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World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

Ban smoking and vaping in school to protect young people

WHO encourages all countries to make all indoor public places completely smoke-free in line with Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Today, the World Health Organization released two new publications, “Freedom from tobacco and nicotine: guide for schools,” and “Nicotine- and tobacco-free school toolkit” to help protect children’s health just in time for back-to-school season in many countries. The tobacco industry relentlessly targets young people with tobacco and nicotine products resulting in e-cigarette…

World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

World Health Organization (WHO) health supplies arrive in Libya as part of intensified response to devastating floods

The supplies will be given to hospitals and primary health care centres and will be crucial in restoring their functionality

Today, 29 metric tonnes of health supplies arrived in Benghazi, Libya, from the WHO Global Logistics Hub in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With enough supplies to reach almost 250,000 people with health aid, the shipment reflects an intensified emergency response to the unprecedented flooding in eastern Libya in the aftermath…

World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

Botswana National Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Reference Laboratory designated World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre of Excellence

Accreditation to these standards does not only allow Botswana’s public laboratories to be compared with the world’s best laboratories, but it also gives confidence to both patients and clinicians that patient management and care are based on correct disease diagnosis

The Republic of Botswana and the World Health Organization today announced designation of the Botswana National HIV Reference Laboratory as a WHO Collaborating Centre of Excellence, in recognition of the laboratory’s excellence in the field of HIV diagnosis and the potential of deeper collaboration with WHO in advancing the health…

World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

Seven out of 10 people protected by at least one tobacco control measure

In the last 15 years since WHO’s MPOWER tobacco control measures were introduced globally, smoking rates have fallen

A new World Health Organization (WHO) report highlights that 5.6 billion people – 71% of the world’s population – are now protected with at least one best practice policy to help save lives from deadly tobacco – five times more than in 2007. In the last 15 years since WHO’s MPOWER tobacco…

World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

Disease Outbreak News: Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) - United Republic of Tanzania

WHO assesses the overall risk at the national level to be high due to the sub-optimal surveillance performance in some districts

Situation at a glance On 4 July 2023, the Ministry of Health of the United Republic of Tanzania notified WHO of the detection of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in the country. The virus was isolated from a case of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in the Rukwa region, southwestern…

World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) Launch a Health Security Partnership to Strengthen Disease Surveillance in Africa

Strengthened disease surveillance is a foundational requirement for health security

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) today launched a Health Security Partnership to Strengthen Disease Surveillance and Epidemic Intelligence in Africa. The partnership aims to strengthen Africa’s health security capabilities in the areas of biosecurity,…

World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

18 million doses of first-ever malaria vaccine allocated to 12 African countries for 2023–2025: Gavi, World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

The first doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in countries during the last quarter of 2023, with countries starting to roll them out by early 2024

In response to high demand for the first-ever malaria vaccine, 12 countries in Africa will be allocated a total of 18 million doses of RTS,S/AS01 for the 2023–2025 period; Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme countries Ghana, Kenya and Malawi will receive doses to continue vaccinations in pilot areas; Allocations were also…

World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

Sudan: Top United Nations Officials Sound Alarm at Spike in Violence against Women and Girls

The UN Human Rights Office in Sudan has received credible reports of 21 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence against at least 57 women and girls

Senior United Nations officials today voiced shock and condemnation at increasing reports of gender-based violence in Sudan – including conflict-related sexual violence against internally displaced and refugee women and girls – since fighting erupted in the country more than 11 weeks ago. They called for an immediate end to gender-based…

World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

First World Health Organization (WHO) guidance on snakebite treatments published

A high-quality antivenom provides the best available treatment for approximately 5.4 million people who are bitten by snakes each year

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the first in a series of WHO public-benefit target product profiles (TPPs) for snakebite treatments, in order to improve the quality of antivenoms available in the market. This is the first-ever guidance to improve the quality of such products. The TPP is a document that…

World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

World Health Organization (WHO) congratulates Benin and Mali for eliminating trachoma as a public health problem

Both Benin and Mali implemented the WHO-recommended SAFE strategy to eliminate trachoma with the support of WHO and partners

WHO has validated Benin and Mali as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, making them the fifth and sixth countries in WHO’s African Region to achieve this significant milestone.  Countries that previously received WHO validation for trachoma elimination are Ghana (June 2018), Gambia (April 2021), Togo (May 2022)…