UN News Today 15 October 2026 |

Kenya confirms second case of Ebola virus infection

The authorities in Nairobi have confirmed a second case of Ebola virus disease in Kenya, one week since the first infection was announced.

The new patient, a 39-year-old man, is related to the original patient, who died on 5 October in a hospital in the Kenyan capital.

The development coincides with ongoing Ebola transmission in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

According to the latest update from the World Health Organization (WHO), the outbreak “continues to evolve” and expand “geographically and in terms of the numbers of cases and deaths”. 

Dakwa Health Zone in Bas-Uélé province is the latest affected health zone, bringing the total number of impacted health zones to 65 across seven provinces, since the start of the outbreak in mid-May.

WHO urges faster action to end lead exposure which kills 3.5 million annually

Staying with health news and a global appeal on Thursday from WHO to accelerate efforts on lead exposure prevention; according to the agency, it causes more than 3.5 million deaths a year and affects hundreds of millions of children.

The call comes ahead of  International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week from 18-26 October.

Lead contamination can come from paint, cookware, cosmetics, spices, informal recycling and industry. There is no known safe level of contact, and even relatively low exposure can cause irreversible harm. 

Exposure affects multiple organs and contributes to health problems such as cardiovascular and kidney disease in adults and irreversible damage to the brain, health and development of children.

Here’s WHO expert Richard Brown:

“What’s really significant is that those risks are preventable. Children are significantly at risk because they absorb lead from the environment or food, unfortunately, four or five times as much as adults do. And young children in particular, with the habit of putting their hands or objects in their mouth in an environment that’s contaminated with lead.”

WHO latest global assessment notes that exposure is entirely preventable, but fewer than one in two countries have confirmed legally binding controls on paint containing lead.

Bruce Gordon, interim director of WHO’s Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration, said that lead poisoning “should not be stealing children’s potential” today, given we know where many sources of exposures originate and how to prevent them. 

Ukraine: Critical health supplies destroyed in ongoing Russian attacks: WHO Europe

Ongoing and deadly Russian attacks across Ukraine are causing serious healthcare disruption, with more than $1.5 million-worth of medicines and supplies destroyed in four separate strikes on warehouses used by the UN there since June.

According to WHO, 21 warehouses have been targeted this year, out of a total of 400 incidents, almost all involving heavy weapons. 

Sarah Tyler is an emergencies communicataions officer with WHO in Ukraine:

“We’ve just come back from Ukraine where we visited hospitals and warehouses that have come under attack. When you stand in those places, you really understand what the numbers mean… Since February 2022, WHO has verified more than 3,300 attacks on health care; 247 people have been killed. More than 1,090 health workers and patients have been injured.”

Destroying warehouses removes a key part of the supply chain that provides the health equipment, reagents, treatments and services keeping people alive in Ukraine.

“Citizens deserve access to healthcare; they deserve an opportunity to live without illness and we have to protect these health facilities from any attacks,” WHO insisted.

The agency’s support in Ukraine includes emergency response, assistance with trauma care, medical supply provision, energy resilience and the development of capacities to manage chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents.

Daniel Johnson, UN News