WHO published its World health statistics report 2025, revealing the deeper health impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on loss of lives, longevity and overall health and well-being. In just two years, between 2019 and 2021, global life expectancy fell by 1.8 years—the largest drop in recent history— reversing a …
With dengue fever spreading in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the World Health Organisation (who) has issued a warning to all neighbouring countries. Around 658 people have died in Indonesia, 59 in Sri Lanka and three in Bangladesh. There are around 68,000 suspected cases of the disease. Bhutan, which …
scientists may open the Pandora's box if they are given the go-ahead to create a new form of the flu virus. This is the grim message of an article published recently in the acclaimed journal Science (Vol 305, No 5684, July 30, 2004). The article ponders over the repercussions of …
as part of its initiative to promote traditional systems of medicine, the World Health Organization (who) has recently set forth a set of guidelines to help member states evolve regulations aimed at providing consumers with information on the appropriate use of the remedies. Currently, 80 per cent of the world …
after more than two days of hectic parleys, the World Health Organization's (who) Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health was endorsed at the 57th World Health Assembly (wha-57) in Geneva from May 17 to May 22. The plan aims to address two major factors, diet and physical activity, …
the first round of consultations, aimed at revising the International Health Regulations (ihr) of the World Health Organization (who), was held in Manila in the Philippines on April 28. Under the ihr, it is currently mandatory for member countries to report the occurrence of three infectious diseases
INDIAN authorities responsible for regulating pesticides have one big obsession: Codex. Officials, from both the ministries of agriculture and health and family welfare, have favoured taking refuge in standards set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). And they are not alone. The Indian industry, and its various associations cannot be …
ARTEMISININ, a drug isolated from sweet wormwood, has finally been approved by global health agencies as the first line of treatment of malaria instead of quinine, to which Plasmodium is showing increased resistance. The treatment is given as a cocktail known as artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and it has shown …
On May 18, 2004, when governments of 192 World Health Organization (WHO) member countries gather at Geneva for the world health assembly, one Mrs Sharma in one town, Jabalpur perhaps, will be making her way purposefully to the new swanky fast food joint in Sadar Bazar. As she delightfully feeds …
WHO has time and again said that the strategy is based on scientific evidence, successful campaigns against NCDs in several countries and on recommendations from health and nutrition experts from across the globe. But the sugar and food industry and their lobbyists have tried to discredit the strategy by saying …
Obesity has become a worldwide concern because people in each and every nation are falling prey to it. WHO defines obesity as a body mass index (BMI) of at least 30 kg/m2 and overweight as a BMI of at least 25 kg/m2 (BMI is calculated by weight in kg divided …
Struggling with non-communicable diseases, the WHO and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) set up a study group in January 2002 to discuss the problem with health and agriculture experts. The result was TRS 916, a technical report. It says that calories from sugar should form 10 per cent of the …
the most comprehensive report of the tuberculosis menace worldwide has unveiled worrying levels of drug-resistant strains of the infectious disease. Patients in Kazahkstan, Uzbekistan and Estonia are 10 times more likely to have multi-drug resistant (mdr) tuberculosis than those residing in other countries, reveals the report of the World Health …
for the first time, developing countries have objected to a proposal to set the limit of sugar consumption at 10 per cent of total calorie intake for fighting obesity. Earlier, this line was adopted only by the us and other developed countries. The resistance stems from the belief that defining …
the World Health Organization (who) is toeing the Bush administration's line, proves a recent research of the premier health institute. As per the study, infectious syringes account for only 2.5 per cent of the hiv infections in Africa and unsafe sex practices are mainly responsible for the continent's aids crisis. …
WILL that crippling scourge called polio be wiped out from the face of the earth by the end of this year? The World Health Organization (WHO) hopes so. But all its ambitions
The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was set up to investigate the issue of pesticides in cold drinks, and everyone told us that we had reached a dead end. Parliamentarians aren't interested, we were told. The issues were too technical, too contentious. Cynics added that with elections round the corner, the …
an optimistic note, about wiping out polio from the six afflicted countries, was to be sounded at a conference organised by the World Health Organisation (who) in Geneva on January 15. Instead, the sudden re-emergence of the disease in two African nations
