UN experts begin assessment of effects of Fukushima nuclear accident Destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Photo: UNSCEAR/ Wolfgang Weiss 30 January 2012 Sixty international experts assessing the radiation exposures and health effects resulting from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan last March kicked off a week-long meeting today in […]

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New mindset needed to tackle non-communicable diseases, says UN official Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras Countries need to change their current mindset to successfully tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the head of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today, adding that governments will need to explore new approaches […]

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WHO Director-General addresses the Executive Board Dr Margaret Chan Director-General of the World Health Organization Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras Report by the Director-General to the Executive Board at its 130th Session  16 January 2012 Mister Chairman, distinguished members of the Executive Board, excellencies, ambassadors, representatives of the diplomatic […]

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South Sudan: UN reports damage to health centres during Jonglei clashes These orphaned children received food from WFP after a humanitarian mission arrived in the town of Pibor in South Sudan’s Jonglei state on 3 January 2012. Photo: WFP/Rehan Zahid A number of health facilities in South Sudan’s troubled state of Jonglei were damaged and […]

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India on track to become polio-free, says UN health agency Children with polio at the Amar Jyoti Research Centre, Delhi, India. Photo: WHO/P. Virot … UN agencies hail key role of national efforts as India reaches a milestone United Nations, New York, January 2012 – With no registered polio cases over the past year, India […]

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Haiti: UN urges investing in water and sanitation services to combat cholera Women carry jerry cans of chlorinated water which is being used to contain cholera in eastern DRC. Photo: IRIN/Tiggy Ridley Dramatic improvements in water and sanitation services are needed to eliminate cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, health experts who took part […]

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Call to Action: A Cholera-Free Hispaniola Moving from cholera control to cholera elimination through essential investments in water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure In a press briefing, the governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, together with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, and […]

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South Sudan: UN launches major aid effort after clashes in troubled region Mothers and their children near Pibor, in Jonglei state, South Sudan, who have been displaced by ethnic tensions in the area A massive humanitarian operation to bring succour to people affected by inter-ethnic violence in South Sudan’s state of Jonglei is under way […]

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UN agency warns of danger of bird flu research and urges safety measures The United Nations health agency has voiced deep concern that scientific research undertaken on a strain of highly pathogenic influenza could have negative consequences but also acknowledged that tightly-controlled studies needed to continue to limit the possibility of future risks to the […]

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Cholera outbreak in DR Congo near end in one area but ongoing in two others Cholera beds The cholera outbreak that has infected thousands of people across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is almost over in the worst-affected province, but fresh cases are being recorded in two other areas, the United Nations humanitarian […]

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