical questions that Member States need to address. Related document…
The rapid spread of COVID-19 is testing the resilience of robust health systems around the world. WHO and its partners are taking measures to mitigate the potential impact of sustained transmission of the coronavirus in malaria-endemic settings – particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, which shoulders more than 90% of the global malaria burden. To date, a…
The World Health Organization’s new action plan to speed up universal access to safe blood and blood products pulls together existing recommendations and recommends new improved ways of working. It’s the start of a four-year collaborative effort to improve blood transfusion and blood-based therapies in all countries. Safe blood saves lives in all sorts of…
The World Health Organization has launched a new easy-to-access, digital version of its Model list of Essential Medicines (EML). The move will revolutionize the way this core WHO reference tool is used. More than 150 countries currently use the WHO list to work out which medicines best meet their national health contexts and priorities, so they…
In a new position paper, published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record today, WHO recommends vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis in people of all ages where the disease is highly endemic. Where the prevaccination incidence of the disease is moderate or low or is limited to particular geographical locations or certain outdoor activities, immunization should target individuals…
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Ghana and Zambia have licensed an Ebola vaccine, just 90 days after World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification. Registration of the vaccine is expected in additional countries in the coming weeks. The licensing of the vaccine means that the manufacturer can stockpile and widely distribute this vaccine to…
Leading health experts from around the world have been meeting at the World Health Organization’s Geneva headquarters to assess the current level of knowledge about the new COVID-19 disease, identify gaps and work together to accelerate and fund priority research needed to help stop this outbreak and prepare for any future outbreaks. The 2-day forum…
Good afternoon everyone and apologies for being late, and apologies too from Dr Tedros, who is just about to land in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he is following up on important Ebola matters and meeting with President Tshisekdi and many others to look at the future post-Ebola of the health system in…
Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding in an Ebola outbreak face similar challenges as other population groups, but they have specific health needs which must be met. As the second largest Ebola outbreak in history continues in the Democratic Republic of Congo, WHO has released new clinical guidelines for healthcare providers supporting pregnant or breastfeeding…