Middle East Conflict Set to Drive Up Food and Medicine Costs, Exacerbate Hunger

18/03/2026 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Following Iranian missile attacks on Dubai, a major global logistics and humanitarian hub, the World Health Organization is struggling to revive the traffic of medicines and health care supplies in and around the Middle East and African regions most served by the hubs, a WHO official said on Wednesday. “We have managed to do a […] Continue reading ->

Progress Reducing Early Childhood Mortality Has Slowed Sharply Since 2015

18/03/2026 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Under-five deaths have fallen globally by more than half since the year 2000. However, since 2015, the pace of reduction in early childhood mortality has slowed by more than 60%, a new UN report shows. The report, co-authored by UNIICEF, WHO and the World Bank, also shows that while great gains have made globally, the […] Continue reading ->

Deepening Middle East Conflict Displaces Millions; Threatens Water and Air Quality

13/03/2026 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

The deepening conflict across the Middle East has displaced nearly 3.2 million people in Iran, according to new estimates by UNHCR, as well as nearly 800,000 people in Lebanon, mostly in the southern region, according to a new WHO situation report. After the Lebanese Shi’ite militia Hezbollah entered the war on 2 March firing barrages […] Continue reading ->

Unlocking the Power of the Private Sector for Stronger Health Systems

06/03/2026 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

As USAID programmes funding vital treatments for HIV/AIDS, malaria, maternal and child health, and other critical needs were imploding across Africa last year, a for-profit social enterprise startup geared up for its first real test. Using medicines procurement as its lever, the Swiss-based startup Axmed called for a radical reboot of national systems — to […] Continue reading ->

US Measles Elimination Status Review Postponed for ‘Technical Reasons’, Says WHO

05/03/2026 Sophia Samantaroy

The World Health Organization (WHO) has pushed back against speculation that a critical review of the US measles elimination status was delayed until November for political reasons. Rather, the WHO said that there were strong technical reasons for postponing the review from April until November so that more data could be collected. This came as […] Continue reading ->

WHO: War with Iran Paralyzes Dubai’s Global Humanitarian Supply Hub

05/03/2026 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

The US-Israeli war with Iran, which has paralyzed air travel across the Middle East, has also frozen deliveries of vital medical supplies from the world’s largest humanitarian supply hub in Dubai to conflict-wracked countries from Afghanistan to Lebanon, said the World Health Organization on Thursday. “Operations at WHO’s logistics hub for global health emergencies in […] Continue reading ->

Historic HPV Vaccination Campaign in India to Boost Fight Against Cervical Cancer

05/03/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen

India launched the most extensive free Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination initiative in history to systematically combat the rising toll of cervical cancer. This ambitious 90-day campaign aims to inoculate nearly 12 million 14-year-old girls before the preventative shot is permanently integrated into the country’s universal immunization schedule. “India has joined the community of 160 countries […] Continue reading ->

Drone Busts Delhi’s Spring Clean Air Myth

27/02/2026 Chetan Bhattacharji

NEW DELHI – For years, residents of the Indian capital have looked to the skies in March with a sense of relief, believing that the notorious winter pollution had finally retreated. However, a drone armed with an air quality monitor has shattered this perception, revealing a massive blanket of toxic air hovering just above the […] Continue reading ->

Innovative Finance Can Strengthen Fragile Health Systems

27/02/2026 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Financial innovation is a key, underused tool that can be mustered to strengthen humanitarian outreach in crisis settings, while also strengthening public health systems over the long term, according to a new report published by The Geneva Health Forum. “New sources of financing are developing, breaking with the traditional vision of charitable action financed by […] Continue reading ->

Mozambique and Madagascar Battle After-Effects of Cyclone and Floods

27/02/2026 Kerry Cullinan

Mozambique and Madagascar are struggling to address the after-effects of cyclones and cyclone-related flooding, with huge increases in cholera cases and displaced people. There has been a seven-fold increase in cholera cases in southern Africa in the first six weeks of 2026 in comparison to the same time last year, with 90% of the 4,300 […] Continue reading ->