World Health Organisation
latest news & developments
A cruise ship, hantavirus and global PTSD
The memory of the Covid-19 shock shapes how governments and publics react to any new outbreak with even a hint of international spread
Hantavirus strain confirmed
The outbreak has entered a more serious phase after authorities confirmed that two cases detected in SA involve the Andes variant
Passenger dies in SA as rare virus linked to international cruise ship outbreak
Health officials are monitoring possible exposures in Gauteng after passengers linked to a deadly cruise ship outbreak passed through South Africa, with one patient in critical…
Teen pregnancies are dramatically dropping. But researchers aren’t sure why
New research shows a steep decline in adolescent pregnancy rates across all nine provinces from 2021 to 2025, reversing course from previous years. It’s good news, even if it’s…
Creating the future of medical technology in South Africa
21 April marks World Creativity and Innovation Day — a day recognised by the UN to celebrate creation. In light of this, Sara Grobbelaar highlights a recurring pattern in the…
The spirits, the marabouts and the 11 psychiatrists in Burkina Faso
In Burkina Faso, more than 70 languages are spoken, armed conflict continues to escalate and half the country’s psychiatrists have left. With few mental health services…
Superbugs plus climate change equals double trouble. Here’s why
As the Earth becomes hotter, we’re seeing more floods and droughts. Flooding can make superbugs spread faster and further. And heat helps germs adapt faster
Obesity: the chronic disease that isn’t treated like one
A review of 37 studies found that when people stop taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, the weight comes back
KZN rolls out controversial circumcision device amid safety concerns
The safety and track record of the CircumQ devices has been questioned
‘Turn crisis into opportunity,’ say African health leaders
Calls mount for African solutions to respond to the vaccine cuts and the need for a broad system-wide approach to vaccine production in Africa, and for innovative financing for…
The UN at 80: Adapt or Die
With US President Donald Trump blithely brushing aside the United Nations’ many achievements, it is worth revisiting the organization’s successes and failures over the years.…
The UN had a plan to fight deadly lifestyle diseases. Industry pressure killed most of it
At the UN General Assembly high-level meeting in New York next week, South Africa is expected to join other countries in signing a watered down declaration meant to curb diseases…
South African company accused of fuelling toxic lead crisis in Zambia
Human Rights Watch has found that the lead-contaminated waste in Kabwe, Zambia, puts residents health at risk
Are procedures in negotiations for the WHO’s international public health legal instruments being violated?
The World Health Organisation must recommit to the democratic principles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
It is high time African states re-asserted their health sovereignty
Some provisions of the World Health Organisation’s International Health Regulations and draft Pandemic Agreement impinge on the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship and…