29 March 2017 | GENEVA/BONN - WHO today launched a global initiative to reduce severe, avoidable medication-associated harm in all countries by 50% over the next 5 years. The Global Patient Safety Challenge on Medication Safety aims to address the …
23 March 2017 | GENEVA/BRAZZAVILLE/NEW YORK/DAKAR - More than 190 000 polio vaccinators in 13 countries across west and central Africa will immunize more than 116 million children over the next week, to tackle the last remaining stronghold of polio on the …
22 March 2017 | GENEVA - New tuberculosis (TB) ethics guidance, launched today by the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to help ensure that countries implementing the End TB Strategy adhere to sound ethical standards to protect the rights of all those …
19 March 2017 | GENEVA - WHO rejects erroneous and fabricated reports published on Friday 17 March 2017 in some online media claiming that a spokesperson from the organization made a statement regarding "counterfeit medication donated to Iraq." …
6 March 2017 | GENEVA - More than 1 in 4 deaths of children under 5 years of age are attributable to unhealthy environments. Every year, environmental risks – such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, second-hand smoke, unsafe water, lack of sanitation, …
28 February 2017 | GENEVA - WHO reaffirms the critical need for research and development (R&D) of new antibiotics to tackle the threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). "Addressing drug-resistant TB research is a top priority for WHO and for …
27 February 2017 | GENEVA - WHO today published its first ever list of antibiotic-resistant "priority pathogens" – a catalogue of 12 families of bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health. The list was drawn up in a bid to guide and …
The twelfth meeting of the Emergency Committee (EC) under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the international spread of poliovirus was convened via teleconference by the Director General on 7 February 2017. The Emergency Committee …
WHO official statements on health issues.
3 February 2017 | GENEVA - New guidance from WHO, launched ahead of World Cancer Day (4 February), aims to improve the chances of survival for people living with cancer by ensuring that health services can focus on diagnosing and treating the disease …
The WHO Executive Board selected by vote the following 3 candidates to be presented to World Health Assembly as nominees for the post of Director-General of WHO. Five candidates were interviewed by Member States today prior to the vote. The names of the 3 …
Today, WHO has taken the next step in the election of the Director-General of WHO. Initial screening of the 6 candidates nominated by Member States was conducted by the Executive Board. The Board then voted to determine a short list of 5 candidates. The …
WHO's Executive Board, currently holding its 140th session in Geneva, has appointed Dr Mahmoud Fikri, from United Arab Emirates (UAE) as WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO), following his nomination by the Regional …
Ertharin Cousin World Food Programme Executive Director Anthony Lake UNICEF Executive Director Stephen O’Brien Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Dr Margaret Chan WHO Director-General Filippo Grandi United …
15 March 2017 | GENEVA - This week the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic enters its seventh year. Over the past 6 years access to health services for the civilian population in the country has seriously deteriorated. More than half of public hospitals …
10 January 2017 | GENEVA - Policies to control tobacco use, including tobacco tax and price increases, can generate significant government revenues for health and development work, according to a new landmark global report from WHO and the National Cancer …
23 December 2016 | GENEVA - An experimental Ebola vaccine was highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial in Guinea, according to results published today in The Lancet. The vaccine is the first to prevent infection from one of the most …
WHO is calling for medical evacuation of the sick and injured from east Aleppo to be resumed as quickly as possible. Almost 200 patients were safely transferred to hospitals in western rural Aleppo, Idlib and Turkey before all evacuations were aborted this …
This year ends in uncertain times, for the world's political order, the fate of a damaged planet, the seemingly boundless human suffering experienced by civilians and health care staff in war zones, and the continuing failure of antibiotics that once …
WHO is saddened by the death of Dr Halfdan T. Mahler on 14 December 2016. Dr Mahler served as Director-General of WHO from 1973-1988. As WHO's third Director-General, Dr Mahler will be remembered as a champion for primary care. He played a key …
