El Salvador validated by WHO as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem

The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated El Salvador as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. Trachoma is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. “I congratulate El…

WHO calls for urgent action as new cancer cases are projected to nearly double by 2050

Millions of people are facing physical, emotional and financial toll of cancer, a disease that claims more than 26 000 lives every day, according to a report released today by…

Patient enrolment begins in a scientific trial to identify the first effective treatments for Bundibugyo virus disease

In a major international effort to evaluate potential treatments for Ebola disease due to Bundibugyo virus (BVD), the PARTNERS clinical trial has opened enrolment today for patients in the Democratic…

WHO adds first diagnostic test for Ebola Bundibugyo virus to its Emergency Use Listing

Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) has added the first molecular diagnostic test for Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) to its Emergency Use Listing (EUL). The test detects the virus by identifying…

655 million people still living without electricity underscore urgent need to deliver on universal energy access target

At a time when energy security and affordability have risen to the top of the development agenda, 655 million people globally still lack access to electricity, and two billion use…

WHO urges scale up of newborn screening to improve early detection and care of birth defects

The World Health Organization (WHO) today calls on countries to expand newborn screening for birth defects, highlighting how early detection and treatment can save lives and reduce lifelong disability for…

WHO issues comprehensive guidelines on filovirus disease, including Ebola and Marburg disease

As the Democratic Republic of the Congo is battling an Ebola disease outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first comprehensive guidelines for…

Open letter to leaders of G7, G20, BRICS and all nations on finalizing the WHO Pandemic Agreement’s Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing annex

Dear Leaders of the G7, the G20, BRICS and of all nations, We write to you together, from Geneva and from Brasília, with one shared conviction: that the world must…

Safe blood supply improves as voluntary donations exceed 85%, but many people still lack access

New data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show sustained progress towards safer blood supplies globally but also highlight persistent inequalities in access to safe blood and weaknesses in governance,…

Africa CDC and WHO launch joint continental Ebola response plan

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) today launched a joint continental preparedness and response plan on the ongoing Ebola outbreak…