The global burden of Group B streptococcus is far higher than previously recognized, linked to over half a million preterm births annually, and leading to nearly 100,000 newborn deaths, at least 46,000 stillbirths, and significant long-term disability. Although the bacterium is harmless for most pregnant women who carry it, it can be extremely serious when it passes to babies during pregnancy, childbirth or in the early weeks of life. New vaccines are urgently needed to reduce deaths associated with Group B strep and protect the lives and health of infants around the world.

New ACT-Accelerator strategic plan sets out urgent actions to address crucial gaps in access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, vaccines and personal protective equipment in low- and middle-income countries, using the latest epidemiological, supply and market information.

New Global Dashboard on COVID-19 Vaccine Equity finds low-income countries would add $38 billion to their GDP forecast for 2021 if they had the same vaccination rate as high-income countries. Global economic recovery at risk if vaccines are not equitably manufactured, scaled up and distributed.

"We are experiencing a worsening public health emergency that further threatens lives, livelihoods and a sound global economic recovery. It is definitely worse in places that have very few vaccines, but the pandemic is not over anywhere", said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a WHO media briefing this week.

WHO today validated the Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities the assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing. The vaccine is produced by the Beijing-based pharmaceutical company Sinovac.

As COVID-19 surges around the world, WHO continues its efforts to tackle the ongoing pandemic. Beyond the frontpage headlines, WHO with its partners' and donors' support, keeps working to help countries prevent, test for and treat the virus.

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.

4 May 2021, Geneva - WHO and UN Global Pulse, the Secretary-General’s digital innovation initiative are embarking today on a new venture to analyse content shared on public radio across the African continent to support infodemic monitoring. Part of the wider infodemic management programme, this collaboration will integrate radio data analysis into monitoring tools to inform the infodemic response by including more voices of vulnerable populations.

The second round of a World Health Organization “pulse survey“ reveals that over one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, substantial disruptions persist, with about 90% of countries still reporting one or more disruptions to essential health services, marking no substantial global change since the first survey conducted in the summer of 2020.

Two years on from the launch of a pilot programme, more than 1.7 million doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine have been administered in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, benefitting more than 650 000 children with additional malaria protection.