health

Unequal health-care systems are hurting poor worldwide, UN report finds

14 October 2008
People in different countries and even within the same State or city face strikingly different health outcomes because of vast inequalities in both access to health care and the amount they have to pay for that care, according to a new United Nations report, which calls for an overhaul of the way such assistance is provided worldwide.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Financial crisis must not diminish support to improve women’s lives, urges Ban

8 October 2008
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stressed the importance of continued support for the efforts of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to empower the world’s women, particularly to improve maternal health and promote gender equality, even in the midst of the economic woes countries are currently facing.
People queue up for meningitis vaccination in Burkina Faso

African ministers agree to roll out vaccine to fight meningitis – UN agency

4 September 2008
Health ministers from sub-Saharan Africa’s “meningitis belt” pledged today to introduce a new vaccine that they hope will immunize more than 250 million people against the deadly disease, at a United Nations-backed conference held in Cameroon.
A mother breastfeeds her baby

UN calls for increased support for breastfeeding mothers

31 July 2008
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) today kicked off World Breastfeeding Week by urging increased support for breastfeeding mothers since the practice has been shown to slash deaths by more than 10 per cent in infants in developing countries.
Eric Laroche, Assistant Director-General for Health Action in Crisis for WHO

UN health agency seeking more active role in emergencies

16 July 2008
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking to expand the role it plays in responding to emergencies, one of the agency’s senior officials said today in New York.

Africa faces ‘dramatic’ physician shortage by 2015, cautions UN health agency

2 July 2008
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Africa faces a “dramatic” shortage of physicians by the year 2015, according to a new study made public today.
Women carrying salt at Puttalam Salt Production Welfare Society Ltd. (Sri Lanka)

UNICEF cites ‘great progress’ on ending iodine deficiency, but children still at risk

26 June 2008
Millions of children worldwide have been protected from iodine deficiency, which is the single greatest cause of preventable mental retardation, but many more are still at risk, according to a report released today by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

UN health agency creates safety checklist for surgery

24 June 2008
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today launched a new safety checklist for operating theatres around the world as part of a major drive to make surgery safer around the world.

UN health agency calls for total ban on tobacco advertising to protect young

30 May 2008
The United Nations health agency today called on governments to impose a ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship to deter young people around the world from taking up smoking.

Food crisis, climate change and influenza are main threats to health, says UN

19 May 2008
The global food crisis, climate change and pandemic influenza are the main threats to human health, according to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).