Health

New cases come on the two-year anniversary since the last confirmed case of polio was reported in AfricaAfter more than two years without wild poliovirus in Nigeria, the Government reported today that 2 children have been paralyzed by the disease in the northern Borno state. As an immediate priority, the Government of Nigeria is collaborating with WHO and other partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to respond urgently and prevent more children from being paralyzed. These steps include conducting large-scale immunization campaigns and strengthening surveillance systems that help catch...

Countries need to ensure continuous attention to the quality of their healthcare services, including during emergencies, contends a new Collection of articles launched today in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The authors call for greater investment and political attention to quality issues – not just access - as a cornerstone of universal health coverage.Disruptions during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic show why health service quality must be explicitly addressed within emergency plans and response, authors state. Even when facilities were nominally open, many provided significantly reduced services that...