GHealth News - GHealth News

Feb162026 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO Prequalifies New Oral Polio Vaccine to Boost Global Eradication Efforts

Latest News

GHealth News - The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the prequalification of an additional novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), marking an important step forward in the global fight to eliminate polio. Prequalification confirms that the vaccine meets international standards for safety, quality, and effectiveness. This designation enables United Nations agencies, including UNICEF, to procure and distribute the vaccine for immunization campaigns worldwide. The newly approved nOPV2 vaccine has been developed to be more genetically stable than earlier oral polio vaccines. This improved stability reduces the risk of vaccine-derived outbreaks while strengthening efforts to interrupt virus transmission. The announcement follows a recent commitment by global leaders to mob...

Feb32026 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO Says Risk of Nipah Virus Spreading Beyond India Is Low

Latest News

GHealth News - The World Health Organization (WHO) has assessed that the risk of the deadly Nipah virus spreading beyond India is low, despite recent confirmed cases in the eastern state of West Bengal. WHO officials said there’s currently no evidence of increased human-to-human transmission and no travel or trade restrictions are recommended at this time. Two health workers in West Bengal contracted the virus in late December and are under medical care, while Indian health authorities have traced and tested more than 190 contacts-with no additional infections detected so far. Nipah virus, which is carried by fruit bats and certain animals, can cause severe symptoms including fever and brain inflammation, and has historically shown a high fatality rate (40–75%). There are no licensed...

Jan272026 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Global Health Meets Sustainability: LMU Munich Hosts 2026 Conference

Latest News

GHealth News - LMU Munich is set to host Global Health Day 2026 on March 19–20, bringing together scientists, students, and global health enthusiasts under the theme “Global Health for Sustainability.” The two-day conference will feature keynotes, workshops, and networking sessions, offering a unique platform for interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration. Participants will explore how global health intersects with sustainability, addressing critical topics like climate change, resilient health systems, planetary boundaries, and social justice. With a focus on innovative research, practical solutions, and future-oriented teaching, Global Health Day 2026 promises insights and connections that could shape the path toward a healthier, more sustainable world. For more info: https://...

Dec302025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to Rising Global Health Risks, Lancet Experts Say

Latest News

GHealth News - A group of 43 international nutrition and public health experts has warned that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) pose a growing threat to global health, urging governments to take immediate action. Writing in a new series published by The Lancet, the researchers argue that the widespread consumption of UPFs—foods made largely from industrial ingredients and additives with little whole food content is linked to worsening diet quality and a range of chronic diseases. The papers highlight strong associations between diets high in UPFs and conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression, and certain cancers. A systematic review of 104 long-term studies found that the vast majority reported increased health risks linked to UPF consumption. While most studies show correlati...

Dec262025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Five big global health wins in 2025 that will save millions of lives

Global Health

By: Kat Lay (Global Health Correspondent for the Guardian) With humanitarian funding slashed by the US and other countries, including the UK, this year’s global health headlines have made grim reading. But good things have still been happening in vaccine research and the development of new and improved treatments for some of the most intractable illnesses. Millions of girls protected against cervical cancer A target to protect 86 million girls against cervical cancer by the end of 2025 was achieved ahead of schedule, boosting hopes among experts that cervical cancer can be eliminated within the next century. Gavi, the vaccine alliance, launched its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme in 2014, when vaccine coverage in Africa was just 4%. By the end of 2022, it ...

Dec152025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

U.S. Unveils ‘America First’ Global Health Strategy, Shifting Away From Traditional Aid Partnerships

Global Health

GHealth News - The United States has released a new “America First Global Health Strategy,” signaling a major shift in how it approaches international health assistance and global disease prevention. According to reporting by CNN, the strategy moves away from long-standing U.S. reliance on multilateral institutions, international NGOs, and traditional aid mechanisms, instead emphasizing direct bilateral agreements with individual countries. Under the plan, recipient governments would be expected to take greater financial and operational responsibility for their own health systems, with U.S. funding tied to specific benchmarks and co-investment requirements. The strategy prioritizes spending on frontline health needs, such as medicines and health workers, while sharply reducing suppor...

Dec102025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

EU and WHO Launch €3.5M Partnership to Strengthen Global Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance

AMR

GHealth News - The European Commission and the World Health Organization have signed a €3.5 million EU4Health agreement aimed at strengthening the global fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Through this partnership, the WHO will enhance its monitoring of antimicrobial and medical countermeasure development, create guidance for new antibacterial innovations, and advance the implementation of its Priority Pathogen Lists to help steer research and public-health strategies worldwide. The agreement also supports efforts to improve access to both new and existing antibiotics. Ahead of her meeting with WHO Regional Directors for Europe and Africa, Dr Hans Kluge and Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib emphasized the ur...

Nov212025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Ethiopia Confirms Deadly Marburg Virus Outbreak

Communicable Diseases

GHealth News - Ethiopia has reported a confirmed outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in its southern region, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Marburg is among the most lethal viruses known. Similar to Ebola, it leads to severe bleeding, high fever, vomiting, and diarrhoea, with an incubation period of up to 21 days. It spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids and carries a fatality rate ranging from 25% to 80%. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is Ethiopian, announced on Friday that at least nine infections had been identified in southern Ethiopia. His statement came two days after Africa CDC received reports of a suspected haemorrhagic fever in the area. “Marburg virus disease (MVD) has been confirmed...

Sep202025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Apple used AI to uncover new blood pressure notification feature in Watch

NCDs

GHealth News - Apple Watch Series 11 models that go on sale on Friday can notify users that they may have high blood pressure, in a feature the company has powered using artificial intelligence rather than a blood pressure monitor. The notification feature, which will work with models back to the Apple Watch Series 9, came about from applying AI models to existing sensor data, said Sumbul Ahmad Desai, Apple's vice president of health. Apple had been interested for years in trying to identify high blood pressure, she told Reuters. The condition affects more than 1 billion people globally, but half of the adults with it go undiagnosed, in part because the standard for measuring blood pressure - a cuff called a sphygmomanometer - is something many people encounter only at a doctor's ...

Sep202025 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO Launches First Global Guideline on Balanced Access to Controlled Medicines

Global Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released the full edition of its guideline on balanced national controlled medicines policies, the first comprehensive global framework aimed at ensuring access to controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes, while reducing the risks of misuse and diversion. This follows an initial rapid communication presented at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly, which introduced the guideline. Controlled medicines such as opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and amphetamines are vital for pain relief, surgery, seizure management, palliative care, and the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. Yet, millions of patients around the world remain unable to obtain them. WHO estimates that up to 98% of patients in low-income...