Latest news

Preventing adolescent suicide: a mother’s story

WHO

6 September 2017 – Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15–19 year-old girls. However, suicides are preventable. In this video, a mother from Switzerland explains how she coped when her teenage daughter told her that she was thinking about suicide. During the testimony, we hear how the family sought help and the support that helped them get through this difficult time.

• Watch the video
• Fact sheet

• WHO Regional Committee for Europe
• Cholera
• Rabies

Sixty-seventh WHO Regional Committee for Europe

Judith Escribano/Age International

11 September 2017 – The Sixty-seventh session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe opened in Budapest, Hungary today. Delegates will review recent progress and agree on next steps to safeguard the health of people throughout the region.

• Agenda and provisional programme
• Consultation on the thirteenth General Programme of Work

Rapidly responding to cholera in north-eastern Nigeria

WHO/C.Onuekwe

30 August 2017 – WHO and partners are moving swiftly to help health authorities contain a cholera outbreak in a camp for internally displaced people in north-eastern Nigeria. A total of 69 cases have been reported in a camp on the outskirts of the state capital Maiduguri, which is home to 44 000 people displaced by conflict and famine.

• Read the story
• More on the crisis in Nigeria

Towards a rabies-free Thailand by 2020

WHO/C.Black

5 September 2017 – Through mass dog vaccination and accessible and affordable measures, Thailand has reduced the number of human rabies cases by more than 90% since the 1980s. WHO recently welcomed Professor Dr Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol of Thailand – the Princess is a champion of efforts to make Thailand rabies-free by 2020.

• Feature story
• Fact sheet

Highlights

• World Sepsis Day 2017
  September 2017 – Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. For World Sepsis Day 2017, WHO and partners are hosting a free online congress to shine a spotlight on neglected aspects of sepsis.

• Hurricane Irma: WHO taking measures to provide support
  September 2017 – WHO country offices in the Caribbean are taking preventive measures to provide the necessary support to the authorities, and a team of infrastructure, engineering, and administrative specialists has been prepared to support the immediate assessment and response to the impact of countries located on the path of hurricane Irma.

• A child’s search to treat kidney disease in Yemen
  September 2017 – Accessing dialysis has always been tricky in Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East. And now conflict has created additional challenges, with health facilities facing a shortage of supplies, and travel complicated by checkpoints and insecurity. In the midst of an economic crisis, it is exceptionally difficult for all patients to access the treatment they need.

• Ukraine: 20% reduction in smokers since 2010
  September 2017 – The results of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey released in Ukraine reveal a 20% reduction in smokers over the past 7 years. Following WHO recommendations, Ukraine has strengthened its anti-tobacco legislation, resulting in this reduction in the number of people who smoke.