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☆ Emerging from the COVID pandemic, again
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Michele Gershberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dec 7 (Reuters) - For much of the world, 2022 marked the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging variations of the coronavirus so far remain closely related to Omicron, without radically altering its impact. "The pandemic is over," U.S. President Joe Biden said in September, referring to the changing behavior of Americans. The World Health Organization (WHO) has yet to declare an end to the COVID public health emergency introduced in January 2020. Data show that the pandemic has disrupted all kinds of healthcare, from childhood immunizations to cancer screenings read more read more .

South Africa, Pakistan and India were among countries that made formal requests, during an initial three days of talks that ended on Wednesday, to ensure the process is inclusive. "The advanced countries have the requisite resources and can afford to have it covered and we cannot," he said. In parallel, country teams are discussing setting up a G20 pandemic fund and revamping the WHO's existing health emergency rules. Many poorer countries lack technical specialists to advise on WHO matters within the Geneva diplomatic mission, where the U.N. agency is based. South Africa's Precious Matsoso, co-chair of the pandemic treaty talks, told Reuters countries could hire experts to help, or band together for regional representation.

☆ Drop in COVID alertness could create deadly new variant - WHO
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Bhanvi Satija | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Lapses in strategies to tackle COVID-19 this year continue to create the perfect conditions for a deadly new variant to emerge, as parts of China witness a rise in infections, the head of the World Health Organization said on Friday. BAY ISMOYO/Pool via REUTERS 1 2"Gaps in testing ... and vaccination are continuing to create the perfect conditions for a new variant of concern to emerge that could cause significant mortality," Tedros said. COVID-19 infections are at record highs in China and have started to rise in parts of Britain after months of decline. Further easing of COVID-19 testing requirements and quarantine rules in some Chinese cities was met with a mix of relief and worry on Friday, as hundreds of millions await an expected shift in national virus policies after widespread social unrest. The WHO urged governments globally to focus on reaching those at risk, such as people over the age of 60 and those with underlying conditions, for vaccination.

☆ WHO says it still does not have full access to Ethiopia's Tigray
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Bhanvi Satija | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Tiksa NegeriBENGALARU, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization said on Friday it still does not have the unfettered access to Ethiopia's northern Tigray region stipulated in a truce signed a month ago. Troops from Eritrea, to the north, and forces from the neighbouring Ethiopian region of Amhara, to the south, fought alongside Ethiopia's military in Tigray but were not party to the ceasefire. "That peace process has not yet resulted in the kinds of full access, unfettered access and in the massive scale of medical and health assistance that the people of Tigray need," WHO's emergencies director Mike Ryan said. Ethiopia's Minister of Health Lia Tadesse, State Minister Redwan Hussien, and government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not respond to requests for comment. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in October accused Ethiopia's government of using the denial of food and healthcare as weapons of war in Tigray.

☆ On World AIDS Day, Biden administration releases new global strategy to end HIV/AIDS by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Jamie Gumbrecht | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —On World AIDS Day, the Biden administration renewed its focus on ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030, releasing a new five-year strategy for the United States’ global response. HIV remains a serious threat to global health security and economic development,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote in the new strategy. Globally, progress toward ending HIV and AIDS has been uneven. In the United States, there are wide disparities in access to treatment, and Black and Hispanic Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV. More than 1.1 million people in the United States had HIV at the end of 2019, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

☆ Measles poses growing threat to kids as vaccinations decline globally, CDC and WHO warn
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A growing number of children around the world are vulnerable to measles as vaccination rates have declined to the lowest levels since 2008, global health leaders warned on Wednesday. About 81% of children worldwide received the first dose of the measles vaccine in 2021, down from 86% in 2019 before the Covid pandemic began. This leaves 25 million kids vulnerable to measles, according the report. The measles vaccine comes in two doses, but the first shot is the most important because it's 93% effective at preventing disease. This can cause outbreaks if vaccination rates are too low in their communities, according to the CDC.

☆ What Covid taught scientists and the public about the flu
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Caroline Hopkins | Nbc News Contributor Caroline Hopkins Is A Health | Science Journalist Who Covers Cancer Treatment For Precision Oncology News. She Is A Graduate Of The Columbia University Graduate School Of Journalism. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

Flu transmission can be stoppedThe 2020-2021 flu season — the first full flu season of the Covid pandemic — defied Tedros’ message. ‘Nonpharmaceutical interventions’ workBefore Covid, experts put limited stock in so-called nonpharmaceutical — that is, nonvaccination — strategies for preventing flu transmission. Although the airline case study taught the research community about airborne flu transmission, she said the general public’s appreciation for these risks has increased because of Covid. In that study, the researchers compared mild Covid infections with mild flu infections in mice and humans and found that the brain effects were similar around seven days post-infection. Asymptomatic flu infections may be underappreciatedThe Covid pandemic put a spotlight on the extent and risk of asymptomatic infections.

☆ Explainer: How the World Health Organization might fight future pandemics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A new pact is a priority for WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as his second five-year term at the head of the global health agency gets underway. It seeks to shore up the world's defences against new pathogens following the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 6.5 million people, according to the WHO. The global health agency itself is facing calls for reform after an independent panel described it as "underpowered" when COVID-19 struck, with limited ability to investigate outbreaks and coordinate containment measures. The WHO already has binding rules known as the International Health Regulations (2005) which set out countries' obligations where public health events have the potential to cross borders. Adopted after the 2002/3 SARS outbreak, these regulations are still seen as functional for regional epidemics like Ebola but inadequate for a global pandemic.

LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical companies could be made to disclose prices and deals agreed for any products they make to fight future pandemics, under new rules being drawn up by the World Health Organization and reviewed by Reuters. During the pandemic, many deals that governments made with pharmaceutical companies have been kept confidential, giving them little scope to hold drugmakers accountable. A spokesperson for the WHO said it was member states that were driving the current process towards a new agreement. "The process is open, transparent, and with the input from other stakeholders, including any interested stakeholders and public, able to submit comments at public consultations." The draft will be presented to them in full in a meeting on Friday, after being circulated earlier in the week.

☆ Nearly half of world population suffers from oral diseases - WHO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Nearly half of the world's population, or 3.5 billion people, suffer from oral diseases, the majority of them in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The most common oral illnesses are tooth decay, severe gum disease, tooth loss and oral cancers, with untreated tooth decay affecting nearly 2.5 billion people, the United Nations agency said. About 380,000 new cases of oral cancers are diagnosed every year, it said. "Oral health has long been neglected in global health, but many oral diseases can be prevented," said WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The agency suggested countries include equitable oral health services as part of their national planning and integrate oral health services into their primary health care models, while also improving access to affordable fluoride toothpaste, among other measures.

☆ Rate of babies born preterm in US climbs to 10.5%, March of Dimes report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The US preterm birth rate peaked in 2006 at 12.8%, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. States with the highest and lowest ratesThe new March of Dimes report also highlighted state-by-state differences in the rate of babies born prematurely across the country. The report grades a preterm birth rate less than or equal to 7.7% as an A and a preterm birth rate greater than or equal to 11.5% as an F.The national preterm birth rate of 10.5% is graded as a D+. No state has achieved an A rate, and only one has a state-level preterm birth rate that would be graded as an A-: Vermont, which has the lowest preterm birth rate in the US at 8%. Henderson also said that preterm birth is one of the top causes of infant deaths and disproportionately affects babies born to women of color.

LONDON/GENEVA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The chief scientist of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday she was leaving the agency, the first of a series of high-profile departures expected at the global health body as it prepares for a post-pandemic future. The exit of Soumya Swaminathan, an Indian pediatrician, announced on Twitter, comes as Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's second term as leader of the 74-year-old U.N. agency gets underway. Tedros, who began his second term in August, has given no reasons for any broader reshuffle, and some of the staff are retiring. Diplomats say that some donors have also privately suggested reforms to streamline Tedros' 18-member leadership team based in the Geneva headquarters. It is leading efforts to battle two other global health emergencies - monkeypox and polio - and seeking to advance an ambitious reform agenda to update global health rules.

☆ Ethiopia: Warring parties agree to a truce in two-year civil war. Here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, he was lauded as a regional peacemaker. A year later, he launched a conflict that spiraled into a brutal civil war, spawning one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. In November 2020, Abiy ordered a military offensive in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and promised that the clash would be resolved quickly. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Tigray conflict has its roots in tensions that go back generations in Ethiopia. For months at the start of the conflict, Abiy denied that civilians were being harmed or that soldiers from Eritrea had joined the fight.

☆ For survivors of Ethiopia's Tigray war, truce brings cautious hope
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I'm very happy - because this will put a hold on the suffering," said a Tigrayan man in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa who declined to be named out of fear of repercussions at his place of work. All sides fighting in the Tigray war committed violations that may amount to war crimes, according to a joint investigation by the United Nations and Ethiopia's state-appointed human rights commission. We haven't even gotten any voice messages from him," the Tigrayan man in Addis Ababa told Reuters. Human Rights Watch, citing witnesses, said 23 civilians were killed by Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters in Kobo at that time. Just, literally everything," said Andom Gebreyesus, who ran a tour company in Tigray before the war.

☆ Tuberculosis deaths rose during pandemic, reversing years of decline, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Bhanvi Satija | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 27 (Reuters) - Global deaths from tuberculosis are estimated to have increased between 2019 and 2021, reversing years of decline as the COVID-19 pandemic severely derailed efforts to tackle the disease, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. Global efforts to tackle deadly diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO urged the world to apply lessons learnt from the pandemic to tuberculosis, which severely affects countries such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Pakistan. WHO’s annual TB report estimates that tuberculosis killed 1.6 million people in 2021, above the estimated 1.5 million deaths in 2020, and 1.4 million deaths in 2019. Under its "End TB Strategy", the WHO set a target of reducing TB deaths by 35% from 2015 to 2020, but the net reduction was 5.9% between 2015 and 2021.

☆ Uganda applies well-honed lessons to new Ebola outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Now, the East African country — lauded for its coronavirus response, which was built around engaging the community and training health officials — is drawing lessons from the first Ebola outbreak in 2004. “They alerted the WHO early and put in the basic pillars of a response early,” Dr. Benjamin Black, an obstetrician, said recalling the West African Ebola response from 2014 to 2016. But Ghebreyesus said Wednesday a clinical trial of vaccines to combat the Sudan species of the Ebola virus could start within weeks. “There’s burnout amongst health workers, health officials and the public across the board in Uganda,” Agoada said. The threadlike Ebola virus spreads when it comes in contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids.

☆ These 5 everyday activities can help reduce risk of chronic health conditions like diabetes if you do them more often
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Nearly 500 million people worldwide will develop severe conditions like heart disease and diabetes by 2030 if they don't increase their physical activity, according to a new study conducted by the World Health Organization. Lack of movement costs the world $27 billion a year, researchers discovered, which would be $300 billion in total by 2030. NCDs like diabetes and heart conditions are greatly impacted by physical activity, the organization notes. Yet, only 30% of over 170 countries analyzed have national physical activity guidelines for all age groups, according to WHO's global status report on physical activity. Thankfully, there are simple and safe ways to incorporate physical activity — or increase the amount of what you're already doing — into your already busy lives.

☆ WHO says COVID-19 is still a global health emergency
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Nancy Lapid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 19 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that COVID-19 remains a global emergency, nearly three years after it was first declared as one. The WHO's emergency committee first made the declaration for COVID-19 on Jan 30, 2020. Such a determination can help accelerate research, funding and international public health measures to contain a disease. "This pandemic has surprised us before and very well may again," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru and Jennifer Rigby in London; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ WHO: 'Concerned' about Ebola spread as latest eight cases not contacts of others infected
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The eight most recent Ebola cases reported during the outbreak in Uganda have no known links with current patients, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, raising concerns over the spread of the deadly disease. In a briefing, the WHO said initial investigations into the cases by Uganda's Ministry of Health had shown they were not contacts of people already known to have Ebola. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThere have been 60 confirmed and 20 probable cases since the outbreak began last month, and 44 deaths, the WHO said. The strain spreading in Uganda is the Sudan strain, and the existing vaccines and therapies do not work against it. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Jennifer Rigby Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CNN —Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has declared an immediate three-week lockdown in two high risk districts as the country battles a rise in Ebola infections. Places of worship, bars, gyms, saunas and other entertainment venues will close but schools will remain open, he added. The Ugandan health ministry will also increase contact tracing and assistance to local health facilities. Speaking at a media briefing earlier this month, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the vaccines used successfully to curb recent Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are not effective against the type of Ebola virus now circulating in Uganda. Museveni declared an Ebola outbreak in September after a case of the relatively rare Sudan strain was confirmed and cases began to rise across districts.

☆ Vaccine trials on Sudan Ebola strain to start in weeks - WHO chief
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Elias Biryabarema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), attends the 75th World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseKAMPALA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday a clinical trial of vaccines to combat the Sudan strain of Ebola could start within weeks as an outbreak of the disease in Uganda reached the capital, stirring alarm. The East African country declared an outbreak of Ebola on Sept. 20 and said infections were being caused by the Sudan strain. There have been worries the spread of infection in Uganda could be difficult to control because currently there is no vaccine for the Sudan strain. Although it has no vaccine, WHO has previously said the Sudan strain is less transmissible and has shown a lower fatality rate in previous outbreaks than Ebola Zaire.

☆ WHO calls for more international aide to prevent Ebola from spreading beyond Uganda
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The World Health Organization is working with Uganda to prevent a deadly Ebola outbreak in the East African nation from spreading to neighboring nations, the global health agency's chief said on Wednesday. Health authorities in Uganda have identified 74 confirmed and probable cases of Ebola across five districts, according to the WHO. Uganda declared an outbreak of Ebola in late September after person from a village in the central region of the country tested positive for the virus. Ebola symptoms include unexplained hemorrhaging, bleeding or bruising as well as fever, severe headaches, muscle and joint pain, weakness and fatigue, sore throat, loss of appetite, stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting, according to the CDC. U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra last week offered his counterpart in Uganda support from the Health and Human Services Department.

☆ WHO calls for more international aid to prevent Ebola from spreading beyond Uganda
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The World Health Organization is working with Uganda to prevent a deadly Ebola outbreak in the East African nation from spreading to neighboring nations, the global health agency's chief said on Wednesday. Health authorities in Uganda have identified 74 confirmed and probable cases of Ebola across five districts, according to the WHO. Uganda declared an outbreak of Ebola in late September after a person from a village in the central region of the country tested positive for the virus. Ebola symptoms include unexplained hemorrhaging, bleeding or bruising as well as fever, severe headaches, muscle and joint pain, weakness and fatigue, sore throat, loss of appetite, stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting, according to the CDC. U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra last week offered his counterpart in Uganda support from the Health and Human Services Department.

☆ 'Blood on your hands' if world steps back on tackling COVID now, WHO official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Bruce Aylward, Senior Advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, December 20, 2021. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseLONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - If rich nations think the pandemic is over, they should help lower-income countries reach that point too, a senior World Health Organization official told Reuters. "If you go to sleep right now and this wave hits us in three months... God - blood on your hands," he said. He also stressed that Biden had a point domestically as the United States has good access to all COVID tools. Aylward co-ordinates the ACT-Accelerator, a partnership between WHO and other global health bodies to help poorer countries access COVID-19 tools.

☆ WHO warns ability to identify new Covid variants is diminishing as testing declines
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The World Health Organization on Thursday warned that it is struggling to identify and track new Covid variants as governments roll back testing and surveillance, threatening the progress made in the fight against the virus. The WHO is "deeply concerned" that it is evolving at a time when there is no longer robust testing in place to help rapidly identify new variants, Van Kerkhove said. "Our ability to track variants and subvariants around the world is diminishing because surveillance is declining," Van Kerkhove told reporters during an update in Geneva. "That limits our ability to assess the known variants and subvariants but also our ability to track and identify new ones." "In most countries, restrictions have ended and life looks much like it did before the pandemic," Tedros said.

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