The global childhood vaccination rate in 2024 held steady with 85% of infants and children receiving three doses of the vaccine for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT), used as a global benchmark for immunization rates overall.  However large, continued gaps in coverage are propelling outbreaks, including the highest rate of measles cases since 2019.  “In […] Continue reading ->
The world faces a global health funding crisis, but John-Arne Røttingen believes the solution goes beyond money. It lies in stronger partnerships between governments, researchers, and citizens. “Science is not enough to change the world,” said Røttingen, the newly appointed CEO of Wellcome, one of the world’s largest global health foundations. “It must be allied […] Continue reading ->
Low-income countries could confront the massive health finance crisis they are facing after the withdrawal of most US-based aid through a 50% increase in the price of tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks – saving 50 million lives and raising some $1 trillion dollars in vital revenue for strapped health systems, says WHO. The ambitious WHO […] Continue reading ->
This story was updated to reflect new developments on Friday, 27 June.  Israel ordered a near-total halt to food and humanitarian aid deliveries to over two million Gazans facing a territory-wide threat of famine on Thursday after an AFP video surfaced showing dozens of armed men riding atop a convoy of flatbed trucks loaded with […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization decried Thursday’s direct hit by Iran on one of Israel’s largest hospitals, Soroka Medical Center, which put the 1200-bed facility serving most of the country’s southern region largely out of operation.  In an X post, WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also deplored the deaths of three Iranian Red Crescent […] Continue reading ->
The region of the Americas has seen eight times the number of yellow fever cases this year, compared to the same period in 2024. The vaccine-preventable, viral, mosquito-borne disease has surged as cases “spillover” from animals, according to a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) rapid risk assessment. Dense jungles in Colombia and Brazil have seen […] Continue reading ->