WHO

February 13, 2025 10:35 AM

Study links DNA traits to smoking-related cancer risk

A team of Israeli researchers has identified how the structure and chemical modifications of DNA influence the risk of developing lung cancer from smoking. The team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem focused on benzo(a)pyrene, a toxic chemical in cigarette smoke that, when processed by the body, binds to DNA, disrupts its normal function, and causes cellular damage, Xinhua News Agency reported. Published in Nucleic Acids Research, the study found that DNA organization and chemical changes...

February 12, 2025 10:01 PM

US actions have serious impact on global health, WHO chief says

The United States' pause on foreign aid contributions is having a serious impact on global health, hitting programmes fighting polio, HIV and other threats, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday. Tedros urged the U.S. to consider resuming aid funding until solutions can be found. "There are actions that the U.S. government is taking... which we're concerned are having a serious impact on global health," said Tedros in a virtual press conference...

February 3, 2025 1:11 PM

WHO warns of 85% increase in cancer cases and deaths in South-East Asia by 2050

The World Health Organization (WHO) has projected an 85% increase in cancer cases and deaths in the South-East Asia region by 2050. This increase is expected to result in a significant rise in both the number of new cancer diagnoses and related fatalities. The announcement comes ahead of World Cancer Day, which is observed annually on February 4. This year's theme, "United by Unique," emphasizes the collective commitment to combating cancer, according to Saima Wazed, WHO's Regional Director for...

January 24, 2025 3:41 PM

WHO chief to cut costs, reset priorities after US exit, document shows

The World Health Organization will cut costs and review which health programmes to prioritise after President Donald Trumpannouncedhe was withdrawing the U.S. from the agency, the WHO's chief told staff in an internal memo seen by Reuters. Trump made the move on the first day of his second term in office on Monday, accusing the U.N. health agency of mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises. "This announcement has made our financial situation more acute...," WHO D...

January 21, 2025 4:21 PM

Germany to lobby Trump on WHO withdrawal, agency hopes for U-turn

Berlin will try to talk U.S. President Donald Trump out of his decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organisation, Germany's health minister said on Tuesday. The U.N. agency also said that it hoped that its top donor country would change its mind and looked forward to a constructive dialogue with Trump's team. "The new U.S. president's announcement to withdraw from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is a serious blow to the international fight against global health cris...

January 21, 2025 11:31 AM

US President Trump issues executive order to withdraw from WHO

US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to formally withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). The decision, announced on Monday (local time), comes after a prolonged period of criticism directed at the WHO, which Trump blamed for mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic and failing to address the broader global health crises. In the executive order, President Trump emphasized that the United States' decision to withdraw, originally announced in July 2020, was...

January 17, 2025 5:14 PM

WHO upbeat on scaling up aid under Gaza ceasefire terms

A World Health Organization official said on Friday that it should be possible to scale up aid imports into Gaza massively to around 600 trucks a day under the terms of a ceasefire deal. If successful, the ceasefire set to begin on Sunday would halt fighting that has razed much of Gaza, killed over 46,000 people and displaced most of its pre-war population of 2.3 million several times over, according to local authorities. The aid surge requires more than a 10-fold daily increase in lorries fro...

January 5, 2025 10:45 AM

Union Health Ministry reviews China’s respiratory illness surge, assures robust preparedness in India

Amid reports of a surge in respiratory illnesses in China, the Union Health Ministry convened a Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) meeting under the chairmanship of the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) in New Delhi on Saturday. The meeting brought together experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and prominent institutions, including A...

December 24, 2024 5:15 PM

Department of Atomic Energy highlights pioneering achievements in 2024

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has announced significant milestones and contributions across multiple sectors in its year-end review for 2024. Nuclear Power Programme India's nuclear power initiatives advanced significantly, with the Atomic Minerals Directorate discovering 15,598 tonnes of uranium oxide in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan, boosting the country's reserves to 4,25,570 tonnes. The Jaduguda Mines unearthed new uranium deposits, extending their operational life by 5...

December 11, 2024 4:02 PM

Malaria cases, deaths in India decline by 69pc between 2017-2023: WHO

India has seen significant progress in reducing malaria incidence and mortality rates, according to the latest World Malaria report, released by World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday. Malaria is a life-threatening disease transmitted to humans by the bites of female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable. The report showed that the number of estimated malaria cases in India decreased to 2 million cases in 2023 from 6.4 million in 2017 (69 per cent decrease). Similarly, t...