The world must ‘wake up and help Sudan out of the nightmare of conflict’ says WHO’s Tedros

“The scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO). Speaking to reporters from the Red Sea City of Port Sudan, Dr. Tedros said the conflict had so far killed more than 20 000 people […]

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Investing in clean air can saves lives and combat climate change

This year’s International Day for Clean air and Blue Skies, celebrated annually on 7 September, is focused on the theme ‘Invest in #CleanAirNow’ and highlights the economic, environmental and health benefits of investing in clean air. The Day was established in 2019 after the UN General Assembly noted how detrimental air pollutants are and recognised […]

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Mpox: Equitable vaccine access crucial for Global South

The call for access to all in need by Special Rapporteur Tlaleng Mofokeng, coincided with the arrival of vaccine shipments and the start of planned rollouts by health authorities in some of the African nations most impacted. Nigeria received some 10,000 doses of the mpox vaccine last week, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo […]

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Gaza: 160,000 more children vaccinated against polio in southern Gaza

UN agencies and partners in the Strip will continue to vaccinate “as many Gazan children as possible” during the agreed humanitarian pauses, before moving to the north of the war-shattered enclave, UNRWA added. Thousands of families visited health centers to get their doses from UN medical teams, UNRWA reported. In southern Gaza, more than 152,000 […]

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Gaza: Polio vaccination campaign moves to southern areas

The campaign moved to southern areas of the Gaza Strip following the successful completion of the first phase in the centre of the enclave, thanks largely to pauses in the fighting. UNRWA along with partners provided the first dose of polio vaccine to children under 10 years old at the Japanese Health Centre in the […]

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WHO reports 71 per cent rise in cholera deaths last year

Over 4000 people died from the disease last year, a 71 per cent increase compared to 2022. The number of reported cases also increased by 13 per cent. Cholera is an acute intestinal infection spread through contaminated food and water. While it is preventable and easily treatable, communities with limited access to sanitation are most affected.  […]

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Gaza: Disease and war stalk children, despite vaccine success

It’s been nearly 11 months since war erupted in the enclave following Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel. Today more than nine in 10 people have been forcibly displaced by the fighting, leaving them vulnerable to hunger, malnutrition and sickness. “So far, we’ve been able to vaccinate 187,000 children and as we’ve been tent to tent […]

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‘Major milestone’ immunization campaign begins in DPR Korea

“This campaign is a major milestone in our drive to vaccinate every child in the DPRK and protect them from common childhood diseases,” said UNICEF’s Acting Representative for the country – more commonly known as North Korea – Roland Kupka. “This is the first step in restoring routine immunization and closing the gap that has […]

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Gaza: UN humanitarians ahead of polio vaccination target

“We think that we will need another day tomorrow to actually wrap-up the central zone completely,” said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Speaking from Gaza, he explained that day three of the campaign was continuing during the eight-hour daily pauses agreed by the Israeli military and Hamas fighters. Each […]

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Between fear and hope, Gazans parents line up in their thousands to protect their children from polio

Wael al-Haj Mohammed’s daughter is a child of war. Born the day after the outbreak of the  conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israel forces that began last October, Mr. Mohammed has struggled to get medical care. She is one of the thousands of children benefiting from the mass polio vaccination campaign, which began on […]

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