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Jan212023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO says it backs global health agenda of Indian presidency set at G20 meet

Global Health

GHealth News - The WHO on Thursday said it was a strong supporter of the Global Health Agenda being set by the Indian presidency at the G20 Health Working Group meeting here as it was focused, well-articulated and takes into account priorities of the day. Stephanie Seydoux, WHO envoy for Multilateral Affairs at the G20 India Health Working Group Meet here, further said on the sidelines that the agenda being set by the Indian presidency was ambitious and well supported by G20 members and participants. "The World Health Organisation (WHO) is a very strong supporter of the Global Health Agenda being set by the Indian presidency. It is indeed an ambitious agenda, but it is focused, well-articulated and it certainly speaks of the priorities of the day," she said. The first Health Working ...

Jan142023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO updates COVID-19 guidelines on masks, treatments and patient care

COVID19

GHealth News - WHO has updated its guidelines on mask wearing in community settings, COVID-19 treatments, and clinical management. This is part of a continuous process of reviewing such materials, working with guideline development groups composed of independent, international experts who consider the latest available evidence and the changing epidemiology. Masks continue to be a key tool against COVID-19 WHO continues to recommend the use of masks by the public in specific situations, and this update recommends their use irrespective of the local epidemiological situation, given the current spread of the COVID-19 globally. Masks are recommended following a recent exposure to COVID-19, when someone has or suspects they have COVID-19, when someone is at high-risk of severe COVID-19, a...

Jan72023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Advancing health and health equity across the globe

Global Health

Prof. Beate Kampmann © Charité l Artur Krutsch A new platform for global health is being created within Berlin’s university medicine landscape in the form of the Charité Center for Global Health (CCGH). At its center is the Institute of International Health of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, formerly known as the Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, which has been headed since the beginning of this year by Einstein Professor for Global Health, Prof. Beate Kampmann. The renowned expert in international child health will lead the CCGH with Prof. Christian Drosten, who heads Charité’s Institute of Virology, with both of them working together to sharpen its scientific focus and leverage the enormous potential in Berlin and beyond. The CCGH will be support...

Jan32023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

NCDs kill more people than infectious diseases and should get a Global Fund

NCDs

By Kaushik Ramaiya Noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular conditions account for 41 million deaths each year. That’s more than 70% of all deaths globally. Most of these deaths (77%) are in low-income and middle-income countries – including those in Africa. These conditions are currently more prevalent than infectious diseases. Sixty-seven percent occur before the age of 40. Besides being the leading causes of death worldwide, noncommunicable diseases carry a huge cost to individuals. These also undermine workforce productivity and threaten economic prosperity. Healthcare provision in much of Africa still relies on external donors. There’s insufficient funding to help low-income and middle-income countries c...

Dec302022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

2022 ends with looming risk of a new coronavirus variant, health experts warn

COVID19

By Jacqueline Howard As the world enters a new year, many public health and infectious disease experts predict that monitoring for new coronavirus variants will be an increasingly important part of Covid-19 mitigation efforts – and some are turning their attention to a surge in cases in China. Subvariants of the Omicron coronavirus variant continue to circulate globally, and “we’re seeing Omicron do what viruses do, which is it picks up mutations along the way that helps it evade a little bit of immunity that’s induced by previous infection or vaccination,” said Andrew Pekosz, a microbiologist and immunologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. “We haven’t seen any major jumps in terms of Omicron evolution in some time,” he said. But “it’s ge...

Dec242022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Germany supports implementing One Health Joint Plan of Action

Global Health

GHealth News - At the October 2022 launch of the One Health Joint Plan of Action (OH JPA) at the World Health Summit, the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze reminded the audience that our ecosystems’ foundations are at stake: “It is no secret that our biodiversity is under threat. We need ecosystems for our food security and for our health, for safe drinking water, fertile soils, clean air, and protection of the global climate.” The One Health approach aims to achieve an equilibrium between the health of humans, animals, and the environment and to prevent threats to global health. The ambitious One Health Joint Action Plan uses cross-disciplinary thinking and recommends preventive actions to strengthen health systems. It was developed by the Quadripa...

Dec202022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

China Covid: Health expert predicts three winter waves

COVID19

People queue at a Covid testing station in Beijing. The capital is one of several Chinese cities where cases are rising rapidly © Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images GHealth News - A top Chinese health official says he believes China is experiencing the first of three expected waves of Covid infections this winter. The country is seeing a surge in cases since the lifting of its most severe restrictions earlier this month. The latest official figures appear to show a relatively low number of new daily cases. However, there are concerns that these numbers are an underestimate due to a recent reduction in Covid testing. The government reported only 2,097 new daily cases on Sunday. Epidemiologist Wu Zunyou has said he believes the current spike in infections would run until mid-...

Dec182022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Argentina win incredible World Cup final in shootout

Global Health

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Final - Argentina v France - Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar GHealth News - Argentina won their third World Cup in an extraordinary final on Sunday as they beat France 4-2 on penalties after Lionel Messi scored twice in a 3-3 draw and Kylian Mbappe grabbed a hat-trick to bring the holders back from 2-0 and 3-2 down. It was an incredible night of drama, high emotion and fluctuating fortunes, delivering one of the all-time great finals to cap a wonderful tournament as its two star players delivered command performances on the biggest stage of all. Congratulations, Argentina! Congratulations, Messi! Source: Reuters

Dec172022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Is It Flu, Covid or RSV? A Chart to Tell Symptoms Apart.

Communicable Diseases

By Knvul Sheikh Three different viruses are sending children and adults to hospital emergency rooms across the United States this winter. Not only is the coronavirus making a comeback because of new immune-evasive variants, but influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus are also spreading earlier than usual and at record rates. Most people were able to avoid the flu and other infections like R.S.V. for the past few years while the coronavirus was new and a large portion of the population was taking steps to slow the spread of Covid, which also slowed the spread of other viruses. Our immunity to these viruses may have waned in that duration, and many children born during the pandemic never gained any immunity at all. As a result, more people are vulnerable to common winter...

Dec172022 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Chile heat wave exacerbates forest fires, causes public health risk

Climate Change

A helicopter assists as a wildfire burns parts of the rural areas around Curacavi town outside Santiago, Chile, December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado GHealth News - A heat wave that has hit Chile this week with record temperatures in some areas and a lack of rainfall has intensified forest fires that have already burned more than 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres)in the South American nation. Dozens of people have had to evacuate their homes because of the fires and the capital Santiago is under a public health alert due to a cloud of smoke, officials said on Friday. The state-owned National Forestry Corporation (Conaf) said firefighters were currently tackling 18 fires concentrated in the country's central regions, as well as a smaller number in the south. Among several localiti...