WHO

October 29, 2024 7:59 PM

Lahore becomes most polluted city in the world again

Lahore has once again secured the grim title of the most polluted city globally, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) soaring to a staggering 708. The PM2.5 levels reached a dangerous 431 µg/m³, an alarming 86 times above the World Health Organization's recommended annual limit. The city's pollution crisis, attributed to unchecked vehicular emissions, outdated industrial practices, and ineffective environmental policies, has led to a dangerous smog that persists year-round, signaling systemic env...

October 18, 2024 3:50 PM

Food packaging should have labels on front about health impact, says WHO

Packaged food and drinks should have easy-to-read nutritional information on the front of the products to help consumers make healthier choices, according to the first-ever World Health Organization draft guidelines that stopped short of recommending harsher warning labels. Increased consumption of processed foods high in salt, sugar and fat is a key driver of a global obesity crisis, with more than a billion people living with the condition and an estimated eight million early deaths every yea...

October 17, 2024 12:06 PM

WHO says Western Pacific to miss UN goal to cut early deaths from lifestyle diseases

Western Pacific nations are unlikely to meet the United Nations target of reducing premature deaths from lifestyle-related diseases including cancer and diabetes, due to the slow decline in alcohol and tobacco consumption, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday. Chronic lifestyle diseases, such as heart attacks, stroke, asthma and lung diseases, have been blamed for more than 80% of deaths among the 1.9 billion people in the Western Pacific. The U.N. goal is to reduce early deaths by a...

October 13, 2024 5:59 PM

WHO confirms India’s elimination of trachoma

In a significant achievement for public health, India has been officially declared free from trachoma, a contagious bacterial infection and a leading cause of preventable blindness, by the World Health Organization (WHO). This declaration follows years of dedicated efforts to safeguard the vision of millions. Trachoma, caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, has historically posed serious threats, especially to children. Globally, it affects approximately 150 million people, with 6 milli...

October 10, 2024 3:19 PM

Countries donate mpox vaccines to combat outbreak in Africa

Some countries have pledged to donate doses of mpox vaccines to combat an outbreak of the disease in Africa after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a global public health emergency in August for the second time in two years. Such donations are meant to address the huge inequity that left African nations with no access to the shots used during the global outbreak in 2022. The Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicentre of the current outbreak, launched its first mpox vaccination c...

October 10, 2024 11:42 AM

WHO South East Asia Region sets new target to eliminate measles, rubella

The 77th Regional Committee Session of the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region concluded in New Delhi, where member states adopted resolutions and established new targets for the elimination of measles and rubella. In a statement, WHO SEARO highlighted plans to enhance the regional health emergency fund to support the elimination of these diseases, along with a commitment to developing adolescent-responsive health systems. Member countries have agreed to extend the target for...

October 9, 2024 11:44 AM

WHO declares India Trachoma-free

India has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, becoming the third country in the South-East Asia region to reach this milestone, the World Health Organization said. The announcement was made during the WHO South-East Asia Regional Committee meeting in New Delhi, where Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, presented the certification to Aradhana Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Health Mission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Tracho...

October 4, 2024 11:07 AM

What is Marburg virus, and how worrying is it?

Rwanda is battling its first-ever outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus, with 36 cases reported so far and 11 deaths. The World Health Organization said this week the risk of the outbreak is very high in Rwanda, high across the African region, and low globally. What is Marburg virus? Marburg is a virus from the same family as Ebola. It causes a haemorrhagic fever and has an average fatality rate of 50%, according to the WHO, although rates have been as high as 88% in previous outbreaks. Early ...

September 13, 2024 3:57 PM

WHO clears Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine as first shot against mpox

The World Health Organization said on Friday it had cleared Bavarian Nordic's vaccine as the first shot against mpox. The approval, known as a pre-qualification, is an official list of medicines used as a benchmark for procurement by developing countries. "This first prequalification of a vaccine against mpox is an important step in our fight against the disease, both in the context of the current outbreaks in Africa, and in future," WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Mp...

September 4, 2024 11:54 AM

No link between mobile phones and brain cancer, WHO-backed study says

There is no link between mobile phone use and an increased risk of brain cancer, according to a new World Health Organization-commissioned review of available published evidence worldwide. Despite the huge rise in the use of wireless technology, there has not been a corresponding increase in the incidence of brain cancers, the review, published on Tuesday, found. That applies even to people who make long phone calls or those who have used mobile phones for more than a decade. The final analysi...