Page 10 - Who

Gujarat will be Mecca of traditional medicine: WHO director general

"I believe this is a very unique meeting, a summit on traditional medicine. And I believe that in a few years from now, Gujarat will be the Mecca of traditional medicine," Tedros said

WHO designates Covid-19 variant BA.2.86 as a 'variant under monitoring'

World Health Organization (WHO) designated COVID-19 variant BA.2.86 as a 'variant under monitoring' due to the large number of mutations it carries

Covid-19 still global health threat, new variant under scanner: WHO chief

Director-General of WHO Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus on Friday said though COVID-19 is no longer a health emergency for the world, it is still a global health threat' and a new variant of coronavirus is already under the scanner. The chief of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the G20 Health Ministers' Meeting at Mahatma Mandir Convention centre in Gujarat's capital Gandhinagar. Although COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, it remains a global health threat. WHO has recently classified a new variant with a large number of mutations. BA.2.86 variant is under monitoring at present, highlighting once again the need for all countries to maintain surveillance, he said. On the occasion, he urged all the countries to speed up the process of finalising the Pandemic Accord' so that it can be adopted in the World Health Assembly scheduled to be held next year. COVID-19 has taught us all an important lesson that when health is at risk everything

WHO South-East Asia region commits to enhancing efforts to end TB

The WHO South-East Asia Region, which bears a disproportionate burden of nearly half of the global TB cases and deaths, on Thursday committed to further accelerate efforts to end tuberculosis by 2030 with its member countries adopting the Gandhinagar Declaration. "Today urgent action is needed more than ever to achieve our goal of a region free of tuberculosis, that has been menacing millions of people with disease and death, poverty, and despair," Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia, said in her address to a ministerial meeting on "Sustain, Accelerate, and Innovate to end TB in the South-East Asia Region". The Gandhinagar Declaration was adopted at the end of the two-day meeting held to follow-up on the progress made to end TB, a flagship priority in the region, and in the run-up to the UN High Level Meeting on TB on September 22 in New York. The declaration calls for establishing high-level multisectoral commission reporting to the highest political ..

India has rich history of traditional medicine like Ayurveda: WHO chief

Praising India for its rich history of traditional medicine like Ayurveda and yoga, WHO chief Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus on Thursday stressed the need to integrate this ancient medicinal knowledge into the national health system of countries. The Director-General of the World Health Organization was speaking after inaugurating WHO's first-ever Global Summit on Traditional Medicine in Gandhinagar as part of the G20 Health Minister's Meetings commenced at the Mahatma Mandir convention centre. India has a rich history of traditional medicine through Ayurveda, including yoga, which has been shown to be effective in alleviating pain. The Gujarat Declaration, the main outcome of this summit, will focus on integration of traditional medicines in national health systems, and help unlock the power of traditional medicine through science, he said. On the occasion, Dr Ghebreyesus lauded India for its efforts to provide healthcare to all through its umbrella scheme of Ayushman Bharat. He visited an

Mandaviya meets WHO chief on sidelines of G20 Health Ministers meeting

Tedros, who arrived in India on Wednesday, visited the wellness and health centre in Adraj-Gandhinagar, appreciating the arrangements there

Gujarat hosts first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit under G20 Meet

The meeting will see participation from various stakeholders, including 167 private hospitals, 125 medical facilitators, and 64 government hospitals

Summit on traditional medicine to be held alongside G20 health meet in Guj

A global summit on traditional medicine organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) will focus on the role of age-old medical practices in addressing health challenges and driving progress in sustainable development, and will be held alongside the August 17 to 19 health ministerial meeting of G20 in Gandhinagar, officials said on Wednesday. The first-of-its kind summit, which will take place on August 17-18 in the Gujarat capital, has been co-hosted by the Union Ministry of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy). A government-funded event on medical travel will also be held as part of the three-day meeting of G20 health ministers in Gandhinagar, said the officials. India currently holds the presidency of the G20, or Group of Twenty, an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. "An event planned under the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (based in Gujarat's Jamnagar) will be the first-of-its-kind and .

Investing in primary health care can help countries detect pandemics: WHO

Countries of all income groups should invest in primary health care (PHC), which can provide more than 80 per cent of services and also help detect outbreaks of pandemics at an early stage, WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday. On the EG.5 strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus being recently classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a variant of interest, Ghebreyesus said it is important to continue to remain vigilant. Ghebreyesus was talking to media persons during his visit to a health and wellness centre (HWC) at Adraj Moti village in Gandhinagar district after his arrival here to attend a global summit on traditional medicine. The investment in primary health care in Ayushman Bharat' by the Government of India is the right investment, and that's what we are asking all countries to really focus on. As you know, many countries including high-income countries were surprised by COVID-19, he said. The problem was because of a lack of investment in

WHO issues alert over another India-made syrup, flags' substandard' quality

Deaths due to toxic cough syrups first made headlines in October when the WHO issued a global alert for four such medicines manufactured in India

New Omicron sub-variant spreads in UK; no reported case in India so far

UK health agency says no indication that EG.5.1 is more severe than the others; WHO advises countries to remain cautious

World Hepatitis Day 2023: History, significance, symptoms and more

World Hepatitis Day aims to raise awareness about viral hepatitis and finding ways to prevent, test and treat the disease. Reports say someone dies every 30 seconds globally due to hepatitis

ICMR to explore vaccine against 'WHO Blueprint Priority Pathogens': Govt

The ICMR has collaborated with two global institutions to explore available vaccine candidates against "WHO Blueprint Priority Pathogens", the government told Lok Sabha on Friday. Minister of State for Health SP Singh Baghel was replying to a question on the steps being taken by the government to speed up the development of vaccines for "emerging/reemerging pathogens". The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has collaborated with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the International Vaccine Institute, Korea, for exploration of available vaccine candidates against "WHO Blueprint Priority Pathogens" and the feasibility of bringing available technology to India, he said. On the steps being taken by the government to promote development and production of vaccines for diseases such as polio, smallpox and measles, Baghel said the ICMR has been designated as the secretariat for the National authority for Containment (NAC) of polio viruses. The ICMR has approved .

Aspartame 'possibly' carcinogenic, yet safe at common use levels, says WHO

Citing the results of two new assessments of the health impact of the popular artificial sweetener, the WHO said that it has "limited evidence" that aspartame can cause cancer in humans

Serum meningococcal meningitis vaccine achieves WHO prequalification

Serum Institute of India (SII) on Wednesday said its vaccine to protect against the five predominant causes of meningococcal meningitis in Africa has been prequalified by the World Health Organisation. MenFive has been developed through a 13-year collaboration between Serum and PATH, a global nonprofit, with crucial funding from the UK government's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. WHO prequalification, which ensures a vaccine meets strict international quality, safety, and efficacy standards, was supported by extensive clinical studies in The Gambia, India, and Mali. Importantly, prequalification allows MenFive to be procured by United Nations agencies and Gavi, the vaccine alliance. "As the first conjugate vaccine to safeguard against the five predominant causes of this deadly disease, MenFive offers hope for a future free from annual outbreaks and epidemics in the African meningitis belt," SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said in a statement. The vaccine protects against ...

FSSAI set to meet international regulators on food safety system

According to the apex food regulator, the food safety and regulatory system in India needs to constantly evolve to counter the emerging food hazards and pandemic scenarios

WHO issues guidelines for protecting children from unhealthy food marketing

WHO issued new guidelines to protect children from unhealthy marketing of food and non-alcoholic beverages high in saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, free sugars and/or salt (HFSS)

Intermittent fasting helps protect the brain from diseases like Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease is an increasingly urgent global issue. The World Health Organization predicts that the number of people with the condition will triple by 2050

WHO's cancer agency identifies aspartame sweetener as possible carcinogen

JECFA, the WHO committee on additives, is also reviewing aspartame use this year

Need to move from dangerous streets for cars to safe spaces for people: WHO

The governments and various stakeholders need to rethink mobility as there is an urgent need to move from the dirty and dangerous streets for cars to safe, green and vibrant spaces designed for the people, WHO's Head of Safety and Mobility, Nhan Tran, said on Monday. Road accidents kill more than 1.3 million people each year - more than two every minute - with 9 in 10 of these preventable deaths occurring in low-and middle-income countries. Road crashes are the leading global killer of children and youth aged 5-29. We must urgently move from an old model of drab, dirty and dangerous streets built for cars, to safe, green and vibrant spaces designed and built for people. Mobility underpins so many other aspects of public health and development. By making walking and cycling safe, we can reduce air pollution and fight climate change," Tran said at the Vision Zero Conference on Road Safety here in the Swedish capital. By prioritising the safety of vulnerable road users like pedestrians