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United Nations

Non-communicable diseases killing more people than ever before: UN health agency

Non-communicable diseases account for 7 of the world’s top 10 causes of death, a sharp increase from two decades ago, and heart disease remains the leading cause of death globally, a new UN World Health Organization (WHO) study has found. 

New WHO campaign to help COVID-era quitters kick the habit

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday, announced the start of a year-long global campaign to help people quit tobacco, with millions citing the threat of COVID-19 as a new incentive to give up the habit.  

Shutting school systems, wrong response to COVID-19, UNICEF says

Countries fighting the coronavirus should not impose nationwide or large-scale school closures, which is the wrong response and compounds the societal cost of the disease, with 320 million children locked out of school at the start of December, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said on Tuesday.  

First Person: COVID education is child’s play for Thai UN volunteer

An innovative initiative to provide child-friendly information about COVID-19 has been launched by a UN volunteer (UNV) in Thailand who recognized that children needed to know more about the dangers of the virus but also have fun learning at home during the lockdown. On International Volunteer Day marked annually on 5 December, UNICEF’s Rasa Pattikasemkul talks about motivation, family loss and keeping children safe.

COVID-19: Right decisions now will secure a life of dignity for all

Critical decisions made now to address the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a life of dignity for all people, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Friday, addressing the second and final day of the General Assembly’s special session devoted to the crisis. 

New Africa alliance aims to tackle deadly COVID ‘infodemic’

A new network in Africa aims to combat the “infodemic” of misinformation online surrounding COVID-19 and other health emergencies on the continent, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday. 

COVID-19 recovery focus of UN General Assembly special session

Nations united on Thursday for a special session of the UN General Assembly to survey the wreckage of the COVID-19 pandemic, reflect on the best response, and forge a path to better days ahead. 

UN urges ‘global solidarity, shared responsibility’ against pandemics, marking World AIDS Day

The United Nations is commemorating World AIDS Day, on Tuesday, with a call for “global solidarity and shared responsibility” to overcome not only COVID-19, but also AIDS – another global pandemic that is still with us nearly 40 years after it emerged. 

New COVID-19 infections fall globally for first time since September; WHO chief urges ‘extreme caution’

Last week saw the first global decline in newly reported cases of COVID-19 since September, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, advising that the news, while welcome, must be interpreted with “extreme caution”. 

COVID-19 threatens global progress against malaria, warns UN health agency

Gaps in life-saving interventions are undermining efforts to curb malaria, amid fears that the coronavirus pandemic could set back the fight against the disease even further, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has said. 

Global HIV toll likely to be far higher owing to COVID-19, warns UNAIDS

Countries should adopt ambitious new targets to tackle HIV / AIDS to avoid hundreds of thousands of additional infections and deaths linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN said on Thursday.

A child infected with HIV every 100 seconds, new UN report reveals

Approximately once every minute and 40 seconds, a child or young person under the age of 20 was infected with HIV last year, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported, calling on governments to “protect, sustain and accelerate” efforts to combat childhood HIV. 

COVID cases surge amid growing threat from antimicrobial resistance – WHO chief 

More cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the past four weeks than in the first six months of the pandemic, the UN health agency chief told journalists on Friday as he launched a new report on the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance.

Remdesivir no COVID-19 silver bullet, says UN health agency

An advisory body of the UN health agency is not recommending the use of the high-profile antiviral drug Remdesivir for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, saying on Thursday there is insufficient evidence that it improves survival outcomes or cuts down on the need for patients to be put onto ventilators. 

In the face of ridicule: one woman’s fight to bring sanitation to a Nepali village

4.2 billion people are living without access to safely managed sanitation, putting them at increased risk of catching a host of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, cholera, and typhoid. On this year’s World Toilet Day, which is marked on 19 November, we look at how Ratna Khawas has fought ridicule and tradition to improve hygiene in her Nepali village, with the help of the UN.

Ensure safe and hygienic sanitation for all, UN urges, marking World Toilet Day

The UN is marking World Toilet Day on Thursday, in a bid to reinforce the need for equal access to sanitation for all. More than a quarter of the global population lack basic facilities, and more than three billion people live in homes without basic hand washing facilities, soap and water. 

Future of an entire generation at risk, as COVID-19 pandemic drags on

While symptoms among children infected with COVID-19 mostly remain mild, infections are rising and the longer-term impact on the education, nutrition and well-being of an entire generation of young people can be life-altering, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned. 

Silent Pandemic: Overuse renders antimicrobials less effective – UN agriculture agency

People, plants and animals around the world are dying from untreatable infections – even with the best medicines available – due to a rise in antimicrobial resistance, the UN food agriculture agency said on Wednesday, kicking off World Antimicrobial Awareness Week. 

Latest Ebola outbreak in DR Congo is declared over, with lessons for COVID-19  

An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is over, the government announced on Wednesday, after a five-month response supported by the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO), and other partners.   

Persons living with disabilities ‘have very special abilities’, UN deputy chief tells young Ghanaians  

During her visit to Ghana on Monday, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed met with young people living with HIV and disabilities in the capital, Accra.   

New partnership to boost maternal and newborn health in East and Southern Africa

Some 10,000 health workers will be trained to support mothers and newborns in Africa through a partnership between the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and Laerdal Global Health, the non-profit arm of a Norwegian company that provides innovative training, educational and therapy solutions for emergency medical care and patient safety.

UN-backed fund to address crisis in global sanitation and hygiene

A UN-backed fund, launched on Tuesday, is set to take on the centuries-old crisis centred around sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health, which now impacts more than four billion people across the world. 

WHO rolls out plan to rid world of cervical cancer, saving millions of lives

The World Health Organization (WHO) set out a strategy on Tuesday for eliminating cervical cancer, which would avoid the death of an estimated five million women and girls from the disease, by 2050.

No time for complacency as COVID-19 cases surge: WHO chief

Despite encouraging news about COVID-19 vaccines and cautious optimism over potential new tools against the disease, “this is not the time for complacency,” the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday during his latest press briefing in Geneva. 

Diabetes increasing COVID risks, showing need to strengthen health systems 

As the number of people with diabetes surges, many are at “increased risk of severe disease and death from COVID-19”, the UN chief said in his message for World Diabetes Day, on Saturday. 
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