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Tag: WHO

  • WHO develops COVID-19 treatment master plan

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) is developing a master plan for coordinating clinical trials that could lead to potential therapies for patients infected with Coronavirus (COVID-19).

    WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced this at a news conference in Geneva, at the conclusion of a two-day research and innovation forum on COVID-19.

    The leading health experts from around the world met to assess the current level of knowledge about the new disease, identify gaps and work together so that critical research can begin immediately.

    These include decisions surrounding easy to apply diagnostics, the best approaches for infection prevention, potential therapies that could be used to treat patients, existing vaccine candidates and how to accelerate them.

    Ghebreyesus described the outcome of the meeting as the “infodemic” – the overwhelming quantity of information, being produced and disseminated worldwide.

    “The WHO is extending investigations into the source of the virus (which is still undetermined),

    “The agency will continue to support countries with the tools to diagnose cases and protect health workers, including personal protective equipment,’’ he said.

    As of Wednesday (Geneva time) there were 44,730 cases of COVID-19 in China, with 1,114 deaths.

    In the rest of the world, the figure was 441 cases and one death.

    Although the number of newly confirmed cases has stabilised in China, Ghebreyesus cautioned that the outbreak “could still go in any direction”.

  • WHO renames deadly coronavirus

    WHO renames deadly coronavirus

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) has renamed the new coronavirus as Covid-19.

    WHO announced the new name in its tweeter handle at @WHO that “we now have a name for 2019nCov disease.

    “The new name is COVID-19.The CO stands for corona, the VI for virus and the D for disease.”

    The UN health agency wanted a name that do not refer to a geographical location, animals, an individual or a group of people.

    WHO is leading a two-day global research and innovation forum to mobilise international action in response to coronavirus outbreak in Geneva.

    China’s National Health Commission said there were 2,478 confirmed new cases in the mainland and 108 additional deaths, most of them in Hubei province.

    As of Monday night, the government said a total of 42,638 cases have been confirmed and 1,016 people have died in the country.

    The outbreak’s epicentre is in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, with 28 countries and territories around the world also affected.

  • Coronavirus not yet a pandemic – WHO

    Coronavirus not yet a pandemic – WHO

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the coronavirus outbreak is a global public health emergency, not a pandemic.

    Coronavirus has claimed 490 lives as at Wednesday, with more than 20,000 reported cases in China and 158 cases outside that country.

    WHO, which stated this at a press conference on Tuesday in Geneva, said the agency was hopeful that that the virus would be contained.

    The UN agency acknowledged that it was challenging to contain the virus because of global mass movement.

    It explained that the virus was currently considered to be an epidemic with multiple locations.

    “We are not in a pandemic,” Dr Sylvie Briand, Director of the World Health Organisation’s Infectious Hazards Management Department, said.

    “We will try to extinguish the transmission in each of these,” she said, adding that the agency believes this “can be done with containment measures currently in place.”

    “Current control measures in place include early case detection, early isolation and treatment of cases, contact tracing and social detention measures in places where there is risk of transmission

    “ These are the core elements of any outbreak response and might be enough to stop an infection from spreading,” the official was quoted as saying.

    According to WHO, there is a “window of opportunity” to stop the deadly new coronavirus becoming a broader global crisis.

    WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the steps China took to fight the virus at its epicentre were a good way of stopping its spread.

    The praise comes as Chinese officials have been widely criticised for their initial handling of the outbreak.

  • Coronavirus: WHO lists Nigeria among high-risk African nations

    Coronavirus: WHO lists Nigeria among high-risk African nations

    The World Health Organisation has identified Nigeria among 13 high-risk African countries for coronavirus.

    The other countries on the list include Algeria, Angola, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

    A statement from WHO on Friday said the identified African nations have direct links or a high volume of travel to China.

    “WHO has identified 13 top priority countries (Algeria, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) which either have direct links or a high volume of travel to China.

    “To ensure rapid detection of the novel coronavirus, it is important to have laboratories which can test samples and WHO is supporting countries to improve their testing capacity. Since this is a new virus, there are currently only two referral laboratories in the African region which have the reagents needed to conduct such tests.

    “However, reagent kits are being shipped to more than 20 other countries in the region, so diagnostic capacity is expected to increase over the coming days. Active screening at airports has been established in a majority of these countries and while they will be WHO first areas of focus, the organization will support all countries in the region in their preparation efforts,” the WHO said in a statement.

    “It is critical that countries step up their readiness and in particular put in place effective screening mechanisms at airports and other major points of entry to ensure that the first cases are detected quickly,” added WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti.

    As of 30 January 2020, there were 7818 confirmed cases globally, with the vast majority in China, WHO stated.

    However, Africa recorded its first case of coronavirus on Friday as Botswana Government revealed that the country registered its first-ever suspected case of the deadly virus.

    A statement on its twitter handle and signed by the nation’s Director, Health Services, Malaki Tshipayagae said the suspected case was registered on Thursday.

    It said the suspected case was registered at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport upon arrival using Ethiopian Airways from China.

    To prevent the spread in Africa, WHO recommends that people should practice good hand and respiratory hygiene and safe food practices. These include washing hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub, covering the mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing, avoiding close contact with anyone with flu-like symptoms, cooking food, especially meat, thoroughly and avoiding direct unprotected contact with live animals.

  • Coronavirus: WHO declares international emergency

    Coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China.

    “The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

    The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems.

    The death toll now stands at 170 people in China.

    The WHO said there had been 98 cases in 18 countries outside of the country, but no deaths.

    Most cases have emerged in people who have travelled from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began.

    However, there have been eight cases of human-to-human infection – in Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and the United States.

    Dr Tedros, speaking at the press conference in Geneva, described the virus as an “unprecedented outbreak” that has been met with an “unprecedented response”.

    He praised the “extraordinary measures” Chinese authorities had taken to prevent it from spreading.

    “Let me be clear, this declaration is not a vote of no confidence in China,” he added.

  • Deadly coronavirus in China likely to spread to other nations, WHO warns

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned on Tuesday that the new coronavirus was likely to spread to other parts of China and possibly other countries in coming days.

    “More cases should be expected in other parts of China and possibly other countries in the coming days,” said WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic.

    So far in China, the virus has mostly been concentrated in Wuhan city, where it is thought to have emerged from a seafood market, although isolated cases have also been reported in Shanghai and Beijing.

    On the reason for the expected new cases, Jasarevic said that they would appear as China steps up monitoring.

    “If you increase surveillance and testing you are likely to get new numbers,” he added.

    All international cases are thought to be linked to the original outbreak cluster in Wuhan.

    The WHO does not advise travel restrictions at this time.

    Similarly, Taiwan on Tuesday confirmed the first case of infection from the new coronavirus, a woman in her 50s who had returned to the island after working in the Chinese city of Wuhan where the outbreak began.

    The Taiwan Centres for Disease Control said the woman, from southern Taiwan, had returned to the island on Monday and had been sent to the hospital from the airport after showing symptoms such as fever and coughing.

    It however advised people not to panic, saying the woman had been identified as soon as she arrived in Taiwan.

    Taiwan has already alerted China and the WHO about the case, the government added.

    The outbreak has spread from the central Chinese city of Wuhan to cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

    Other cases have also been reported outside China, including in South Korea, Thailand and Japan.

    Taiwan, which has close economic and people-to-people links with China in spite of political tensions between the two sides, on Monday set up an epidemic response command center to coordinate the island’s response to the virus.

    Taiwan has also prepared more than 1,000 beds in isolation wards in case the virus spreads further.

  • Tobacco use declines globally – WHO

    World Health Organisation (WHO) says overall global tobacco use reduced from 1.397 billion in 2000 to 1.337 billion in 2018 or by approximately 60 million people.

    The world body disclosed this in a statement released on Thursday in Geneva on Global Trends in Prevalence of Tobacco Use 2000-2025 Third Edition, posted on its website.

    The report covers the use of cigarettes, pipes, cigars, waterpipes, smokeless tobacco products (like bidis, cheroots and kretek) and heated tobacco products.

    Electronic cigarettes are, however, not covered in the report.

    It noted that the number of males using tobacco globally had declined, showing that government-led control efforts worked to save lives, protect health and beat tobacco.

    The statement indicated that “for the first time, WHO project on the number of males using tobacco showed a decline, indicating a powerful shift in the global tobacco epidemic.”

    The development, it said, was largely driven by reductions in the number of females using these products (346 million in 2000 down to 244 million in 2018, or a fall over around 100 million).

    “Over the same period, male tobacco use had risen by around 40 million, from 1.050 billion in 2000 to 1.093 billion in 2018 (or 82 per cent of the world’s current 1.337 billion tobacco users).

    “But positively, the new report shows that the number of male tobacco users has stopped growing and is projected to decline by more than one million fewer male users come 2020.

    “It is projected to drop by one million male users by 2020 or 1.09 billion, compared to 2018 levels and five million less by 2025 (1.08 billion).’’

    In addition, WHO projected 10 million fewer tobacco users by 2020 by both males and females, compared to 2018, and another 27 million less by 2025, amounting to 1.29 billion.

    It said some 60 per cent of countries had been experiencing a decline in tobacco use since 2010.

    The statement quoted WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as saying: “declines in tobacco use among males mark a turning point in the fight against tobacco.

    “For many years now, we witnessed a steady rise in the number of males using deadly tobacco products.

    “ But for the first time, we are seeing a decline in male use, driven by governments’ tougher stance on the tobacco industry.

    “WHO will continue to work closely with countries to maintain this downward trend.”

    The statement also quoted the Director of Health Promotion at WHO, Dr Ruediger Krech, as saying: “reductions in global tobacco use demonstrate the efforts of governments.

    “It demonstrates that when governments introduce and strengthen their comprehensive evidence-based actions, they can protect the well-being of their citizens and communities.”

    The statement noted that in spite of the gains and progress in meeting global target set by governments to cut tobacco use by 30 per cent by 2025, a lot remained off track.

    It said that based on current progress, a 23 per cent reduction would be achieved by 2025 and only 32 countries were currently on track to reach the 30 per cent reduction target.

    The statement further quoted Dr Vinayak Prasad, the Head of WHO’s Tobacco Control unit, as saying: “the projected decline among males represented that the overwhelming majority of tobacco users can be built on and used to accelerate efforts to reach the global target.

    “Fewer people are using tobacco, which is a major step for global public health.

    “But the work is not yet done. Without stepped-up national action, the projected fall in tobacco use still won’t meet global reduction targets.

    “We must never let up in the fight against Big Tobacco.”

    The statement further revealed that every year, more than eight million people die from tobacco use, approximately half of its users.

    It stated that more than seven million of those deaths were from direct tobacco use, while around 1.2 million were due to non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.

    “Most tobacco-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, areas that are targets of intensive tobacco industry interference and marketing.’’

    The report supports the monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target three A, which calls for strengthening of the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

  • 2.3bn people overweight, 150m children stunted globally – WHO

    World Health Organisation (WHO) says no fewer than 2.3 billion children and adults are overweight, while more than 150 million children are stunted globally.

    The WHO disclosed this in a statement released on Monday in Geneva, on a four-paper report published on Double Burden of Malnutrition in The Lancet Medical Journal.

    According to the report, the twin presence of obesity and undernutrition reflect shifts in food systems worldwide, as more than one in three low-and middle-income countries face both extremes of malnutrition.

    The statement, however, stated that in low-and middle-income countries, these emerging issues overlap in individuals, families, communities and countries.

    It added that the new report explored trends behind this intersection – known as the double burden of malnutrition – as well as societal and food system changes that may be causing it.

    The report also explored the biological explanation and effects, as well as policy measures that might help to address malnutrition in all its forms.

    According to WHO, a new approach is needed to help reduce undernutrition and obesity at the same time, as the issues become increasingly connected due to rapid changes in countries’ food systems.

    It noted that “this is especially important in low- and middle-income countries where more than a third of such countries have overlapping forms of malnutrition.

    “A total of 45 out of 123 countries in the 1990s, and 48 of 126 countries in the 2010s, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific had overlapping forms of malnutrition.

    “Undernutrition and obesity can lead to effects across generations as both maternal undernutrition and obesity are associated with poor health in offspring.

    “However, because of the speed of change in food systems, more people are being exposed to both forms of malnutrition at different points in their lifetime, which further increases harmful health effects.’’

    The statement quoted the Lead Author of the report, Dr Francesco Branca, who is also the Director of the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, WHO, as saying: “We are facing a new nutrition reality.

    “We can no longer characterise countries as low-income and undernourished, or high-income and only concerned with obesity.

    “All forms of malnutrition have a common denominator – food systems that fail to provide all people with healthy, safe, affordable and sustainable diets.

    “Changing this will require action across food systems – from production and processing, through trade and distribution, pricing, marketing and labelling, to consumption and waste.

    “All relevant policies and investments must be radically re-examined.”

    The statement also quoted Dr Richard Horton, the Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet, as saying: “today’s publication of the WHO Series on the Double Burden of Malnutrition comes after 12 months of Lancet articles exploring nutrition in all its forms.

    “With these and other articles across Lancet journals throughout 2019, it has become clear that nutrition and malnutrition need to be approached from multiple perspectives.

    “Although findings have sometimes converged, there is still work to be done to understand malnutrition’s multiple manifestations.

    “With six years remaining in the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025), this Series and Comment define the future direction required to achieve the global goal of eradicating hunger.

    “It also defines the future direction required to achieve the global goal of preventing malnutrition in all its forms.”

    In addition, the report stated that high-quality diets reduced the risk of malnutrition in all its forms by promoting healthy growth, development and immunity, and preventing obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) throughout life.

    It stated that the components of healthy diets were optimal breastfeeding practices in the first two years; a diversity and abundance of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fibre and nuts.

    “Also seeds; modest amounts of animal source foods; minimal amounts of processed meats, and minimal amounts of foods and beverages high in energy and added amounts of sugar, saturated fat, trans fat and salt,’’ the report stated.

  • 140,000 die in measles outbreaks

    More than 140,000 people worldwide have died from measles in 2018, according to new estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC).

    These deaths occurred as measles cases surged globally, amidst devastating outbreaks in all regions.

    Most deaths were among children under 5 years of age. Babies and very young children are at greatest risk from measles infections, with potential complications including pneumonia and encephalitis (a swelling of the brain), as well as lifelong disability – permanent brain damage, blindness or hearing loss.

    Recently published evidence shows that contracting the measles virus can have further long-term health impacts, with the virus damaging the immune system’s memory for months or even years following infection.

    This ‘immune amnesia’ leaves survivors vulnerable to other potentially deadly diseases, like influenza or severe diarrhea, by harming the body’s immune defenses.

    “The fact that any child dies from a vaccine-preventable disease like measles is frankly an outrage and a collective failure to protect the world’s most vulnerable children,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

    “To save lives, we must ensure everyone can benefit from vaccines – which means investing in immunization and quality health care as a right for all”, he maintained.

    Measles is preventable through vaccination. However, vaccination rates globally have stagnated for almost a decade. WHO and UNICEF estimate that 86% of children globally received the first dose of measles vaccine through their country’s routine vaccination services in 2018, and fewer than 70% received the second recommended dose.

    In 2018, the most affected countries – the countries with the highest incidence rate of the disease – were Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Madagascar, Somalia and Ukraine. These five countries accounted for almost half of all measles cases worldwide.

    “We’ve had a safe and effective measles vaccine for over 50 years. These estimates remind us that every child, everywhere needs – and deserves – this life-saving vaccine. We must turn this trend around and stop these preventable deaths by improving measles vaccine access and coverage”, said Dr. Robert Linkins, Branch Chief of Accelerated Disease Control and Vaccine Preventable Disease Surveillance at the CDC and Chair of the Measles & Rubella Initiative.

  • WHO raises alarm as Ebola death toll in DRC hits 1,540

    WHO raises alarm as Ebola death toll in DRC hits 1,540

    The death toll in the latest outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has risen to 1,540, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    In an update on Friday, the world health body said 2,284 people had been infected since the outbreak in the country’s Ituri and North Kivu provinces nearly 11 months ago.

    However, vital work of tracing people infected with the deadly virus is progressing, in spite of evidence of “several” massacres in the affected area earlier this month, the organization said.

    In spite of the insecurity, WHO insisted that frontline workers were doing all they could to tackle Ebola in North-east DRC.

    “We had 637 people who survived the disease, and I think this is important,” Dr. Ibrahima Fall, WHO Assistant Director-General for Emergency Response, told newsmen in Geneva, according to a statement.

    He noted that around 90 people were currently receiving treatment for Ebola virus disease infection, while new cases had dropped from 106 two weeks ago, to 79 last week.

    At the same time, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, announced that a “robust” probe found that 117 people had been killed in “several massacres” involving multiple villages in gold-rich Ituri, between June 10 and June 13.

    “The investigative team confirmed that at least 94 people had been killed in Djugu territory and 23 in Mahagi territory, including a yet to be an undetermined number of women and children.

    “Some of the victims were beheaded. Homes and warehouses were burned down after being looted.

    “The ferocity and scorched-earth nature of the attacks suggest the assailants intended to prevent survivors from being able to return to their villages,” OHCHR spokesperson, Marta Hurtado, said.

    Hurtado was quoted as saying that most of the victims belonged to the Hema community, while the remaining ones were Alur people.

    She added that the attackers were reportedly from the Lendu community, echoing an earlier alert from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

    UNHCR had earlier reported that thousands of people displaced by violence had arrived in Uganda this month, with an average of 311 people crossing the border daily, double the number for May.

    Fall explained that major urban centres of Butembo and Katwa were now seeing only “sporadic” cases of infection, thanks to full access.

    He, however, cautioned that in Beni, a large town in North Kivu, Ebola had claimed nine lives since Monday.

    Contact tracing there and other preventative work was slowed earlier this week amid attacks by taxi drivers who were upset about the death of a colleague who sought help too late, according to him.

    Turning to remote areas, Fall confirmed that the “very volatile” security situation had complicated the WHO’s work to tackle “a new hotspot” in Mabalako and Mandima.

    “The outbreak started there last year and spread to other regions, so it’s important to break the vicious cycle, to contain very quickly the situation in Mabalako and Mandima, where we have more than 55 per cent of the cases coming from.”

    He said for the first time in the current outbreak, Ebola had also reached small forest-based villages such as Alima, where access is “more challenging”.

    Fall blamed the situation on the presence of armed groups from DRC and neighbouring Uganda.

    “You cannot just say, ‘I have access, I can go.’ You have to negotiate; you have to assess conscious that the risk is still important.

    “This is because as you know, with Ebola, you only need one case to start spreading or one high-risk contact not followed transfers the disease,’’ he said.

    Asked about the infection threat in Uganda, where three people with Ebola died earlier this month after arriving from DRC, the WHO official insisted “there has been no transmission” of the virus.