New ways to tackle leading causes of urban deaths
A new report by WHO offers guidance and tools for urban leaders to tackle some of the leading causes of...
WHO
Two out of three wild poliovirus strains eradicated
In an historic announcement on World Polio Day, an independent commission of experts concluded that wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3)...
7 million people receive record levels of lifesaving TB treatment but 3 million still miss out
More people received life-saving treatment for tuberculosis (TB) in 2018 than ever before, largely due to improved detection and diagnosis....
At least 2.2 billion people are blind or visually impaired. Here’s why.
Worldwide, at least 2.2 billion people are visually impaired, and over 1 billion are forced to live with preventable or...
1000 survivors: Harnessing Hope to End an Ebola Outbreak
On 4 October, the 1000th survivor of the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was released...
WHO welcomes landmark UN declaration on universal health coverage
Today world leaders adopted a high-level United Nations Political Declaration on universal health coverage (UHC), the most comprehensive set of...
Universal health coverage (UHC)
What is UHC? UHC means that all individuals and communities receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship....
United Nations Climate Action Summit
Step up climate action, improve health, change lives Climate change is the defining issue of our time, and now is...
More women and children survive today than ever before – UN report
More women and their children are surviving today than ever before, according to new child and maternal mortality estimates released...
WHO calls for urgent action to reduce patient harm in healthcare
13 September 2019: Millions of patients are harmed each year due to unsafe health care worldwide resulting in 2.6 million deaths...
Suicide: one person dies every 40 seconds
Progress in suicide prevention activities in some countries, but much more is needed The number of countries with national suicide...
Stronger focus on nutrition within health services could save 3.7 million lives by 2025
Health services must integrate a stronger focus on ensuring optimum nutrition at each stage of a person’s life, according to a...
Weak systems and funding gaps jeopardize drinking-water and sanitation in the world’s poorest countries
28 August 2019 | STOCKHOLM – The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN-Water today sounded the alarm for an urgent...
At 1-year mark, we mourn the lives lost, and call for solidarity
“Tomorrow, 1 August, marks one year since the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared an outbreak...
World Breastfeeding Week 2019
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of...
Empower parents, enable breastfeeding
Becoming the parent of a new baby is both a life-altering gift and an immense responsibility. This week, as countries...
WHO launches new report on the global tobacco epidemic
Many governments are making progress in the fight against tobacco, with 5 billion people today living in countries that have...
WHO recommends dolutegravir as preferred HIV treatment option in all populations
Based on new evidence assessing benefits and risks, the WHO recommends the use of the HIV drug dolutegravir (DTG) as...
World hunger is still not going down after three years and obesity is still growing – UN report
An estimated 820 million people did not have enough to eat in 2018, up from 811 million in the previous...
Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus today declared the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the...
High-level meeting on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Almost a year after the outbreak of Ebola was declared in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and with...
Immunization coverage
Key facts Immunization prevents illness, disability and death from vaccine-preventable diseases including cervical cancer, diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, pertussis...
20 million children miss out on lifesaving measles, diphtheria and tetanus vaccines in 2018
20 million children worldwide – more than 1 in 10 – missed out on lifesaving vaccines such as measles, diphtheria...
WHO updates global guidance on medicines and diagnostic tests to address health challenges and improve affordable access
WHO’s Essential Medicines List and List of Essential Diagnostics are core guidance documents that help countries prioritize critical health products...
Collaboration between France and WHO to realize the vision of the WHO Academy
Today Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General met at WHO Headquarters in...
More than a million people to be vaccinated in phase 2 of a huge cholera vaccination campaign in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
MBUJI-MAYI / GENEVA, 3 JULY 2019 -- Phase 2 of the biggest ever oral vaccination campaign against cholera is scheduled to...
Eliminating trachoma: WHO announces sustained progress with hundreds of millions of people no longer at risk of infection
The number of people at risk of trachoma – the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness – has fallen from...
Expanding access to health services with self-care interventions
At least 400 million people worldwide lack access to the most essential health services. By 2035, there will be an...
WHO highlights scarcity of treatment for epilepsy in low-income countries
Three quarters of people living with epilepsy in low-income countries do not get the treatment they need, increasing their risk...
Becoming malaria free by 2020
Much of 21st century medicine is still spent battling ancient diseases. Malaria is such an old disease that there are...
Women Deliver 2019 Conference
The Women Deliver 2019 Conference will take place in Vancouver, Canada from 3-6 June 2019. It will be the world’s...
More than 1 million new curable sexually transmitted infections every day
Every day, there are more than 1 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among people aged 15-49...
Goodwill ambassadors
Ambassadors are well-known personalities from the worlds of arts, literature, entertainment, sport or other fields of public life who commit...
Adopting a healthy lifestyle helps reduce the risk of dementia
14 May 2019 – People can reduce their risk of dementia by getting regular exercise, not smoking, avoiding harmful use...
Too many babies are born too small
More than 20 million babies were born with a low birthweight (less than 2500g; 5.5 pounds) in 2015—around one in...
To grow up healthy, children need to sit less and play more
Children under five must spend less time sitting watching screens, or restrained in prams and seats, get better quality sleep...
Malaria vaccine pilot launched in Malawi
WHO welcomes the Government of Malawi’s launch of the world’s first malaria vaccine today in a landmark pilot programme. The...
WHO releases first guideline on digital health interventions
WHO today released new recommendations on 10 ways that countries can use digital health technology, accessible via mobile phones, tablets...
Uneven access to health services drives life expectancy gaps: WHO
Where women can access health services, maternal deaths decrease, lengthening women’s life expectancy. In many circumstances, men access health care...
WHO sending urgent health assistance after Cyclone Idai displaces thousands of people in Southern Africa
Brazzaville, 20 March 2019 – The World Health Organization (WHO) is providing urgent assistance to meet the health needs of thousands...
