Palestinians describe terrifying and chaotic flight from Gaza hospital
Rafah, Gaza Strip Reuters Gunfire echoed around Palestinian medics, patients and displaced people during what they described as a terrifying and chaotic night evacuation from Gaza’s Nasser Hospital after it was stormed by Israeli forces. Survivors of last week’s assault on the second-biggest hospital in Gaza said they then faced a treacherous walk to safety […]
More than half the world faces high measles risk, WHO says
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters More than half the world’s countries will be at high or very high risk of measles outbreaks by the end of the year unless urgent preventative measures are taken, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday. Measles cases have been increasing across most regions mainly due to missed vaccinations during the COVID-19 […]
WHO completes second Gaza hospital evacuation amid fighting
Geneva, Switzerland, Cairo, Egypt Reuters The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it had completed a second evacuation mission from Gaza’s Nasser Hospital but voiced concern for nearly 150 patients and medics who remain at the site amid continuing fighting. The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest, stopped working last week after a week-long […]
Fighting, fuel shortages knock out Gaza’s second-largest hospital
Cairo, Egypt/Jerusalem Reuters Fighting, fuel shortages and Israeli raids put the Gaza Strip’s second-largest hospital completely out of service on Sunday, local and UN health officials said, as Israeli forces battled Hamas militants in the devastated Palestinian enclave. The latest blow to Gaza’s destroyed healthcare sector came as Israel prepared for an assault of the […]
Israel bombards Gaza, with biggest functioning hospital under siege
Cairo, Egypt Reuters Gaza’s largest functioning hospital was under siege on Friday in Israel’s war with Islamist group Hamas, leaving patients and doctors helpless in the chaos as warplanes struck Rafah, the last refuge for Palestinians in the enclave, officials said. Israeli forces remained in Nasser Hospital in the town of Khan Younis after raiding […]
Dengue spreads fast in Brazil prompting emergency health measures
Brasilia, Brazil Reuters Dengue fever has surged in Brazil’s hot rainy season, forcing health authorities to take emergency measures and start mass vaccination against the mosquito-borne illness. In the first five weeks of this year 364,855 cases of infection have been reported, the Health Ministry said, four times more than dengue cases in the same […]
UK Government to ban disposable vapes to prevent use by children
London, UK Reuters British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce plans on Monday to ban the sale of disposable vapes to prevent their use by children, and reiterate the government’s intention to introduce a law preventing younger generations from buying tobacco. Under the new powers, there would be restrictions on vape flavours, a requirement for […]
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 […]
Cameroon launches malaria vaccination program in global milestone
Reuters The global fight against malaria took a stride forward on Monday as Cameroon launched the world’s first routine vaccine programme against the mosquito-borne disease that is projected to save tens of thousands of children’s lives per year across Africa. Around 40 years in the making, the World Health Organization-approved RTS,S vaccine developed by British […]