Health

Nearly 5 million children still die annually before their fifth birthday: Here’s why

Most of these deaths are preventable with evidence-based, low-cost interventions and access to high-quality health care, the report emphasizes. For the first time, the analysis provides an overall picture of not only how many children die and where – but also why, by fully integrating global estimates of causes of death. The Levels and trends […]

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Middle East crisis: UN health agency releases emergency funds to Lebanon, Iraq, Syria

The funds, based on donor contributions, will help strengthen emergency coordination, trauma care and disease surveillance, the UN agency said on Sunday, while ensuring access to essential medicines and medical supplies. “As the number of victims rises, so do the attacks on healthcarewhich increases the burden on health systems at a time when they are

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World news in brief: Afghan-Pakistan border clashes latest, murder of Iraqi women’s rights activist condemned, leprosy milestone in Chile

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, reported that the number of casualties “cannot yet be independently verified” due to limited access. Schools and markets in several border districts remain closed due to ongoing instability, while mortar fire has forced families to flee villages in northwestern Pakistan. Relief operations in parts of Khyber

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World news brief: Epstein scandal highlights ‘silence’ of women, Danish breakthrough on HIV transmission, Belarus rights update

In a speech at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mr Türk emphasized that violence against women – including femicide – had become a global emergency. About 50,000 women and girls worldwide were killed in 2024, most of them family members, he said, amid ongoing hearings in the US Congress of child offender Jeffrey Epstein’s

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UN drug alert halts shipments that could have yielded 1.6 billion lethal doses of fentanyl

The interception highlights the crucial role of cooperation in dealing with the rapidly developing illegal drug trade. In its 2025 annual report, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said authorities used its pre-export notification platform to stop the diversion of three tonnes of the precursor 1-boc-4-piperidone – a chemical intermediate used to make fentanyl. Had

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Fighting in South Sudan displaces nearly 280,000; UN warns of ‘perfect storm’

The escalation comes amid rising protection risks for civilians and aid workers, with three humanitarian workers killed between February 7 and 16 in Jonglei and Upper Nile states, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA. Access to some of the worst-hit areas remains patchy despite renewed promises from authorities to

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Maternal deaths rise amid war and instability, new report warns

The risk of a woman living in a conflict-affected country dying from maternal causes is about five times higher for each pregnancy she undergoes compared to her peers in stable countries, according to new findings in the WHO report. In 2023 alone, an estimated 160,000 women died of preventable maternal causes in fragile and conflict-affected

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New recombinant mpox strain discovered in UK and India, WHO calls for continued surveillance

The WHO confirmed that two cases of the recombinant strain – combining genomic elements of clades Ib and IIb of monkeypox virus (MPXV) – have been identified to date: one in the UK and one in India. Both patients had recent travel histories and neither experienced serious illness. No secondary cases were found after contact

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Measles cases fall in 2025 across Europe and Central Asia, but risk of outbreaks remains

“Although the cases have reduced, the conditions that led to the resurgence of this deadly disease in recent years remain and need to be addressed,” said Regina De Dominicis, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia. 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia reported 33,998 cases of measles in 2025,

Measles cases fall in 2025 across Europe and Central Asia, but risk of outbreaks remains Read More »

UN praises $6 billion US funding approval to end HIV/AIDS

“This American investment will provide life-saving support to millions of people in partner countries and help ensure that the global HIV response remains efficient, data-driven and delivers results,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “I thank the president [Donald] Trump and the US Congress for their continued commitment to HIV and global health.” The

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