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WHO calls for boosting collaboration between health, environment sectors

The WHO on Wednesday called for strengthening collaboration between the health and environment sectors to address shared challenges. It is imperative to advocate for policies that prioritise environmental sustainability and public health, and invest in research and innovation to develop sustainable healthcare practices, Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia said on the World Environment Day. She urged the public health community to join the efforts towards land restoration, halting desertification and building drought resilience "The worrying reality is that our region records the highest number of deaths from climate change annually amongst all WHO regions. Climate change and biodiversity loss already pose major threats to health, the regional economy and livelihoods across our region," Wazed stated. World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5, after it was established at the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. This year the focus is

Groundwater to heat over 3 degrees C by century end, risking safety: Report

Groundwater is projected to warm by 2-3.5 degrees Celsius before the turn of this century, potentially risking water quality and safety, apart from threatening ecosystems depending on the resource, a new research has found. The "world's first global groundwater temperature model" predicted the highest warming rates in Central Russia, Northern China and parts of North America, and the Amazon rainforest in South America. A team of researchers, led by those from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, said while a lot of focus on climate change concerns weather events and water availability, we also need to think about how it impacts groundwater, critical to life on the planet. Warming of groundwater can adversely impact ecosystems relying on them, they said. "Rivers rely on groundwater to keep flowing during dry times. Warm waters hold less dissolved oxygen," explained study co-author Gabriel Rau from the University of Newcastle, UK. The model also estimated that by 2100, 60

WHO members approve steps to bolster health regulations for pandemics

The World Health Organization says member countries on Saturday approved a series of new steps to improve global preparedness for and response to pandemics like COVID-19 and mpox. Countries agreed to amend the International Health Regulations, which were adopted in 2005, such as by defining a "pandemic emergency" and helping developing countries gain better access to financing and medical products, WHO said. The agreement came as the UN agency wrapped up its six-day World Health Assembly this year, after plans to adopt a more sweeping pandemic "treaty" at the meeting was shelved largely over disagreements between developing countries and richer ones about better sharing of technology and the pathogens that trigger outbreaks. But countries agreed to complete negotiations on the pandemic accord with the year, "at the latest", WHO said. Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University, hailed a "big win for health security", and posted on X that the move "will ...

Health secy highlights India's achievements, future goals at WHO assembly

India, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), intends to further strengthen the drug regulatory system to ensure quick access to high-quality medical products for all, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra said on Wednesday. Chandra, who is leading the Indian delegation, addressed the Plenary Session of the 77th World Health Assembly of WHO in Geneva. The health secretary started his address by highlighting the similarities of this year's theme, "All for Health, Health for All" with the age-old Indian tradition of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' which means "world is one family", a health ministry statement said. He stated that under this theme, "India launched the 'Ayushman Bharat' meaning Live Long India to promote Universal Health Coverage by operationalizing more than 1,60,000 health and wellness centres (Ayushman Aarogya Mandir)". Chandra highlighted that as per the WHO SPAR report, India has a core capacity score of 86 per cent to detect, assess, report and respon

Which are the tests women should undergo in their 30s and 40s?

Every woman should undergo certain tests in their 30s and 40s to avoid further complications as they are more susceptible to certain diseases as they age as compared to men

WHO chief refers to Indian traditional medicine centre at Geneva address

World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday referred to the Global Traditional Medicine Centre set up in India and the first global summit on traditional medicine hosted by the country as he underlined that the year 2023 was a productive one in the UN health agency's work supporting access to medicines and other health products. "We also established the Global Traditional Medicine Centre in India, and hosted the first global summit on traditional medicine," Ghebreyesus said in his remarks as he presented his report to the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva. In March 2022, the Government of India and the UN health agency had signed an agreement to establish the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine. This global knowledge centre for traditional medicine, supported by an investment of USD 250 million from India, aims to harness the potential of traditional medicine from across the world through modern science and technology to improve the health of peopl

Covid-19 effect: Global healthy life expectancy slumps to 2012 level

According to WHO's latest report, global life expectancy and healthy life expectancy dropped to 2012 levels of 1.8 and 1.5 years, respectively, eradicating a decade of progress

Efforts to draft pandemic treaty falter as countries disagree on steps

A global treaty to fight pandemics like COVID is going to have to wait: After more than two years of negotiations, rich and poor countries have failed for now to come up with a plan for how the world might respond to the next pandemic. After COVID-19 triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. In 2021, member countries asked the U.N. health agency to oversee negotiations to figure out how the world might better share scarce resources and stop future viruses from spreading globally. On Friday, Roland Driece, co-chair of WHO's negotiating board for the agreement, acknowledged that countries were unable to come up with a draft. WHO had hoped a final draft treaty could be agreed on at its yearly meeting of health ministers starting Monday in Geneva. We are not where we hoped we would be when we started this process," he said, adding that finalizing an international

'India's nurse shortage worsens as they emigrate for jobs abroad'

India already faces a poor nurse-population ratio and the situation is set to worsen with nurses emigrating to other countries in large numbers, doctors and medical experts have observed, noting this creates a big gap in addressing the country's healthcare needs. The experts issued a joint statement here, expressing concerns over the shortage of nurses in the country. Citing figures from the regulatory body Indian Nursing Council, Association of Healthcare Providers (India) director general Dr Girdhar Gyani said there are more than 33 lakh nursing personnel registered in the country but this figure is dismal given India's 1.3 billion population. With 1.96 nurses per 1,000 population, India falls short of the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended rate of three nurses per 1,000 population, he said. Director of the Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals, Dr Shuchin Bajaj said, "While the shortage of nurses and their massive emigration to foreign countries is a cause for worry, there is

Mumps in Delhi/NCR: Everything you need to know to keep your child safe

Many instances of mumps have been reported in India, including Delhi-NCR area, Maharashtra, Telangana. Mumps is a viral disease spread via direct contact or airborne droplets

The absence of a quality mindset

Policymakers and the corporate sector need to understand that without adopting global quality standards, India cannot become a global manufacturing hub

AstraZeneca admits Covishield has rare side effect: Is concern warranted?

AstraZeneca's acknowledgment that the vaccine may lead to thrombosis isn't a new revelation, but it underscores the need for transparent communication by the pharma companies, say experts

WHO says wider warning about contaminated J&J cough syrup 'likely'

Nigeria's regulator recalled a batch of Benylin syrup last Wednesday, having found a high level of diethylene glycol in the product during routine testing

100 scientists spend two years renaming viruses after Covid mistakes

Airborne viruses will be called "pathogens that transmit through the air" under new terminology the World Health Organization hopes will end a scientific rift that hampered early response to Covid 19

Counselling to caring: What it takes to be in good health mentally

Acknowledging a friend or someone in the family needs attention is the first step, says mental health experts

Empower family physicians to give psychological first aid: Dr Parikh

Increasing awareness in the country about mental health, says consultant psychiatrist

Around 9,000 Gaza patients in need of urgent evacuation abroad: WHO chief

Israel has repeatedly blamed Hamas for hiding behind civilians in Gaza's hospitals and other medical facilities, accusations the militant group denies

India failed to meet WHO End-TB target, cases fall 0.5% in 2015-20: Lancet

India's tuberculosis incidence dropped marginally by 0.5 per cent between 2015 and 2020 and failed to meet the World Health Organization's (WHO's) END-TB milestone for 2020, according to new global research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. The WHO End TB Strategy aims for a 90 per cent reduction in TB deaths and an 80 per cent reduction in the incidence rate by 2030, compared to the baseline figures of 2015. The 2020 milestones include a 20 per cent reduction in the TB incidence rate and a 35 per cent reduction in deaths. The latest study estimated that the incidence of TB across all ages in India was 213 cases per one lakh population in 2020, well above the WHO's milestone figure (for India) of 171 per one lakh population. Deaths due to the bacterial infectious disease in the same year were estimated to be between 3.5-5 lakh, again much above the mortality milestone of 2.7-3.2 lakh set for India. The study comes ahead of World Tuberculosis Day on March 24. Desp

India surpasses WHO guidelines with 1:900 doc-to-population ratio: Kalita

India is undertaking a journey that looks at illness to wellness from a completely new prism, said Bhubaneswar Kalita, Chairperson, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, underlining "investing in health and hygiene is not just a moral imperative, it is an economic necessity". As we delve into the significance of health and hygiene, let us acknowledge India's remarkable evolution in this realm, Kalita said atSOCHAM's second Awareness Summit on Illness to Wellness. The WHO recommends a doctor to population ratio of 1:1000, Kalita said, adding we have achieved a ratio of 1:900 which is an improvement over the guidelines. "Beyond being just buzzwords, health and hygiene are the pillars upon which prosperous societies are built. The journey has been arduous yet inspiring. From battling infectious diseases to embracing preventive healthcare, the nation has made significant strides. Over the past decade we have witnessed reduction in maternal mortality rate, infant

Over 286,000 got respiratory illness in Afghanistan since Jan: WHO

On February 24, the WHO reported hundreds of deaths and infections due to respiratory illness in Afghanistan, coinciding with the onset of winter, according to the report