Tag: WHO

Health groups calls for fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty

PARIS, France (AFP) – Around 200 health organizations and more than 1,400 health professionals on Wednesday called for governments to establish a binding international treaty on phasing out fossil fuels, which they said pose “a grave and escalating threat to human health”. A letter proposing the “fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty” said it could work similarly to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control — except this time the harmful controlled substances would be […]

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WHO temporarily replaces W. Pacific chief accused of bullying, racism

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – The WHO said Tuesday it had sent its number two to step in for its Western Pacific chief, who has been accused by staff of abusive, racist and authoritarian behaviour. The World Health Organization has dispatched Deputy Director General Zsuzsanna Jakab from its Geneva global headquarters to temporarily replace Japanese doctor Takeshi Kasai at the regional office in Manila. A slew of accusations against Kasai emerged in January from staff past […]

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Monkeypox going ‘in right direction’ in Europe: WHO

  Copenhagen, Denmark (AFP) The World Health Organization said Tuesday it saw “encouraging” signs the monkeypox epidemic was slowing in Europe and heading “in the right direction”, calling on countries to double down on efforts. “There are encouraging early signs, as evidenced in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the UK, and other countries, that the outbreak may be slowing”, the WHO regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, told reporters. “It’s going in the right direction”, he […]

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Time for Covid reality check after 1 million deaths this year: WHO

  GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization’s Covid chief said Friday it was time for a reality check on the virus after the millionth death from the disease this year. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead Covid-19, said the toll was “heartbreaking” because the tests, treatments, vaccines and public health measures to control the disease were all available. “Given we’re in the third year of the pandemic, it’s… all the more so […]

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First case of human-to-animal transmission: WHO urges caution after dog catches monkeypox

by Nina LARSON Agence France Presse The World Health Organization called Wednesday for people infected with monkeypox to avoid exposing animals to the virus following a first reported case of human-to-dog transmission. A first case of human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox — between two men and their Italian greyhound living together in Paris — was reported last week in the medical journal The Lancet. “This is the first case reported of human-to-animal transmission… and we believe […]

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WHO turns to public for monkeypox name change

by Nina LARSON The World Health Organization, which is looking to rename monkeypox, called Tuesday for help from the public in coming up with a less stigmatising designation for the fast-spreading disease. The UN health agency has for weeks voiced concern about the name of the disease that emerged onto the global stage in May. Experts warn the name can be stigmatising to the primates it was named after, but who play little role in […]

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WHO triggers highest alert on monkeypox

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP by Christophe VOGT The World Health Organization on Saturday declared the monkeypox outbreak, which has affected nearly 17,000 people in 74 countries, to be a global health emergency — the highest alarm it can sound. “I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference. He said a committee of experts who met on Thursday […]

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Countries agree pandemic accord should be legally binding

by Robin Millard Agence France-Press GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Countries meeting to negotiate a new international accord on how to handle future pandemics agreed Thursday that it should be legally binding, the World Health Organization said. The economic turmoil and millions of lives lost during the coronavirus crisis triggered calls for new international defenses strong enough to prevent such a disaster in future. The 194 WHO member states decided in December to launch the negotiating […]

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With more than 6,000 cases confirmed worldwide, WHO to reconvene monkeypox emergency committee

by Robin MILLARD Geneva, Switzerland (AFP)  – The World Health Organization said Wednesday it will reconvene its monkeypox experts to decide if the worsening outbreak now constitutes a global public health emergency — the highest level of alert. The UN health agency’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he would hold a second meeting of the emergency committee on monkeypox, with more than 6,000 cases now confirmed in 58 countries. A surge in monkeypox infections has […]

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WHO calls for ‘urgent’ action in Europe over monkeypox

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — The World Health Organization called on Friday for “urgent” action to prevent the spread of monkeypox in Europe, noting that cases had tripled in the region over the past two weeks. “Today, I am intensifying my call for governments and civil society to scale up efforts… to prevent monkeypox from establishing itself across a growing geographical area,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Henri Kluge said. “Urgent and coordinated action is […]

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Europe to see ‘high levels’ of Covid this summer: WHO

  Copenhagen, Denmark  (AFP) – The World Health Organization said Thursday it expected “high levels” of Covid-19 in Europe this summer and called on countries to monitor the spread as cases tripled in the past month. “As countries across the European region have lifted the social measures that were previously in place, the virus will transmit at high levels over the summer”, WHO Europe regional director Hans Kluge told AFP. “This virus won’t go away […]

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Metro Manila, eight other provinces breach WHO threshold of 5 percent Covid positivity rate

Rizal province with highest Covid positivity rate at 11.9 percent (Eagle News) – Metro Manila’s COVID-19 positivity rate continued to increase, reaching 5.9 percent from 3.9 percent the previous week, according to OCTA Research. Rizal province also reached a high of 11.9 percent Covid positivity rate as of Saturday, June 25. Seven other provinces breached the World Health Organization (WHO) Covid-19 positivity threshold of five percent (5 percent). After Rizal, the areas with the high […]

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