Category : WHO news

At Local Production Forum, WHO and partners highlight key steps to improve access to health technologies

The first WHO World Local Production Forum ended today after five days of discussions centered on promoting quality and sustainable local production to improve access to medicines and other health technologies.Delegates from over 100 countries, inter...

Directors General of WHO, WIPO and the WTO agree on intensified cooperation in support of access to medical technologies worldwide to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic

The Directors-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Word Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to enhance their support to members battling COVID-19 by collaborating on a series of works...

WHO supporting South African consortium to establish first COVID mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub

Geneva/Johannesburg/Paris: The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVAX partners are working with a South African consortium comprising Biovac, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a network of universities and the Africa Centres for Disease Control...

United Nations statement on the renewal of humanitarian lifeline to millions of people in north-west Syria

Millions of people are pressed up against the border in an active war zone in north-west Syria and& remain in need of humanitarian aid to survive. The United Nations (UN) needs cross-border and cross-line access to reach those most in need.We call fo...

One in 100 deaths is by suicide

Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, according to WHO’s latest estimates, published today in “Suicide worldwide in 2019”. Every year, more people die as a result of suicide than HIV, malaria or breast cancer...

Soaring e-waste affects the health of millions of children, WHO warns

Effective and binding action is urgently required to protect the millions of children, adolescents and expectant mothers worldwide whose health is jeopardized by the informal processing of discarded electrical or electronic devices according to a new...

The ACT Accelerator partnership welcomes commitment of 870 million vaccine doses and calls for more investment in all tools to end the pandemic

G7 leaders donate 870 million vaccine doses for low and low-middle income countries over the next year, vital for reducing virus transmission.G7 leaders emphasize the importance of all ACT-Accelerator tools to exit the pandemic.ACT-Accelerator’...

G7 announces pledges of 870 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, of which at least half to be delivered by the end of 2021

COVAX welcomes dose sharing commitments for 870 million additional doses to support equitable access to vaccines in 2021 and 2022, with the aim to deliver at least half by the end of 2021. & The G7 has committed one billion doses since the February 2...

Statement for healthcare professionals: How COVID-19 vaccines are regulated for safety and effectiveness

Healthcare professionals and public health authorities have a central role in discussing vaccination against COVID-19 with their patients. Vaccines play a critical role in preventing deaths, hospitalisation caused by infectious diseases. Emerging dat...

Countries reaffirm commitment to ending polio at launch of new eradication strategy

Today, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) will launch the Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026: Delivering on a Promise at a virtual event, to overcome the remaining challenges to ending polio, including setbacks caused by COVID-19. W...

New WHO guidance seeks to put an end to human rights violations in mental health care

Globally, the majority of mental health care continues to be provided in psychiatric hospitals, and human rights abuses and coercive practices remain all too common. But providing community-based mental health care that is both respectful of human ri...

WHO validates Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use and issues interim policy recommendations

WHO today validated the Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities the assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing.

New US$50 billion health, trade and finance roadmap to end the pandemic and secure a global recovery

The heads of the world’s predominant global financing, health and trade agencies have united to urge government leaders to urgently finance a new US$50 billion roadmap to accelerate the equitable distribution of health tools to help end the pandemic.

The Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly closes

More than 30 resolutions and decisions were adopted at this year's World Health Assembly in different areas of public health: decisions on diabetes, disabilities, ending violence against children, eye care, HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted inf...

Update from the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly – 29 May 2021

New resolutions on:Local production of medicinesEnding violence against childrenAddressing social determinants of health& Strengthening local production of medicines and other health technologies to improve accessMember State requests for WHO’s...