Israeli troops recover slain Gaza hostage, Egypt to host new truce talks
Jerusalem/Cairo, Egypt Reuters Israel said on Saturday its special forces had recovered the body of a hostage killed while being held captive in Gaza, as the Palestinian enclave’s dominant Islamist movement Hamas said it would take part in a new round of ceasefire talks in Cairo. Almost six months into the war, Israel has faced […]
World Bank, Gates, UN pledge close to $US600 million to end cervical cancer
London, UK Reuters Global health donors pledged nearly $US600 million towards eliminating cervical cancer on Tuesday, at the first global forum dedicated to fighting the disease. The World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UN children’s agency UNICEF said in a joint statement that the funding would go towards expanding access to […]
WHO chief breaks down describing “hellish” Gaza conditions
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The head of the World Health Organization called for a ceasefire and a “true solution” to the Israel-Palestinian conflict in an emotional plea to the global health body’s governing body on Thursday where he described conditions in Gaza as “hellish”. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who lived through war as a child […]
Countries risk missing deadline for pandemic accord, says WHO chief
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Countries risk missing a May deadline for agreeing a legally binding treaty on fighting pandemics and this would be a big blow for future generations, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday. The new pact and a series of updates to existing rules on dealing with pandemics are intended […]
“Don’t forget Ukraine”, UN urges in aid funding appeal
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The United Nations appealed for $US4.2 billion from donors on Monday to support war-ravaged communities in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees in 2024, as war rages nearly two years on from Russia’s invasion. “Please do not forget Ukraine while there are many other places in the world that grab our attention,” UN aid […]
WHO says Gaza’s health system must be protected as disease spreads
Geneva, SwizterlandReuters The World Health Organization on Wednesday called for Gaza’s vulnerable health infrastructure to be safeguarded as the war-torn enclave faces an increased risk of epidemics and challenges in detecting infectious diseases. A fragile truce agreement between Israel and Hamas last week has allowed WHO and aid organisations to increase their deliveries of essential […]
A child killed on average every 10 minutes in Gaza, says WHO chief
United NationsReuters A child is killed on average every 10 minutes in the Gaza Strip, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the United Nations Security Council on Friday, warning: “Nowhere and no one is safe.” He said that half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals and two-thirds of its primary healthcare centres were not functioning […]
WHO recommends malaria vaccine that will be rolled out next year
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The World Health Organization recommended on Monday the use of a second malaria vaccine to curb the life-threatening disease spread to humans by some mosquitoes. “Almost exactly two years ago, WHO recommended the broad use of the world’s first malaria vaccine called RTS,S,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing in Geneva. […]
Exodus of healthcare workers from poor countries worsening, WHO says
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Poorer countries are increasingly losing healthcare workers to wealthier ones as the latter seek to shore up their own staff losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes through active recruitment, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The trend for nurses and other staff to leave parts of Africa or South-East Asia for […]
WHO chief “heartbroken” by visit to quake-hit Syria, says more funds needed
Bab al-Hawa, Syria Reuters Available funding and new border crossings were still not enough to help quake-hit citizens in Syria’s battered north-west, the head of the WHO said on Wednesday, adding he was “disturbed and heartbroken” by a visit to the rebel-held region. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking to reporters after […]