Taxing sugary drinks can tackle obesity, diabetes: WHO

A new report by the international health agency proposes fiscal policies that lead to at least a 20 per cent increase in the retail price of …

World no tobacco day: Push for plain packaging to save lives

Plain packaging of tobacco products restricts advertising and promotion and increases the effectiveness of health warnings  

Different air under one sky: Almost everyone in South Africa breathes polluted air

Air quality is not monitored in most cities as they lack the resources to compile inventories

World freed from toxic leaded petrol: A global win

While global eradication of toxic lead in petrol needs to be celebrated, this also reminds us how tough it is to undo wrong if the evidence of …

In a first, WHO commits to eliminate cervical cancer globally

The global health body aims to reduce more than 40% new cases by 2050 through vaccination, screening and treatment

Pollution in news on May 2

Here’s a round-up of today’s news reports and developments on pollution

Depression, an invisible burden for TB patients; and we must urgently address this

The risk of people with mental disorders being prone to developing TB has often been overlooked

Depression single largest contributor to global disability, says WHO

The alarming thing is that the number of people with common mental disorders is increasing, particularly in low-income countries

Vaccine inequity: Disparity in access to doses hits low-income countries, says WHO

Only 2 manufacturers are supplying key vaccines such as pneumococcal vaccines, measles and rubella-containing vaccines across the world

World Food Day: Looking for a new avatar in COVID-19 times

What we now need is smart, systemic action to get the food to those who need it and improve it for those who have it, says FAO Director-…

World Health Assembly: Political will needed to curb non-communicable diseases

Non-communicable diseases kill 41 million people each year, low and middle-class countries account for 80 per cent of these deaths

Your food might be growing in contaminated soil

Soil pollution poses a major risk to human health by impairing plant metabolism and making crops unsafe for consumption

What could have turned yellow fever outbreak into a global disaster?

Fast spread of yellow fever and lack of steady supply of vaccine had put WHO and global aid agencies in a spot

Yellow fever grips DRC, Angola

More than 11 million doses of the yellow fever vaccine have been sent to Angola since February this year and more than 2 million to DRC

Drinking very hot beverages can cause oesophageal cancer, says IARC

The cancer research organisation concluded that high temperatures, rather than specific drinks, are carcinogenic

COVID-19 virus not the last to cause pandemic, warns WHO chief

Tedros Ghebreyesus October 13 announced names of 26 experts who will advise WHO on developing framework to define studies into …

Long working hours killed 745,000 in 2016, study finds

The trend may worsen during COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly altered the way people work, the report adds  

Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine: What do WHO recommendations say

Health workers at high risk of exposure and older people — including those aged 65 or older — should be given priority for Oxford / …

Antenatal care visits increase in most states: NFHS-5

Mothers consuming iron folic acid tablets for 100 days or more during their pregnancy period showed a heterogenous trend

56 million children are projected to die in next 12 years

Totally preventable diseases killed 15,000 children every day in 2017 and the future seems bleak if the trend continues, say the latest mortality …

World not prepared to cope with re-emerging infectious diseases: WHO Director General

Director General Margaret Chan was addressing the World Health Assembly being held in Geneva

All about hepatitis

The government of India has included vaccine of hepatitis B in its vaccination programme but has paid scant attention to hepatitis C

Kenya’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout has got off to a slow start: The gaps, and how to fix them

Kenya is currently accessing vaccines exclusively through the COVAX facility, and yet supply to this initiative has been dogged by vaccine …

COVID-19 vaccine update: AstraZeneca vaccinations should continue, benefits outweigh risks, says WHO

Strategic advisory group of experts on immunization called the one-dose Janssen shot as a safe and lifesaving addition to Pfizer, Moderna and …

COVID-19 vaccine update: South Africa may return Serum Institute of India doses

The WHO has approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus jab for emergency use. This means the vaccine can be rolled out globally