Scope (COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients affected by the pandemic)

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) call on governments to ensure that the procurement and supply of controlled medicines in countries meet the needs of patients, both those who have COVID-19 and those who require internationally controlled medicines for other medical conditions.

As schools worldwide struggle with reopening, the latest data from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) reveal that 43 per cent of schools around the world lacked access to basic handwashing with soap and water in 2019 – a key condition for schools to be able to operate safely in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meaningful youth engagement to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights  

Every day, young people are enriching institutions and processes at the local, national, and global levels.  

Member States have adopted the global strategy for TB research and innovation through an unprecedented written silence procedure of the 73^rd session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) last week. The global strategy was developed to support efforts by governments and other partners to accelerate TB research and innovation, and to improve equitable access to the benefits of research in line with the commitments made in the WHO End TB Strategy, the Moscow Declaration to End TB and the political declaration of the United Nations high-level meeting on TB. The development of the strategy was requested by Member States during the 71^st WHA with a view “to make further progress in enhancing cooperation and coordination in respect of tuberculosis research and development”.

The United Nations High-level Political Forum (HLPF), a mechanism that tracks and advances the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, was convened virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on 7–16 July 2020, on the theme "Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development ". Given the considerable impact of the pandemic on human health and the global economy, the Forum strongly focused on the potential impact of the pandemic on the implementation of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, and how the international community can respond and get back on track to achieving the sustainable development agenda. 

A plane carrying 20 tonnes of WHO health supplies has landed in Beirut, Lebanon, to support the treatment of patients injured by the massive blast that occurred in the city on 4 August. The supplies will cover 1000 trauma interventions and 1000 surgical interventions for people suffering from injuries and burns resulting from the blast.

Date: 7 August 2020

As a science-based institution, WHO is always striving to be at the forefront of scientific progress and its potential to improve health for all. A new WHO Science Council comprising international experts from a broad range of disciplines will support WHO in interpreting cutting-edge scientific and medical knowledge, as well as the latest advances in technology.

The Emergency Committee on COVID-19, convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), held its fourth meeting on 31 July. In its statement following the meeting, published today, it expressed “appreciation for WHO and partners’ COVID-19 pandemic response efforts, and highlighted the anticipated lengthy duration of this COVID-19 pandemic, noting the importance of sustained community, national, regional, and global response efforts.”  

The fourth meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) took place on Friday, 31 July 2020 from 12:00 to 17:45 Geneva time (CEST). 

WHO takes this opportunity to remind Member States that are Parties to the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) of their obligations under the Convention. Heated tobacco products are tobacco products, meaning that the WHO FCTC fully applies to these products. (Decision FCTC/COP8(22)) Specifically, Article 13.4(a) obliges Parties, to prohibit "all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship that promote a tobacco product by any means that are false, misleading or deceptive or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics, health effects, hazards or emissions."

WHO and the Stop TB Partnership’s New Diagnostics Working Group (NDWG) launched today a framework for the evaluation of new tests for tuberculosis infection. The document provides details on study design, populations, reference standards, sample size calculation and data analysis to guide the future development of these tests.