Health

In 2019, the top 10 causes of death accounted for 55% of the 55.4 million deaths worldwide.The top global causes of death, in order of total number of lives lost, are associated with three broad topics: cardiovascular (ischaemic heart disease, stroke), respiratory (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower respiratory infections) and neonatal conditions – which include birth asphyxia and birth trauma, neonatal sepsis and infections, and preterm birth complications.Causes of death can be grouped into three categories: communicable (infectious and parasitic diseases and maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions), noncommunicable (chronic) and injuries. At...

Since the beginning of the outbreak, health care providers have been shown more support, solidarity and gratitude than they ever have. Yet, attacks on health care have continuously been reported and now also include incidents linked to the COVID-19 pandemic across the world. This unprecedented public health emergency has demonstrated that health facilities, medical transport, patients as well as health care workers and their families can – and do – become targets everywhere. This alarming trend reinforces the need for improved measures to protect health care from acts of violence....

WHO calls on industry and governments to increase manufacturing by 40 per cent to meet rising global demandThe World Health Organization has warned that severe and mounting disruption to the global supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) – caused by rising demand, panic buying, hoarding and misuse – is putting lives at risk from the new coronavirus and other infectious diseases. Healthcare workers rely on personal protective equipment to protect themselves and their patients from being infected and infecting others.But shortages are leaving doctors, nurses and other frontline workers dangerously...

Abuja, 24 October 2023 – Nigeria today introduced the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into its routine immunization system, aiming to reach 7.7 million girls – the largest number in a single round of HPV vaccination in the African region – in a vaccination drive against the virus that causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer. Girls aged 9–14 years will receive a single dose of the vaccine, which is highly efficacious in preventing infection with HPV types 16 and 18 that are known to cause at least 70% of cervical cancers. In...