WHO News

16 May 2012 -- One in three adults worldwide has high blood pressure – a condition that causes around half of all deaths from stroke and heart disease, according to the World health statistics 2012 report released today. One in 10 adults has diabetes.

4 May 2012 – On Hand Hygiene Day (5 May), more than 15 000 health-care facilities from 156 countries are participating in the WHO Save Lives: Clean Your Hands Initiative by committing to improve patient safety by practicing better hand hygiene

2 May 2012 -- Over one million of preterm babies die shortly after birth and countless others suffer some type of lifelong physical, neurological, or educational disability. An estimated 75% of preterm babies who die could survive without expensive care if a few proven and inexpensive treatments and preventions were available worldwide.

24 April 2012 -- On the eve of World Malaria Day 2012, WHO hails global progress in combating malaria but highlights the need to further reinforce the fight. WHO’s new initiative, T3: Test, Treat, Track, urges malaria-endemic countries and donors to move towards universal access to diagnostic testing and antimalarial treatment, and to build robust malaria surveillance systems.

24 April 2012 -- Announcing a new global strategy aimed at reducing measles deaths and congenital rubella syndrome to zero. The announcement comes with the publication of new data using a state-of-the-art methodology showing that efforts to reduce measles deaths have resulted in a 74% reduction in global measles deaths, from 2000 to 2010.

23 April 2012 – The first World Immunization Week is being held from 21 to 28 April 2012 with activities in over 180 countries. The theme of the week, ‘Protect your world: Get vaccinated’, aims to reinforce the importance of immunization and encourage people everywhere to vaccinate themselves and their children against serious diseases.

11 April 2012 -- Worldwide, nearly 35.6 million people live with dementia which affects people in all countries. More than half (58%) live in low- and middle-income countries. A new WHO report, Dementia: a public health priority, recommends improving early diagnosis; raising public awareness about the disease and reducing stigma; and providing better care and more support to caregivers.

5 April 2012 -- New sources of funding are needed to encourage health research specifically for diseases that affect people in developing countries.

4 March 2012 -- By agreeing to the protocol, governments have reiterated their commitment to tackling illicit trade in tobacco products.

03 April 2012 -- In the next few years, for the first time, there will be more people in the world aged over 60 than children aged less than five. On World Health Day (7 April), WHO is calling for urgent action to ensure that people reach old age in the best possible health.

23 March 2012 -- Reports of tuberculosis (TB) cases with severe patterns of drug resistance are increasing. The emergence of drug resistance should be a wake-up call for Ministries of Health. Greater efforts are needed to prevent drug resistance and scale up provision of appropriate care and management to avoid a scenario where TB becomes incurable.

23 March 2012 -- A new United Nations Human Rights Council resolution advocates the universal registration of people at birth. Some 40 million people are not registered each year. This resolution is intended to reduce that number.

22 March 2012 -- WHO Director-General Margaret Chan today urged the world to “stand shoulder to shoulder” against the tobacco industry’s attempts to overturn Australia’s new path breaking tobacco control law.

21 March 2012 -- Tuberculosis (TB) is often undiagnosed in children under 15 years old because they lack access to health services - or because the health workers who care for them are unprepared to recognize the signs and symptoms of TB in this age group.

8 March 2012 -- A new book, The evolving threat of antimicrobial resistance - Options for action, launched by WHO, showcases examples of actions taken to slow down drug resistance and preserve the ability of medicine to effectively treat many diseases.

6 March 2012 -- The United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water has been met. This is one of the first MDG targets to be met. Between 1990 and 2010, over two billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources.

2 March 2012 -- An estimated 910 000 lives were saved globally over six years by improving collaboration between TB and HIV services. In light of the experiences gained over the last six years, WHO is today launching an updated global policy to accelerate coordinated public health interventions to further reduce deaths from this dangerous combination of diseases.

17 February 2012 -- Public health and influenza experts reached consensus on two urgent issues related to the newly created H5N1 influenza viruses: extending the temporary moratorium on research with new laboratory-modified H5N1 viruses and recognizing that research on naturally-occurring H5N1 influenza virus must continue in order to protect public health.

16 February 2012 -- WHO has concluded that women living with HIV or at high risk of HIV can safely continue to use hormonal contraceptives to prevent pregnancy. The recommendation follows a thorough review of evidence about links between hormonal contraceptive use and HIV acquisition.

3 February 2012 -- Current WHO guidelines call on health service providers to remind patients, that neither hormonal contraceptives nor intrauterine devices known as IUDs offer protection against HIV or other sexually transmitted infections. Protection against both unwanted pregnancy and STIs including HIV is called "dual protection" and condoms are the mainstay of dual protection.