World Health Organization

Beating cardiovascular disease

22 September 2016 – A new initiative from WHO and partners, the Global Hearts Initiative, has been launched to respond to the world’s leading cause of death, cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes. Scaling up tobacco control, reducing salt consumption and strengthening primary health care services to reduce cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol are the focuses of the Global Hearts Initiative.

Antimicrobial resistance
Health workforce
Health promotion
Yellow fever

Global leaders commit to act on antimicrobial resistance

A woman buys medicine over the counter, as another hands it in.

WHO

21 September 2016 – World leaders today signalled an unprecedented level of attention to curb the spread of infections that are resistant to antimicrobial medicines. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) happens when bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi develop resistance against medicines that were previously able to cure them. A broad, coordinated approach will now be taken to address AMR through human health, animal health and agriculture.

Read the news release

UN Commission: Investments in health workforce drive growth

20 September 2016 – The Presidents of France and South Africa today called for urgent investments globally to create new jobs in the health sector to prevent a shortfall of 18 million health workers and to maximize the social and economic benefits of increased health employment. Demand for 40 million new health workers is expected worldwide by 2030, a doubling of the current global health workforce.

Read the news release

Promoting health: It’s our health, our future, our choice

Children practicing Latin-dancing in China

EPA/Bin Han

16 September 2016 – How can everyone on the planet, from people living in cities to remote communities, attain the highest level of health? All-of-government action, healthy environments and an empowered and informed public are essential. A healthy population is also key to advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 9th Global conference on health promotion, being held this November in Shanghai, will profile these and other innovative actions to promote health.

More information on the conference

Resetting the yellow fever strategy

WHO

16 September 2016 – A coalition of partners working to stop yellow fever outbreaks met in Geneva on 12 September 2016 to develop a new strategy - Eliminating Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE). This strategy aims to protect the populations most at risk, ensure a ready supply of yellow fever vaccine, build resilience in urban centres and prevent international spread.

Outbreaks and emergencies

Emergencies » MERS-CoV outbreak » Nigeria crisis » South Sudan crisis » Yellow fever » Zika virus and complications »

Election of Director-General 2017

WHO

Highlights

New group to "expand access to health and human rights" for women, children and adolescents
September 2016 − Helping to expand access to health and human rights for women, children and adolescents everywhere is the goal of the new High Level Working Group for the Health and Human Rights of Women, Children and Adolescents.

The 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
September 2016 -- Heads of states and governments from 193 Member States convene to address large movements of refugees and migrants, ways to tackle antimicrobial resistance and progress on the Sustainable Development Goals agreed a year ago.

Poorest and most marginalised women continue to be most at risk of maternal death
September 2016 − The poorest and most marginalized women continue to face the highest risk of death from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Efforts must be drastically increased to safeguard the maternal health of all women everywhere, if the good health and well-being of all people are to be achieved.

WHO certifies Sri Lanka malaria-free
September 2016 − In a remarkable public health achievement, Sri Lanka was certified today by WHO on having eliminated malaria, a life-threatening disease which long affected the island country.

What we do

Dr Chan, WHO Director-General, visits Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, three of the four countries where indigenous transmission of wild poliovirus has not yet been interrupted.

WHO

Emergency reform

The WHO emergency reform process encompasses governance reform, managerial reform, and further development of emergency capacities.

Zika virus and complications

After a spike in cases of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with Zika virus, WHO declared a public health emergency.

Commentaries

A lab technician holds up a slide, observing contents, before putting it under microscope

Superbugs: Why we need action now

"The world is in the midst of a different kind of public health emergency, one that is just as dramatic but not as visible. Except for the headline-grabbing 'superbugs,' antimicrobial resistance (AMR) doesn’t cause much public alarm."

Dr Monique Eloit Director General of the World Organisation for Animal Health
Jose Graziano da Silva, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and
Dr Margaret Chan, the Director-General of WHO