Health
World health statistics 2025: Monitoring health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals
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 …Global status report on physical activity 2022
This Global status report on physical activity is WHO’s first dedicated global assessment of global progress on country implementation of policy recommendations of the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) 2018-2030. It also presents an estimate of the cost to health systems of not taking action to improve physical …Global multidimensional poverty index 2022: unpacking deprivation bundles to reduce multidimensional poverty
As many as 41.5 crore people exited poverty in India during the 15-year period between 2005-06 and 2019-21, out of which two-thirds exited in the first 10 years, and one-third in the next five years, according to this global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). This year’s report, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index …One health joint plan of action (2022‒2026): working together for the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment
The Quadripartite Organizations – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE), and the World Health Organization (WHO) – collaborate to drive the change and transformation required to mitigate the impact of …Food Safety and Standards (Approval for Non-Specified Food and Food Ingredients) First Amendment Regulations, 2022
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India on 11th October 2022, has published the Food Safety and Standards (Approval for Non-Specified Food and Food Ingredients) First Amendment Regulations, 2022, through which it has notified the Procedure for grant of prior approval to the manufacturer or importer of non-specified food. …Pandemic triad: HIV, COVID-19 and debt in developing countries
This report analyses the intersection of HIV, COVID-19 and public debt in developing countries. The collision between COVID-19 and a crippling debt crisis have reversed decades of progress - putting present and future investments in health and HIV at risk. Pragmatic options to address the pandemic triad are proposed.Malawi national action plan on antimicrobial resistance: review of progress in the human health sector
This policy brief aims to provide a review of the current progress on implementing the Malawi national action plan on AMR, identifies critical gaps, and highlights findings to accelerate further progress in the human health sector. The target audience includes all those concerned with implementing actions to combat antimicrobial resistance …Child food poverty: a nutrition crisis in early childhood
Children cannot live on staple grains alone; they need to eat a diverse range of nutritious foods. Child Food Poverty - A Nutrition Crisis in Early Childhood sounds the alarm on the state of child food poverty – a situation where young children are not fed the minimum number of …Who benefits from undermining breastfeeding? Exploring the global commercial milk formula industry’s generation and distribution of wealth and income
The global commercial milk formula (CMF) industry is known to systematically undermine breastfeeding around the world, thereby reinforcing a preventable public health and human rights crisis. The aggressive marketing of CMF products by the industry, for instance, is recognised as one of the key reasons behind the poor global progress …Asia-Pacific report on population ageing 2022: trends, policies and good practices regarding older persons and population ageing
This report provides an overview of levels and trends in population ageing and the situation of older persons in Asia and the Pacific. It also provides an overview of policies and good practices on population ageing from across the region. The report is being published following the Asia-Pacific Intergovernmental Meeting …2021 update on the global status of legal limits on lead in paint
As of 31 December 2021, 84 countries – comprising 43% of all countries – have legally binding controls to limit the production, import and sale of lead paints. In the majority of countries worldwide, using lead paint in homes and schools is not prohibited, creating a significant risk of children’s …Mental health at work
Work can be a protective factor for mental health, but it can also contribute to potential harm. All workers have the right to a safe and healthy environment at work. The Mental health at work: policy brief, developed jointly by WHO and the International Labour Organization, provides a pragmatic framework …Ending the neglect to attain the sustainable development goals: a rationale for continued investment in tackling neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030
Financing the acceleration of the progress needed to reach the NTD 2030 targets was highlighted throughout the global consultation on which the road map was based and, for some time, a lack of resources has been seen as a significant barrier to the control, elimination and eradication of NTDs. This …Foreign direct investment and policies in the health sector in Asia and the Pacific 2022/2023
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the cracks in the current health sector. From 2019 to 2020, investment in the health-care sector dropped by 45 per cent and continued to decline in 2021 to 34 per cent in the first three quarters of 2022. Globally, greenfield investment in the health …Capturing the evidence on access to essential antibiotics in refugee and migrant populations
The fourth report of the Global Evidence Review on Health and Migration (GEHM) series synthesizes available evidence on access to essential antibiotics in refugee and migrant populations. The report captures evidence across four themes related to antibiotic access and use: access, appropriate use, barriers to access and use, and interventions …Invisible numbers: the true extent of noncommunicable diseases and what to do about them
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – chief among them, cardiovascular diseases (heart disease and stroke), cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases – along with mental health, cause nearly three quarters of deaths in the world. Their drivers are social, environmental, commercial and genetic, and their presence is global. Every year 17 million …Developing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) finance strategies: a guide
UNICEF has launched a new guide on financing water, sanitation and hygiene in a bid to expand critically needed services to millions worldwide. The guide, titled, “Developing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Finance Strategies,” was produced by UNICEF and co-published by SWA, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the IRC …India discrimination report 2022
The India Discrimination Report 2022 focuses on differential access to labour market (absorption and wages),factor market (access to credit) and endowment market (access to hospitalisation) for different socio-religious and gender groups. The analysis attempts to capture the extent of identity-based discrimination explaining the gaps in access to employment and in …One-hundred thirty seventh report on the vaccine development, distribution management and mitigation of pandemic Covid-19
A parliamentary committee has recommended the Union Health Ministry "audit deaths due to oxygen shortage", especially during the Covid second wave, in coordination with states to enable robust documentation of the mortalities. The committee said it was "disturbed" by the ministry's "unfortunate denial" of COVID-19 deaths due to oxygen shortage. …United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases: 2022–2025 strategy
The strategy builds on the experience of the 2019–2021 strategy and the findings of the mid-point evaluation of the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013–2030. The strategy builds on the experience of the 2019–2021 strategy and the findings of the mid-point evaluation of the Global …Action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in South-East Asia, 2013–2020: extended to 2030
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally as well as in the South-East Asia Region. The Global Action Plan (GAP) for the prevention and control of NCDs 2013–2020, including a comprehensive monitoring framework with 25 indicators and 9 voluntary global targets, was endorsed by the Sixty-sixth World …