The World Health Organization announced multiple commitments to drive change for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in all their diversity at the Generation Equality Forum, held last week in Paris. The WHO commitments focused on ending gender-based violence; advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights; and supporting health workers as well as feminist movements and leadership. These commitments shape a progressive and transformative blueprint for advancing gender equality, health equity, human rights and the empowerment of women and girls globally.

UNESCO and the World Health Organization today launched the Global Standards for Health-promoting Schools, a resource package for schools to improve the health and well-being of 1.9 billion school-aged children and adolescents. The closure of many schools around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe disruptions to education. An estimated 365 million primary school students went without school meals and significantly increased rates of stress, anxiety and other mental health issues.

Every year 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses are reported. In 2010, 420 000 people died due to such diseases as salmonella and E.coli infection, a third of them children under five years of age. It is estimated that this figure is increasing year after year, but it is difficult to get a clear picture of the real impact foodborne diseases are having around the world.

Fruit is nature’s ready-made snack packed with vitamins, fiber, and other nutrients that support a healthy diet. Fruit is also generally low in calories and high in fiber, which may help you lose weight. In fact, eating fruit is linked to a lower body weight and a lower risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and heart disease. Here are 11 of the best fruits to eat for weight loss.

You likely know the familiar expression, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” While the phrase was first coined in 1913, it was based on a Pembrokeshire proverb that originated in 1866. In fact, Notes and Queries magazine was the first to publish the original quote: “Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.” Although research shows that eating more apples may not actually be associated with fewer visits to the doctor, adding apples to your diet can help improve several aspects of your health (1Trusted SourceTrusted Source). This article takes a closer look at whether eating an apple a day can truly help keep the doctor away.

WHO’s latest global survey on implementation of national infection prevention and control programmes highlights the urgent need to reduce inequalities in the availability of good hand hygiene and other infection prevention and control measures between high and lower income countries. A new WHO online monitoring portal will help countries identify and address gaps.

The “Living with the Times” toolkit contains illustrated posters with key messages for older adults on how to maintain their well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, while supporting those around them at the same time. Thanks to their unique design, the posters require minimal reading skills, are culturally diverse and aim to engage older adults in conversations and activities, rather than simply share information. The toolkit also includes instructions for facilitators of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) on how to conduct guided conversations with older adults using these posters. Posters and facilitator instructions were designed in a way that each can be used alone or in combination, as a complete toolkit.

Falsified COVID-19 Vaccine BNT162b2 identified in the WHO region of the Americas. This WHO Medical Product Alert refers to falsified COVID-19 Vaccine identified as “BNT162b2” detected in Mexico in February 2021 and recently confirmed as falsified to the WHO. The falsified product was supplied and administered to patients outside authorized vaccination programs.

22 March 2021-Today, on World Water Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its strategy on water, sanitation and hygiene as part of joint efforts by the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and the neglected tropical diseases (NTD) sectors towards ending these diseases over the next decade.

Some countries in the European Union have temporarily suspended use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a precautionary measure based on reports of rare blood coagulation disorders in persons who had received the vaccine. Other countries in the EU – having considered the same information - have decided to continue using the vaccine in their immunization programmes.