World Health Organization

Depression: let’s talk

7 April 2017 – Depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. More than 300 million people are now living with depression, an increase of more than 18% between 2005 and 2015. WHO is leading a global campaign on depression for World Health Day 2017, with the goal of enabling more people with mental disorders to live healthy, productive lives.

Lymphatic filariasis
Autism
Malaria
Depression

Togo is Saying Goodbye to Elephantiasis

A street vendor woman handing her food to a young man, in Togo

WHO

8 April 2017 – Togo is on the way to eliminating elephantiasis, also known as lymphatic filariasis (LF). The country used a two-pronged approach of interrupting transmission, and treating and managing the disease. Togo is on the threshold of making history as the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate LF. The disease is a mosquito-borne disease, caused by thread-like worms living in the lymphatic system.

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Autism spectrum disorders affect 1 in 160 children

Three children within a larger group smile at each other.

WHO

6 April 2017 – Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) refers to a range of conditions characterised by impaired social behaviour and a narrow range of interests and activities. ASDs begin in childhood, and in most cases symptoms appear during the first 5 years of life. In consultation with partners WHO has developed a parent skills training programme which is currently undergoing field-testing.

WHO releases new guidance on malaria elimination

A child held by their mother in a clinic in Nepal

WHO/C. Black

3 April 2017 – The 2017 Framework for malaria elimination provides countries with a set of tools and strategies for achieving and maintaining elimination, regardless of where they lie across the spectrum of malaria transmission, from high to very low. The new framework includes a streamlined process for WHO certification of malaria elimination and clarifies the threshold for reestablishment of transmission.

Depression tops list of causes of ill health

Drawing of a colleague emotionally supporting another at a factory in China

WHO

31 March 2017 – WHO’s World Health Day campaign, the high point of which is 7 April, is themed “Depression: let’s talk”. The campaign’s aim is to have more people with depression, in all countries, both seek and get help. According to the latest WHO estimates, more than 300 million people are now living with depression, an increase of more than 18% between 2005 and 2015.

Outbreaks and emergencies

Emergencies » Iraq » Nigeria » South Sudan » Syrian Arab Republic » Yemen »

Sustainable Development Goals

From MDGs to SDGs

Highlights

WHO boosts emergency lifesaving care for civilians severely injured in west Mosul
April 2017 – Since the start of the campaign in Mosul late last year, over 6000 patients have been referred to hospitals in Mosul and neighbouring governorates. To further boost all levels of trauma care, the EU has committed an additional €10 million to WHO.

Reference Guide: Developing health financing strategy
April 2017 – A new guide published by WHO examines policy development for health financing, expanding on areas including revenue raising, pooling revenues, purchasing services, benefit design, and rationing mechanisms. Health financing is key to improving health system performance and progressing towards universal health coverage (UHC).

WHO alarmed by use of highly toxic chemicals as weapons in Syria
April 2017 – WHO is alarmed by serious reports of the use of highly toxic chemicals in an attack in Khan Shaykhun, southern rural Idleb, Syria. According to Health Cluster partners on the ground treating the patients, at least 70 people have died and hundreds more have been affected.

Study on the persistence of Zika virus in body fluids
April 2017 – Over the course of 2016, WHO along with the global research community quickly built evidence that Zika virus transmission through sex was not only possible, but more common than previously assumed. But many questions still remain unanswered.