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Prince Harry and Katie Couric have an awkward, complex history.

Despite a years-spanning smear campaign, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle still receive ample invitations and attend plenty of events. It’s just that none of them involve other members of the British royal family.

This week, it’s a series of appearances in New York. Prince Harry is honoring his late mother, Princess Diana.

But the Duke of Sussex may have just had an uncomfortable run-in with Katie Couric.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex speaks onstage during Day 2 of the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Annual Meeting at New York Hilton Midtown on September 24, 2024. (Photo Credit: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Clinton Global Initiative) Katie Couric and Prince Harry Have Met Before

This is going to sound a little random, but bear with us.

On Tuesday, September 24, Prince Harry participated in the Everything Everywhere All At Once global issues panel at the...

Christmas is supposed to be a day of peace, especially in the Holy Land. Not this year.

Hamas and Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad rejected on Monday a proposal for a ceasefire to the fighting in Gaza, Egyptian security sources told Reuters. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip Monday to continue with their offensive there.

“We are not stopping,” Netanyahu said, according to an Israeli government statement. “Whoever talks about stopping – there is no such thing. We are not stopping. The war will continue until the end,...

Last month, the world watched as a spectacle rarely seen in modern warfare unfolded in Gaza. The Israeli military tore through al-Shifa Hospital, the Gaza Strip’s main hospital, forcing the evacuation of patients and refugees as part of a siege on the medical complex that resulted in dozens of patient deaths and an untold number of additional casualties.

Israel’s months-long assault on Gaza has already resulted in more than 20,000 Palestinian deaths since Oct. 7, many of them civilians and children. Even in a conflict as brutal as the one currently unfolding in Gaza,...

The 2023 Global Citizen Festival will broadcast live to the world on Saturday, September 23 from New York City’s Central Park, where 60 thousand global citizens, along with the world’s leading artists and advocates, will gather for a day of action and advocacy for equity, for the planet, for food and for jobs, to end extreme poverty Now, as world leaders gather for the Un General Assembly.

Charlize Theron, Chris Rock, Daymond John, Eddie Izzard, Katie Holmes, Liza Koshy, Natasha Lyonne, Nomzamo Mbatha, and Vladimir Duthiers are set to join the line-up that will take the stage on Central Park’s Great Lawn. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the Un; Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Norwegian Minister of Development and Cooperation; Gilbert Houngbo, Director-General, International Labour Organisation; José Ramos-Horta, President of Timor Leste; Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, CEO, Dubai Cares; Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization; Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director, Education...

London, Sep 9 (Ians) The UK has recorded 34 cases of the highly mutated BA.2.86 Covid variant, while the global number of infections rose to 65. According to the UK Health Security Agency (Hsa), of the 34 cases, 28 were reported from a single elderly care home in Norfolk — an early indicator that the variant may be sufficiently transmissible to have impact in close contact settings.

Further the Ukhsa’s latest technical briefing on Sars-CoV-2 variants revealed 5 hospitalisation and no deaths.

The data suggest established community transmission of BA.2.86 within the UK.

It is based on the detection of multiple unlinked cases in different regions of the UK, without identified travel links, and relationship between cases.

The finding, however, does not confirm that BA.2.86 has a growth advantage within the UK compared to other circulating variants, the agency said.

“While BA.2.86 is has a significant number of mutations to the viral genome compared to other currently circulating Covid variants,...

New York, Sep 8 (Ians) Amid the rise of several new Covid variants, the US is seeing a 16 per cent jump in the Sars-CoV-2 virus-related hospitalisations, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC data shows an increase in hospitalisation over the past week — a trend that began rising in late July.

States like Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming saw more than 30 per cent increase in hospital admissions over the past week.

This has raised concerns as the spike comes after a quiet year in which hospitalisations and deaths were lying low since January.

The World Health Organization (Who) has also warned of “concerning trends” for Covid ahead of winter.

The Un health agency estimates that hundreds of thousands of people around the world are currently hospitalised with the virus. However, the true number could be much higher because many countries have stopped reporting Covid data.

Gandhinagar, Aug 18 (Ians) Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said the government has a special focus on traditional medicine, adding it established a separate Ministry of Ayush in this regard.

“In India, under the leadership of Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), we have a specific focus on traditional medicine and established a separate Ministry of Ayush, which includes Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy,” he said while addressing the concluding session of the two-day World Health Organization (Who) Global Summit on Traditional Medicine.

Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other dignitaries were also present.

Referring to Covid pandemic, the Minister said, “During the Covid-19 crisis, traditional medicines had played a very important role through scientific and evidence-based medicines in terms of preventive, therapeutic and public health management.”

“Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Ayush works closely to integrate, endorse, and develop holistic health,...

Gandhinagar, Aug 17 (Ians) World Health Organization (Who) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday lauded the government’s Ayushman Bharat scheme as well as the country’s medical system.

Tedros, while delivering his keynote address on the first Who Traditional Medicine Global Summit, here, also noted the seamless integration of traditional medicine into primary healthcare in rural areas.

“Traditional medicine is as old as humanity itself. However, it is not a thing of the past. It has a growing relevance in communities and cultures even today,” he said.

Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya, in his address, said: “India is well-positioned to become a knowledge hub and unlock the full potential of traditional medicine. The pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries are both showing significant interest in traditional medicine and more than 170 countries around the world are utilising it.”

The summit provides an ideal platform for international collaboration and the exchange...

New Delhi, Aug 14 (Ians) A first-of-its-kind global summit on traditional medicine, being organised by the World Health Organization (Who) and co-hosted by the Ayush Ministry, will be held on August 17-18 at Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Director General of the Who, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will inaugurate the event in the presence of Minister of Health Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal.

G20 Health Ministers, Regional Directors and eminent invitees from countries across Who’s six regions are expected to grace the event along with scientists, practitioners of traditional medicine, health workers and members of civil society organisations.

Addressing a press conference, Minister of State for Ayush, Munjpara Mahendrabhai said: “It is very natural that after the foundation laying ceremony of the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar last year, we are going to witness this first global event in India. It testifies to the multi-dimensional strides...

United Nations, Aug 11 (Ians) The Who and India are convening the first global summit on traditional medicine in Gandhinagar next week with the participation of G20 Health Ministers.

Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Thursday that the meeting would seek to enhance the scientific basis of traditional medicine and help meet the Un targets for health.

The summit next Thursday and Friday would “explore ways to scale up scientific advances and realise the potential of evidence-based knowledge in the use of traditional medicine for people’s health and well-being around the world,” he added.

Who emphasises that traditional medicine can be a catalyst for “achieving the goal of universal health coverage and meeting global health-related targets that were off-track even before the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Haq said.

Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will be at the summit along with G20 Health Ministers and scientists,...

London, Aug 5 (Ians) The UK has reported a new Covid variant Eg.5.1, accounting for 1 in 7 new cases, according to the country’s Health Security Agency (Ukhsa).

This comes after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated an increase in new Covid cases as well as the number of Covid hospitalisations — from around 6,300 in June to more than 8,000 for the week ending July 22.

Nicknamed Eris, Eg.5.1 was first raised as a signal in monitoring on July 3, and is a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant of Covid.

The Ukhsa in a statement said that Covid rates have increased this week — 5.4 per cent of 4,396 respiratory cases from 3.7 per cent of 4,403 respiratory cases reported in the previous week.

Accounting for 14.6 per cent of Covid cases, Eg.5.1 is the second most prevalent in the UK, after Xbb.1.16 which makes up 39.4 per cent of all cases.

“We continue to see a rise in...

Geneva, July 18 (Ians) Immunisation services have shown recovery in many countries, including India, after the historic backsliding caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, yet some low-income countries are lagging, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (Who) and the Unicef on Tuesday.

However, the report showed that in low-income countries, immunisation coverage still falls short of pre-pandemic levels putting children at grave risk from disease outbreaks.

The data showed that in 2022, 20.5 million children missed out on one or more diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (Dtp) vaccines — used as the global marker for immunisation coverage — compared to 24.4 million children in 2021.

Further, of the 20.5 million children, 14.3 million did not receive a single dose of the Dtp vaccine, also called the zero-dose children.

The figure represents an improvement from the 18.1 million zero-dose children in 2021 but remains higher than the 12.9 million children in 2019.

“These data are encouraging, and a tribute to those who...

Geneva, June 22 (Ians) With ocean-warming phenomenon El Nino officially here, the World Health Organization (Who) has said that it is preparing for an increased spread of viral diseases like dengue, Zika and chikungunya linked to the El Nino event.

“The Who is preparing for the very high probability that 2023 and 2024 will be marked by an El Nino event, which could increase transmission of dengue and other so-called arboviruses such as Zika and chikungunya,” Who’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.

“The effects of climate change are also fuelling mosquito breeding and the spread of these diseases,” he added.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), El Nino could lead to new records for temperatures, particularly in areas that already experience above-average temperatures during El Nino.

El Nino events usually occur every two to seven years and are characterised by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures around the...

Lausanne (Switzerland), June 20 (Ians) The International Olympic Committee (Ioc) on Tuesday presented the Director-General of the World Health Organization (Who), Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, with the Olympic Order for his inspirational role in ensuring the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 took place despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Olympic Order was presented to Dr Tedros, for his support of the cooperation agreement between the Ioc and the Who signed in 2020, by International Olympic Committee (Ioc) President Thomas Bach at the Olympic House here on Tuesday.

At the same time, the Ioc honoured the Who, as an organisation, with the Olympic Cup for 2021.

The collaboration between Ioc and WHo has led to a number of joint initiatives and programmes for healthier communities through sport, the latest being the Let’s Move campaign for this year’s Olympic Day, the Ioc informed in a release on

The Let’s Move initiative shines a light on the...

Global Citizen, the world’s leading international advocacy organization on a mission to end extreme poverty Now, has announced John Boyega, Connie Britton, Sabrina Dhowre Elba, Cyril Dion, Danai Gurira, Diane Kruger, Aïssa Maïga, Norman Reedus and Michelle Yeoh will join ‘Power Our Planet: Live in Paris’ on Thursday, June 22, taking place at the historic Champ de Mars in Paris.

The free, ticketed event will provide a platform for calls to action from the world’s leading youth climate activists, including Xiye Bastida, Camille Etienne, Jerome Foster, Brianna Fruean, Helena Gualinga, and Mitzi Jonelle Tan, among others.

‘Power Our Planet: Live in Paris’ will feature performances from Lenny Kravitz, Billie Eilish, H.E.R., Jon Batiste and special guests Finneas and Mosimann to drive commitments from world leaders and the private sector to confront the climate crisis head on.

Under the high patronage of Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic,...

By Archana Sharma

Jaipur, June 7 (Ians) A documentary titled ‘When Climate Change Turns Violent has won a special prize in the ‘Health for All’ category at the 4th Annual Health for All Film Festival held at the World Healtth Organization headquarters in Geneva.

The documentary has been directed by Vandita Saharia of Rajasthan. She was the only Indian among the winners.

“It is a proud moment for me to be the only Indian among the winners. I am confident that I shall continue to bring laurels to the country,” Vandita said.

The 4.32-minute documentary, Vandita said, focuses on the relationship between domestic violence, climate change and human trafficking.

“When natural resources deplete, they (women) walk longer to fetch water and fuel wood. When food becomes scarce, child marriage increases. After the pandemic, cases of child marriage have gone up. The girl’s family receives cattle and wealth for these marriages.

Colombo, June 7 (Ians) The Sri Lankan Health Ministry on Wednesday announced that a woman and her baby have been infected with monkeypox upon their return from Dubai.

According to the Minister, the woman had contracted the virus from her husband.

The mother and baby have been admitted at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases for treatment.

Health experts have advised the public to seek medical attention if they have blisters or any other symptoms, and refrain from coming into contact with others.

Sri Lanka detected two cases of the infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus in November last year, three months after the Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the infection a global emergency.

–Ians

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New Delhi, May 26 (Ians) Even as Covid-19 is seeing a decline, the World Health Organisation (Who) has warned of the threat of an “inevitable” next pandemic of “Disease X”, raising concerns across the globe.

Disease X was first coined in 2018 by the Who, a year before the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world. It is among the Who’s “Blue print list priority diseases” that could cause the next deadly pandemic and includes Ebola, Sars, and Zika.

“Disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease,” the Who said. The Blueprint list highlights infectious diseases for which we lack medical countermeasures.

According to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), “the threat of Disease X infecting the human population, and spreading quickly around the world, is greater than ever before”.

Some public health experts believe the next Disease X will be zoonotic,...

Geneva, May 24 (Ians) The World Health Organisation (Who) has warned all countries to gird up for the next pandemic which could be “even deadlier” than coronavirus. Who Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who had recently announced that the Covid-19 pandemic is no longer a public health emergency, however, underscored that this downgrade does not mean that it has ceased to be a global health threat.

“The threat of another variant emerging that causes new surges of disease and death remains, and the threat of another pathogen emerging with even deadlier potential remains,” he said in an address to the 76th World Health Assembly on Monday.

Covid-19 may no longer be a global public health emergency, but countries must still strengthen their response to the disease and prepare for future pandemics and other threats, so that when the next pandemic arises, a decisive and collective response is in place, he said.

Geneva, May 22 (Ians) The 76th World Health Assembly (Wha), kicked off here, focused on “saving lives, driving health for all,” the Who said in a statement.

As 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the Who, this year’s Wha which began on Sunday will determine the immediate and longer-term future of the organisation, starting with the programme budget for the next two years, key decisions about the sustainable financing and changes to improve Who’s processes and accountability, Xinhua news agency reported.

During the 10-day meeting, delegates will deliberate about the critical role that the Who has in the Global Health Emergency Architecture. The assembly will also review last year’s progress, accomplishments and challenges along with future priorities across the key pillars of the Who’s work: Universal Health Coverage, Emergencies, Promoting Health and Well-being.

“Peace depends on health, disease in one nation endangers all, achieving the greatest possible health...

Geneva, May 20 (Ians) The World Health Organization (Who) on Saturday announced a new global network that will help detect and respond to disease threats before they become epidemic or pandemic, and to optimise routine disease surveillance.

The International Pathogen Surveillance Network (Ipsn) will provide a platform to connect countries and regions, and improving systems for collecting and analysing samples using these data to drive public health decision-making, and share that information more broadly.

Pathogen genomics analyses the genetic code of viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing organisms to understand how infectious they are, how deadly they are, and how they spread.

With this information, scientists and public health officials can identify and track diseases to prevent and respond to outbreaks as part of a broader disease surveillance system, and to develop vaccines.

“The goal of this new network is ambitious, but it can also play a vital role in health security:...

Geneva, May 12 (Ians) The mpox disease no longer represents a global health emergency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (Who), said at a virtual press conference from Geneva, based on a statement by the Who’s emergency committee.

“Yesterday (Wednesday), the emergency committee for mpox met and recommended to me that the multi-country outbreak of mpox no longer represents a public health emergency of international concern (Pheic),” Tedros said on Thursday. He had declared mpox a Pheic in July 2022.

During the past three months, the number of reported new cases dropped by almost 90 per cent compared to the previous three months, according to data published by the Who.

“I am pleased to declare that mpox is no longer a global health emergency,” Tedros was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.

He cautioned, however, that “as with Covid-19, that does not mean that the work is over...

The World Health Organization today ended its designation of Covid as a “global health emergency.”

Who director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement, tweeted out by Who, that it is “with great hope” that he declares Covid “over as a global health emergency,” but added, “that does not mean Covid-19 is over as a global health threat.”

“Last week, Covid-19 claimed a life every three minutes – and that’s just the deaths we know about,” he wrote.

The news comes just a week before the May 11 date when the United States will end its declaration of Covid as a Public Health Emergency. Officially, Covid will remain a “public health priority,” according to the Department of Health and Human Services. In practical terms, the transition will have a minimal impact on most Americans – access to vaccinations and treatment generally will not be affected, though Medicare beneficiaries will no...

New Delhi, May 5 (Ians) After three long gruelling years of Covid-19, the World Health Organisation (Who) on Friday declared that the pandemic is no longer a public health emergency.

Covid-19 was declared a public health emergency of international concern (Pheic) in January 2020. About six weeks later, it was characterised as a pandemic. The deadly disease has to date infected over 763 million and claimed more than 6.9 million lives globally.

Based on a decreasing trend in Covid-19 deaths, related hospitalisations and intensive care unit admissions, and the high levels of population immunity to Sars-CoV-2, Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday recommended to end the health emergency at the 15th meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (Ihr) Emergency Committee.

The Committee’s position has been evolving over the last several months. While acknowledging the remaining uncertainties posted by potential evolution of Sars-CoV-2, they advised that it is time to transition to long-term management of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Geneva, April 7 (Ians) On the eve of its 75th anniversary, the Who marked the occasion by calling for a renewed drive for health equity in the face of unprecedented threats.

Seventy-five years ago, after years of war, the nations of the world agreed to set up a new organisation and “debated and agreed what this organisation would be and do in a document called the Constitution of the World Health Organisation,” the organisation’s Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, recalled at a press briefing here on Thursday.

“Tomorrow marks the 75th anniversary of the day that Constitution came into force. It was, and is, a landmark document,” he said.

The past decades have witnessed extraordinary progress in protecting people from diseases and destruction, including smallpox eradication, reducing the incidence of polio by 99 per cent, saving millions of lives through childhood immunisation, declines in maternal mortality, and improving health and well-being for millions more,...

Geneva, April 4 (Ians) Around 17.5 per cent of the adult population — roughly 1 in 6 worldwide — experience infertility in their lifetime, according to a new report published on Tuesday by the World Health Organization (Who).

The report shows limited variation in the prevalence of infertility between regions. Lifetime prevalence of infertility was 17.8 per cent in high-income countries and 16.5 per cent in low and middle-income countries.

“The report reveals an important truth — infertility does not discriminate,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of Who, said in a statement.

“The sheer proportion of people affected shows the need to widen access to fertility care and ensure this issue is no longer sidelined in health research and policy, so that safe, effective, and affordable ways to attain parenthood are available for those who seek it,” he added.

Infertility is a disease of the male or female reproductive system, defined by the failure to achieve a pregnancy after...

New Delhi, March 18 (Ians) Covid-19 pandemic, which has so far claimed more than seven million deaths globally, may likely end up being as public health emergency of international concern’ this year and pose a seasonal flu threat, the World Health Organization (Who) has said.

“I’m confident that this year we will be able to say that Covid-19 is over as a public health emergency of international concern,” Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing.

“And I think we’re coming to that point where we can look at Covid-19 in the same way we look at seasonal influenza,” he added.

The Who chief said that Covid will continue to pose a threat to human health. It will turn into a “virus that will continue to kill, but a virus that is not disrupting our society or disrupting our hospital system”.

He added that the virus may...

New Delhi, March 9 (Ians) The World Health Organisation (Who) on Thursday called on countries to make “massive efforts” to reduce people’s salt intake that can prevent the risk of heart problems, stroke, and cancers.

In a first-of-its-kind global report on sodium intake reduction, the global health body noted that the world is off-track to achieve its global target of reducing sodium intake by 30 per cent by 2025.

The report shows that only 5 per cent countries are protected by mandatory and comprehensive sodium reduction policies, while 73 per cent, including India, lack full range of implementation of such policies.

Implementing highly cost-effective sodium reduction policies could save an estimated seven million lives globally by 2030, the Who said.

“Every country should aim to reduce sodium intake but more importantly to reduce sugar and carbohydrate intake which are responsible for insulin resistance and combine to reduce your blood pressure,” Dr Arun Gupta, senior paediatrician,...

Geneva, Feb 23 (Ians) A woman dies every two minutes during pregnancy or childbirth, according to a report released by Un agencies on Thursday revealing alarming setbacks for women’s health over recent years.

The report, titled ‘Trends in maternal mortality’, showed that there were an estimated 287,000 maternal deaths worldwide in 2020.A

Severe bleeding, high blood pressure, pregnancy-related infections, complications from unsafe abortion, and underlying conditions that can be aggravated by pregnancy (such as HIV/AIDS and malaria) are the leading causes of maternal deaths.

These are all largely preventable and treatable with access to high-quality and respectful healthcare.

“While pregnancy should be a time of immense hope and a positive experience for all women, it is tragically still a shockingly dangerous experience for millions around the world who lack access to high quality, respectful health care,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (Who), in a statement.

Geneva, Feb 16 (Ians) The World Health Organization (Who) said that a widespread outbreak of the mpox (monkeypox) remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (Pheic).

The Who officially declared in July 2022 that the mpox outbreak outside of the traditional endemic areas in Africa had already turned into a Pheic, the highest level of alert that the global health authority could issue, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Who said its experts acknowledged the progress in the global response to the mpox outbreak and a further decline in the number of reported cases during the last few months.

However, a few countries continued to see a sustained incidence of cases, while other regions were likely to have under-reporting of confirmed cases. The Who committee of experts and Who Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus have therefore both maintained that mpox remains an international public health emergency.

The latest...

Stockholm, Feb 13 (Ians) Sweden has discarded nearly 8.5 million doses of vaccines against Covid-19, local media reported.

The discarded doses equal to about 20 per cent of vaccine doses Sweden has procured, according to Swedish Public Health Agency’s statistics, Radio Sweden reported on Sunday.

Richard Bergstrom, Sweden’s former national vaccine coordinator, told Radio Sweden that the total value of the discarded doses was 1.5 billion Swedish kronor (143 million), Xinhua news agency reported.

The main reason for doses being discarded was the fact that individuals had not had their booster doses as expected, Bergstrom said.

“The bulk is doses that people have chosen not to take, in other words, the third, fourth, or fifth (booster) dose. These were already purchased and now have to be destructed,” Bergstrom added.

As of Thursday, 88.2 per cent of all individuals aged 18 years or above have received at least one dose, while 86.4 per cent have received two doses or more,...

New Delhi, Jan 17 (Ians) The nearly 60,000 Covid-related deaths China reported for the first five weeks of its current outbreak, the largest the world has ever seen, may underestimate the true toll by hundreds of thousands of fatalities, experts were quoted as saying in a media report.

China’s abrupt pivot from Covid Zero in early December (2022) unleashed a surge of omicron infections and led to 59,938 virus-related deaths in the nation’s hospitals through January 12, Bloomberg news agency reported, citing the figures disclosed by the National Health Commission.

While the number swamps the few dozen deaths previously recorded in the official tally – which drew widespread criticism both at home and abroad, including from the World Health Organization (Who) – experts say it’s still likely to be an underestimate given the enormous scale of the outbreak and the mortality rates seen at the height of omicron waves in other countries that initially pursued a Covid Zero strategy,...

New Delhi, Jan 11 (Ians) Satellite images taken over a number of Chinese cities have captured crowding at crematoriums and funeral homes, as the country continues its battle with an unprecedented wave of Covid-19 infections following its dismantling of severe pandemic restrictions, the media reported.

The images, taken by Maxar in late December and early January show a funeral home on the outskirts of Beijing, which appears to have constructed a brand-new parking area, as well as lines of vehicles waiting outside of funeral homes in Kunming, Nanjing, Chengdu, Tangshan and Huzhou, CNN reported.

China recently moved away from its strict zero-Covid approach to the virus, which had sparked mass unrest after more than two years of tight controls on citizens’ personal lives.

China’s strict policy shielded its population from the kind of mass deaths seen in Western nations — a contrast repeatedly driven home by the Communist Party to illustrate...

China’s National Health Commission (Nhc) has stopped publishing daily Covid-19 case data, handing over the charge to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as nations including India ask the country to share actual Covid data on an urgent basis.

According to state-run Global Times, handing over the epidemic data calculation to a technical organisation “is a reasonable move to provide professional epidemic figures”.

“The Nhc will no longer release daily epidemic data from Sunday. China’s CDC will release relevant Covid-19 information for study and reference,” the Nhc said in a statement.

According to local experts, the move will help shift more resources of related authorities to other key steps like clinical treatment.

It is believed, the CDC will largely rely on Covid-19 data reported by clinical diagnosis in medical institutions and monitor overall epidemic trends.

China’s Nhc began to release the daily new tally...

New Delhi, Dec 25 (Ians) With Covid infections once again surging in several countries, especially in China which saw over 250 million cases in just 20 days in December, fresh Covid wave fears linger across the world, including in India.

While the Bf.7 variant of Omicron virus is a cause of concern in China and India, the Omicron subvariant Xbb accounts for 18.3 per cent of the Covid-19 cases in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This marks an increase of 11.2 per cent as the Xbb variant continues to drive up cases in Singapore.

Omicron subvariants Bq.1 and Bq.1.1 accounted for about 70 per cent of new cases in the US.

The total number of confirmed Covid cases in the US have surpassed 100 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, since the pandemic broke out almost three years ago, with a total of more than 1 million deaths.

Geneva, Dec 22 (Ians) The World Health Organization (Who) has said that amid an ongoing resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic in China, hospitals across the country seem to be filling up.

Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the Who’s Health Emergencies Programme, said: “In China, what’s been reported is relatively low numbers of cases in ICUs, but anecdotally ICUs are filling up.

“We’ve been saying this for weeks that this highly infectious virus was always going to be very hard to stop completely, with just public health and social measures.”

The top health official’s remarks come despite Chinese authorities saying that the number of people in hospitals due to Covid-19 are “relatively low”, the BBC reported.

In the past few days, hospitals in Beijing and other cities have been filling up but official figures show only five people died from Covid on Tuesday and two on Monday.

Geneva, Dec 15 (Ians) The chief of the World Health Organization (Who) has said that he hopes that Covid-19 will no longer be a global health emergency sometime next year.

Addressing a press briefing in Geneva, Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the Who Covid-19 Emergency Committee will discuss next month the criteria for declaring an end to the Covid-19 emergency, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We’re hopeful that at some point next year, we will be able to say that Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency,” he said.

He added, however, that the Sars-CoV-2 virus, the culprit behind the Covid-19 pandemic, will not go away.

“It’s here to stay, and all countries will need to learn to manage it alongside other respiratory illnesses including influenza and Rsv (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), both of which are now circulating intensely in many countries,” he said.

The Who chief said...

Geneva, Dec 10 (Ians) High levels of antibiotic resistance in bacteria are causing life-threatening bloodstream infections, according to the latest report released by the Who.

For the first time, the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (Glass) report released on Friday provides analyses of antimicrobial resistance (Amr) rates in national testing coverage, Amr trends since 2017, and data on antimicrobial consumption in humans in 27 countries.

The report shows more than 50 per cent resistance in bacteria, which frequently causes bloodstream infections that require treatment with last-resort antibiotics. Meanwhile, common bacterial infections are becoming increasingly resistant to treatments. More than 60 per cent of Neisseria gonorrhoea isolates, a common sexually transmitted disease, have shown resistance to the common oral antibacterial ciprofloxacin.

Who’s Essential Medicines List divides antibiotics into three categories: access, watch and reserve. Medicines in the access group are available at all times as treatments for a wide range of common infections...

Geneva, Dec 9 (Ians) The global number of malaria cases and deaths generally remained stable in 2021, thanks to redoubled efforts by affected countries, the Who said.

According to the Who’s latest World Malaria Report published on Thursday, there were an estimated 619,000 malaria deaths globally in 2021, compared to 625,000 in 2020.

Malaria cases worldwide continued to rise between 2020 and 2021, but at a slower rate than in the period 2019 to 2020. The global tally of malaria cases reached 247 million in 2021, compared to 245 million in 2020 and 232 million in 2019.

According to Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, this slight increase was due to redoubled efforts by malaria-affected countries to mitigate the worst impacts of Covid-19-related disruptions to malaria services, Xinhua news agency reported.

The primary tool has been insecticide-treated nets for beds. The Who also recommends seasonal malaria chemoprevention, to prevent the disease among children living in areas with highly seasonal malaria transmission in Africa.

Meanwhile, the...

Jaipur Oct 19 (Ians) The three-day World Health Summit (Whs) 2022 was held in Berlin from October 16 to 18 under the patronage of the World Health Organization (Who).

The theme of this year’s summit was ‘Finding Solutions for Global Health’.

At the summit, Who’s Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan informed the gathering of the lowest link about ‘Social Communication’ established by Who for health related services and information related to epidemics.

The Whs 2022 aimed to bring together health leaders and policy makers from all parts of the world, along with representatives working in the field of medicine. It also stressed on synergy for global health development and encouraging innovations for the pandemics that may occur in the coming times.

The summit was inaugurated in the presence of Un Secretary General Antonio Guterres, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and more than 2,000 delegates from more than 100 countries.

Geneva, Oct 5 (Ians) The World Health Organization on Wednesday issued an alert for four “contaminated” India-made medicines, chiefly for paediatric use, identified in the west African nation of The Gambia and found to contain chemicals that are toxic and potentially fatal after 66 child deaths.

“Who has today issued a medical product alert for four contaminated medicines identified in #Gambia that have been potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children. The loss of these young lives is beyond heartbreaking for their families,” the Who said in a series of tweets, citing its Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“The four medicines are cough and cold syrups produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited, in India. Who is conducting further investigation with the company and regulatory authorities in India,” it said.

The Who Medical Product Alert said that the four substandard products, reported to it in September, are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup,...

Geneva, Sep 23 (Ians) The World Health Organization (Who) on Thursday warned again against complacency in fighting Covid-19, urging for coordinated action and political commitments to save lives and prevent economic and health damage from the ongoing pandemic.

“(Covid-19) pandemic is not over, but the end is in sight … Being able to see the end does not mean we are at the end,” Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated at a press briefing on Thursday.

He cited as reasons that the pandemic is still inflicting a death toll of 10,000 per week, most of which could be prevented, while large vaccination gaps exist especially in low- and middle-income countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

“That means everyone needs to use, when needed, the simple tools that are available to stay safe: distancing, masks and ventilation. And it means everyone needs access to the medical tools to stay safe: vaccines, tests and treatments,” he added.

Referring to the grave situation in Sindh province, where the flood water still continues to flow through villages, towns and cities, destroying everything that comes in its way, the Who has called for donations to save lives and prevent more suffering as a potential wave of diseases and deaths awaited the country already trying to grapple with the destruction caused by the calamity.

"Consumption of contaminated water in flood-hit areas was leading to a surge in diseases including cholera, malaria, dengue and diarrhoea," said Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"Health centres have been flooded, their supplies damaged, and people have moved away from home, which makes it harder for them to access their normal health services. All this means more unsafe births, more untreated diabetes or heart diseases and more children missing vaccination, to name but a few of the impacts on health," he added.

Ghebreyesus highlighted that health workers...

Referring to the grave situation in Sindh province, where the flood water still continues to flow through villages, towns and cities, destroying everything that comes in its way, the Who has called for donations to save lives and prevent more suffering as a potential wave of diseases and deaths awaited the country already trying to grapple with the destruction caused by the calamity.

"Consumption of contaminated water in flood-hit areas was leading to a surge in diseases including cholera, malaria, dengue and diarrhoea," said Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"Health centres have been flooded, their supplies damaged, and people have moved away from home, which makes it harder for them to access their normal health services. All this means more unsafe births, more untreated diabetes or heart diseases and more children missing vaccination, to name but a few of the impacts on health," he added.

Ghebreyesus highlighted that health workers...

President Biden has declared the Covid-19 pandemic over, despite hundreds of Americans still dying from the disease daily.

“The pandemic is over,” he told 60 Minutes from the Detroit Auto Show. “We still have a problem with Covid. We’re still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one is wearing masks. Everyone seems to be in pretty good shape. I think it’s changing, and I think this is a perfect example of it.”

The Centers for Disease Control notes that...

Washington, Sep 19 (Ians) US President Joe Biden has claimed that the Covid-19 pandemic is over, as millions suffer from long Covid and several countries still bear the brunt of the global health crisis.

On the CBS ’60 Minutes’ TV show on Sunday, Biden said: “The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with Covid. We’re still doing a lot of work on it. It’s, but the pandemic is over”.

“If you notice, no one’s wearing masks,” Biden said while gesturing at the gathering. “Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing.”

However, the US government still designates Covid-19 as a Public Health Emergency and the World Health Organization (Who) says it remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, reports CNN.

Last week, the Who said that future coronavirus waves are expected and that governments across the world need to...

Geneva, Sep 15 (Ians) The World Health Organisation (Who) has said that future coronavirus waves are expected and that governments across the world need to remain vigilant and ready to respond to any threat that may emerge.

“We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic,” Who Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing in Geneva on Wednesday.

According to the Who, during the week of September 5-11, the number of new weekly cases worldwide decreased by 28 per cent over the previous week to more than 3.1 million. The number of new weekly deaths was down 22 per cent to just under 11,000.

Tedros likened the pandemic response to a marathon race.

“Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap the rewards of all our hard work.”

Nevertheless, the Who’s experts continue to urge caution, Xinhua news agency reported.

New Delhi, Sep 11 (Ians) As the world embarks on living a normal life post the pandemic amid declining cases, the World Health Organisation (Who) has warned that one person with Covid-19 is still dying every 44 seconds globally.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Who Director General, said that this virus will not just fade away.

“The global decline in reported cases and deaths is continuing. This is very encouraging. But there is no guarantee these trends will persist. The most dangerous thing is to assume they will,” he said in his latest remarks.

“The number of weekly reported deaths may have dropped by more than 80 per cent since February, but even so, last week one person died with Covid-19 every 44 seconds,” Ghebreyesus said during his regular briefing.

“Most of those deaths are avoidable. You might be tired of hearing me say the pandemic is not over. But I will keep saying it until it is.

Geneva, Sep 1 (Ians) The World Health Organisation (Who) has warned that despite current downward trend in new Covid-19 cases, more hospitalisations and deaths are expected in the coming months as colder weather approaches.

Despite a “welcome decline in reported (Covid-19) deaths globally … with colder weather approaching in the northern hemisphere, it’s reasonable to expect an increase in hospitalisations and deaths in the coming months,” Who Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists in Geneva on Wednesday.

According to the Who’s latest Covid-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update, the number of new weekly cases decreased by 9 per cent to around 5.3 million during the week of August 15 to 21 as compared to the previous week. The number of new weekly deaths also decreased by 15 per cent as compared to the previous week, with more than 14,000 fatalities reported.

The Who chief said that the current subvariants of Omicron are more transmissible than their predecessors,...

Geneva, Sep 1 (Ians) The World Health Organisation (Who) has warned that despite current downward trend in new Covid-19 cases, more hospitalisations and deaths are expected in the coming months as colder weather approaches.

Despite a “welcome decline in reported (Covid-19) deaths globally … with colder weather approaching in the northern hemisphere, it’s reasonable to expect an increase in hospitalisations and deaths in the coming months,” Who Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists in Geneva on Wednesday.

According to the Who’s latest Covid-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update, the number of new weekly cases decreased by 9 per cent to around 5.3 million during the week of August 15 to 21 as compared to the previous week. The number of new weekly deaths also decreased by 15 per cent as compared to the previous week, with more than 14,000 fatalities reported.

The Who chief said that the current subvariants of Omicron are more transmissible than their predecessors,...