WHO Global Health News

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released updated guidelines on reducing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, providing countries with evidence-based recommendations to help prevent or delay the onset of dementia across the life course. Dementia is a condition caused by brain diseases and affects memory, thinking and the ability to function. More than 57 million people live with dementia worldwide and nearly 10 million people get newly diagnosed every year. Alzheimer disease is t

In 2025, 90% of infants globally – or nearly 116 million – received at least one dose of a diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccine, and 85% – or 110 million – completed the full three-dose series, according to the annual WHO-UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC) released today.  While both indicators rose by one percentage point from the previous year, global coverage remains one point below 2019 levels – hovering within the same narrow range since 2009. According t

The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated El Salvador as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. Trachoma is the world's leading infectious cause of blindness.

Millions of people are facing physical, emotional and financial toll of cancer, a disease that claims more than 26 000 lives every day, according to a report released today by the World Health Organization (WHO). With an estimated 20.6 million new cases and close to 10 million deaths annually, cancer remains the second leading cause of death globally, after cardiovascular disease.

Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) has added the first molecular diagnostic test for Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) to its Emergency Use Listing (EUL). The test detects the virus by identifying its genetic material in blood samples, helping confirm infection rapidly and accurately.WHO’s EUL procedure assesses the quality, safety and performance of essential health products based on the available evidence, while ensuring they meet minimum international standards and address the needs of low- and

In a major international effort to evaluate potential treatments for Ebola disease due to Bundibugyo virus (BVD), the PARTNERS clinical trial has opened enrolment today for patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

At a time when energy security and affordability have risen to the top of the development agenda, 655 million people globally still lack access to electricity, and two billion use polluting fuels and technologies for cooking putting their health and well-being at risk.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today calls on countries to expand newborn screening for birth defects, highlighting how early detection and treatment can save lives and reduce lifelong disability for millions of children.A new WHO report, Strengthening capacity for newborn screening, diagnosis and management of birth defects, identifies newborn screening as an important opportunity to accelerate progress in child survival.Many conditions can be successfully treated if identified early after

As the Democratic Republic of the Congo is battling an Ebola disease outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first comprehensive guidelines for the clinical management of filovirus disease which include all types of Ebola and Marburg viruses. The new guidelines highlight the importance of early supportive care to improve patient survival and health outcomes, outlining 16 evidence-based recommendations.

Dear Leaders of the G7, the G20, BRICS and of all nations,We write to you together, from Geneva and from Brasília, with one shared conviction: that the world must finish what it started, and that you can help it do so.We begin not with an institution or an annex, but with a memory the whole world shares. Not so long ago, our hospitals overflowed. Families said goodbye to the people they loved through glass, or by telephone, or not at all. Children lost grandparents. Doctors and nurses, exhausted

New data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show sustained progress towards safer blood supplies globally but also highlight persistent inequalities in access to safe blood and weaknesses in governance, financing and regulation of blood systems.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) today launched a joint continental preparedness and response plan on the ongoing Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The plan aims to raise US$ 518 million to support African countries together with partners to prepare for, rapidly detect and respond to the outbreak.The six-month plan, covering June to November 2026, brings together governments, partners and communities under a u

Children aged less than five years face almost three times the risk of illness from unsafe food than older children and adults, according to new estimates released today by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) reaffirm their strong partnership and shared commitment to protect the health and well-being of the people of Ituri Province and the nation at large, following the joint mission to Bunia led by Dr Samuel Roger Kamba, Minister of Health, Mr. Patrick Muyaya Katembwe, Minister of Communication and Medias, and the visit of WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. This high-level visit come

Worldwide, at least 40 million children aged 13–15 use tobacco products, and young people’s use of e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches continues to rise. In advance of World No Tobacco Day – 31 May – the World Health Organization (WHO) urges governments around the world to protect a new generation from becoming addicted to tobacco and nicotine products.

In response to the current outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with cases also reported in Uganda, WHO convened several of its expert and advisory groups. These groups assessed potential vaccines and therapeutics for both prevention and treatment of Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD).

To the people of DRC, especially to the people of Ituri Jambo kwenu wakahaji wa Ituri Mbote na bino, bato ya Ituri My name is Tedros, and I am the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). But today, I am not writing to you as an official. I am writing to you as someone who knows your region, who has walked your streets, and who cares deeply about what happens to you and your families. I am writing because I want to be with you in these moments. And I want you to know that you are

Summary of discussions of 23 May at the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly.

Summary of discussions of 22 May at the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly.

The Committee’s advice aligned with the determination by the WHO Director-General that the event constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), but does not meet the criteria for pandemic emergency. The DG, considering the advice of the Committee, he is hereby issuing the following temporary recommendations to all States Parties.