UN NEWS—Approximately 14.9 million deaths globally were directly or indirectly associated with the COVID-19 pandemic by the end 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday in new data on excess mortality attributable to the disease. The figure represents 9.5 million more deaths than those
UN NEWS—With extreme heat gripping large parts of India and Pakistan, the two countries are working to roll out life-saving health action plans to combat the heatwave, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday. The extreme heat is impacting hundreds of millions of people in one of the most
Media Release - “For years, vaccines have protected children from deadly diseases like polio, measles, rubella, and mumps. These vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, continue to save lives, especially today,” stated Dr Joy St. John, Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency, in observance of Vaccination Week
Emily Wang and Ken Moritsugu, AP News - Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. The Chinese capital began
UN NEWS—A highly successful COVID-19 therapy must be made available to more people, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, calling for wider distribution and greater transparency surrounding its pricing. WHO announced on Friday in Geneva that it has strongly recommended use of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, sold
More than 1.77 billion doses of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines have been administered to populations in Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) member countries since the immunisation campaign commenced 16 months ago. PAHO Director, Dr. Carissa Etienne, says the effort represents the “largest immunisation programme in history.” “Over two-thirds
UN News - Youth activism has been “pushing the world forward,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet told Day 1 of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)’s annual Youth Forum on Tuesday. “From the streets of every corner of the world to the online
AP News - Beibei sleeps beside thousands of strangers in rows of cots in a high-ceilinged exhibition centre. The lights stay on all night, and the 30-year-old real estate saleswoman has yet to find a hot shower. Beibei and her husband were ordered into the massive
UN NEWS—COVID-19 cases in Africa have fallen for the past 16 weeks, and deaths have dropped during the last eight, marking the longest-running decline in infections on the continent since the start of the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. Infections have plummeted
UN News - Governments and pharmaceutical companies need to work together in a better way, to deliver vaccines “to every person, everywhere” – not simply in the wealthiest nations, said the UN chief. Secretary-General António Guterres was addressing the GAVI COVAX international vaccine equity initiative’s Advance Market Commitment Summit 2022, which
