Tag: WHO

The World Health Organization Extends Global Action Plan on Dementia to 2031

Stuart Mitchell

194 Member States of World Health Organisation formally adopted an extension to the Global Action Plan on dementia until 2031. As the international federation of Alzheimer and dementia associations around the world; in official relations with the WHO, Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) welcomes the news – but warns that the world is heading towards a global health crisis and must use this time wisely. “The Global Action Plan remains the best tool available to governments to support those living with dementia, their carers, healthcare systems, and the wider society. Mortality…

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WHO and ILO call for new measures to tackle mental health issues at work

Stuart Mitchell

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have called for concrete action to address mental health concerns in the working population. An estimated 12 billion workdays are lost annually due to depression and anxiety costing the global economy nearly US$ one trillion. Two new publications which aim to address this issue are published today – WHO Guidelines on mental health at work and a derivative WHO/ILO policy brief. WHO’s global guidelines on mental health at work recommend actions to tackle risks to mental health such as…

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Make suicide prevention in Africa a priority, UN health agency urges governments

Stuart Mitchell

Did you know that Africa has the highest suicide rate in the world? To reverse that worrying statistic, the UN health agency WHO recently launched a social media campaign to raise awareness around mental health illness, which is believed to account for up to 11 per cent of the risk factors that are associated with suicide. “Every death by suicide is a tragedy,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, who maintained the suicide prevention was “rarely a priority” in national health programmes. Tweet URL Ahead of World…

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New global alliance launched to end AIDS in children by 2030

Stuart Mitchell

Globally, only half (52%) of children living with HIV are on life-saving treatment, far behind adults where three quarters (76%) are receiving antiretrovirals, according to the data that has just been released in the UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2022. Concerned by the stalling of progress for children, and the widening gap between children and adults, UNAIDS, UNICEF, WHO and partners have brought together a global alliance to ensure that no child living with HIV is denied treatment by the end of the decade and to prevent new infant HIV infections.…

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More than half of parents and pregnant women exposed to aggressive formula milk marketing

Stuart Mitchell

More than half of parents and pregnant women (51 per cent) surveyed for a new WHO/UNICEF report say they have been targeted with marketing from formula milk companies, much of which is in breach of international standards on infant feeding practices.   The report, How marketing of formula milk influences our decisions on infant feeding (https://uni.cf/3LXgXHt), draws on interviews with parents, pregnant women and health workers in eight countries. It uncovers systematic and unethical marketing strategies used by the formula milk industry – now worth a staggering US$55 billion – to…

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