Page 15 - Who

Over 33 million kids vaccinated against polio in southern Africa: WHO

More than 33 million children in several southern African countries have been vaccinated against polio, part of ongoing efforts to eradicate the infectious paralytic disease that has been largely contained in much of the world, the World Health Organization announced on Friday. About 80 million drops of the inoculation have been placed in the mouths of children across Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe since the launch of an emergency response in March last year, WHO said in a statement. Malawi detected the wild poliovirus disease in a young child in its capital, Lilongwe, in February last year the first time the strain was reported in Africa in five years. The virus spread to neighboring Mozambique, causing other countries in the region to be on alert. Africa was certified as free of indigenous wild polio in 2020, according to WHO, which says the recent strain originated from Pakistan. The South Asian country and its neighbor, Afghanistan, are the only two countries

WHO chief Ghebreyesus vows to push for answers on coronavirus origins

Solving the mystery of where the SARS-CoV-2 virus came from and how it began spreading among humans is considered vital for averting future pandemics

World Cancer Day: WHO calls for action for prevention, early detection

On World Cancer Day, World Health Organization (WHO) has called for intensified action across the Southeast Asian region to strengthen health systems to prevent and detect cancers early.

Urgently address gaps in leprosy services disrupted by Covid pandemic: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday urged countries, especially those in the South-East Asia Region, to urgently address gaps in leprosy services disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The global health organisation asked these countries to accelerate efforts towards achieving the goal of zero leprosy disease, stigma and discrimination -- the vision of the WHO Global Leprosy Strategy 2021-2030. Leprosy is 100 per cent curable when detected early, yet today in addition to COVID-19-related challenges, stigma and discrimination, both institutionalised and informal, continue to impede prompt diagnosis and treatment and facilitate onward spread, said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director of WHO South-East Asia. "This has to change, she said on the eve of World Leprosy day. In 2021, 1,40,000 new leprosy cases were reported, with 95 per cent of new cases coming from the 23 global priority countries. Of these, 6 per cent were diagnosed with visible deformities or grade-2 ...

WHO calls for action to protect children from contaminated medicines

In the wake of fatalities among children linked to cough syrups and medicines made by manufacturers based in India and Indonesia, the WHO has issued an "urgent call to action to countries to detect and respond to incidents of falsified medical products and protect children from contaminated medicines. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that over the past four months, countries reported several incidents of over-the-counter cough syrups for children with confirmed or suspected contamination with high levels of diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG). The cases are from at least seven countries, associated with more than 300 fatalities in three of these countries, with most young children under the age of five. The WHO said the contaminants are toxic chemicals used as industrial solvents and antifreeze agents that can be fatal even in small amounts, and should never be found in medicines. WHO is releasing an urgent call to action to countries to prevent, detect and ...

WHO says it backs global health agenda of Indian presidency set at G20 meet

The Health Track of the G20 India Presidency would comprise four Health Working Group (HWG) Meetings and one Health Ministerial Meeting (HMM)

Kerala mask mandate precautionary measure, no major rise in cases: Experts

They say there is no major rise in cases, and state just following WHO guidelines

Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif kicks off nationwide polio eradication drive

The resurfacing of the cases has certainly raised concerns among the partners, including World Health Organization (WHO) and other stakeholders

WHO seeks deeper cooperation from China on origins of Covid-19 pandemic

'I appreciated the release of detailed information, which we request they continue to share'

No new Covid-19 variants found in China but mutation threat lingers

China has yet to detect any dangerous Covid mutations in the six weeks since the virus was unleashed on the country's 1.4 billion people after the abandonment of the rigid curbs

TMS Ep346: Telecom sector, investment cycle, Q3 results, WHO warning

Has the telecom sector recovery lost steam? Does higher demand point to the start of an investment cycle? Banks' earnings growth touched a peak in Q3? What is WHO's warning about alcohol? Answers here

WHO issues a 'medical product alert' for Marion Biotech cough syrup

The WHO has said Marion Biotech had not provided guarantees to them on the safety and quality of these products

Covid-19 variant XBB.1.5: What Is the 'Kraken' and how dangerous is it?

XBB.1.5 is "the most transmissible sub-variant which has been detected yet," said the WHO's Covid-19 technical lead

After WHO's warning on cancer link, a look at how India consumes alcohol

According to NFHS-5, alcohol consumption is higher in rural parts of the country than the urban areas

No amount of alcohol 'safe', even low consumption hikes cancer risk: WHO

The agency has previously found that alcohol causes at least 7 types of cancer, including the most common cancer types, such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer

Best of BS Opinion: Cut down on sugar, next level in AI, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Cut down on sugar

Multiple levers are available to improve public health

Top headlines: World Bank cuts economic growth forecast, DESH Bill deadlock

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

WHO official urges science-based, non-discriminatory Covid-19 restrictions

A senior official of the WHO has urged countries to take science-based precautionary Covid-19 entry restrictions that are proportionate and non-discriminatory

No immediate Covid-19 outbreak threat from China, says WHO Europe director

The director of the World Health Organisation's Europe office said Tuesday that the agency sees no immediate threat" for the European region from a COVID-19 outbreak in China, but more information is needed. China is battling a nationwide outbreak of the coronavirus after abruptly easing restrictions. Hans Kluge said that, based on the information WHO had received from china, there was no threat, but more detailed and regular information was required from China to monitor the evolving situation. We cannot be complacent, he added. Several countries have imposed COVID-19 testing requirements on Chinese travellers. Australia and Canada require travellers from China to take a COVID-19 test prior to boarding their flight. Other countries including the U.S., India, Japan, South Korea and several European nations have announced tougher COVID-19 measures on travellers from China amid concerns over a lack of data on infections in China and fears that new variants may emerge. China has thr