We use cookies to improve your experience. By your continued use of this site you accept such use.
World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

Countries Begin Negotiations on Global Agreement to Protect World from Future Pandemic Emergencies

WHO Member States will continue negotiations of the zero draft of the pandemic accord at the INB’s next meeting, to be held over 3-6 April, with a view to collecting all inputs necessary to develop the first draft

Countries of the World Health Organization have begun negotiations on a global accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, using the “zero draft” as a basis for negotiating an agreement to protect nations and communities from future pandemic emergencies. Ending Friday, discussions on the draft pandemic accord took place during…

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

Disease Outbreak News: Marburg virus disease - Equatorial Guinea

WHO assesses the risk posed by the outbreak as high at the national level, moderate at the regional level and low at the global level

Situation at a glance  On 7 February 2023, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Equatorial Guinea reported the deaths of a number of individuals with suspected hemorrhagic fever. On 12 February 2023, one sample was confirmed positive for Marburg virus by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), at the…

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

Africa emerges from holiday travel season with low number of COVID-19 cases

COVID-19 vaccination remains critical in protecting against severe illness and death, as the virus remains in circulation and continues to mutate

Africa is emerging from the New Year travel season without a significant upsurge in COVID-19 for the first time since the start of the pandemic. A total of 20 552 new cases were recorded in the first three weeks of January 2023, a 97% slump compared with the same period…

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

Despite continued impact of COVID-19, malaria cases and deaths remained stable in 2021

Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) is recommended to prevent the disease among children living in areas with highly seasonal malaria transmission in Africa

New data released today by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that countries around the world largely held the line against further setbacks to malaria prevention, testing and treatment services in 2021. According to this year’s World malaria report, there were an estimated 619 000 malaria deaths globally in 2021 compared…

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

Tackling Emerging Antimalarial Drug Resistance in Africa

In recent years, there have been reports from Africa of emerging parasite resistance to artemisinin – the core compound of the best available medicines to treat malaria

WHO is launching today a new strategy to respond to the urgent problem of antimalarial drug resistance in Africa. The strategy is being released during World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, a global annual campaign to improve awareness of the growing threat of resistance to antibiotics and other medicines. In recent years,…

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

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General's opening remarks at media briefing – 19 October 2022

While the global situation has obviously improved since the pandemic began, the virus continues to change, and there remain many risks and uncertainties

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening.  Last night I returned from the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany, which this year WHO co-hosted for the first time. I was very encouraged to see the level of commitment from leaders from government, civil society, academia and the private sector for…

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

Shortage of Cholera Vaccines Leads to Temporary Suspension of Two-Dose Strategy, as Cases Rise Worldwide

The exceptional decision reflects the grave state of the cholera vaccine stockpile

A strained global supply of cholera vaccines has obliged the International Coordinating Group (ICG)—the body which manages emergency supplies of vaccines—to temporarily suspend the standard two-dose vaccination regimen in cholera outbreak response campaigns, using instead a single-dose approach.   The pivot in strategy will allow for the doses to be…

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

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) welcome King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) funding for measles and polio epidemics prevention

UNICEF will support the five high-risk countries of Afghanistan, Central African Republic, DRC, Guinea, and Pakistan with the procurement and in-country distribution of polio and measles vaccines

The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF welcomed today funding agreements from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) valued at US$ 10 million to further bolster polio and measles programmes in eight countries. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the World Health Summit in Berlin.…

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

World Health Organization (WHO) Launches New Initiative to Stop the Spread of Invasive Malaria Vector in Africa

An. stephensi has been expanding its range over the last decade, with detections reported in Djibouti (2012), Ethiopia and Sudan (2016), Somalia (2019) and Nigeria (2020)

In a 2019 vector alert, WHO identified the spread of Anopheles stephensi as a significant threat to malaria control and elimination – particularly in Africa, where the disease hits hardest. A new WHO initiative, launched today, aims to stop the further spread of this invasive mosquito species in the region. Originally native to parts…

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

Monkeypox: Experts Give Virus Variants New Names

The monkeypox virus was named upon first discovery in 1958, before current best practices in naming diseases and viruses were adopted

A group of global experts convened by WHO has agreed on new names for monkeypox virus variants, as part of ongoing efforts to align the names of the monkeypox disease, virus and variants—or clades—with current best practices. The experts agreed to name the clades using Roman numerals. The monkeypox virus…