The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency.
On August 14, 2024, the WHO convened its emergency mpox committee in response to concerns that a more virulent strain of the virus, clade Ib, had spread to four previously unaffected provinces in Africa. This strain had previously been limited to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The independent experts on the committee held a virtual meeting to assess the severity of the outbreak and provide advice to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Following their recommendations, Ghebreyesus announced that a public health emergency of international concern— the highest level of alert under international health regulations— had been declared.
Also known as PHEIC, this is a status given by WHO to “extraordinary events” that pose a public health risk to other countries through the international spread of disease. These outbreaks may require a coordinated international response, according to the organization.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security the day before — the first such declaration by the agency since its inception in 2017.
Since the beginning of this year, more than 17,000 cases and more than 500 deaths have been reported in 13 countries in Africa, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which classifies the outbreak as a “very high risk event.” The highest number of cases — more than 14,000 — is in the DRC, which reported 96% of confirmed cases this month.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that can spread easily between people and from infected animals. It can spread through close contact such as touching, kissing or sex, as well as through contaminated materials like sheets, clothing and needles, according to WHO. Symptoms include a fever, a painful rash, headache, muscle and back pain, low energy and enlarged lymph nodes.
For decades, the disease had largely been found in Central and West Africa, but it also began spreading in Europe and North America in 2022. WHO previously declared the spread of mpox a global health emergency in July 2022 and ended it in May 2023.
Mpox is characterized by two genetic clades, I and II. A clade is a broad grouping of viruses that has evolved over decades and is a genetic and clinically distinct group. Clade Ib is more transmissible and causes more severe disease.
WHO officials previously said the virus could be contained “quite straightforwardly, if we do the right things at the right time.” They are further calling for international cooperation in financing and organizing efforts to quell the outbreak.
The organization has approved the Emergency Use Listing for mpox vaccines and put together a regional response plan that needs $15 million, with $1.45 million already drawn from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in the African Region has unveiled groundbreaking new guidelines aimed at bolstering efforts to tackle the rising threat of sickle cell disease in the region.
These innovative technical documents are significant for their holistic approach, providing detailed strategies and practical insights to support countries in improving healthcare quality, enhancing treatment accessibility, and boosting overall health outcomes.
Despite substantial global advancements in sickle cell disease treatment, including newborn screening, hydroxyurea therapy, gene therapy, and improved management strategies, equitable access to these treatments remains a challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries across Africa.
Each year, an estimated 240,000 children are born with sickle cell disease in Africa, with up to 80% succumbing to severe infections or acute chest syndrome before reaching the age of five — the highest mortality rate for sickle cell disease-related childhood deaths globally.
“As we continue the fight against sickle cell disease, we are confident that this guidance for countries will serve as a valuable new addition to their toolkit, specifically because the guidance is tailored to the African reality, where a multi-faceted approach is key,” said Dr Benido Impouma, Director, Universal Health Coverage/Communicable&Noncommunicable Diseases Programme at WHO Africa.
Dr. Benido Impouma, Director of the Universal Health Coverage/Communicable & Noncommunicable Diseases Programme at WHO Africa, expressed confidence in the relevance of these guidelines tailored to the African context, stressing the necessity of a multifaceted approach in combating sickle cell disease.
The newly released WHO Africa guidelines — titled Guidance Framework for Sickle Cell Disease Management and Harmonized Guide for Sickle Cell Disease Management in Africa — provide strategic direction for policy formulation, comprehensive care planning, and advocacy initiatives.
Together, these documents constitute the WHO SICKLE Package of Interventions for Sickle Cell Disease Management, aimed at offering a comprehensive and integrated approach to managing the disease. The package seeks to ensure access to necessary interventions, promote education and advocacy, improve care quality, and empower patients and communities.
Developed with financial support from the Government of Monaco and other partners, the package integrates the latest research findings, best practices, and innovative approaches to sickle cell disease management, positioning them as essential resources for healthcare providers, policymakers, and advocates alike.
Since 2010, WHO Africa has been at the forefront of the battle against sickle cell disease, focusing on disease intervention scaling, enhancing access to innovative treatments, and improving healthcare infrastructure.
Despite these advancements, significant challenges persist, including limited healthcare infrastructure, low awareness, inadequate access to comprehensive care, limited newborn screening, insufficient research and development, and restricted access to advanced treatments.
Issued by APO Group on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa, these guidelines underscore WHO’s commitment to addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by sickle cell disease across the African Region.
Mothers have been urged to ensure regular weighing of their babies from birth until they reach five years old.
In a recent advisory notice shared on social media to mark this year’s African Vaccination and Child Health Promotion Week, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) advised parents to “remember to inquire about their child’s growth at every health facility visit.”
Additionally, the advisory notice stressed the importance of parents bringing their infants for immunization against childhood diseases within their first two years.
Africa Vaccination Week, held annually during the last week of April, aims to raise awareness and underscore the crucial role of vaccination in disease prevention across the African continent.
Usually organized in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa and other partners, the week features various activities including immunization campaigns, advocacy drives, and community engagement initiatives aimed at boosting vaccination coverage and vaccine accessibility.
Hamas is accused of using hospitals as cover, but they say it’s not true and that it’s just an excuse to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system. Israel and the UK call Hamas a terrorist group.
Out of the 36 hospitals in Palestinian territory, only 11 are still partly working after four months of fighting. Three hospitals are only working at a little bit.
At the same time, the Word Food Programme said it was stopping food deliveries to northern Gaza because there is a lot of confusion and violence since the civil order has broken down.
It said that because of the looting and the attack on a driver, things will get worse there and more people might die because they don’t have enough food.
The Israeli army started a big attack in Gaza after Hamas soldiers killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 253 people as hostages.
The health ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, says that 29,195 people have died in the area, including at least 103 in the last day.
The WHO moved 23 very sick patients, including two kids, from the Nasser Medical Complex. They also gave medicine and food to the hospital.
“Some of the patients moved during the missions had paralysis, and two of them had tracheostomy. Others had external fixators for serious bone injuries. ” Two paralyzed patients needed someone to help them breathe during the whole trip because there were no portable ventilators available.
WHO workers said the area around the hospital was very bad. Many buildings were burnt and destroyed, there was lots of debris, and the roads were gone.
It said that if the hospital can’t continue to help the 130 sick and injured patients, as well as at least 15 doctors and nurses inside, more people will die.
The WHO said its staff were not allowed to go to the hospital to check on patients and had heard that at least five patients in the intensive care unit had died.
They said that the destruction of Nasser hospital is a big problem for Gaza’s healthcare system.
The health ministry in Gaza said that Israeli forces had turned Nasser hospital into a place for soldiers, and the situation there is really bad, putting the lives of patients and staff in danger.
On Monday, the Israeli defense ministry department that manages policy for the Palestinian territories, Cogat, said that the Nasser hospital was still open and running even though Hamas members were pretending to be medical workers during the Israel Defense Forces’ operations.
“We helped send medical supplies to the hospital and worked with the UN to move the patients to safety,” they posted on X, which used to be called Twitter.
The UN sent a big truck with diesel fuel, water bottles, food, bread, a new generator, and medicine to help.
On Sunday, the Israeli military said they caught many terrorists and other suspects at the hospital. Some of them were involved in the 7 October attacks and had connections to the hostages. They also caught important members of Hamas.
They found lots of weapons, two vehicles, and boxes of medicine. The medicine was supposed to be given to Israeli hostages as part of a deal.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said that there is a problem at another big hospital in Khan Younis, called al-Amal. There are about 180 patients, doctors, and people who had to leave their homes and stay there, because two weeks ago Israeli soldiers went there.
“Al-Amal hospital is being attacked by Israeli forces. They have hit the third floor, and two rooms are on fire,” said a post on X. “Also, someone attacked the hospital’s water pipes. ”
As of Sunday, 23 hospitals in Gaza were not working at all. Twelve were only partly working and one was barely working.
The health agency stated that air strikes and a shortage of supplies have made the health system even more stretched.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says that Hamas often uses hospitals and medical centers for its terrorist activities.
The IDF told the BBC that they didn’t attack hospitals, but went into certain areas to stop Hamas from using their equipment and to catch the terrorists. They said they were very careful when doing this.
It said it will let in help for people in Gaza, like medicine.
Help groups, like the WHO, have been stopped from getting to places and not allowed to help.
Gaza’s hospitals are very full and don’t have enough supplies, say healthcare workers. There are reports that some hospitals in southern Gaza are very full and are taking care of more patients than they usually do.
Four hospitals have been built in Gaza with a total of 305 beds, as reported by the WHO.
Israeli forces attacked a hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday, causing it to stop working.
The IDF found weapons and medicines with the names and photos of hostages at the hospital. They also caught many terrorists hiding there. Hamas is putting many innocent people in danger by using hospitals for their own violent purposes. They are not using the hospitals to help people, but to hurt them.
Workers at the hospitals nearby are saying that the operation at Nasser has made their job more difficult.
“The situation was really bad before, so what do you think it’s like now with thousands more people who have been forced to leave their homes and are staying in the hallways and public areas. ”
He said the hospital didn’t have enough beds for the patients who needed treatment. So, the staff were putting sheets over metal frames and wood and putting many patients on the floor with nothing.
Other doctors in different parts of the Gaza Strip have also described similar situations. “We put people with heart problems on the floor and start to help them right away,” said Dr. Marwan al-Hams, the director of Rafah’s Martyr Mohammed Yusuf al-Najjar Hospital.
A group from Hamas chose the leaders of the hospitals in Gaza. Sometimes, these leaders were there before Hamas took over the area.
Medicine and things needed for treatment.
Doctors are having a hard time because they don’t have enough medical supplies to do their work. “We can’t find any oxygen,” someone told the media.
Dr al-Akkad said we don’t have enough medicine for anesthesia, supplies for the intensive care unit, antibiotics, and painkillers. “Many people were badly burned and we don’t have the right medicine to help with their pain. ”
A doctor said that surgeries were being done without pain medicine.
A group of doctors from the WHO met a little girl at a hospital. She had very bad burns on 75% of her body. The hospital didn’t have enough medicine to help her feel better.
“The catastrophe is when the patients have wounds that are decaying because they have been open for more than two or three weeks,” he said.
He said the doctors there had done surgeries using head torches because they didn’t have enough electricity.
Staff are away from their families.
The WHO says there are about 20,000 healthcare workers in Gaza, but most of them are not working because they are having a hard time supporting themselves and their families.
Dr al-Akkad said that the hospital has more staff and volunteers now because people who had to leave their homes came to help. But he said they didn’t have enough to handle all the patients and injuries they were getting.
After the bombings, he said badly hurt people come to the hospital and they look like the dish kofta made with ground meat.
“The hospital sees many people with different injuries like brain injuries, broken ribs, broken limbs, and sometimes even losing an eye. We see all kinds of injuries here. ”
He said that one patient might need five or more doctors who are experts in different areas to treat all of their injuries.
Some doctors are still working and can’t be with their families.
“Dr Salha in northern Gaza misses her family very much. They have been away for over three months and she wishes she could hug them. Her family is staying in the south to stay safe. ”
I am happy that I can help kids, women, and old people get medical care and stay healthy. I feel good about saving their lives.
We do not have space for patients who need long-term medical care.
Doctors told the BBC that people in Gaza with long-term illnesses suffered a lot.
“Really, we don’t have any beds for them, and we can’t keep in touch with them,” Dr. al-Akkad explained
“For anyone who used to have dialysis four times a week, now they only have it once a week. ” If this guy used to work 16 hours a week, now he will only work for one hour.
Some women are having their babies in tents without medical help because the hospitals that provide midwifery care are full.
“A person dies in one department, but a baby is born in the other. ” Babies are born and there is no milk for them. Dr Salha said that the hospital gives every child one box of milk.
People are going to hospitals because they have caught diseases in crowded and dirty places.
“Many people are sick and we can’t find a cure,” said Abu Khalil, who is 54 years old and living in Rafah, southern Gaza.
We have to leave early in the morning and wait in line, you might end up behind 100 people. “You come back with nothing. “
“The WHO team tried to go to the hospital yesterday and the day before, but they were not allowed inside to see the patients and their serious medical needs. They were only able to deliver fuel to the hospital compound with their partners. ”
“Approximately 200 people are still in the hospital. ” At least 20 people need to go to other hospitals right away to get medical help. Every patient has the right to be referred to another doctor.
The hospital in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, only has four medical staff left to take care of the patients.
The media could not go to the hospital and could not check the situation there by itself.
Someone who works at the hospital said that 11 patients died because the electricity and oxygen supply stopped. They also said that some doctors were taken by the police.
The report said that they brought diesel and oxygen to the site, and that they are using a temporary generator.
“We don’t give patients any medicine to stop them from feeling pain, so they have to yell for many hours. ”
There has been a lot of fighting around the Nasser site for several weeks. Israel keeps saying that Hamas is using hospitals and schools as places to plan and carry out their actions.
The Israeli army says it has killed around 20 Hamas soldiers and taken many weapons near the hospital.
The IDF said that in the last day, many terrorists were killed and a lot of weapons were taken.
At least 1,200 people died in attacks in Israel by Hamas-led gunmen on 7 October last year.
Israel started a war in the Gaza Strip as a reaction. More than 28,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and more than 68,000 injured since the war started, says the health ministry run by Hamas.
It said that in the last day, at least 127 Palestinians died and 205 were hurt.
Even though there is still fighting in Gaza, people are trying to make peace between Israel and Hamas in Cairo. But the mediators from Qatar said that the progress hasn’t been very good lately.
Sheik Mohammed said that things haven’t been going well lately, but we will stay positive and keep working hard.
Israeli leader Netanyahu said he sent people to talk after US President Biden asked, but they didn’t come back because Hamas’s requests were not realistic.
Hamas said that Israel is the reason why they haven’t been able to make a deal to stop fighting.
The group has set out some rules. They want the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, Israel’s forces to leave completely, and the war to stop after 135 days of fighting, divided into three parts.
Mr Netanyahu said that Israel is still sending troops into Gaza, even though other countries are telling them not to do it until they have a plan to get the Palestinian people out of the area. They are now moving towards Rafah in the south.
Around 15 million people are in Rafah, near the border with Egypt. They were told by Israeli forces to go there for safety while Hamas targets were being attacked in northern and central Gaza.
Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said again that he does not want Palestinians to be moved forcefully into Egypt’s Sinai desert.
During a phone call, the French President and another leader agreed that it is important to quickly stop the fighting.
Mr Sisi believes that the best solution is for Palestinians to have their own independent country.
On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu said his government all agreed to officially not support the idea of recognizing Palestine as a state on its own.
He said that any agreement must be made by Israelis and Palestinians talking to each other directly.
“Israel refuses to follow international demands for a final agreement with the Palestinians. ” “A deal can only be made if both sides talk to each other directly, without any conditions,” said a statement from the government.
Soldiers have moved further into the city where they think Hamas leaders are hiding with hostages.
People who live there said that big military vehicles closed the only road that goes out of the city towards the coast. This means they can’t escape to the south.
There was heavy fighting near the two big hospitals in the city.
Funerals were happening for some of the 24 Israeli soldiers who were killed on Monday. It was the deadliest day for the Israel Defense Forces since they started their ground offensive in Gaza 12 weeks ago.
In the last day, 195 Palestinians died in Gaza, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
The government says that over 25,400 people, mostly children and women, have died in the war between Hamas and Israel.
The attack happened when Hamas gunmen from Gaza crossed into southern Israel. Around 1,300 people were killed, mostly civilians, and about 250 others were taken hostage.
In a few days, they were said to have arrived in the middle of Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of people who had left northern areas were staying.
However, the soldiers have met strong opposition from Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade. It is one of the two most powerful groups in the group, which is labeled as a terrorist organization by Israel, the UK, and other countries.
The Israeli military has increased its efforts in recent days, using airstrikes and artillery to attack different parts of the city. Many people have been killed, and tanks have moved into the western and central areas of the city.
On Tuesday, the IDF said that its soldiers surrounded Khan Yunis and did a big operation in the area.
The soldiers fought in close combat, used air strikes, and worked together to defeat lots of terrorists.
The IDF told people in western Khan Younis to go to the al-Mawasi area by the sea to stay safe.
However, some people said that tanks were blocking the road, so they couldn’t go to Rafah where about a million people are staying for safety. Rafah is near the border with Egypt.
“I want to go to Rafah, but the tanks are close to the coast and shooting towards the west,” said Shaban, who has four kids and works as an electrical engineer, to Reuters news agency.
The World Health Organization is very worried about reports of hospitals being attacked in Khan Younis.
On Tuesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that a person who was not in the military was killed by an Israeli drone at the entrance of Al-Amal Hospital, which is managed by PRCS, and that other people were hurt when shells hit its nearby headquarters.
“The situation is still very risky. ” This morning, the Palestine Red Crescent’s headquarters on the fourth floor was bombed with artillery. “Israeli drones kept shooting at people at al-Amal Hospital,” said Nebal Farsakh, a spokeswoman from Ramallah, in an interview with the BBC.
“Many scared and worried people who have been forced to leave their homes are staying in our buildings. ”
The IDF did not comment right away, but they have said before that Hamas fighters hide among civilians and use medical buildings for their operations.
Ms Farsakh also mentioned that ambulances are having a hard time getting to injured people and taking them to hospitals. They are being instructed to take serious cases to Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.
She said that the Al-Amal and Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza are very crowded and have too many patients.
Dr Haytham Ahmad, who works in Nasser’s emergency department, told the BBC that they had to perform many amputations and some patients couldn’t get anesthesia because there wasn’t enough supplies.
“These injuries are very serious and have caused severe crushing. Only a little bit of skin and muscle are still attached. ” He said we are trying to use only a little anesthesia in this situation.
A spokesperson from the World Health Organization said that Nasser is surrounded and the 400 patients, medical staff, and displaced civilians there can’t leave.
Gaza’s health ministry said that Israeli forces shot at the top floors of the hospital’s surgery and emergency buildings.
A video made by a Palestinian journalist shows gunfire hitting the hospital’s western corner and another video shows smoke rising from an area to the south.
The IDF said they didn’t know about the event when asked by AFP news agency. Palestinian people were told to leave their homes by the Israeli military and were seen walking along the coastal road in western Khan Younis on 23 January 2024.
Later, the leader of the United Nations, António Guterres, said that the people in Gaza are suffering a really bad situation. He said that everyone there is experiencing a lot of destruction, and it’s happening very fast and at a level that hasn’t been seen before.
He asked again for a quick break in fighting to help people in need.
Qatar’s spokesperson for foreign affairs said they are talking seriously with both groups about a possible agreement. A Palestinian official told the BBC that a group from Hamas went to Cairo to talk about new ideas with Egypt’s intelligence minister.
Israel has not said no to the idea of a two-month break from fighting, which would include letting go of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. However, there are reports that have already been turned down by Hamas. They want a ceasefire that will last indefinitely.
Cameroon has started giving a regular vaccine for malaria to children. This is the first time this has been done in the world. It is expected to save many children’s lives in Africa.
A baby girl named Daniella got her first vaccine at a health center near Yaoundé on Monday. This is an important step to help keep her healthy.
Every year, 600,000 people in Africa die from malaria, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
At least 80% of the people who die are children under five years old.
Cameroon is giving the RTS,S vaccine for free to all babies up to six months old.
Patients need to take four doses in total.
According to US researchers, the jab works in at least 36% of cases and could save more than one in three lives.
The rollout is a relief and helps save lives, but it doesn’t work great, according to Willis Akhwale at End Malaria Council Kenya.
But doctors say it is an important tool to help fight malaria. Shalom Ndoula, a doctor from Cameroon, helped introduce this tool in his country.
“We can greatly reduce the number of malaria cases and deaths and speed up getting rid of the disease,” he said in an interview with the BBC.
It took 30 years for the British drug-maker GSK to research and develop the RTS,S vaccine.
The World Health Organization said the vaccine is good and they are happy that it is being used in Cameroon to fight against a disease spread by mosquitoes. They think this is a very important moment in the world’s fight against the disease.
It happens after test campaigns in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi were successful.
Twenty more countries plan to start the programme this year, according to the global vaccine alliance, Gavi. Some of the countries are Burkina Faso, Liberia, Niger, and Sierra Leone.
The WHO says that in Cameroon, there are about six million cases of malaria every year. About 4,000 people die from malaria in hospitals, and most of them are children under five years old.
Babies who are six months old and live in 42 areas with the highest rates of sickness and death will get four doses of medicine before they turn two years old.
In 2021, most of the malaria cases and deaths in the world happened in Africa.
A country in Africa has been declared free from malaria for the first time in 50 years.
Cape Verde got a special status from the World Health Organization (WHO) because it hasn’t had any local transmission of a disease for three years.
Experts say this is a big accomplishment.
Malaria kills a lot of people in Africa. In 2022, 580,000 people died from the disease in Africa, which is 95% of all the deaths around the world.
The sickness is because of a complicated germ that is passed on by mosquito bites.
Some places are using vaccines to prevent malaria, but the best way to stop the disease is to keep an eye on it and avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes.
Cape Verde, a tiny group of islands near West Africa, has worked for many years to improve its health care and make sure everyone can get diagnosed and treated for illnesses.
The surveillance officers have been finding and controlling cases of diseases early, and also getting rid of mosquitoes.
Cape Verde has a plan to control malaria. They provide free care and testing for people from other countries who come to visit or move there. They want to stop the spread of malaria from Africa to Cape Verde.
This success shows how many health professionals, collaborators, communities, and international partners worked hard and were dedicated to the cause. “Cape Verde’s Health Minister, Dr. Filomena Gonçalves, told the BBC that it shows what can be done when people work together to make public health better. ”
Dr Dorothy Achu Fosah, from the WHO Africa office, said her organization is happy with the results and with the fact that malaria has been eliminated from the country.
Health experts say that Cape Verde has done an impressive job in controlling and getting rid of a disease. Other small countries can learn from their success and see that their methods can be effective.
Malaria used to be on all of Cape Verde’s nine inhabited islands, but now it’s only on one island, Sáo Tiago. The last efforts to get rid of it are focused there.
DrAchu from the WHO said that the country being made up of many islands is also a big reason for its success.
It’s easier to track the spread of the disease on an island compared to a big piece of land.
In Nigeria, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, many people move between countries, which makes it hard for one country to get rid of the disease by itself.
DrTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, said that Cape Verde’s success in fighting malaria gives us hope that we can use tools, including vaccines, to dream of a world without malaria.
Mauritius, an island nation in Africa, was the last country in sub-Saharan Africa to be declared free from malaria in 1973. Algeria, in the northern part of Africa, got this title in 2019.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema wants people to move from cities to small towns because about 300 people have died from a cholera outbreak.
He said that in some crowded cities with dirty conditions, cholera could easily spread.
MrHichilema said that to reduce traffic in big cities, people should move to the countryside where there is plenty of room and very good cleanliness.
Over 7,500 people have gotten sick from cholera since last October all over the country.
The health ministry said that in the past day, there were over 500 new cases of the sickness and 17 people died.
Schools will open later than planned to help keep everyone safe.
The sickness has spread to eight out of the ten areas in Zambia.
The World Health Organization (WHO) will send one million doses of cholera vaccine soon to try to control the outbreak.
On Wednesday, Mr Hichilema went to the Heroes Stadium Cholera Treatment Center in the city of Lusaka. There are over 1,000 sick people there.
He said the government would take difficult measures to get rid of the disease that spreads through water.
He seemed to be blaming Zambians who moved to towns without a clear goal for causing badly planned neighborhoods to spring up.
The president said that some young people were not doing anything in towns and should move to rural areas to work on farms instead.
“There is a lot of land in the villages and clean water. ” “We can make good houses in the villages that are clean,” Mr Hichilema said.
The government plans to improve the old slums and stop new ones from forming in towns.
Mozambique and Zimbabwe are watching the borders more carefully to stop the spread of the virus between their countries.
For many months, Zimbabwe has been trying to stop cholera from spreading because there is not enough clean water in the country.
The sickness caused by bacteria can spread from dirty water or food, and makes people very thirsty from throwing up and having diarrhea. It can cause death in just a few hours if not treated.
BBC Arabic talked to people in Gaza who have long-term medical problems.
Many people in Gaza have health problems that last a long time, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) had to stop delivering more medical supplies to the area because they did not receive guarantees for their safety.
Khalil has asthma and her condition got worse because she had to leave her home and there were not enough medicines for her.
“I can’t do my breathing exercises because I need electricity, but there’s no power. ”
Khalil says she cannot get her medicine and if the bombing doesn’t kill patients, they will die because there is not enough medication.
Om Ali has high blood pressure and diabetes. She says it’s been a long time since she got what she wants.
She said that ever since the moving. I can’t find my medicine and I can’t get out of bed because I’m very sick.
Dr Ahmed Hesham Sakr works at a pharmacy in Rafah. He says there aren’t enough medical supplies because of the closed borders and ongoing war.
He wants the WHO to let the sickest people in Gaza go to get the medical help they need.
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Palestinians in Gaza should not be forced to leave and should be able to go back home when it is safe.
Mr Blinken criticized Israeli ministers who said Palestinians should move to another place.
The US government person visited Qatar during his recent trip to the Middle East.
He made these comments after hearing that as many as 70 people died at Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Video from Jabalia showed dead bodies on the ground of a collapsed building, most of them were women and children.
A person from the Israel Defense Forces told the BBC that they attacked a military target and didn’t know how many people were hurt.
They said the army is working to stop Hamas’ violent attacks. The army is also trying to reduce harm to civilians and follow the law.
More than 60 people from Palestine were said to have also died in the last 24 hours in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Jabalia camp has been hit many times since Israel started fighting against Hamas after Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October.
Around 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and about 240 others were taken hostage during the Hamas attacks.
More than 22,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza, as reported by the health ministry run by Hamas. At least 113 people have died in the past 24 hours from the Israeli bombing.
“Palestinian people should be able to go back to their homes when it’s safe,” Mr. Blinken said on Sunday. “They can’t, they shouldn’t be forced to leave Gaza. ”
Israel’s conservative Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wants Palestinians to leave Gaza so that Israelis can move in and improve the area. He believes Israelis can make the desert fertile.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician, recently suggested that people from Gaza should move to another place as a way to solve the crisis there.
The Israeli government says that people from Gaza will be able to go back to their homes, but they haven’t said how or when it will happen.
Meanwhile, things in Gaza keep getting worse. Health experts are saying that hospitals are no longer safe.
Three global medical organizations said they are leaving the Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza because Israel has told them to evacuate.
A person from the United Nations who helps with emergencies said they are very worried about this situation.
Gemma Connell said the hospital was very crowded and overwhelmed, and now it doesn’t have the help it needs to deal with more and more sick people.
The boss of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the hospital had to make more than 600 patients and health workers leave.
“Mr Tedros said on X, which used to be called Twitter, that we don’t know where they are right now. ”
Mr Blinken went to the Middle East because things are getting more tense there. People are worried that the fighting in Gaza could get even worse and affect other areas nearby.
Saleh al-Arouri, who was a leader of the group Hamas, was killed in an attack in southern Beirut. Two other leaders and four other members of Hamas were also killed. It is believed that Israel may be responsible for the attack.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of a powerful group in Lebanon called Hezbollah, said that the killing of Arouri was a severe attack by Israel and that they will not get away with it.
Hezbollah shot rockets into Israel on Saturday because they were upset about Arouri being killed.
“This is a very tense time in the area. ” This is a problem that could get worse and cause more uncertainty and suffering, said Mr.
Qatar’s PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said that the killing of Arouri had made the situation more difficult.
Mr Blinken also said that it was very sad that journalist Hamza al-Dahdouh, the oldest son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, was killed in a Israeli attack in southern Gaza.
He said that too many innocent Palestinian people have died in the war.
Mr Blinken went to Qatar after visiting Jordan, Turkey, and Greece. He went to Abu Dhabi on Sunday, and on Monday he is going to travel to Saudi Arabia.
A mother hears her baby crying for food, so she grabs an empty pot nearby.
“Everything is going to be okay,” she said softly, pretending to mix a meal to help her child feel better. The food will be ready in a little while.
Living in the war-torn Gaza, the woman knows that there is no food for her hungry baby, and she doesn’t know when there will be any.
Many Palestinians are scared they will starve because they are constantly being attacked. The World Health Organization (WHO) says 93% of people are dealing with serious hunger and not enough food, leading to high levels of malnutrition.
There isn’t enough food and water, and shelters are almost full. Without fuel, there is no electricity.
“There’s a big fight happening, everyone knows that. ” “But there is a big problem with hunger that the world hasn’t noticed,” said charity worker Yusuf Kalam in an interview with Metro. couk
Yusuf, who works as a manager at Muslim Aid, says: “People in Gaza are unsure if they should wait for help or leave and risk their safety. ”
“Many people are gathering on the roads, in churches, and in schools because there is not enough shelter available. ”
“Many people in Gaza feel like they are not getting enough help and that the world has left them behind. ” But actually, help is available, it’s just not reaching the people who need it.
The Rafah border is not a big business area, it’s a place for people to walk across. The roads and buildings there are not ready for the many trucks and help for people in Gaza that are trying to arrive.
Since fighters from Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, Gaza has been completely surrounded, and there is not enough water and electricity.
In other places, there were videos of food being set on fire, said to be done by Israeli soldiers.
Human Rights Watch found out that people in Gaza are being starved on purpose as a way of fighting.
Yusuf said that kids are going to bed without enough food to eat. Someone told me about a mother who had an empty pot. She kept stirring it until her hungry baby fell asleep.
There are other stories I’ve heard that are too scary to tell. Some individuals felt really upset after seeing something at the Rafah crossing. They are not sure if they should wait for help or take a dangerous journey to a border with their families.
I met a woman whose daughter is still in Gaza. The mother had to leave because she had a different passport, but her daughter did not have to leave. She can’t reach her because there are problems with the connection, and it’s making everyone unsure of what to do.
500 people are staying in a school that was only built for 100. Illnesses are spreading. When people don’t have enough food, their bodies become less able to fight off sickness.
MP said that the family stuck in a church in Gaza only have one can of corn left.
I heard that some people are pooping in the street because they have nowhere else to go. People are gathering on the streets.
Yusuf, who is 33 years old, had trouble sleeping when he came back to London after working for a few days at the border. His little girl woke up at night and he hugged her tightly in the dark.
“I suddenly remembered detailed pictures of the events in Gaza,” he remembers. I was trying to calm my crying daughter and put her to sleep in a quiet room, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the loud noises and scary things that parents in Gaza have to deal with every day. I feel really messed up and scared.
“I have never seen anything like the situation in Gaza in the ten years I have been working in the humanitarian sector. ” Please simplify the following text. “Rewrite this text in simple words:’”
Yusuf has to stop thinking about his feelings and respond to disasters at work.
This year, he went to Gaziantep after big earthquakes happened in southern Turkey and northern Syria. There, he said the scene looked like the end of the world. However, he said that in Gaza, things felt different. The disaster happened because of people, not nature.
“In Turkey, people didn’t feel as hopeless or abandoned,” he says. “What I’m seeing now is the very worst of people. ” I have never seen something so sad and hopeless. The fighting is getting worse and there are still so many people dying, it’s really shocking.
These are actual people who are in danger. They breathe the same air as us and their bodies are made of the same things.
Yusuf and his coworkers at Muslim Aid got help from people who gave donations. They used the donations to get food, water, and ambulances and bring them to Gaza.
British aid workers put life-saving medicine and equipment and room for a stretcher in vans. Each one had a clear sign that said ‘ambulance’ so they wouldn’t get involved in any fighting.
During his time in Egypt, Yusuf heard about people suffering, but he also heard about people being kind to each other. He heard about doctors using phone flashlights for surgeries, aid workers working non-stop, and donors giving all they could to help end suffering.
Muslim Aid got £20,000 from a man in the UK who donated all his money to help them.
“In the dark, when it feels like there’s no hope, Yusuf says you can see a ray of light. ”
‘That light is us – as people – helping each other. It’s easy to feel discouraged by what’s happening or the politics, but if you pay attention to the good news, you can feel hopeful.
NGO people meet in Westminster to ask for a ceasefire right away.
Humanitarian breaks have helped aid to reach Gaza, but there is still fighting since a weeklong stop in fighting ended on December 1, 2023.
Muslim Aid, Oxfam, and Amnesty International are asking for fighting to stop so that people can stop suffering. Aid workers want to find new ways to quickly feed the hungry people in Gaza.
The entire city has been ruined. Soon, people will ask what will happen next in Gaza. Yusuf is asking how we can help these people find new homes and rebuild their lives. He wants to know what that process will be like and when it will happen.
Right now, the most important thing is to make sure that people stay alive until we figure out the answers to those questions. We’ve seen 20,000 people die.
Fourteen people in Thailand died when a two-level bus went off the road and hit a tree.
Pictures on the internet show the bus tilted over and its front broken in half, with some parts of the tree stuck in it.
Thirty-two people got hurt in a crash in Prachuap Khiri Khan, a province by the ocean in the south of the country.
Thailand has a lot of car crashes, which cause thousands of deaths each year.
Some people think that this is because the roads in the country are not very safe.
In 2022, 15,000 people died in car accidents in Thailand, according to the Road Accidents Data Centre. In the UK, where there are slightly fewer people, the number is 1,700.
In 2021, almost one out of every three deaths in the country was because of traffic accidents, according to the World Health Organization.
The reason for the crash on Monday night is not known for sure, but the police think the driver might not have gotten enough sleep. AFP told
He was really hurt but he lived. Officials are also testing how much alcohol is in his blood, the news agency reported.
The police are still checking to make sure they know who died in the crash.
Prachuap Khiri Khan is a favorite spot for tourists because of its nice beaches, caves, and walking paths.
Rescuers worked for a long time to help the dead and injured people out of the bus, according to the Sawang Prachuap Dhammasathan Foundation.
Photos on the foundation’s Facebook page showed a lot of people trying to remove the tree that was on top of the bus. Someone broke the car windows with a hammer.
In the past three years, fewer people have died in road accidents. However, Thailand is still one of the top 10 worst countries for road safety.
However, very few people are asking for safety improvements, and the problem hardly ever comes up during elections.
Many people think this is because most of the people who die – more than 70% – are riding motorbikes, and they are usually some of the poorest people in society. Also, most accidents happen on country roads.
Wearing helmets is often not enforced in Thailand, but it is enforced in Vietnam and Indonesia. Alcohol often causes accidents.
The government in Thailand tends to be influenced by the campaigns supported by rich city residents.
The roads in Thailand are in good condition for driving fast, but they are often not well-lit or marked, which can make accidents more likely.
Sometimes, people who speed don’t get punished. The fines are not very high and are sometimes not even paid.
It doesn’t happen very often that Thai drivers lose their driving privileges.
Cameroon’s Health Minister, Dr. Manaouda Malachie, wants people to believe in the government’s health plan, even though some people are unsure about the new malaria vaccines that came to the country nine days ago.
On Wednesday, he talked about the RTS,S vaccine and how it helps fight malaria. He said the testing in Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi was good.
“Because the vaccine worked well in the tests, it will be introduced for use. ” We can help all kids and save 2,000 lives each year by making sure all children receive these services throughout their childhood.
Cameroon was the first African country to get the RTS,S vaccines after the pilot phase ended.
However, in a country where many people are unsure about vaccines, the government has not been able to convince a lot of Cameroonians to accept the arrival of over 330,000 vaccine doses.
“We lived in a warm place, so we’re used to getting malaria. ” “I don’t understand why they have to give the vaccines to kids,” a person in the area told the media.
She said, “I won’t give my kids vaccines. I won’t let them get vaccinated at school either. ”
Every year, 6 million people in Cameroon get malaria and 4,000 of them die in hospitals, according to the WHO. Most of the people who are impacted are kids younger than five years old.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked China for more information about “a cluster of undiagnosed pneumonia” spreading among children in northern China.
According to non-state media, children’s hospitals in some areas of the country are full of sick children.
Chinese authorities have linked the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions to an increase in flu-like illnesses this winter.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged Chinese citizens to take measures to reduce the spread of the virus.
The UN health agency said in a statement it wanted more information about media reports and the global outbreak surveillance system ProMed about “a cluster of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China“.
Following the World Health Organization (WHO) announcement, state-run Xinhua News Agency published an article on Thursday quoting a National Health Commission official as saying the country is focusing on diagnosing and treating children with respiratory illnesses.
China and the rise in infections may worry people as they bring back memories of the coronavirus pandemic, but it is good practice for the WHO to ask for clarification. But it’s impossible to know why the rise in infections is happening until Beijing responds.
The WHO added that since October, northern China has reported “an increase in flu-like illnesses” compared to the past three years.
Last week, China’s National Health Commission said there had been an increase in several respiratory diseases, including influenza, Covid, mycoplasma pneumoniae (a common bacterial infection affecting young children) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Officials explained that this turnout was due to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Other countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, have seen similar increases in flu-like illnesses after pandemic restrictions were lifted.
Professor François said: “There is a high possibility that respiratory infections will become widespread in children in China.
This is because the circulation of respiratory infections dropped sharply for the first time after the long period of isolation, and the immunity against endemic insects was reduced.
He graduated from the Institute of Genetics, University College London.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was unclear whether the reported pneumonia outbreak was linked to the overall increase in respiratory infections reported by Beijing and formally requested further information.
He urged Chinese citizens to take basic precautions, including getting vaccinated, wearing masks and washing hands.
As we’ve been saying, the fighting will stop tomorrow morning at 10:00 local time.
In the past few hours, we’ve received more responses from diplomats about the deal. Here are some important people’s opinions.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, says he is happy about the truce, but thinks it won’t stop people from suffering. He wants the effort to free the rest of the hostages to keep going and for fighting to stop in Gaza.
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres thinks it’s a good start, but there’s still a lot more work to do.
The Turkish government hopes the agreement will help stop the war and start a process for a fair and lasting peace with two separate states.
In another place, King Abdullah of Jordan is going to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi to discuss how to stop the fighting between Israel and the Palestinians, according to a statement from the palace.
Israeli soldiers entered the hospital where 33 premature babies were being taken care of.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva that two babies died before they were moved to safety on Sunday.
He says it was because they didn’t have enough care.
The WHO said that the babies were all very sick and still need medical care.
31 people were moved from Al-Shifa hospital, and 28 of them were then brought to Egypt. Unicef said that 20 of these children were alone and had no one to take care of them.
James Elder, a person speaking for the group, said that many parents couldn’t go to Egypt with their kids, and some kids didn’t have any parents.
The boss of the agency said yesterday that they might have to stop doing everything because they don’t have enough fuel.
Israel said yes to America’s request to let fuel into the trapped Palestinian area.
The fuel will help the UN provide water and clean toilets, said an official from Israel.
The big trucks will go through the Rafah crossing to give supplies to the people in the southern part of Gaza. The UN will make sure that the supplies don’t end up with Hamas.
Israel’s Kan news agency said that they will be delivering about 60,000 litres of fuel every day.
UNRWA said it needs more than three times this amount. In its newest report, the agency said it needs “160,000 liters of fuel every day for basic humanitarian operations“.
The Israeli official said the fuel was meant to help with water, sewage, and cleaning systems to stop the spread of diseases in the area.
Global groups are very worried about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said they are concerned about how diseases are spreading in Gaza. There is not enough fuel and the Israeli attacks have made it hard for people to get healthcare and keep things clean.
Earlier today, Richard Peeperkorn, a person from the World Health Organization in the Palestinian Territories, said that there are more than 70,000 cases of serious breathing problems and over 44,000 cases of diarrhea. These numbers are much higher than expected.
Gaza needs fuel to run the water plant, provide electricity to homes and hospitals, and for transportation and communication.
It is also very important to get help to the people living in the area. According to information from the Egyptian Red Crescent and UNRWA, no trucks with aid have been able to enter the Gaza Strip for the last three days because there is not enough fuel.
Israel stopped fuel from going into Gaza because they are worried that Hamas might take it and use it for fighting.
Before the recent war, Israel provided most of the electricity for Gaza, and the rest was made by their only power plant, which is now not working.
Israel started fighting back after Hamas attacked on October 7th, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 230 people hostage. Hamas is considered a terrorist group by many countries including the UK and US.
At least 12,000 people have been killed in the area since Israel started its counterattacks, according to the health ministry in the Palestinian region run by Hamas.
The leader of the World Health Organization is happy about the decision to send severely injured individuals from Gaza to Egypt.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on social media that he has been working with Egypt’s Health Ministry to plan and provide assistance for medical evacuations, and this support will continue.
He says: “We need to quickly increase the amount of medical help that is allowed to go into Gaza. ” We need to keep hospitals safe from being attacked and used for military purposes.
The gate between Gaza and Egypt is now open for the first time in over three weeks since Israel’s blockade began. So far, at least 20 people from Palestine who are sick and need medical help, and 110 people who have citizenship in two different countries, have left the area called Gaza.
About 88 injured Palestinians and approximately 500 foreigners will be allowed to leave in the initial stage.
In Gaza, the phone and internet services are completely turned off, according to the provider Paltel.
Israel says that 11 soldiers died on Tuesday during fighting in Gaza. This brings the total number of Israeli military deaths since October 7th to 326.
Israel has been attacking Gaza since the 7 October when Hamas carried out attacks, resulting in the deaths of 1,400 people. Additionally, 239 people were taken as hostages.
The health ministry in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, has announced that over 8,700 individuals have died as a result of Israel’s bombing in retaliation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the use of a cost-effective malaria vaccine that can be manufactured on a large scale.
This vaccine, created by the University of Oxford, marks the second successful malaria vaccine development.
Malaria primarily affects infants and young children, posing a significant global health challenge. Agreements are already in place to produce over 100 million doses of the vaccine annually.
Developing effective malaria vaccines has been a century-long scientific endeavor. Malaria is caused by a complex parasite transmitted through mosquito bites, making it more intricate than viruses.
The parasite constantly changes its shape within the human body, evading the immune system.
This complexity has hindered both natural immunity development through malaria exposure and vaccine development efforts.
Notably, it has been nearly two years since the World Health Organization endorsed the first malaria vaccine, known as RTS,S and developed by GSK.
Health leaders and donors at the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa have called for swift measures to increase access to vital services for timely detection, care, and prevention of cervical cancer.
The African region hosts 19 of the 20 countries globally with a high burden of cervical cancer.
To achieve the WHO’s global targets of eliminating cervical cancer as a public health issue by 2023, countries must vaccinate 90% of women and girls with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, achieve 70% cancer screening, and ensure 90% of women and girls with cancer receive treatment.
Currently, only 31% of girls aged 15 or younger in the African region received the first dose of the HPV vaccine in 2022, with 26 countries introducing the vaccine. Sixteen countries have introduced HPV-based screening at the sub-national level.
To meet the 2030 global targets, vaccination coverage should reach 90% of women and girls in 20 countries by 2024. Additionally, at least 10 countries should achieve a 25% national screening rate for women aged 30–49, along with a 25% treatment rate in these countries.
“The health and well-being of women is the health and well-being of our nations. Women are healthy when they feel valued, acknowledged, appreciated and empowered. In turn healthy women contribute to healthy families, communities and societies. It is for that reason that as African First Ladies we are committed to ensure cervical cancer elimination is achieved within one generation,” H.E. Mrs Neo Jane Masisi, First Lady of Botswana.
The low prioritization of cervical cancer control programs by governments, insufficient financial and human resources allocation, limited healthcare worker capacity, low disease awareness, and high supply and vaccine costs hinder effective control efforts.
Despite challenges, progress has been made, with nearly 40% of countries offering the first HPV vaccine dose to girls achieving 70% coverage.
“Cancer illness is painfully devastating and affects families profoundly. But through early detection, care and prevention with vaccines, women and girls in our region can be protected from cervical cancer,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Scaling up the efforts for better access to cancer control services is a top priority for WHO in its support to national health priorities to defeat diseases and improve the health and well-being of the region’s population.”
Efforts are underway to address disparities in access to services among vulnerable populations, ensure affordable vaccines, and expand cancer control services through collaboration with communities, youth organizations, NGOs, and the private sector.
Cervical cancer, primarily caused by HPV, ranks as the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide, resulting in over 300,000 annual deaths.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation expressed commitment to supporting the WHO African Region in establishing robust HPV vaccination programs and ensuring that these life-saving tools reach those who need them most, particularly in lower-income countries disproportionately affected by cervical cancer.
The Head of the Nutrition Unit at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ms. Dorcas Asante, has emphasized the importance of promoting exclusive breastfeeding among lactating mothers for the optimal well-being of both babies and mothers.
In an interview with the media, she highlighted the recommendations of health experts, which stress that breastfeeding should commence within the first 30 minutes of a baby’s life and continue according to the baby’s needs.
She referenced the World Health Organization (WHO), which advises exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, followed by the continuation of breastfeeding alongside suitable complementary foods for up to two years or longer.
Enumerating the advantages of breastfeeding for infants, Ms. Asante pointed out that breast milk offers ideal nutrition containing all necessary nutrients in the appropriate proportions for a baby’s first six months of life.
Breast milk is rich in antibodies that help combat infections, is easily digestible to prevent issues like constipation and diarrhea, and contributes to cognitive development while decreasing the risk of conditions like type two diabetes and obesity in adulthood. The practice also reduces the likelihood of sudden infant death syndrome, as well as ear and respiratory tract infections.
For mothers, Ms. Asante highlighted various benefits, including a decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, type two diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure.
Breastfeeding naturally suppresses ovulation and menstruation, acts as a form of contraception, expends additional calories, and assists the body in returning to its pre-pregnancy state more quickly.
It even aids in reducing the risk of postpartum depression and supports uterine contraction due to increased oxytocin secretion.
In terms of family benefits, breastfeeding reduces financial strain, as it is more cost-effective than using breast milk substitutes.
Healthier breastfed babies result in fewer medical expenses and fewer lost workdays for parents caring for a sick child.
Importantly, breastfeeding contributes to environmental preservation by eliminating the need for formula and associated waste production.
“Breastfed babies are healthier, and there is a decrease in expenses for medical treatment and lost workdays caring for a sick child,” she said.
Ms. Asante emphasized that breastfeeding contributes to a decline in childhood illnesses, ultimately leading to lower national healthcare expenses, improved child survival rates, and diminished morbidity and mortality.
The country is grappling with a growing burden of hepatitis infections and fatalities, exacerbated by low rates of diagnosis, treatment, and awareness.
According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS), due to hesitancy in testing, only a mere 10 percent of individuals with chronic Hepatitis B (HBV) have been diagnosed, and of those diagnosed, only 22 percent have received treatment.
For Hepatitis C, the situation is slightly better, with 21 percent of those with the infection diagnosed, and 62 percent of them receiving treatment for a potential cure.
In an effort to combat this worrisome trend, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, launched this year’s World Hepatitis Day Commemoration in Accra, urging everyone to get tested.
The goal is to diagnose 90 percent of Hepatitis B and C cases and ensure at least 80 percent of them receive treatment, thereby curbing the increasing burden of the disease.
Dr. Kuma-Aboagye emphasized that some forms of hepatitis are curable, while others can be effectively managed to enable infected individuals to lead normal lives. Early detection and treatment can make a significant difference in the outcomes.
The World Hepatitis Day, instituted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and observed on July 28 each year, aims to raise awareness, reduce prevalence, and improve access to testing and treatment.
The theme for this year’s commemoration is “One life, one liver,” urging people to protect their livers through healthy lifestyles.
The activities leading up to the day include free screening across the country and public sensitization forums nationwide. Dr. Baruch Blumberg’s birthday, who discovered the Hepatitis B virus in 1967 and developed the first hepatitis B vaccine two years later, is chosen as the date for WHD.
To address the growing hepatitis prevalence, the GHS is collaborating with the Ministry of Health and the Global Fund to implement a triple elimination strategy targeting Hepatitis B, HIV, and Syphilis.
Efforts are being made to expand antenatal services to include HBV testing for pregnant women and provide necessary treatment.
The government is also striving to benefit from reduced prices of medications for the treatment of Hepatitis B and C on the global market.
Moreover, steps are being taken to increase access to testing and treatment, including ensuring all pregnant women with chronic HBV have access to treatment and providing Hepatitis B birth vaccines to infants within 24 hours of birth.
Viral hepatitis refers to liver inflammation caused by hepatotropic viruses, which are found in blood and certain bodily fluids. The five identified hepatitis viruses are Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E.
As the country endeavors to combat this public health issue, efforts are being made to raise awareness, promote testing and treatment, and implement various interventions to reduce the impact of hepatitis infections on the population.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning about a worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan, where more than two-thirds of the country’s hospitals are no longer operational.
Health care facilities and staff are facing increasing reports of attacks.
For the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled the violence and crossed borders, life remains precarious.
The WHO reveals that disease outbreaks, such as malaria, measles, and dengue, which were previously well-controlled before the current conflict, are on the rise due to disruptions in basic public health services.
The organization also reports a growing number of incidents of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls.
Although several attempts at peace talks have been made, none have resulted in a lasting ceasefire.
The WHO is calling on all warring parties to prioritize the protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and health facilities. The situation requires urgent attention to prevent further deterioration of health and well-being in the country.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has announced that the 7th National COVID-19 Vaccination Days (NaCVAD-7) will take place from tomorrow, Wednesday, July 19 to Sunday, July 23, with the goal of immunizing a million individuals.
According to the Service, 10 million people out of the country’s more than 30 million inhabitants have fully got the immunizations, with the remainder yet to be vaccinated or undergo complete vaccination.
Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, stated at a news conference to kick off the statewide exercise that the virus exists despite rumors to the contrary.
“As you may recall on the 5th May 2023 the WHO Director-General through the advice of the international health regulatory emergency committee determined that COVID-19 was now an established and ongoing health issue and which will no longer constitute a public health emergency of international concern. He did not say that COVID-19 is no more,” he said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) country representative, Dr. Argata Guracha Guyo, pledged to assist Ghana in achieving herd immunity against COVID-19.
A recent study conducted by Swedish researchers has revealed a link between high salt consumption and an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The study suggests that salt may cause significant damage to the body, even before the onset of high blood pressure.
Published in the European Heart Journal Open, the study found that individuals with high salt intake have a higher likelihood of developing calcifications in the heart and neck arteries.
Calcification occurs when calcium accumulates in body tissues, blood vessels, or organs, resulting in hardening and disruption of the body’s natural processes, as explained by Healthline, an online medical portal.
The World Health Organization has also emphasized the significance of dietary salt (sodium chloride) intake, stating that it plays a crucial role in determining blood pressure levels, hypertension, and overall cardiovascular risk.
The global health organisation recommended the intake of less than five grams (approximately 2g sodium) per person per day.
To ascertain how much damage a high intake of salt can cause in the body, the researchers from Sweden included 10,778 adults ages 50 to 64 and measured the amount of salt found in their urine to estimate their salt consumption.
The team then captured images of arteries in the heart to check for calcium and blockages or stenosis, and ultrasound to detect blockages in the carotid arteries in the neck.
They found that the more salt people consumed, the higher their risk of calcifications in the heart and neck arteries.
The researchers found that too much salt in the diet is a risk factor for clogged arteries in the neck and heart, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes even if the person does not have high blood pressure.
These findings were seen even after the researchers excluded people with high blood pressure.
The lead study author, Jonas Wuopio, said the findings raise the possibility that salt could cause damage even before someone develops high blood pressure.
“Salt is bad for heart health because of its link to high blood pressure, also known as hypertension but the role salt plays in the development of plaque in the arteries has not been examined.
“Ours is the first study to examine the association between a high salt intake and hardening of the arteries in both the head and neck. The association was linear, meaning that each rise in salt intake was linked with more atherosclerosis.
“This means that it’s not just patients with high blood pressure or heart disease who need to watch their salt intake.
“It can be hard to estimate how much salt we eat, so I advise patients to limit the use of table salt, or to replace salt with a salt substitute.”
Reacting to the study, a dietician at Ogun State General Hospital, Dr. Adeola Adeleye said the findings have confirmed how dangerous high salt intake can affect the body.
He said, “When people consume large amounts of salt over an extended period of time, significant negative effects happen. Because the kidneys are less able to eliminate water as a result of the blood’s increased sodium content, the body’s blood vessels are under more strain as a result of the increased blood volume.
“Strokes and congestive heart failure can eventually result from high blood pressure. Kidney disease can result from the kidneys’ chronic overwork to remove excess salt.
“Long-term excessive salt consumption can also cause fluid to accumulate in the body’s tissues and cavities. Furthermore, eating a lot of sodium can make the body excrete calcium in little amounts, which might eventually induce osteoporosis.
“Knowing which foods are high in sodium is the first step in maintaining a healthy amount of salt consumption. This enables you to decide how much and how frequently you should eat meals high in salt.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners have announced plans to distribute approximately 18 million doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine to 12 African nations by 2025.
These countries include Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya, where the Mosquirix vaccine has already been utilized in pilot programs. Due to limited supply and overwhelming demand, priority will be given to countries with the most urgent need, as well as those where the vaccine can have the maximum impact.
Regrettably, Mozambique and Sudan have been excluded from this distribution due to their high rates of vaccine drop-outs. The WHO has made this decision to ensure that the vaccine reaches the intended recipients effectively.
The vaccine, developed by the British pharmaceutical company GSK, has the potential to save one life for every 200 children vaccinated, according to the WHO. Malaria remains a significant threat in Africa, claiming the lives of approximately half a million children under the age of five each year.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on countries to implement necessary reforms to prepare for the next pandemic at the United Nations Annual General Assembly in Geneva.
The disease has killed about 7 million people worldwide and is still killing people every day due to low vaccination rates.
He insisted Covid is still a threat, but not the only one the world may have to confront.
Despite the darkest days of the pandemic considered over, Dr Ghebreyesus said the next one was bound to ‘come knocking’.
After ending the global emergency status for Covid, he stressed: ‘We cannot kick this can down the road.
‘If we do not make the changes that must be made, then who will? And if we do not make them now, then when?
‘When the next pandemic comes knocking – and it will – we must be ready to answer decisively, collectively and equitably.’
The 10-day annual World Health Assembly, which coincides with the WHO’s 75th anniversary, is set to address global health challenges including future pandemics, eradicating polio and steps to ease Ukraine’s health emergency triggered by the war.
The WHO’s 194 member states are now drafting a pandemic treaty which is up for adoption at next year’s assembly.
‘A commitment from this generation (to a pandemic accord) is important, because it is this generation that experienced how awful a small virus could be,’ added Ghebreyesus.
At the same meeting, countries approved a $6.83 billion budget for 2024-25 – a decision that tested national commitments to fixing its funding model which was seen as too small and overly reliant on donors.
The budget includes a 20% increase in member states’ mandatory fees.
After Sudanese rebels took control of the National Public Health Laboratory in the nation’s capital Khartoum, the World Health Organization issued a “huge biological risk” warning on Tuesday. This came as foreign countries rushed to launch quick evacuation operations from the country and violence shattered a tenuous ceasefire mediated by the US.
In Khartoum on Tuesday, half a day after the announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire raised hopes of opening up escape routes for desperate civilians to evacuate, CNN correspondents heard gunfire and the thunder of fighter jets. Eyewitnesses informed CNN that fierce fighting broke out between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group opposing the army for control of the nation. The fighting took place in the northern region of Khartoum state.
The two warring sides accused each other of violating the agreement.
The number of people killed in Sudan since violence broke out eleven days ago has reached at least 459 deaths, the World Health Organization also said on Tuesday, with at least 4,072 people injured.
A high-ranking medical source told CNN that the lab, which contains samples of diseases and other biological material, had been taken over by RSF forces. The WHO did not appoint blame for the lab seizure but said medical technicians no longer had access to the facility.
Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO representative in Sudan, described the development as “extremely dangerous because we have polio isolates in the lab, we have measles isolates in the lab, we have cholera isolates in the lab.”
“There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab in Khartoum by one of the fighting parties,” he added.
The WHO said in a statement to CNN that “trained laboratory technicians no longer have access to the laboratory” and that the facility had suffered power cuts, meaning “it is not possible to properly manage the biological materials that are stored in the laboratory for medical purposes.”
The power cuts also mean there is a risk of spoilage of depleting stocks of blood bags, according to the director-general of the laboratory.
The medical source told CNN that “the danger lies in the outbreak of any armed confrontation in the laboratory because that will turn the laboratory into a germ bomb.”
“An urgent and rapid international intervention is required to restore electricity and secure the laboratory from any armed confrontation because we are facing a real biological danger,” the source added.
CNN has reached out to the RSF for comment.
The United Kingdom, France, South Korea and a host of other countries confirmed Tuesday that they were pulling out nationals after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that a three-day ceasefire had been agreed.
The White House is meanwhile considering a plan to send US troops to Port Sudan to help with the evacuation of American citizens, a US official with knowledge of the operations told CNN on Monday.
Three US warships are also being deployed off the coast of Sudan. A Navy official told CNN that the US is sending the USNS Brunswick to Sudan, one day after the Pentagon said the USS Truxton is already off the coast of the country and the USS Lewis B. Puller is on its way.
CNN’s team in Djibouti obtained images released by the US military showing personnel arriving in that country. France and Pakistan both said they had evacuated hundreds of nationals, while China said most of its citizens had also been pulled out of the country.
As many as 500 people fleeing the fighting have begun boarding the French frigate “Lorraine” in Port-Sudan on Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the French Chief of Defense Staff told CNN.
At least one US citizen, Dr. Bushra Ibnauf Sulieman, a Sudanese American physician, was killed in Khartoum on Tuesday.
Sulieman, who taught at the University of Khartoum, the oldest medical school in the country, died “after receiving fatal stab wounds in front of his house from unknown persons, according to the Preliminary Committee of Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union.
“Dr. Sulieman was murdered outside of his home due to the security situation in Sudan while he was escorting his father to a dialysis appointment,” said Dr. Yasir Elamin, President of the Sudanese American Physicians Association.
Previous ceasefires have collapsed within hours of being struck since clashes first gripped Sudan in mid-April. But the latest agreement, which Blinken said followed two days of “intense negotiation,” has raised hopes that it would open a window in which foreign nations could hurry citizens and staff to safety. According to a statement from the Sudanese Armed Forces, Saudi Arabia was also involved in mediating the truce.
On Tuesday, both sides of the conflict accused each other of breaking the truce. The armed forces said the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were moving military convoys to the capital in order to carry out a large scale military operation, had deployed snipers in parts of Khartoum, and were conducting operations near embassies. The army did not provide evidence for the claims.
The RSF blamed the army for violating the truce by “continuing to attack Khartoum by planes.” Eyewitnesses told CNN that fighter jets were heard over Omdurman to the north of the capital.
As the conflict rages on through its second week, water supplies are scarce and food is “running out” in Khartoum state, a witness told CNN on Tuesday.
“Shops are running out of food completely” and several food factories in the state had been looted, the witness, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, told CNN.
“As for the water supplies, we don’t have water for the eleventh day continuously. We only get water from a well nearby. So you have to go all the way to the well with barrels or stuff if you have a car or stuff. If not you have to take something small to get enough water for you,” the witness said.
Saif Mohamed Othman, 51, a freelancer who resides in Shambat, North Bahri, told CNN on Tuesday that food stocks have run out in stores, made worse by the complete burning of the central market, which supplies large parts of Bahri with vegetables, meat and other food.
Residents are also struggling financially because state employees had not received their wages since before the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of last week, and the bank’s ATMs have stopped functioning, Othman told CNN.
Othman told CNN there are patrols in place to protect the neighborhood from the widespread looting and robbing that large areas in Khartoum have been exposed to due to the lack of security and police presence.
On Monday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) warned that shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel are becoming “extremely acute” in Khartoum and surrounding areas.
“Access to health care, including sexual and reproductive health care, has been critically impacted by the conflict,” UNOCHA added. “Displacement of civilians continues to be reported in Khartoum, Northern, Blue Nile, North Kordofan, North Darfur, West Darfur and South Darfur states, as well as cross-border movements to surrounding countries.”
Many Sudanese people caught in the middle of the fighting have attempted to make their own perilous escapes from the capital, taking advantages of brief breaks in combat to rush to safety.
Sudan has been racked with violence since a bloody power struggle between two rival generals spilled into the streets, with forces loyal to each man engaging in combat on the streets of Khartoum and in towns around the capital.
Over the course of fighting, the RSF and Sudanese military have issued statements discrediting one another, with unsubstantiated claims of their control over key posts of the capital and accusations of each side targeting civilians.
On Monday, the Sudanese military claimed that the RSF killed an Egyptian diplomat, while the RSF claimed the army targeted civilians in an airstrike on a Khartoum neighborhood. Neither group provided evidence for the claims.
While many Sudanese are trapped on the ground in dangerous and deteriorating conditions, foreign powers have rescued diplomatic employees, diplomats, and nationals caught in the country’s bloody battle.
According to a statement from the Preliminary Committee of the Sudan Doctors’ Union, Monday’s shelling that shook the nation’s capital Khartoum left at least 50 people injured and an undetermined number dead.
Foreign countries oversaw the rescue operations to remove civilians from the violent war. Over the weekend, US special forces aided in the evacuation of over 100 persons, the majority of whom were members of the US embassy staff and a small number of foreign diplomats, according to US authorities.
Many other nations are scrambling to do the same, with more than 1,000 European Union nationals evacuated so far.
The United Nations has temporarily relocated its Khartoum-based staff to Port of Sudan, it said in a statement.
Around 700 UN, international NGO and embassy staff and their dependents traveled by road to the Red Sea city, the statement said.
The evacuations have been complicated by ongoing clashes. The two sides at the center of more than a week of fighting – Sudan’s army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – blamed each other after a French evacuation convoy came under fire trying to leave Sudan, with one French national injured.
An Egyptian diplomat, Mohamed Al-Gharawi, was shot and killed on his way back to the Egyptian embassy in Khartoum on Monday following “evacuation procedures for Egyptian citizens in Sudan,” Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The Sudanese Armed Forces accused RSF for the death, which CNN has been unable to independently verify.
The RSF responded by offering their sincerest condolences to the Egyptian government and said that they will “spare no effort in cooperating with the brothers in the Republic of Egypt to uncover the facts about the Gharawi incident.”
Meanwhile, many Sudanese civilians are either trapped in their homes with dwindling food, or desperately looking to find exit routes out of the country via its land borders, with the capital’s main international airport still shuttered.
Sudan’s military leader, Gen. Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, and commander of the RSF, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, seized control of the country in a military coup in 2021 and were due to hand over power to a civilian government but turned on each other instead.
More than 420 people have been killed and 3,700 injured in the fighting, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The humanitarian situation on the ground is deteriorating without access to medical services, and with many left stranded without food or water.
A series of ceasefires, including the latest called for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, have been broken. On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the warring factions had agreed on a new 72-hour ceasefire to begin at midnight, “following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours.”
Residents in parts of Khartoum told CNN early on Sunday morning that there were no signs that the cessation of hostilities was being adhered to, as they awoke to aerial attacks, heavy artillery, explosions and gunfire. They relayed that clashes were raging around the military headquarters and presidential palace in the city center.
Despite the risks, foreign governments continue to announce rescue missions for their citizens.
French Foreign Minister spokesman Anne-Claire Legendre told CNN’s Isa Soares on Monday that France evacuated approximately 500 people including almost 200 of them from 36 other countries.
Legendre said, “We’ve evacuated approximately 500 people. Now they’re safe and in security in Djibouti in our air force base there,” and added “We offered support to our friendly partners and allies. And there’s more than 36 nationalities, different nationalities that have been rescued, so almost 200 people from 36 other countries that we managed to evacuate.”
France evacuated “12 American citizens as well as British, Irish but also from Africa, Asia and rest of the world,” Legendre pointed out.
Several other countries have successfully carried out evacuations, including Spain, Jordan, Italy, Denmark and Germany, while the United Kingdom has evacuated embassy staff. Several of those convoys also carried citizens from other countries, including Swedes, Portuguese, Mexicans, Palestinians, Iraqis and Syrians.
US citizens in Sudan were advised they could join evacuation convoys organized by the UAE and Turkey on Sunday, with the US government saying it has no plans for its own citizen evacuation.
There are an estimated 16,000 American citizens in Sudan – most of whom are dual nationals.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said Monday that more than 1,000 EU nationals have been evacuated so far, calling it a “successful operation.”
More evacuations are still being planned or are underway for the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Germany, Sweden, Egypt, Turkey, Libya, India, Russia, Australia, Japan, China and the Philippines.
About 500 Indian nationals reached Port Sudan with more on the way, India’s Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar said Monday.
The German Armed Forces evacuated 311 people on Monday morning, including Germans and evacuees from more than 20 other nations. A Spanish military plane with 34 Spaniards and 38 citizens from 11 other nations landed in Madrid on Monday morning, according to Spain’s foreign ministry.
Uganda is evacuating 300 of its citizens via buses to the Ethiopian border, where they will fly out of Ethiopian city of Gondar, Dickson Ogwang, the head of the chancery of the Ugandan embassy in Khartoum, told CNN.
Up to 50 Irish citizens have been extracted from Sudan in the last 24 hours with the assistance of France and Spain, the country’s foreign minister said Monday.
In Rome, the first Italian nationals evacuated from Sudan landed in the capital on Monday evening local time. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that some Japanese nations evacuated from Sudan had arrived in Djibouti, with the help of the French government.
At the same time, Britons in Sudan said they feel “abandoned” by the UK government’s move to evacuate diplomats only.
One British citizen, named Fatima, told the BBC that she feels “abandoned” by the government, calling the situation on the ground “traumatizing.”
Meanwhile, the UK’s Africa Minister Andrew Mitchell has stressed that the government “will do everything” it can to get thousands of British citizens out of Sudan.
But as foreign nationals rush out on evacuation planes, millions of Sudanese citizens have been left to fend for themselves – stranded for days in their homes and uncertain of how to make their way out to safety.
International organizations have condemned the fighting, which has targeted hospitals. Out of 79 hospitals in the Sudanese capital, only 22 are currently operational, according to the Central Committee for Sudan Doctors.
One doctor told CNN that food and medical supplies are running precariously low. Howeida Al-Hassan, who is a doctor at Khartoum’s Alban Jadid Hospital, told CNN that most victims coming into the hospital have suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
“Every injured person we get has multiple gunshot wounds – bullets in the chest, stomach, leg. Each surgery takes a long time,” Al-Hassan told CNN on Monday.
She also says the medical team at the hospital have been working around the clock for the past 10 days.
“It’s the same staff from the first day [of the fighting]. We went in and never left. We are very exhausted. We sleep sitting down,” Al-Hassan said. “You can’t really call it sleeping, it’s more like passing out.”
As regions of Sudan are battered by the violence, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it will have to “adapt” its emergency response.
“We have managed to relocate some our staff by road to Kassala and Gedaref and will try to evacuate some non-essential personnel by road to Ethiopia and Chad,” Africa’s regional spokesperson Alyona Synenko told CNN in a statement.
“We are also urgently looking for ways to deploy additional personnel and deliver supplies to provide emergency response in Khartoum and other regions of Sudan affected by fighting.”
Isma’il Kushkush, a Sudanese-American journalist based in Khartoum, was trapped with 29 residents, including children and foreign nationals, in a building in downtown Khartoum near the presidential palace for days.
“No power or water for five days. Using little water remaining in water tank. Running out of food rations. Unable to leave the building which is located two blocks from the presidential palace. Epicenter of the fighting since the conflict began,” he said in a string of text messages to CNN. The group was later safely evacuated.
In neighborhood WhatsApp group chats and on social media, others were deliberating over where to get water, to charge phones, find medics and find safe passages out of Khartoum free of fighting. Many asked for advice on routes to Egypt on public transportation.
A woman in her 30s, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told CNN that she managed to flee Khartoum by bus to Egypt.
She said she was driven to do so by the unpredictability of the RSF and the worsening conditions in the capital.
While her family had a generator and they were able to supply water to houses in their neighborhood, it was unclear how long they would be able to carry on or when the tide of clashes might bring fighters to their doorstep.
“It was a case of do we stay and risk starvation. Or be killed by a stray bullet? … We decided to take the risk,” she said, adding that she had heard of people without food and water dying in their homes. “We just figured we were sitting ducks sheltering in our houses.”
A group of her relatives, including two babies and an elderly woman with a serious medical condition, found a bus driver willing to take them to Egypt. They left Friday morning and arrived at the border on Saturday evening; the group was only stopped once by Sudan’s armed forces in Omdurman, she said.
But they struggled to get men without visas into Egypt and a few people without passports – including newborn babies – were turned away.
“They had to be left behind. And we’re still trying to work out how to get them paperwork to get them across the border,” she said.
After decades of other nations making abortion medication readily accessible, a panel in the health ministry of Japan has approved the nation’s first abortion pill.
According to a representative for the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, the MeFeego Pack, an abortion pill produced by the British pharmaceutical company Linepharma, received permission from the ministry’s pharmaceutical board on Friday.
The ministry first met in January to discuss the medication before inviting the public to provide their thoughts via an online form. It will now be submitted for final clearance to the health minister.
The medication consists of two types of pill, and can be used within nine weeks of pregnancy, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK. In a clinical trial in Japan, 93% of participants had a complete abortion within 24 hours, NHK reported.
The medication combines mifepristone and misoprostol, which the World Health Organization has included in its Essential Medicines List, described as safe and effective for pregnant people.
To date, only surgical abortion is available in Japan through two methods: the curettage method, which removes tissue inside the uterus with a metal instrument, and the evacuation method, which sucks out tissue through a tube, according to NHK.
The WHO has described curettage as an “obsolete” method that is less safe and much more painful, and has called for it to be replaced by the evacuation method or by medication like abortion pills.
The move also comes as abortion and reproductive rights have gained revived attention worldwide, with the US Supreme Court reversing overturned Roe v. Wade last year – ruling that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion.
Since then, a number of states have restricted access to abortions, while others moved to increase access.
The Japanese panel’s decision on Friday was celebrated by the country’s medical experts online.
Kanako Inaba, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, wrote on Twitter that the approval of abortion pills was an opportunity to spread greater sex education and awareness about contraceptive methods.
Japanese activists have been pushing for years for approval of the pills, with similar medications made available decades ago in other countries as Japan lagged ever further behind.
For instance, mifepristone was first approved in France in 1988, and in the US in 2000.
But others also pointed to the long road ahead, calling for greater protection for women.
Mihyon Song, another well-known Japanese obstetrician and gynaecologist, pointed to Japan’s controversial abortion laws, which require spousal consent – which activists have long argued denies women the right to make decisions on their own body.
Under Japan’s existing laws, women can only receive an abortion if a pregnancy “may significantly damage the person’s physical health due to bodily or economic reasons” or if they became pregnant due to rape.
A week after fierce fighting broke out between two opposing parties in Sudan, Saudi Arabia is the first nation to announce the evacuation of its stranded residents.
“Several nationals of brotherly and friendly countries,” according to the Saudi foreign ministry, were evacuated with Saudi citizens. The hundreds of persons brought to safety include Kuwaiti citizens, although it is unclear which other countries are represented.
The declaration followed statements that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) were prepared to assist in the evacuation of foreign nationals.
The SAF said in a statement Saturday that its leader, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has “agreed to provide the necessary assistance” to facilitate the safe evacuation of foreign citizens from the country in response to “calls from a number of heads of states.”
“The evacuation of all missions whose countries made such a request is expected to begin within the coming hours, as the United States, the UK, France, and China will evacuate their diplomats and nationals by air by military transport aircrafts belonging to their respective armed forces from Khartoum and this is expected to begin immediately,” the SAF said in the statement, posted on its Facebook page.
According to a list released by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday, 91 of its citizens had been evacuated, along with 66 nationals from 12 other countries which included Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso.
It did not provide an exact breakdown of how many evacuees came from each of the countries it listed.
Kuwait thanked Saudi Arabia for evacuating its citizens from Sudan to Jeddah, in a statement released by its foreign ministry on Saturday.
But it did not specify how many Kuwaiti nationals had been evacuated.
Iraq’s Foreign Affairs Ministry told CNN via phone that there had been a “special operation” to evacuate its diplomats from their embassy in the capital Khartoum.
Ministry spokesperson Ahmad al-Sahaaf said the diplomats had been moved to “a safe place in Sudan” following the operation, but declined to give further details.
The developments came as the United States evacuated government personnel in an operation involving special forces.
The mission was led by US Africa Command and conducted in close coordination with the State Department, said Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense.
Fierce fighting broke out in Sudan last Saturday between the SAF and the paramilitary RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The two are former allies but tensions between them arose during negotiations to integrate the RSF into the country’s military as part of plans to restore civilian rule.
More than 420 people have been killed and 3,700 injured in the fighting, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and on the ground the humanitarian situation is worsening.
The UN says people are increasingly fleeing areas hit by fighting, including Khartoum. Up to 20,000 refugees have arrived in neighboring Chad, the UN says.
On Saturday, fresh clashes between the two groups shattered a three-day ceasefire declared for the Muslim holiday of Eid.
Fighting was reported in Khartoum on Saturday, with witnesses telling CNN fierce clashes were taking place in the vicinity of the presidential palace and the sounds of explosions and warplanes flying overhead could be heard.
Dagalo said he spoke to French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Saturday and they discussed “the current situation, the reasons [that] led to the exacerbation of the situation” and the possibility of opening evacuation corridors.
Also on Saturday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chaired an emergency meeting to discuss the situation.
CNN has learned that British evacuation efforts will not be happening imminently, but a government spokesperson told CNN they were doing “everything possible” to support British nationals.
A spokesperson for the European Union said that an estimated 1,500 citizens from various EU countries are currently in Sudan.
“They are facing a very difficult situation and their safety is a priority. We urge both sides (the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces) to stop fighting and allow for safe passage out of the country,” the spokesperson said, adding the EU was working with member states to find solutions and get these people out of the country.
It is unclear how many US citizens are in Sudan. The State Department does not keep official counts of US citizens in foreign countries and Americans are not required to register when they go abroad. US State Department officials told staffers estimated 16,000 American citizens in Sudan, most of whom are dual nationals.
Health Minister,Kwaku Agyeman Manuhas revealed that some public health facilities in the nation are giving patients fraudulent pharmaceuticals, a phenomenon he called a threat to both the provision of medical care and human life.
The Health minister made this unfortunate disclosure in Kumasi when he addressed stakeholders in the health sector during the First Senior Managers Meeting of the Ghana Health Service.
The event brought together health partners, traditional leaders, and private investors in the health sector, representatives from theWorld Health Organization (WHO)among other stakeholders.
The four day conference which started on the 18th April 2023 will be used to review the major issues affecting quality health care delivery and prescribed implementable solutions policy for the sector.
Speaking on the theme “Enhancing Primary Healthcare Approaches Towards Achieving Universal Health Coverage”, Health Minister Agyeman Manu tasked stakeholders in the sector to ensure excellence in healthcare delivery across the country.
He appealed to health workers to help fight the problem of administering fake drugs to avoid sending patients to their early grave.
He questioned the justification behind the use of unapproved medicine otherwise known as ‘fake medicine’ in treating patients in health facilities.
“I have a note on my desk from the FDA over fake medication falsified drugs usage in public health facilities and the very common one is oxytocin and I believe all of you here will know that Oxytocin dose. We are talking about maternal mortalities, and that is one drug I understand will help stop what happens after delivery. The FDA has put together the list and is seeking my approval to name and shame. So some of us are going to see ourselves in the public domain for using fake drugs. This is not the first time, about three years ago they did the same thing and reported. So what is the motivation to take in fake drugs in our own facilities not all but the FDA woman want to name and shame some of us and should that happen invariably it goes to actually distort what we are fighting for better educators with maternal health and mortalities so how are we going to solve this problem ?’’ he asked.
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE AND WRONG MEDICAL PRESCRIPTION
The minister also disclosed that the Health Ministry is overwhelmed with legal cases over its staff negligence and wrong medication prescription on duty.
He admitted before he took over six years ago the situation wasn’t that bad like today and questioned whether the health practitioners have forgotten what they were taught in health training institutions to warrant these unfortunate developments.
“What I’m seeing of late in the ministry are issues of litigation for the past four weeks or so. Almost every week we get at least one letter from the attorney general’s office that somebody has sued our staff with a problem of health care service delivery and they want us to come with information for them to go to court with. Then we refer to the Director General Dr. Kumah Aboagye but I have been with you for the past six years. Earlier when I came in those things were not happening that much but now it has become something very common. So what is it, deliberate efforts to try and go to court, get somebody to take us to court or you have forgotten why you were trained to do in more efficient manner negligence or what is happening but since you are the senior managers of what we do in health I throw this challenge on you and your strategic meetings to discuss how this problem can be resolved” he stressed.
According to a top relief agency, half the hospitals in Sudan’s capital are “out of action” as a result of the conflict’s escalating casualties and the grave medical needs of many of the injured.
Abdalla Hussein, the operational manager for Médecins Sans Frontières in Sudan, stated, “According to the information we have in Khartoum, 50% of hospitals have been out of operation in the first 72 hours.” He explained, “This is because the hospitals itself have been the target of shelling or bombing or the employees didn’t feel secure going there.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 270 people have been killed and more than 2,600 injured since the clashes erupted on Saturday between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
At the heart of the conflict is a power struggle between the groups’ leaders: Sudan’s military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
As residents cower from gunfire, international governments have called for a ceasefire so authorities can distribute aid and coordinate evacuations amid attacks on foreign nationals, including diplomatic staff.
Japan has been able to contact all 60 of its nationals in Sudan, including embassy staff, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said during an emergency news conference. There are no reports of injuries among them, though food and water are scarce, and power cuts have become frequent as the security situation deteriorates.
Further details about the deployment of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces will be discussed in the future, he added
The United States has not announced any plans for an evacuation operation for Americans in Sudan, but has urged its nationals to stay indoors, shelter in place, and stay away from windows.
Other countries have published advisories to their national in Sudan. China has asked its citizens there to stay vigilant and to register their information online with the Chinese Embassy in Khartoum. The Indian Embassy in Sudan also issued an advisory on Tuesday asking its citizens to stay indoors and ration supplies due to looting.
The advisories come as reports emerge of attacks on foreign nationals and staffers.
Armed personnel stormed the homes of people working for the UN and other international organizations in downtown Khartoum, according to reports in an internal UN document seen by CNN.
According to the document, the gunmen sexually assaulted women and stole belongings including cars. One incident of rape was also reported. These armed personnel, “reportedly from RSF, are entering the residences of expats, separating men and women and taking them away,” read the report.
CNN has not been able to independently verify the alleged attacks.The RSF denied the claims, blaming Sudan’s armed forces for committing the crimes while wearing RSF uniforms. The armed forces have denied involvement in the violations, and reiterated accusations that the RSF has committed crimes against humanity.
In separate incidents cited in the document, two Nigerian men working for an international organization were abducted and later released; a building housing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was targeted; and a rocket-propelled grenade hit the home of a local UN staff member in Khartoum.
Other incidents in recent days include a US diplomatic convoy coming under gunfire, the EU ambassador to Sudan being assaulted in his Khartoum residency, and three workers from the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) killed in clashes.
On Friday, Ghana, under the direction of the Ministry of Health, observed 2023 World Health Day and launched the year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of WHO.
Performing the launch in Accra, the Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manuunderscored the critical role WHO has played in supporting Ghana’s health sector agenda over the decades and expressed Ghana’s continuous support for the organisation in its efforts to promote health for all.
“Over the years, WHO has set the public health agenda, developed and promoted norms and standards and spearheaded efforts to strengthen health systems, eliminate, eradicate and control diseases,” Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu noted.
“The Government of Ghana anticipates an even more fruitful collaboration with WHO to fully operationalize the Universal Health Coverage(UHC) roadmap”.
The WHO Representative to Ghana, Dr Francis Kasolo praised the collaboration between Ghana and WHO which is helping to strengthen the health sector and promote the attainment of UHC and the Sustainable Development Goal 3.
“WHO and Ghana has stood shoulder to shoulder over the decades to strengthen health security, build resilient health systems and effectively deal with communicable and noncommunicable diseases”, Dr Kasolo said.
“Therefore, this 75th anniversary is a moment to reflect the public health successes of the past and come together with science, solutions, and solidarity to address future challenges”.
Delivering a public lecture on the theme; “WHO yesterday, today and the future”, the Foundation Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Professor Fred Binka called for stronger support from member states and partners to strengthen WHO’s leadership in Global Public Health.
“Now more than ever, the world needs WHO given the emerging global public health challenges,” Professor Fred Binka emphasised. “Member states and partners must increase support to ensure an independent and well-functioning WHO so that it can continue to deliver on its mandate”.
The launch was attended by Diplomats, heads of Government Agencies, Development Partners, heads of United Nations Agencies in Ghana, former and current staff of WHO and other stakeholders.
The yearlong celebration of the anniversary in Ghana will see the rollout of campaigns engaging Government, partners, and the public to share their stories of what health means to them. Planning around the global Health Days, specific monthly themes will be identified to jointly celebrate public health achievements and highlight the pertinent challenges impeding the acceleration of universal health coverage (UHC) and health-related SDGs.
According to a Chinese scientist, it’s possible that humans are where the Covid-19 virus first appeared.
According to Tong Yigang of the Beijing University of Chemical Technology, the genetic sequences of viral samples collected from Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Market, thought to be the pandemic’s epicentre, were “almost identical” to those of patients infected with the coronavirus. This suggests that Covid-19 may have originated from humans.
Tong, who was speaking at a press conference held by the Chinese State Council regarding research into the origin of the virus, said more than 1,300 environmental and frozen animal samples had been taken at the market between January 2020 and March 2020, and researchers had isolated three strains of virus from the environmental samples.
He also said there was not yet sufficient evidence to back up recent studies that had suggested racoon dogs were the origin of the Covid-19 virus.
Speaking at the same event, a Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researcher, Zhou Lei, called for global scientific collaboration in tracing the origins of the virus, saying that the site where Covid-19 was first discovered was not necessarily where it originated.
China has in the past been heavily criticized for blocking international investigations into the origins of the virus. Earlier this week the World Health Organization said it still did not have key data from China about the beginnings of the outbreak, a lack of disclosure the head of its program on emerging diseases said was “simply inexcusable.”
However, China repeatedly maintains that it has been transparent and cooperative with the WHO.
Debates surrounding the origins of the virus reemerged recently following an assessment last month by the US Department of Energy it was most likely the result of an accident from a laboratory. But the US agency also marked it as a “low confidence” determination.
On Saturday, Zhou refuted the lab leak theory, saying it is “extremely unlikely.”
The Ghanaian office of the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that it is still dedicated to cooperating with all stakeholders to support Ghana’s health sector priorities in order to provide the best possible level of health for all Ghanaians.
The improvement of Ghana’s UHC service coverage index from 35 in 2010 to 47.8 in 2021 was cited as evidence that the country had achieved substantial progress toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), but it was crucial that those gains be maintained by following Ghana’s UHC roadmap.
These guarantees were made in a statement that Sayibu Ibrahim Suhuyini, WHO Ghana’s communications officer, signed and released in Accra to commemorate the organization’s 75th birthday, which falls on Friday, April 7.
WHO formation
In 1948, countries of the world came together and founded WHO to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable so that everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health and well-being.
Working with 194 member states across six regions and on the ground in more than 150 offices, WHO envisions a world where Health for All is realized. The theme for the celebration is Health for All.
Health for All
The statement said, at the heart of Health for All was the attainment of UHC through primary health, and where people could have access to affordable, equitable, good quality and sustainable health care.
It said in Ghana, around 36.2 per cent of health expenditure came out of people’s pockets and as a result, significant number of persons continued to be pushed further below the poverty line due to spending on health.
It, therefore, called for national health strategies to position primary health care as the entry point into a health system which not only treated ill health, but also prevented illnesses and promoted good health, thereby reducing the need for more expensive curative services.
It said the right to health was a basic human right that promoted health and wellbeing, dignity, and a good quality of life for everyone, despite who they were, where they lived or what they do.
Anniversary
Touching on the anniversary, the statement quoted the WHO Representative in Ghana, Dr Francis Kasolo as saying that, it was an opportunity for them to reflect on the remarkable achievements of their collective efforts to advance the health and wellbeing of the people of Ghana.
“It is also the chance for us to rally around a common agenda and strengthen our commitment to tackle emerging health challenges towards achieving health for all,” it said.
Support to Ghana
The statement mentioned some of WHO’s support to Ghana to include technical and financial support in building a resilient health system that was capable of withstanding shocks.
It said the WHO had also extended support in the fight against diseases, leading to the interruption of wild poliovirus as well as the elimination of Guinea worm, Trachoma, Human African Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and Neonatal Tetanus as public health problems.
The organization, it further stated, had assisted the country in the development of strategic documents such as the National Action Plan for Health Security, National strategy on non-communicable diseases including Mental Health, Comprehensive Multi-Year Plan for the Expanded Programme on Immunization and the National Innovative Health Financing Strategy.
On immunisation, the statement said in contrast to the global immunisation picture, in Ghana, 1.24 million children received the third dose of the Diphtheria-Pertussis-Tetanus (DPT) containing vaccine in 2022 compared to the 1.17 million children who received the same vaccine in 2019.
This, it described as remarkable performance adding that, it was achieved through concerted support provided by WHO and other partners to sustain the delivery of essential services, including immunization.
Every year, tobacco use kills more than 6,700 Ghanaians, with 66 percent of these deaths occurring prematurely in people under the age of 70, according to a report from the Ministry of Health, the Food and Drug Authority (FDA), the World Health Organization(WHO), the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Secretariat, WHO, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
These statistics denote many more Ghanaians are not able to quit tobacco or smoking, in general, irrespective of the rehabilitation and restrictive laws eschewing people from smoking.
It is on this score that the Executive Director of the Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation, (ILAPI), Mr. Peter Bismark Kwofie has called on stakeholders in the health sector and policymakers to consciously develop an educative medium-long term gradual approach to reducing tobacco use rather than a short-term radical approach of denying consumers the right to make choices.
“ILAPI as a free enterprise organization that emphasizes freedom and individual liberty, profess other important and evidence-based alternatives to reduce the harm caused by tobacco and subsequently leading to quitting smoking.
Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths globally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco use kills approximately eight (8) million people annually, with more than even (7) million of these deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
In addition, it causes lung cancer, tobacco use increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other chronic illnesses.
Experts say the most effective way to prevent tobacco-related deaths is to quit smoking completely, however, addictive smokers are reluctant and unable to quit.
This according to Mr. Bismark Kwofie calls for harm reduction strategies which is crucial as an effective public health solution.
He noted that absolutely quitting the habit of smoking has been quite unsustainable, repressive, and draconian.
Over the past decades, smoke cessation has been promulgated as the best approach to helping combustible smokers to quit. The addictive nature of the nicotine in cigarettes has made quitting smoking a prolonged and difficult process and that, many more smokers are unable to quit.
It is estimated that $115 billion is needed to be invested to help in smoking cessation from 2020–2030. In 2019, the economic cost of tobacco use in Ghana amounted to approximately GH668 million, equivalent to 0.2 percent of the country’s GDP.
The Executive Director of ILAPI is of the view that health workers, social workers, other relevant stakeholders, and policymakers should consider other alternatives which will be less costly and harmful measures to address the consumer choice addiction rate of tobacco.
“In this context, it is crucial to explore the potential benefits and drawbacks of Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) and weigh them against the well-established harmfulness of tobacco use to develop effective strategies for reducing tobacco consumption in Ghana.” He reiterated.
The Executive Director of ILAPI stressed that THR as a public solution recognizes the harm caused by combustible cigarettes and aims to minimize the health impacts of cigarette smoking by encouraging those adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke to switch completely to scientifically substantiated, reduced-risk alternatives ought to be explored in our contemporary society.
Mr. Kwofie thinks that there could be a geo-cultural diversification of solutions to tobacco control but cautioned that the state should conduct and adopt empirically proven techniques as an alternative to reduce harm and death caused by Tobacco whilst not curtailing consumer choice.
“The inhumane and unscientific “Quit or Die” policy should not be reinforced. Instead of putting vapers and consumers at risk, this is a very good opportunity to raise awareness about THR in general, and encourage smokers who cannot quit smoking to adopt it.” He said.
There has been a school of thought of increasing taxes on tobacco products and banning THR products are the best initiatives to prevent people from smoking. But according to the Executive Director of ILAPI, anytime taxes (excise and consumption taxes) on products are high, the rich could buy and the middle-income and poor would engage in smuggling adding to the cost of fighting illicit transactions on tobacco.
“High taxes on tobacco products as means of cessation is not public health,” he retorted.
A dietician at the Meridian Medical Centre, Forzia Baidoo has cautioned Ghanaians against the consumption of putrefied fish, known in the Akan parlance as momoni, kako or koobi.
Momoni, literary translated as “stinking fish” is any fish left to start fermenting in tropical heat for 6–10 hours, then salted for 1–2 days and sun-dried, according to the oxford reference dictionary. Kako and koobi are Ghanaian traditional salted fish made from shark and tilapia respectively.
According to Baidoo, there is a strong correlation between the intake of salty foods and kidney diseases.
“There are certain foods that we do eat in Ghana here like the putrefied fishes, the ones we call momoni, kako, and koobi. They are all high in salt, so when you are consuming them, try to consume them in minimal amounts. They add flavour to the food but they do not add any nutrition to the food. They are dangerous flavours and cause a lot of harm to the kidney,” she explained.
The kidney is an important organ of the body and it is responsible for filtering waste from the human body into the blood. It also helps excrete excess water and maintains electrolyte balance in the body.
Despite the significance of the kidney to the body, kidney disease is the 10th leading cause of death in the world. The World Health Organization revealed that Ghana recorded over 4,000 deaths from kidney disease in 2020.
“Kidney disease does not present symptoms at the beginning unless you’ve lost up to 90% of your kidney function before you begin to see signs,” she disclosed.
Madam Baidoo admonished Ghanaians to develop the habit of eating a balanced diet which includes fruits and vegetables, legumes, animal and plant protein foods, and drinking a lot of water to stay healthy.
As per a new analysis, only 13 of the world’s countries and territories enjoyed “good” air last year as air pollution rose to dangerous levels in 2022.
The World Health Organization‘s air quality guidelines, which are intended to assist governments in developing regulations to protect the public health, were found to be exceeded in roughly 90% of the countries and territories examined, according to a report by IQAir, a company that monitors air quality globally.
IQAir analyzed average air quality from 131 countries and territories, and found that just six countries — Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland and New Zealand — and seven territories in the Pacific and Caribbean, including Guam and Puerto Rico, met the WHO air quality guidelines, which call for an average air pollution level of 5 micrograms per cubic meter or less.
Seven countries – Chad, Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Kuwait and India – had poor air quality that far exceeded the WHO guidelines with average air pollution over 50 micrograms per cubic meter.
The study looked specifically at fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which is the tiniest pollutant but also the most dangerous. When inhaled, the PM2.5 travels deep into lung tissue where it can enter the bloodstream. It comes from sources like the combustion of fossil fuels, dust storms and wildfires, and has been linked to a number of health problems including asthma, heart disease and other respiratory illnesses.
WHO tightened its annual air pollution guidelines in September 2021, cutting the acceptable amount of fine particulate matter from 10 to 5 micrograms per cubic meter.
Millions of people die each year from air pollution-related health issues. In 2016, around 4.2 million premature deaths were associated with fine particulate matter, according to the UN agency. If the latest guidelines had been applied back then, WHO found there could have been nearly 3.3 million fewer pollution-related deaths.
The report also continues to highlight a worrying inequality: the lack of monitoring stations in developing countries in Africa, South America and the Middle East, which results in a dearth of air quality data in those regions.
Although Africa saw improvement in the number of countries included in this year’s report compared with 2021, the continent still largely remains the most underrepresented. According to IQAir, only 19 out of 54 African countries had sufficient data available from their monitoring stations.
Glory Dolphin Hammes, CEO of IQAir North America, said that each time it adds a new country that once lacked air quality data – as it did with Chad in 2021 – those countries inevitably wind up at the top of the most-polluted list.
“If you look at what’s called satellite or modeled data, Africa is supposed to be probably the most polluted continent on the planet, but we don’t have enough data,” Hammes told CNN. “What that means is there’s a whole lot more data that’s needed in order for us to truly determine what are the most polluted countries and cities in the world.”
But one of the biggest barriers right now, she said, is “the way that governments currently monitor air quality.” Hammes said most governments tend to invest in instruments that fail to accurately measure fine particulate matter in the air.
In the United States, the report found air pollution improved significantly last year compared with 2021 due to a relatively mild wildfire season.
Coffeyville, Kansas, had the worst air quality in the US last year, which IQAir attributed to a nearby oil refinery. Columbus, Ohio; Atlanta and Chicago topped the list of major US cities with the worst air quality, though the researchers also noted that California was home to 10 of the 15 worst major cities for air pollution, including Los Angeles and Sacramento.
Around the world, researchers said, the main sources of air pollution last year were wildfires and the burning of fossil fuels for transportation and energy production, which wreaks havoc on the most vulnerable and marginalized communities.
“This is literally about how we as a planet are continuing this unhealthy relationship with fossil fuels,” Hammes said. “We are still dependent on fossil fuels and fossil fuels are responsible for the majority of air pollution that we encounter on this planet.”
China, which had for decades been near the top of the list for the worst air pollution, continued to show improved air quality in 2022. Nearly 64% of the 524 cities analyzed in mainland China saw reductions in annual PM2.5.
Still, IQAir notes that the country’s coal usage continues to be a major climate and environmental concern, and that despite the improvement, none of the Chinese cities actually met the annual WHO guidelines.
Climate change-fueled wildfires, Hammes said, also play a significant role in worsening air quality, especially in the US. The report notes that wildfires in recent years have been rapidly erasing air quality improvements that the US has made over the past decade.
“Wildfires are very much so a global warming issue, and it is creating essentially unsafe conditions,” Hammes said.
Hammes said countries must learn from each other, noting that the countries with best air quality, for example, are the ones taking on specific actions to transition away from polluting industries and into greener forms of energy, such as solar and wind.
She adds it is also important to expand air quality monitoring networks, especially in predominantly disadvantaged regions. For instance, despite Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, the IQAir report shows that Ukraine expanded air monitoring networks, collecting data from nearly triple the number of cities in 2022 than in 2021.
“What we’ve learned is that what gets measured gets done,” Hammes said. “We need to collect more data. We need to inform folks of this information, and it does need to be free and available, so that they can make more informed choices.”
IQAir analyzed average air quality from 131 countries and territories, and found that just six countries — Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland and New Zealand — and seven territories in the Pacific and Caribbean, including Guam and Puerto Rico, met the WHO air quality guidelines, which call for an average air pollution level of 5 micrograms per cubic meter or less.
Seven countries – Chad, Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Kuwait and India – had poor air quality that far exceeded the WHO guidelines with average air pollution over 50 micrograms per cubic meter.
The study looked specifically at fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which is the tiniest pollutant but also the most dangerous. When inhaled, the PM2.5 travels deep into lung tissue where it can enter the bloodstream. It comes from sources like the combustion of fossil fuels, dust storms and wildfires, and has been linked to a number of health problems including asthma, heart disease and other respiratory illnesses.
WHO tightened its annual air pollution guidelines in September 2021, cutting the acceptable amount of fine particulate matter from 10 to 5 micrograms per cubic meter.
Millions of people die each year from air pollution-related health issues. In 2016, around 4.2 million premature deaths were associated with fine particulate matter, according to the UN agency. If the latest guidelines had been applied back then, WHO found there could have been nearly 3.3 million fewer pollution-related deaths.
The report also continues to highlight a worrying inequality: the lack of monitoring stations in developing countries in Africa, South America and the Middle East, which results in a dearth of air quality data in those regions.
Although Africa saw improvement in the number of countries included in this year’s report compared with 2021, the continent still largely remains the most underrepresented. According to IQAir, only 19 out of 54 African countries had sufficient data available from their monitoring stations.
Glory Dolphin Hammes, CEO of IQAir North America, said that each time it adds a new country that once lacked air quality data – as it did with Chad in 2021 – those countries inevitably wind up at the top of the most-polluted list.
“If you look at what’s called satellite or modeled data, Africa is supposed to be probably the most polluted continent on the planet, but we don’t have enough data,” Hammes told CNN. “What that means is there’s a whole lot more data that’s needed in order for us to truly determine what are the most polluted countries and cities in the world.”
But one of the biggest barriers right now, she said, is “the way that governments currently monitor air quality.” Hammes said most governments tend to invest in instruments that fail to accurately measure fine particulate matter in the air.
In the United States, the report found air pollution improved significantly last year compared with 2021 due to a relatively mild wildfire season.
Coffeyville, Kansas, had the worst air quality in the US last year, which IQAir attributed to a nearby oil refinery. Columbus, Ohio; Atlanta and Chicago topped the list of major US cities with the worst air quality, though the researchers also noted that California was home to 10 of the 15 worst major cities for air pollution, including Los Angeles and Sacramento.
Around the world, researchers said, the main sources of air pollution last year were wildfires and the burning of fossil fuels for transportation and energy production, which wreaks havoc on the most vulnerable and marginalized communities.
“This is literally about how we as a planet are continuing this unhealthy relationship with fossil fuels,” Hammes said. “We are still dependent on fossil fuels and fossil fuels are responsible for the majority of air pollution that we encounter on this planet.”
China, which had for decades been near the top of the list for the worst air pollution, continued to show improved air quality in 2022. Nearly 64% of the 524 cities analyzed in mainland China saw reductions in annual PM2.5.
Still, IQAir notes that the country’s coal usage continues to be a major climate and environmental concern, and that despite the improvement, none of the Chinese cities actually met the annual WHO guidelines.
Climate change-fueled wildfires, Hammes said, also play a significant role in worsening air quality, especially in the US. The report notes that wildfires in recent years have been rapidly erasing air quality improvements that the US has made over the past decade.
“Wildfires are very much so a global warming issue, and it is creating essentially unsafe conditions,” Hammes said.
Hammes said countries must learn from each other, noting that the countries with best air quality, for example, are the ones taking on specific actions to transition away from polluting industries and into greener forms of energy, such as solar and wind.
She adds it is also important to expand air quality monitoring networks, especially in predominantly disadvantaged regions. For instance, despite Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, the IQAir report shows that Ukraine expanded air monitoring networks, collecting data from nearly triple the number of cities in 2022 than in 2021.
“What we’ve learned is that what gets measured gets done,” Hammes said. “We need to collect more data. We need to inform folks of this information, and it does need to be free and available, so that they can make more informed choices.”
Professor Charity Sylvia Akotia, a prominent social and community psychologist, has advised the media to use caution while reporting on suicide situations.
According to study, the media has a tendency to focus on suicide, particularly when it involves celebrities, in a way that could incite suicide in vulnerable populations like young people.
The former dean of the University of Ghana’s Department of Social Sciences, Prof. Akotia, spoke at the institution’s 75th anniversary inaugural speech on Thursday. He claimed that most media coverage of suicide did not follow World Health Organization (WHO) criteria.
Lecture
The lecture was on the topic: “When Life Becomes Unbearable: Dynamics and Complexities of Suicidal Behaviour and Prevention in a Cultural Context”.
The UG 75th Anniversary Inaugural Lecture is a series that hosts notable persons who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields, as part of activities to commemorate the university’s 75th anniversary.
Prof. Akotia’s lecture focused on what constituted suicide (cultural and legal), attitudes towards suicide, motivations for suicidal behaviour, suicide and the law, experiences of survivors and their families, and media perspective on suicide.
The lecture was attended by notable personalities, including a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, and the Vice-Chancellor of UG, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, who chaired the function.
Prof. Akotia said the media were a powerful force in society, and as such they had a responsibility to promote education on suicide prevention. “Clinical and research experiences on working on suicidality in Ghana for close to a decade have shown that most media reports on suicide in Ghana are not guided by any specific guidelines, and if they are, it is possible they are not compliant,” she said.
Per the WHO responsible reporting guidelines on suicide, a media reportage on suicide should include accurate information on where to seek help for someone contemplating suicide and educate the public on the facts of suicide and suicide prevention, without spreading myths.
The guidelines also encourage the media to report on how to cope with life stressors or suicidal thoughts and how to get help.
Again, the WHO encourages the media not to give prominence to suicide stories, not to repeat such stories, not to provide details about the location of the incident and not to use sensational headlines or photographs or video footage.
Prevention
Prof. Akotia said although many cases went unreported, about 1,900 suicide cases were said to occur annually in the country.
She said suicide and suicidal behaviour had a negative toll on families, communities and the nation at large as it did not only lead to loss of lives but also left scars on people.
“Suicidal behaviour may also affect the health and well-being of the suicidal person, as well as significant others, including families and loved ones, friends, co-workers and the community at large,” she said.
On how to improve suicide prevention in the country, Prof. Akotia said there was the need to decriminalise attempted suicide, adding that the attempt to commit suicide was a mental health issue and not a criminal issue.
“This is important as criminalising suicide prevents persons in distress from seeking help, and makes suicidal persons aim to complete the behaviour,” the social and community psychologist said.
Prof. Akotia also called for the establishment of a national suicide prevention centre to help collate information on statistics on suicide, lead awareness on the need not to opt for suicide and also as a reference point for people seeking help.
Prof. Amfo said suicide should never be an option, no matter the situation, adding that “suicide is preventable and should never be an option”.
The health minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has stated that there have been no fatalities related to the current increase in cases of themeasles.
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, March 7, regarding the vaccine shortage the Dormaa CentralMember of Parliament said that the recent shortage in vaccines for measles, as regrettable as it is, is symptomatic of the steady global decline in measles vaccination since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic.
“We have made all necessary efforts to ensure that despite these challenges we secure adequate stocks within the next few weeks. It is important to correct the erroneous impression that there have been deaths from Measles in Ghana recently. For the avoidance of doubt, there have been no deaths from the recently recorded spike in Measles cases. Indeed there have no deaths since 2003 though we have recorded cases annually.
“Finally, despite this challenge, Ghana’s immunization performance coverage remains among the best in the world. In 2021 we recorded 95% coverage.
“Permit me to quote from a World Health Organization (WHO) recent publication on the subject that puts the challenge we are dealing with into perspective: Ghana’s Ministry of Health has been making efforts to ensure we secure adequate stocks of vaccines despite this global challenge.
“Working with UNICEF, we are fast-tracking the processes and it is expected that the vaccines would be supplied in the next few weeks All things being equal. The Ministry of Health will ensure that we stay on track with our immunization record and quickly overcome this bottlenecks,” he said.
On Tuesday, March 7 some nursing mothers recounted how the vaccine shortage was affecting their babies.
A nursing mother at Adabraka Polyclinic in Accra, Naa Dromo Torto told TV3’s Judith Awortwe-Tandoh on Tuesday, March 7 that her 4-month-old baby has not received the polio vaccine for two consecutive months.
She said “Some mothers gave birth last month and they have not gotten the vaccines, this month too we are not getting so I think those babies are at high risk in experiencing some form of disabilities.”
Asked what assurances have been given to them to get their babies vaccinated, she said “Last month, they actually told me that the vaccine is finished so this month, Today too we are hearing the same story that there is still a shortage.”
Another mother Georgina Annum said “My baby is 9 months old. My baby has to take two vaccines, Polio and Yellow Fever but there is a shortage so right now we are waiting for the nurses to provide some for us. For two months now my baby has not been taking the two vaccines.”
Parts of the country have lately been experiencing a vaccine shortage of vaccines.
As the nation takes up control efforts against an epidemic that has so far resulted in 5260 illnesses and 37 fatalities since September 2022, Mozambiquetoday launched a cholera vaccine campaign that would reach around 720 000 people in eight districts.
People aged one year and older will be vaccinated in the five-day campaign, which started just 10 days after the country took delivery of vaccine doses. Alongside the vaccination campaign, health authorities are also reinforcing disease surveillance, prevention and control measures, treatment as well as raising public awareness to curb the spread of the disease and end the outbreak.
“The vaccination campaign will be crucial in stemming the spread of cholera and help save lives,” said Dr Severin von Xylander, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Mozambique. “We are also working with the health authorities to bolster key outbreak response measures and have deployed staff in the three most affected provinces to support the provincial health authorities to detect, prevent and halt cholera this outbreak.”
WHO has also disbursed US$ 856 000 to support the response in Mozambique and provided medical supplies and medicines. Mozambique recorded a sharp increase in cases since mid-December 2022. Cholera has so far been reported in five of the country’s 11 provinces. The northern Niassa, Sofala and Tete provinces are the worst affected.
During the vaccination campaign vaccinators will use a mixed approach of vaccinating patients in health centres, through mobile teams and by door-to-door visits. Oral cholera vaccines will be used in conjunction with improvements in water and sanitation to control cholera outbreaks and for prevention in areas known to be high risk for the disease.
“We celebrate the launch of this vital immunization campaign alongside the Government of Mozambique and our Alliance partners.” said Thabani Maphosa, Managing Director, Country Programmes Delivery at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “The recent rise in disease outbreaks and the risks they present demonstrate the importance of our work in funding the Global Oral Cholera Vaccine Stockpile, cholera response campaigns and access to outbreak response vaccines for diseases such as cholera, measles, yellow fever and polio.”
Despite a global shortage of cholera vaccines and increased demand due to a rise in outbreaks globally, WHO and its partners, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and have been able to supply vaccines to countries most affected by cholera in the southern Africa. Mozambique received around 720 000 doses of the oral cholera vaccine.
The strain on the availability of vaccines prompted the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision to temporarily suspend the standard two-dose vaccination regimen in cholera outbreak response campaigns, using instead a single-dose approach. The ICG is an initiative which aims to manage emergency supplies of vaccines and is a partnership of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Médecins sans Frontières United Nations Children’s Fund and WHO.
Cholerais an acute, extremely virulent infection that can spread rapidly and cause dehydration resulting in high morbidity and mortality. However, the disease is easily treatable. Most people can be treated successfully through prompt administration of oral rehydration solution or intravenous fluids.
The disease is endemic in Mozambique and, together with other diarrhoeal diseases, is a major cause of infant death. There are yearly outbreaks in the country’s northern provinces.
Cholera transmission is closely linked with poor sanitation and inadequate access to safe drinking water. Extreme climatic events such as droughts and floods are worsening the cholera risks. In Mozambique, floods due to the current rainy season have affected over 39 000 people, claimed nine lives and caused extensive damage to infrastructure, including roads, bridges, health centres and 76 000 homes.
An officer from the Reproductive and Child Health Unit Ms Aboagye-Mensah has disclosed a total number of 23 maternal mortalities in 2022 which is a reduction from the 2021 figure of 25 at the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate.
In a presentation at the annual performance review of the Directorate in Tema, she indicated that the metro in 2018 recorded 31 deaths, which dropped to 18 in 2019 but rose to 25 in 2020.
She further indicated that the maternal mortality ratio for the period was 286 per every 100,000 live births compared to 294 for 2021.
Ms Aboagye however stated that the figure was very high to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 70 Standard.
According to her, Tema Regional Hospital (General) documented 19 of the instances reported in 2022, while Raphal Medical Centre, Bethel Hospital, J. H. Restoration Medical Center, and Narh Bita Hospital each reported one case.
She offered a breakdown of some of the contributing reasons, including logistical issues, personal and family issues, issues with the transportation and communication systems, and issues with the health care workers themselves.
As additional contributing causes, she also included antenatal non-attendance, referral delays, medication, a lack of ambulances at referral facilities, blood, hypertension, ventilators, diabetes, subpar examinations, and a dearth of critical care units.
According to Ms. Aboagye-Mensah, suggestions being considered to lower maternal mortality in the metro area include increasing capacity, closely monitoring patients after surgery, intensifying client education, outfitting the ICU, holding blood donation exercises, using appropriate clinical management, and making referrals quickly and effectively, among other things.
She explained that the number of stillbirths represented 25.8 rates per 1,000 live births.
She said even though 213 stillbirths were recorded it showed a decrease over the 220 recorded in 2021, the rate was still high and needed to be reduced.
The future health of Germany’s youth is at risk, according toGermany’s agriculture minister, who has called for a ban on all child-accessible advertising of unhealthy food, including sweets and items with a high salt, fat, and sugar content.
The Greens’ Cem Zdemir said it was time to protect children from the effects of unhealthy food, such as obesity, diabetes, and other illnesses.
Some consumer groups said the proposals should go far further and include banning the strategic placement of confectionery—so-called “Quengelware” or “moaning goods”—at supermarket cash desks, where parents often feel pressured by children to buy them. Sweets and gums are often placed close to alcohol miniatures such as schnapps and the digestif Jägermeister.
An estimated one in two Germans is considered overweight, as are 15% of children, according to health professionals.
“We must ensure that children can grow up more healthily,” Özdemir said, adding that calls on industry to regulate itself had failed.
According to his plans, junk food advertising “in every medium relevant to children” including television, radio and YouTube and Instagram, should be reduced. In future such advertising should only be broadcast between 11pm and 6am, he said.
He stressed he was not in favour of a complete advertising ban, but said: “Advertising should no longer be directed at children.”
Print advertising in children’s magazines as well as billboard advertising in the vicinity of schools and leisure centres for sweets and confectionery should be banned. Zdemir stated that his definition of unhealthy food was based on World Health Organisation guidelines.
He said he would seek cross-party support for the initiative, but expected resistance.
Zdemir’s plan is consistent with the pre-election promise made by the Social Democrats, Greens, and the pro-business FDP, which stated that “Child-focused advertising of foodstuffs containing high sugar, fat, and salt content should in future not be allowed in broadcasting and other formats directed at children under the age of 14.”
Support and praise for the proposal came from consumer rights groups, the World Wildlife Fund and the German Obesity Society which said Özdemir had “delivered a big hit.” It said that obesity was a “key health problem” for children and that the advertising of unhealthy foods was an important contributory factor.
The German Society for Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ) said it was behind the proposal. Its vice-president, Ursula Felderhoff-Müser, told German media that doctors and scientific associations as well as consumer protection groups had been calling for tighter regulation for years insisting that the efficacy of advertising directed at children was well documented.
The FDP and CDU were critical of the plans, while some within the ruling SPD also raised concerns.
Gero Hocker, agricultural spokesperson for the FDP said Özdemir would find no majority within the ruling coalition. He accused him of “trying to turn children unable to make decisions for themselves into citizens unable to do so”.
The CDU’s Steffen Bilger criticised Özdemir for, he said, “trying to smooth the way for dirigisme, bureaucracy and paternalism”.
The SPD’s leader, Saskia Esken, stated that while advertising should not be allowed to mislead, it was ultimately personal decisions that made a difference. “I believe that it’s still up to the parents to protect children from unhealthy foods.”
The Department of Energy stated in the intelligence report that it had “low confidence” that the Covid-19 virus unintentionally escaped from a lab in Wuhan, according to two sources.
The level of confidence in an assessment might be low, medium, or high for intelligence services.
A low confidence rating typically denotes that there is insufficient evidence to support a more solid conclusion or that the material acquired is either unreliable or too fragmented to allow for a more final analytical judgment.
The latest assessment further adds to the divide in the US government over whether the Covid-19 pandemic began in China in 2019 as the result of a lab leak or whether it emerged naturally. The various intelligence agencies have been split on the matter for years. In 2021, the intelligence community declassified a report that showed four agencies in the intelligence community had assessed with low confidence that the virus likely jumped from animals to humans naturally in the wild, while one assessed with moderate confidence that the pandemic was the result of a laboratory accident.
Three other intelligence community elements were unable to coalesce around either explanation without additional information, the report said.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the new assessment from the Department of Energy. A senior US intelligence official told the Journal that the update to the intelligence assessment was conducted in light of new intelligence, further study of academic literature and in consultation with experts outside government.
A Department of Energy spokesperson told CNN in a statement: “The Department of Energy continues to support the thorough, careful, and objective work of our intelligence professionals in investigating the origins of COVID-19, as the President directed.”
The Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence is one of 18 government agencies that make up the intelligence community, which are under the umbrella of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs pushed back against the claim when asked about the reported assessment during a regular briefing on Monday.
Spokesperson Mao Ning pointed to the “authoritative and scientific” conclusion reached after a 2021 field mission between Chinese and World Health Organization experts, who determined the lab leak hypothesis was “highly unlikely.” That mission was later criticized for a lack of transparency by Western governments.
“The parties concerned should stop stirring up arguments about laboratory leaks, stop smearing China and stop politicizing the issue of the virus origin,” Mao said.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the intelligence community remains divided on the matter, while noting that President Joe Biden has put resources into getting to the bottom of the origin question.
“Right now, there is not a definitive answer that has emerged from the intelligence community on this question,” Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash. “Some elements of the intelligence community have reached conclusions on one side, some on the other. A number of them have said they just don’t have enough information to be sure.”
Sullivan said Biden had directed the national laboratories, which are part of the Department of Energy, to be brought into the assessment.
In May 2020, researchers at the government-backed Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory issued a classified report that found it was possible that the coronavirus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, which came at a time when that line of inquiry was considered taboo.
The US began exploring the possibility that Covid-19 spread in a laboratory as early as April 2020, though the intelligence community has noted repeatedly that a lack of cooperation from Beijing has made it difficult to get to the bottom of the question.
The latest intelligence assessment was provided to Congress as Republicans on Capitol Hill have been pushing for further investigation into the lab leak theory, while accusing the Biden administration of playing down its possibility.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul said Sunday he was “pleased” that the Department of Energy “has finally reached the same conclusion that I had already come to.”
“I have requested a full and thorough briefing from the administration on this report and the evidence behind it,” the Texas Republican said in a statement.
McCaul in his statement referred to a 2021 report he had released as ranking member of the Foreign Affairs panel, which “found a preponderance of the evidence proved” that the pandemic originated with a leak from the Wuhan lab.
The chairman called on the Biden administration to publicly concur with that conclusion.
“It is critical the administration also begin to work immediately with our partners and allies around the world to both hold the (Chinese Communist Party) accountable and to put in place updated international regulations to ensure something like this cannot happen again,” McCaul said.
Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska on Sunday called for public hearings following the disclosure of the Department of Energy assessment.
“We need to do extensive hearings. I hope our Democratic colleagues in the Congress can support that. I know the Republicans in the House are certainly supportive of that,” the Senate Armed Services Committee member said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“Think about what just happened over the last three years, one of the biggest pandemics in a century. A lot of evidence that it’s coming from the Chinese,” Sullivan said.
A spokesperson for House Oversight Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said in a statement that the committee was “reviewing the classified information provided” by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in response to a letter requesting information earlier this month.
One of the sources said that the new assessment from the Department of Energy is similar to information from a House Republican Intelligence Committee report released last year on the origins of the virus.
After an abrupt easing of its “zero-Covid” policy late last year, China has declared a “big and decisive triumph” in its control of the coronavirus outbreak that has swept the nation in recent months.
The assessment was made by the top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party on Thursday during a closed-door meeting presided over by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and it is the latest indication that the nation is attempting to reduce the political repercussions of zero-Covid.
The years-long policy had generated widespread discontent – including rare nationwide protests – before it was scrapped in December amid rising economic costs, in a decision that caught the public off-guard.
The swift rollback of stringent disease controls sparked a surge in cases that saw hospitals overwhelmed and people scrambling for basic medicines.But the outbreak appears to have subsided in intensity in recent weeks, with official figures showing visits to fever clinics returning to levels below those of the period before restrictions were lifted after dropping from a peak in late December.
In its Thursday meeting, the Politburo Standing Committee said the highly populous nation had “created a miracle in human history” as it had “successfully pulled through a pandemic,” according to a summary published by state-run news agency Xinhua.
The summary also said the group claimed that China had kept the lowest Covid-19 fatality rate in the world – a metric that China’s top leadership touted throughout the pandemic, as its lockdowns, enforced quarantines and border restrictions kept case numbers – and fatalities – low compared with some other major economies.
But experts say the assessment – the first from China’s top leaders since the surge of cases has appeared to recede –merely serves to underscore the deep questions that remain about the impact of the outbreak on the country.
Since ending zero-Covid, China has officially recorded more than 80,000 fatalities – a figure that counts people who were tested for Covid-19 and died in hospital but excludes deaths that went untested or those who died at home during the surge of the virus. Those excluded could be a sizable group, experts say, as testing stalled and many patients were likely to have avoided hospitals.
“There are still many questions about the death toll in China due to Covid – it might be useful if they could release more information, particularly about the all-cause deaths compared to the pre-Covid years,” said virologist Jin Dongyan, a professor at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Biomedical Sciences, pointing to one method for assessing a more complete picture of fatalities in the country.
China has also been criticized by the World Health Organization for its limited data transparency during the outbreak, includingits earlier and more narrow definition of a Covid-19 death, which Chinese health officials updated in January.
It’s also not clear how many people were infected overall since China relaxed the zero-Covid policy – raising further questions about how authorities calculatedthe undisclosed Covid fatality rate, which experts say is typically measured by dividing the number of deaths over the total number of cases.
Chinese health authorities stopped releasing figures for so-called asymptomatic cases nationwide late last year, as they dismantled the countries’ extensive Covid-19 mass testing apparatus and allowed people to test and recover at home.
In late January, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou said on his personal social media account that around 80% of people in China had already been infected.
Reported death figures have also declined, with China reporting just 912 hospital deaths for the week of February 3-9, according to the latest CDC reporting, which also says fatalities peaked on January 4 with a total of 4,273 deaths that day.
Providing a more complete picture of the outbreak – andthe death toll – may not suit the government’s interests of reassuring the public about their handling of the virus, according to Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
Huang pointed to several international reports, based on modeling, which has placed the actual death toll at upwards of 1 million over the past two months. “You can’t expect the government to admit to this (scale),” he said, “because people are going to ask the question – how could we have paid so much economic and social cost (from zero-Covid) to essentially come up with an outcome that is equal if not worse to the (toll in the) US.”
Instead, Huang said, Chinese leaders were seizing the moment to take control of the narrative around the outbreak as the surge appears to have receded.
“People’s lives are returning to normal, and the viral wave comes to an end, so that kind of uncertainty (about the outbreak) is no longer there, and there is a need to reconcile the contradictory narrative, the credibility crisis that the abrupt policy U-turn created,” Huang said, referring to the shift in official tone as China swiftly adjusted from warning about the dangers of the virus and the need to contain it, to allowing it to spread.
“This is the perfect time to say that the outcome justified the decision,” Huang said.
But even as signs indicate that China’s population has widespread natural immunity, as in other countries, that does not mean the virus is gone or that China’s health care systems are prepared for potential future surges driven by potentialnew variants, experts say.
The Politburo Standing Committee referenced the need to continue to bolster health care in its meeting, according to the Xinhua summary, which said the body “urged all localities and departments to optimize related mechanisms and measures, strengthen the medical service system,” and called for planning for the next phase of vaccinations and enhancing medical supplies.
Jin at the University of Hong Kong agreed that China needed to continue to prepare, even as signs suggested the latest surge was largely over.
“Covid is still around and will be with us for much, much longer,” he said. “After this tsunami, still they have the new challenge of strengthening the health care system.”
