COVID-19 killed millions, shattered health systems and brought the global economy to a virtual standstill. World leaders are meeting Friday to review the lessons learned and cement a new approach to prevention and preparation for the next pandemic. Hopes are high that a World…
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of…
More than 130 days into the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health experts said on Wednesday that response efforts have been scaled up significantly and “the first encouraging signs of progress” are now being seen.
More children and young people are beating cancer, but progress remains uneven across regions and age groups, highlighting the need for increased investment to boost survival rates.
An Ebola vaccine trial is underway in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), involving frontline health workers and others involved in the response.
Six years after COVID-19 killed millions, battered health systems, disrupted lives and brought the global economy to a virtual standstill, the world is still grappling with how we can prepare better for the next pandemic.
Three weeks after the devastating flash floods in Nepal, about 17,000 children require urgent mental health and psychosocial support in the country, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
Smoking very likely makes it harder to have a baby, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned in a new publication issued on Tuesday, highlighting that women who smoke have a 40 per cent higher risk of infertility compared to non-smokers.
A new airstrike overnight damaged one of the main warehouses used by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Ukraine to store humanitarian medical supplies in the Kyiv region, the UN agency said on Friday.
As rescue efforts continue in Nepal, humanitarians are focused on how the recent deadly flash floods have impacted women and girls, as well as access to healthcare.
Lack of funding has forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to slash aid to families in the West Bank by half even though needs have more than doubled over the past two years.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 3,205 attacks on healthcare facilities have been carried out, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for Ukraine Jarno Habicht reported on Friday following fresh overnight strikes.
Facing a projected shortage of more than six million health professionals by 2035, African countries are stepping up efforts to strengthen their workforce, with a new decade-long plan announced on Wednesday during a meeting of health ministers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
From the frontlines of the deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN World Health Organization (WHO) shared details on Tuesday of a massive push for community engagement, a day after yet another ambulance attack.
The Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is now the deadliest the country has ever faced, the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.
Sudanese women about to give birth are losing their babies and sometimes their own lives because of a lack of specialist healthcare support, amid the ongoing war, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
As amber heat-health alerts spread across England this summer, a new study has found that the warnings are being received – but not changing behaviour.
Across the world, healthcare has suffered more than 10,000 attacks in the past eight years, including during the brutal conflict in Ukraine and efforts to contain the current Ebola outbreak spreading rapidly in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are tracking a growing share of people exposed to Ebola, but the epidemic in the country's restive east continues to outpace their ability to find and isolate the sick, the World Health Organization (WHO) has…
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday upheld the safety of childhood vaccines in response to a new directive from the White House to overhaul the recommended inoculation schedule.
More than 1,900 people have died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Ebola outbreak – and most of them never made it to a treatment centre. Between 60 and 70 per cent of deaths are happening in communities far from care, a gap that is now central to the World Health…
More than 300 children have died in the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN said on Friday, as health experts urged trials of the only vaccine against the disease to halt further spread of the rare Bundibugyo species.
Results may be months away, but efforts are advancing towards enhanced treatment and the world’s first vaccine for the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday as deaths and cases rise in the largest ever outbreak on record in the…
Wildfires are often associated with the destruction they leave behind, but the smoke they produce can pose a serious health threat far beyond the fire zone, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
Years of progress in tackling HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are at risk of stalling, leaving millions of people without access to life-saving prevention, testing and treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
The World Health Organization (WHO) today launched a new report assessing progress in implementing the Global Health Sector Strategies (GHSS) on HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for 2022–2030. Released during the 26th International AIDS Conference…
The amount of land burned by wildfires across Europe has increased by 57 per cent in four years, according to new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe.
One month after twin earthquakes rocked Venezuela, thousands of women and girls continue to face difficulty in accessing essential healthcare and protection services, a senior official with the UN reproductive and sexual health agency UNFPA said on Friday.
Ahead of World Drowning Prevention Day on 25 July, the World Health Organization (WHO) is launching a new technical package to help governments and communities implement seven proven measures to reduce drowning deaths.
As months of conflict continue to devastate communities across Lebanon, families are being left without shelter, healthcare and other essential services.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN health teams and partners are still racing to contain the rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak, despite ongoing insecurity in eastern areas where the virus has taken hold. As of 19 July, the DRC Government has recorded 2,423…
Global hunger declined for a third consecutive year in 2025, demonstrating that progress is possible. However, the improvements remain fragile, unevenly distributed and insufficient to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, according to The State of Food Security…
The World Health Organization (WHO) today marks the 25th anniversary of Research4Life, a public-private partnership that provides researchers, educators, health professionals and policy-makers in low- and middle-income countries with affordable or free access to scientific…
Thousands of people in some of Yemen's most conflict-affected communities are receiving lifesaving health care closer to home, thanks to funding from the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) through the Yemen Humanitarian Fund.
Despite the addition of more than one billion motor-vehicles to the world’s roads, road traffic deaths declined by 21% between 2011 and 2025, according to new data released by the World Health Organization (WHO). The world has experienced profound changes in road traffic…
WHO Member States have advanced negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex, a central component of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, while agreeing that continued discussions are needed to finalize a framework that supports a faster, more effective and…
For Tanatswa Amanda Chikaura, mental health advocacy began with a personal loss: while studying psychology at the University of Zimbabwe, she learned that a fellow student had died by suicide.
As Europe battles a deadly record-breaking heatwave, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued new guidance on Thursday to help countries face scorching temperatures now and in the future.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has become the third largest on record and is spreading faster than any previous one during the first month of exposure, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday.
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…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued updated global guidelines aimed at reducing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, saying that up to 45 per cent of cases may be preventable or delayed by addressing modifiable risk factors throughout life.
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…
Infections of the Bundibugyo species of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have reached record highs and a majority of new cases are coming from “unknown chains of transmission”, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
When Dr. Sahira Al Nahari founded Shifā Art, a Saudi Arabia-based organization using art to create conversations around mental health, she noticed that men attending her therapeutic art workshops often felt uncomfortable opening up about their feelings.
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.
The number of new cancer cases worldwide could rise to almost 35 million a year by 2050 unless countries take urgent action to strengthen prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday.
A Senegalese surgeon who has dedicated his career to restoring the health and dignity of women living with obstetric fistula, and a Burundian foundation supporting vulnerable women and children, have been named the winners of the 2026 United Nations Population Award.
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…
The outbreak of the deadly Bundibugyo species of Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is expanding, while the push to accelerate testing and identify effective treatment options continues, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
As Uganda works to contain an Ebola outbreak that is also affecting neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers are doing more than responding to a deadly virus. They are helping families navigate fear, misinformation and stigma.
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…
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.
The hantavirus global outbreak is officially over, Ebola outbreaks are growing in Africa and responders are helping recovery efforts in quake-hit Venezuela, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief said on Thursday, announcing updates on global health emergencies.
Search and rescue operations continued in Venezuela on Tuesday as thousands of displaced survivors struggled to find shelter and humanitarians issued an alert over the spread of infectious disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published new guidance to help countries confront the rising burden of fungal disease and antifungal resistance - one of the most neglected global health threats, yet still largely absent from national health plans.
More people are using drugs than ever before, while synthetic substances are reshaping illicit markets and exposing vulnerable communities to greater health risks, according to the UN World Drug Report 2026, released on Friday.
As a record-breaking heatwave grips large parts of Europe, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), national weather services and partners are mobilising heat-health action plans for millions of people facing dangerous temperatures.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to spread faster than aid efforts can keep pace, despite significant gains in treatment capacity and growing community engagement, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday.
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.