The adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis (TB) services has brought the urgency of vaccine development efforts into sharp focus. Speaking earlier today at a high-level panel on TB at the World Economic Forum, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, announced plans to establish a new TB Vaccine Accelerator Council.

Earlier today, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke with Minister Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission, about the COVID-19 situation in the country. WHO appreciates this meeting, as well as the public release of information on the overall situation.  

WHO has updated its guidelines on mask wearing in community settings, COVID-19 treatments, and clinical management. This is part of a continuous process of reviewing such materials, working with guideline development groups composed of independent, international experts who consider the latest available evidence and the changing epidemiology.

A high-level meeting took place on 30 December between WHO and China about the current surge in COVID-19 cases, to seek further information on the situation, and to offer WHO's expertise and further support.

WHO announced that Dr Jeremy Farrar will become its new Chief Scientist. Currently, Director of the Wellcome Trust, Dr Farrar will join WHO in the second quarter of 2023.

Urgent action is needed globally and locally to achieve safe and sustainably managed water, sanitation and hygiene for all in order to prevent devastating impacts on the health of millions of people.

On Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day), the World Health Organization (WHO) teams up with international football icons to urge action by governments and people across the world to achieve health for all. UHC ensures that everyone, everywhere can access the support they need to be and stay healthy without being driven into financial hardship.

The first doses of one of the three candidate vaccines against Sudan ebolavirus arrived in Uganda yesterday. These will be evaluated in a clinical trial called the Solidarity Against Ebola or Tokomeza Ebola.

World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met today at WHO Headquarters with H.E. Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) and H.E. Ambassador Abdulmohsen Majed Bin Khothaila Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva to discuss opportunities to strengthen the organizations’ collaboration on humanitarian crises.

Today the European Union’s Health Emergency Preparedness Authority (HERA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a new partnership with a € 15 million allocation under the EU4Health programme to boost capacities at national, regional, and global levels for better preparedness for and response to health emergencies. 

A new World Health Organization (WHO) report reveals high levels of resistance in bacteria, causing life-threatening bloodstream infections, as well as increasing resistance to treatment in several bacteria causing common infections in the community based on data reported by 87 countries in 2020. 

• Countries meet for three days to agree next steps toward historic legal instrument, rooted in the WHO Constitution, designed to protect world from future pandemics.
• During discussions, Member States call for global agreement that takes into account equity, promotes preparedness, ensures solidarity and respects sovereignty.
• Zero draft of the pandemic accord to be ready for negotiations by Member States starting February 2023.

Member States of the World Health Organization today agreed to develop the first draft of a legally binding agreement designed to protect the world from future pandemics. This “zero draft” of the pandemic accord, rooted in the WHO Constitution, will be discussed by Member States in February 2023.

New data released today by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that countries around the world largely held the line against further setbacks to malaria prevention, testing and treatment services in 2021.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Commission yesterday agreed on reinforcing a decade-long collaboration to accelerate the achievement of universal health coverage. The letter of intent foresees an additional contribution from the European Union (EU) of €125 million for the continuation of WHO’s assistance to its Member States over the next five years, implemented through the Universal Health Coverage Partnership (UHC Partnership). This will focus on strengthening health systems to make them more resilient and responsive to natural, climate or human-made disasters.

On 1 December, World AIDS Day 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on global leaders and citizens to boldly recognize and address the inequalities that are holding back progress in attaining the global goal to end AIDS by 2030.

On 29 November 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the World Health Organization (WHO) signed a new multi-annual agreement for US$ 36.68 million in core voluntary contributions for the period 2022-2025.

A new report by the World Health Organization shows evidence of a higher risk of premature death and illness among many persons with disabilities compared to others in the society. 

Injuries and violence take the lives of some 12 000 people around the world each day. As reflected in a new World Health Organization report, Preventing injuries and violence: an overview, 3 of the top 5 causes of death among people aged 5–29 years are injury related, namely road traffic injuries, homicide and suicide.