Tag: World Health Organization

Advocates hope new ban will temper market for toxic skin-lightening cosmetics

Stuart Mitchell

When Iya Kande’s youngest son turned two months old, she began using a skin-lightening soap on his face and body.  Kande, whose last name has been changed to protect her identity, lives in northern Nigeria. She was hoping a fairer complexion would ingratiate the boy with his grandmother, who like many in the region had come to equate light skin with beauty.   But within weeks, the child’s skin began to blister and break out in rashes. It wasn’t until months later that Kande learned the cause. The soap was laced…

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Basic Energy Access Lags Amid Renewable Opportunities New Report Shows

Stuart Mitchell

A new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO), released recently, finds that the world is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 for energy by 2030. This year marks the halfway point for achieving SDGs by 2030. SDG 7 is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy. The goal includes reaching universal access to electricity and clean cooking, doubling historic levels…

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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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World Health Organization and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to dramatically increase global access to childhood cancer medicines

Stuart Mitchell

The World Health Organization and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have announced plans to establish a platform that will dramatically increase access to childhood cancer medicines around the world. The Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, the first of its kind, will provide an uninterrupted supply of quality-assured childhood cancer medicines to low- and middle-income countries. St. Jude is making a six-year, $200 million investment to launch the platform, which will provide medicines at no cost to countries participating in the pilot phase. This is the largest financial…

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World Health Organization and Out There Impact join forces to use the power of mobile to prevent the ongoing spread of COVID-19 as world awaits vaccine rollout

Stuart Mitchell

Out There Impact, the impact division of mobile advertising and data monetisation company Out There Media, committed to using the power of mobile technology for the greater good, today announced that it is collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO) to launch a global mobile education campaign looking to contain the ongoing spread of COVID-19. The two organizations will work together to distribute messages to more than three hundred million global citizens by early 2021 via Out There Impact’s mobile engagement platform and its mobile operator partners. This vast and…

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