Ceasefire offers ‘lifeline’ but Gaza hospitals remain in ruins
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the halt in hostilities but said “the crisis is far from over and the needs are immense.”He highlighted the toll...
Afghan quake aftermath: Children facing heightened risk from disease
The severe risk of disease outbreak comes after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit a remote eastern area of Afghanistan on 31 August near the Pakistan...
Antibiotic resistance surges globally, UN health agency warns
According to the agency’s latest surveillance report, antibiotic resistance rose in more than 40 per cent of the bacteria-drug combinations tracked between 2018 and...
‘Never be afraid to ask for help’: Ukrainians scarred by war find space to...
“I saw people running away, so I joined them,” recalls 88-year-old Yuri, thinking back to the day he left Ukraine. “I came to Moldova...
World News in Brief: ‘Trust crisis’ impacts vaccine rollouts, Cyberspace must ‘serve the common...
And because healthcare spending is also under pressure around the world, it should be a priority to develop so-called combination vaccines, the panel insisted. WHO...
The missing half: The urgent need for more women’s representation in the media
“When women are missing, democracy is incomplete,” said Kirsi Madi, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director with the UN gender equality agency, UN Women, responding...
Air pollution is on the rise – but not everywhere, says UN weather agency
“Air quality respects no boundaries,” said Lorenzo Labrador, Scientific Officer at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). “The smoke and the pollution that issues from...
It’s time to end physical punishment of kids once and for all, WHO says
Corporal punishment refers most frequently to hitting children but can refer to any punishments inflicted by parents, caregivers or teachers which are intended to...
Desks become beds as Haitian school shelters people displaced by violence
The classrooms at Anténor Firmin school in Hinche in central Haiti are no longer studiously quiet.Once a place of learning, it now echoes with...
South Sudan’s longest cholera outbreak enters critical stage
The outbreak – which started in September 2024 and was confirmed a month later – comes amidst a protracted humanitarian crisis exacerbated by rising...
Every hour, 100 people die of loneliness-related causes, UN health agency reports
Loneliness is linked to approximately 100 deaths every hour – more than 871,000 deaths annually. By contrast, strong social connections are associated with better...
DR Congo: New initiative to eliminate HIV in children ‘a beacon of hope’
“Our country can no longer tolerate children being born and growing up with HIV, when tools exist to prevent, detect and effectively treat this...
While energy access improved, more funding is needed to address disparities, says WHO
While the rate of basic access to energy has increased since 2022, the current pace is insufficient to reach universal access by 2030, one...
Tobacco control efforts protect three-quarters of the world’s population, WHO report finds
The World Health Organization (WHO) published its 2025 report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic on Monday, focusing on the six policies outlined in the WHO MPOWER tobacco...
‘One Earth, One Health’: Yoga Day provides respite in a tumultuous world
This powerful message of International Yoga Day, observed annually on 21 June, reverberated through UN Headquarters in New York on Friday as hundreds gathered...
WHO warns of a health financing emergency
Speaking at the regular Friday press briefing in Geneva for humanitarian agencies, she warned that as wealthier nations make deep spending cuts, both international...
Make midwives universally accessible and save millions of lives, WHO urges
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this sort of large-scale life-saving is possible, if midwifery care is universally accessible and consistent with international...
Without urgent funding, global hunger hotspots are set to grow, UN warns
But hunger has followed them. Over 57 per cent of the population in the world’s youngest country to the south is already facing high...
Songs of hope rise from Gaza’s ruins
Among them is Ahmed Abu Amsha, a music teacher who has become something of a humanitarian troubadour.Fleeting moments of joyLiving in a worn tent...
Sudan conflict triggers regional health crisis, warns WHO
“The ongoing conflict and displacement, in addition to fragile health infrastructure and limited access to affected populations, pose a risk of mass disease transmission,”...
What’s your poison? Alcohol linked to higher risk of pancreatic cancer
The research, led by the UN World Health Organization’s centre for cancer research, pooled data from nearly 2.5 million people across Asia, Australia, Europe,...
Countries set to adopt ‘vital’ pandemic preparedness accord
The stakes are high for this year’s World Health Assembly, the UN’s premier health forum, where officials will tackle a sweeping agenda – from pandemic...
Gaza: 57 children reported dead from malnutrition, says WHO
Since the aid blockade began on 2 March, 57 children have reportedly died from the effects of malnutrition, according to the Ministry of Health.If...
Lives of pregnant women and newborns at risk as funding cuts impact midwifery support
But despite their critical role, UN support for midwifery is under serious threat due to severe funding cuts.Each year, three-quarters of all maternal deaths...