Latest World Health Organization News
UN says cholera and dengue outbreaks have been reported in eastern Sudan as conflict grinds on
CAIRO (AP) — Outbreaks of cholera and dengue fever have been reported in eastern Sudan, where thousands of people are sheltering in crowded camps amid deadly fighting between the country's military and a rival paramilitary force, the U.N. health agency said on Tuesday. According...
UN warns disease outbreak in Libya's flooded east could spark 'a second devastating crisis'
DERNA, Libya (AP) — Officials warned Monday that a disease outbreak in Libya's northeast, where floods have killed thousands, could create “a second devastating crisis” as adults and children fell ill from contaminated water. In a statement, the United Nations Support Mission...
Leaders see hope in tackling deadly climate change and public health problems together
NEW YORK (AP) — Trying to lessen climate change's sweeping impact, experts are hoping that attempts to improve the sputtering global public health system and sometimes-stalled efforts to curb global warming through collaboration can combine — and create a better system for handling the problem...
Big Pharma's Johnson & Johnson under investigation in South Africa over 'excessive' drug prices
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S.-based pharmaceuticals company Johnson & Johnson is being investigated in South Africa for allegedly charging “excessive” prices for a key tuberculosis drug, the country's antitrust regulator said Friday. J&J's Belgium-based subsidiary...
As climate change leads to more and wetter storms, cholera cases are on the rise
In early 2022, nearly 200,000 Malawians were displaced after two tropical storms struck the southeastern part of Africa barely a month apart. Sixty-four people died. Amid an already-heavy rainy season, the storms Ana and Gombe caused devastation across southern Malawi to homes,...
Uruguay suicide rate reaches new record in 2022, cementing position as outlier in region
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The suicide rate in Uruguay increased once again last year, reaching a new record and cementing the small country’s position as an outlier in the region. The South American country’s suicide rate reached 23.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022,...
Undue influence? Anonymous donations to World Health Organization's new foundation raise concerns
Nearly 40% of the money raised by the WHO Foundation in its first two years came from anonymous sources, worrying some that donors may be trying to influence the World Health Organization and its role in shaping global health policy with their gifts. The foundation, launched in 2020...
UK officials warn low measles immunization rates could lead to tens of thousands of cases in London
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Health Security Agency said on Friday that measles vaccination rates in parts of London have dropped so low that the capital could see tens of thousands of cases of the rash-causing disease unless immunization coverage is quickly boosted. In a statement,...
Soda sweetener aspartame now listed as possible cancer cause. But it's still considered safe
The World Health Organization's cancer agency has deemed the sweetener aspartame — found in diet soda and countless other foods — as a “possible” cause of cancer, while a separate expert group looking at the same evidence said it still considers the sugar substitute safe in limited...
