Latest World Health Organization News
A gold mining town in Congo has become an mpox hot spot as a new strain spreads
KAMITUGA, Congo (AP) — Slumped on the ground over a mound of dirt, Divine Wisoba pulled weeds from her daughter’s grave. The 1-month-old died from mpox in eastern Congo in August, but Wisoba, 21, was too traumatized to attend the funeral. In her first visit to the cemetery, she...
Why is Congo struggling to contain mpox?
KAVUMU, Congo (AP) — Health authorities have struggled to contain outbreaks of mpox in Congo, a huge central African country where a myriad of existing problems makes stemming the spread particularly hard. Last month, the World Health Organization declared the outbreaks in Congo...
Global vaccine alliance GAVI to buy 500,000 doses of mpox vaccine
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The global vaccine alliance Gavi will buy 500,000 doses of mpox vaccine to battle outbreaks of the disease in African countries, the organization said on Wednesday. The vaccine doses — manufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic — will be available...
The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN says
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the U.N. said Monday. It’s a devastating setback for polio eradication, since the virus is one of the world’s most infectious and any unvaccinated groups of children where the virus is...
WHO grants first mpox vaccine approval to ramp up response to disease in Africa
GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization said Friday it has granted its first authorization for use of a vaccine against mpox in adults, calling it an important step toward fighting the disease in Africa. The approval of the vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic A/S means that donors...
Mpox deaths rise by 107 in a week as Africa CDC calls the toll unacceptable
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — African countries recorded more than 100 mpox-related deaths in the past week, the continental health body said Thursday as it described the rising toll as “not acceptable.” Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Center for Disease Control and...
Red Cross staff members killed in Ukraine as country warned of severe winter health crisis
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The World Health Organization issued a stark warning on Thursday about a potential health crisis in Ukraine as the country faces its third winter of war since Russia’s full-scale invasion. The warning came as three Red Cross staff members were killed by...
UN official says Sudan's war has killed at least 20,000 people
CAIRO (AP) — More than 16 months of war in Sudan has killed more than 20,000 people, a senior United Nations official said Sunday, a grim figure amid a devastating conflict that has wrecked the northeastern African country. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World...
WHO and Africa CDC launch a response plan to the mpox outbreak
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization launched on Friday a continent-wide response plan to the outbreak of mpox, three weeks after WHO declared outbreaks in 12 African countries a global emergency. The estimated...
The first 100,000 doses of mpox vaccine reach Congo. But it's a fraction of what is needed
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The first batch of mpox vaccine arrived in Congo’s capital on Thursday, the country’s authorities said, three weeks after the World Health Organization declared mpox outbreaks in 12 African countries a global emergency. The 100,000 doses of the JYNNEOS...