This document is the second in a series of global reports describing progress towards the 2030 targets set in Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: a road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030. It describes a wide range of activities, accomplishments and challenges across the portfolio of …
health Cracking the capsule Every year a million people, mostly aids and transplant patients, are killed by a disease called cryptococcosis, symptoms of which include chest pain, dry cough, abdominal swelling, headache and blurred vision. This disease is caused by the deadly fungus Cryptococcus neoformans which attacks immune systems that …
This is the 13th annual report on global control of tuberculosis (TB) published by WHO. 196 countries and territories that reported data in 2008 account for 99.6% of the world
The participation of many organisations and countries in the development of new neglected disease products is a remarkable and welcome change from past decades of inertia and neglect. However, a broadening of funding efforts so that all who are able to contribute do so, and all diseases receive the attention …
Although the issue of anthropogenic climate forcing and public health is widely recognized, one fundamental aspect has remained underappreciated: the impact of climatic change on plant biology and the well-being of human systems. The authors aimed to critically evaluate the extant and probable links between plant function and human health, …
Chronic health effects are increasing in the world such as cancers, hormonal, reproductive, nervous, or immune diseases, even in young people. During regulatory toxicological subchronic tests to prevent these on mammalian health, prior commercialization of chemicals, including pesticides and drugs, or GMOs, some statistically significant findings may be revealed. This …
The investigation and control of foodborne disease outbreaks are multi-disciplinary tasks requiring skills in the areas of clinical medicine, epidemiology, laboratory medicine, food microbiology and chemistry, food safety and food control, and risk communication and management. Many outbreaks of foodborne disease are poorly investigated, if at all, because these skills …
The overall aim of this report is to provide information to decision-makers on the optimal design of policies to help reduce premature deaths and illness in children under five years of age. To protect the health, development, and wellbeing of young children, decision-makers must identify and reduce environmental risk factors …
This paper analyses the root causes of rural outmigration, focusing on its economic and social implications. It takes as its starting point the fact that mobility is inherent in human existence. Livelihoods and sociocultural changes are intimately connected with population movements. To understand present and fast-developing trends in human mobility, …
This report provides an overview of the global distribution of malaria cases and deaths and documents how control strategies recommended by WHO have been adopted and implemented in endemic countries.
Ministers of health, donor agencies, philanthropists, and international agencies will meet at Bamako, Mali, in November, 2008, to review global priorities for health research. These individuals and organisations previously set health priorities for WHO, either through its regular budget or extra-budgetary funds. We asked what insights can be gained as …
Global health has in recent years drawn increasing scientific, political and popular attention not only due to global epidemics themselves,but also because of the social activities and environmental conditions that shape health threats and influence those who are affected. Factors that contribute to the emergence and increase of health threats …
The health impacts of air pollution depend on the pollutant type, its concentration in the air, length of exposure, other pollutants in the air, and individual susceptibility. The undernourished, very young and very old, and people with preexisting respiratory disease and other ill health, may be more affected by the …
This report describes important methodological issues involved in generating internationally comparable estimates of poverty. The special chapter, titled Comparing Poverty Across Countries: The Role of Purchasing Power Parities, also provides comparable rates of poverty using price data specific to the Asia and Pacific region, and, critically, to the poor. A …
This paper presents a methodology for estimating the burden of diseases in monetary terms instead of a demographic indicator. The purpose was to ascertain the financial burden arising out of various categories of morbidity in the community. The disease-wise burden would act as a pointer for the policy maker to …
>> Governments of Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast have announced a joint health programme to tackle a meningitis epidemic, which has gripped the bordering area of the two countries. By the second week of March, the disease killed 441 people in Burkina Faso and 44 people in Ivory Coast. More …
The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008 documents the extent of the epidemic, details how MPOWER will reverse it and assesses the current status of global tobacco control. The report provides rigorous information on the status of effective tobacco control measures in almost every country. The report’s appendices …
The State of the World’s Children 2008 assesses the state of child survival and primary health care for mothers, newborns and children today. These issues serve as sensitive barometers of a country’s development and wellbeing and as evidence of its priorities and values. Investing in the health of children and …
A pestilence spread by travellers, pets and curious teenagers may show that experts have not taken everything into account when planning for an outbreak of disease, according to us researchers, writing in the medical journal, The Lancet. But luckily they are talking of a computer game gone awry. And more …
This report is the product of an international research and public policy initiative to give an overview of what is known of biological effects that occur at low-intensity EMFs exposures (for both radiofrequency radiation RF and power-frequency ELF, and various forms of combined exposures that are now known to be …
