As the world observes ‘No Tobacco Day’, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on governments to ban all flavours in tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, pouches, hookahs and e-cigarettes – which are playing an increasing role in hooking young people to tobacco products. Over 50 countries have banned flavoured tobacco, but manufacturers are […] Continue reading ->
A new WHO Climate Change and Health Action plan was approved by a key World Health Assembly (WHA) Committee Tuesday evening – after hours of high-stakes, high-drama parliamentary maneuvers by a cluster of oil-rich World Health Organization (WHO) member states to shelve the plan failed.   WHO member states accepted the original plan by a vote […] Continue reading ->
For the first time since the 1990s, the World Health Organization has been asked by member states to update its assessment on the health impacts of nuclear war, although not without significant resistance, led by Russia and North Korea, but also including many other major nuclear states.  The resolution calling for an updated assessment of […] Continue reading ->
In a rare moment for the World Health Assembly, delegates expanded their debates beyond the usual lexicon of disease pathogens to address something far more intimate: loneliness.  The Assembly approved a first-ever resolution on Fostering social connection for global health:  the essential role of social connection in combating loneliness, social isolation and inequities in health, […] Continue reading ->
Addressing today’s global health challenges requires more than funding and innovation—it demands humility, open communication, and a shared commitment to collective action, according to IFPMA Director-General David Reddy. Reddy, speaking at an IFPMA side event during the 78th World Health Assembly, acknowledged the socio-political and financial barriers facing global health systems. However, he urged the […] Continue reading ->
In a surprise appearance Tuesday before WHO member states via pre-recorded video, new US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr extended a kind of olive branch to the World Health Organization, calling for “a new era of international health cooperation, free from political influence and corporate bias.” While Kennedy did not say […] Continue reading ->
Three key issues feature in the United Nations zero draft of the political declaration on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health, published on Thursday in preparation for the High-Level Meeting on 25 September. Tobacco control, hypertension and improving mental health care are the cornerstones of proposed action to contain NCDs. The draft proposes 2030 global […] Continue reading ->