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UN leaders say Gaza war must ‘stop now’ as reported death toll tops 10,000

UN leaders say Gaza war must ‘stop now’ as reported death toll tops 10,000

U.N. agency leaders saying "enough is enough" demanded a humanitarian ceasefire nearly a month into Gaza's war, as health authorities in the enclave said the death toll from Israeli strikes now exceeded 10,000. Israel has rebuffed mounting international pressure for a ceasefire, saying hostages taken by Hamas militants during their rampage in southern Israel on October 7 should be released first. "An entire population is besieged and under attack, denied access to the essentials for survival, bombed in their homes, shelters, hospitals and places of worship. This is unacceptable," the U.N. chiefs said in a joint statement. "We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It's been…
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WHO recommends malaria vaccine that will be rolled out next year

WHO recommends malaria vaccine that will be rolled out next year

THE World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of a second malaria vaccine to curb the life-threatening disease spread to humans by some mosquitoes. "Almost exactly two years ago, WHO recommended the broad use of the world's first malaria vaccine called RTS,S," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing in Geneva. "Today, it gives me great pleasure to announce that WHO is recommending a second vaccine called R21/Matrix-M to prevent malaria in children at risk of the disease." R21/Matrix-M, developed by Britain's University of Oxford, will become available by mid-2024, Tedros said, adding that doses would cost between $2…
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China’s COVID spike not due to lifting of restrictions, WHO director says

China’s COVID spike not due to lifting of restrictions, WHO director says

EMMA FARGE COVID-19 infections were exploding in China well before the government's decision to abandon its strict "zero-COVID" policy, a World Health Organization director said, quashing suggestions that the sudden reversal caused a spike in cases. The comments by the WHO's emergencies director Mike Ryan came as he warned of the need to ramp up vaccinations in the world's No. 2 economy. Speaking at a briefing with media, he said the virus was spreading "intensively" in the nation long before the lifting of restrictions. "There's a narrative at the moment that China lifted the restrictions and all of a sudden the disease…
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Uganda: Ebola outbreak death toll rises to 48

Uganda: Ebola outbreak death toll rises to 48

THE death toll from an Ebola outbreak in Uganda has risen to 48, with 131 confirmed cases, a health official involved in managing the outbreak said. Last week Uganda's health minister put the death toll at 30, with 109 confirmed cases. "Confirmed cases by today 131 and 48 deaths," Henry Kyobe Bosa, Ebola incident commander at Uganda's health ministry, told a briefing organised by the World Health Organization's Africa office. "On the spread and when we are likely to have the outbreak ending I see no experts on this panel can actually predict when it will end," he said, adding authorities…
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WHO’s Tedros says narrow window to ‘prevent genocide’ in Ethiopia

WHO’s Tedros says narrow window to ‘prevent genocide’ in Ethiopia

WORLD Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there was a "very narrow window now to prevent genocide" in his home region of Tigray in northern Ethiopia. Tedros, who previously served as Ethiopia's health minister and foreign affairs minister, has been sharply critical of Ethiopian authorities throughout the two-year war. The government has, in turn, accused him of trying to procure arms and diplomatic backing for rebel forces - charges he has denied. In his sharpest comments on the war yet, Tedros told reporters in Geneva that food and healthcare were being used as weapons of war in Tigray, which…
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Tigray war ignored because of racism: WHO boss

Tigray war ignored because of racism: WHO boss

THE World Health Organization's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has suggested that racism is behind a lack of international attention being paid to the plight of civilians in Ethiopia's war-shattered Tigray region. Calling it the "worst humanitarian crisis in the world", with 6 million people unable to access basic services, Tedros questioned in an emotional appeal why the situation is not getting the same attention as the Ukraine conflict. "Maybe the reason is the colour of the skin of the people," Tedros, who is from Tigray, told a virtual media briefing on Wednesday. In April this year at a briefing, he…
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African countries to get mRNA vaccine technology in WHO project

African countries to get mRNA vaccine technology in WHO project

WENDELL ROELF and ALEXANDER WINNING THE World Health Organization said six African countries - Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia - would be the first on the continent to receive the technology needed to produce mRNA vaccines. The technology transfer project, launched last year in Cape Town, aims to help low- and middle-income countries manufacture mRNA vaccines at scale and according to international standards. mRNA is the advanced technology used by companies such as Pfizer-BioNTech, and Moderna for their COVID-19 shots. The WHO established its global mRNA technology transfer hub after large-scale vaccine purchases by wealthy countries and companies prioritising…
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WHO’s Tedros warns against over-reaction to Omicron

WHO’s Tedros warns against over-reaction to Omicron

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY THE head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has voiced concern that some countries were introducing blanket measures against the Omicron coronavirus variant that may not be necessary and penalised African nations unfairly. "I well understand the concern of all countries to protect their citizens against a variant that we don't yet fully understand," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "But I am equally concerned that several Member States are introducing blunt, blanket measures that are not evidence-based or effective on their own, and which will only worsen inequities." First reported in southern Africa a week ago, the variant has…
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WHO ‘heartbroken’ by Congo sex abuse probe findings

WHO ‘heartbroken’ by Congo sex abuse probe findings

THE World Health Organization was "heartbroken" by the findings of an independent commission on sex abuse in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the agency regional director for Africa. "We in the WHO are indeed humbled, horrified and heartbroken by the findings of this inquiry," Matshidiso Moeti said at a news briefing. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a news conference after a ceremony for the opening of the WHO Academy, in Lyon, France, September 27, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the commission's report made for "harrowing reading". The commission found that some 21…
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17 EU members support Tedros for WHO 2nd term

17 EU members support Tedros for WHO 2nd term

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY TEDROS Adhanom Ghebreyesus has gained wide support for a second term as head of the World Health Organisation, formally nominated by at least 17 European Union members and backed by countries in other regions, according to diplomats. As the deadline for nominations elapsed, diplomats said that they were unaware of any other names being put forward, suggesting that Tedros will stand unopposed in the May election. Tedros, a former health and foreign minister of Ethiopia, elected as WHO's first African director-general in May 2017, has led the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. He has steered the U.N.…
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