In the quiet, pre-dawn hours of a rural clinic and the high-stakes environment of a metropolitan intensive care unit, one thing remains constant – The nurse is often the first person a patient sees in a moment of crisis and the last person they consult before returning home. On 12 May, as the world observes International Nurses Day, the focus shifts from the individual acts of care to the systemic support required to sustain a workforce of nearly 30 million professionals.

This global community represents the largest group of health workers on the planet, making up approximately half of the entire health workforce. Yet, despite their critical role, many operate in environment where the latest medical knowledge is a luxury rather than a standard. The World Health Organization is looking to change that narrative by moving beyond symbolic gestures and toward tangible, lifelong professional development.

The core of this year’s mission is the democratisation of medical knowledge. Through the WHO Academy, a digital learning revolution is taking place, offering free, high-quality courses to health workers regardless of their geographic location or economic standing. The goal is to ensure that every nurse has access to evidence-based training at every stage of their career journey.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director General, has been vocal about the link between nursing education and global stability. He recently noted that nurses are the backbone of health systems and that investing in them is not just a moral obligation but a strategic investment in healthier communities. According to Dr Tedros, when we support nurses with the tools they need, we are essentially investing in the safety and well-being of everyone.

For a nurse working in a remote region, the ability to access the WHO Academy’s curriculum can be life-changing. These courses cover a broad spectrum of competencies, from managing infectious diseases to implementing person-centered care models. By removing the financial barriers to education, the initiative aims to close the gap between developed and developing health systems.

Amelia Latu Afuhaamango Tuipulotu, the WHO Chief Nursing Officer, brings a perspective shaped by the realities of frontline service. She emphasizes that for nurses to deliver safe and effective care, they must be equipped with the latest competencies. She believes that learning opportunities must be available in every country and at every stage of a nurse’s career to truly honor their contribution to society.

The challenges facing the profession are significant. Burnout, resource shortages, and the lingering effects of global health crises have put immense pressure on these 30 million individuals. However, the Nursing and Midwifery Global Community of Practice offers a space for these professionals to connect and collaborate. It serves as a reminder that while their work is often local, their impact and their community are global.

The call to action this International Nurses Day is clear. It is an invitation for governments and health institutions to prioritize the lifelong learning journey of their nursing staff. By providing the latest knowledge and skills, the WHO Academy is helping to build a future where every patient receives care that is not only compassionate but also rooted in the most current scientific evidence.

As the world marks this day, the message remains simple. Supporting a nurse with education does more than improve a single career. It strengthens the entire fabric of global health, ensuring that the hands providing care are as informed as they are dedicated.

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WHO, in its newly published ‘2026 Global Hepatitis Report, on Tuesday, also said Nigeria and nine other countries accounted for 58 per cent of global hepatitis cases.

“Ten countries in Asia and Africa – Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa and Vietnam – accounted for nearly 70 per cent of hepatitis B related deaths worldwide that year.

“In 2024, 10 countries accounted for 58 per cent of global cases: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam,” WHO said.

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver.

It can be spread through contact with infected body fluids such as blood, saliva, vaginal fluids and semen, or passed from mother to baby.

The disease can be acute or chronic, with chronic infection raising risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus of the same name.

Transmission is spread through exposure to infected blood from unsafe injections, such as sharing needles and syringes or unscreened blood transfusions.

WHO estimates 287 million people or roughly three per cent of the global population were living with chronic Hepatitis B or C infection in 2024.

The new report says the WHO African Region accounted for 68 per cent of new hepatitis B infections.

It also says only 17 per cent of newborns there received a birth-dose vaccination.

Although 240 million people were living with chronic Hepatitis B in 2024, fewer than five per cent were receiving treatment.

The report further says only 20 per cent of people with Hepatitis C have been treated since new effective treatment became available in 2015.

The global health body regretted that limited access to prevention and care continued to drive mortality.

“In 2024, roughly 1.1 million people died from Hepatitis B and 240,000 from Hepatitis C, mainly due to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer,” the report found.

These infections claimed 1.34 million lives in 2024.

The world health agency also said transmission continued at a rate of some 1.8 million infections annually or more than 4,900 cases every day.

However, WHO said countries were making measurable progress in combatting viral hepatitis.

WHO also said new Hepatitis B infections had declined by 32 per cent while Hepatitis C-related deaths had dropped by 12 per cent.

Hepatitis B prevalence among children under five has also fallen to 0.6 per cent, with 85 countries achieving or surpassing the 2030 target of reducing prevalence to 0.1 per cent.

WHO highlighted significant gains made in the fight against Hepatitis B and C, which together account for 95 per cent of all hepatitis-related deaths worldwide.

WHO said the advances reflected sustained and coordinated international action towards viral hepatitis elimination targets adopted at the 2016 World Health Assembly but current rates were insufficient to meet all 2030 elimination targets.

WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said countries had shown that “eliminating hepatitis is not a pipedream,” but efforts must accelerate.

“Many people remain undiagnosed and untreated due to stigma, weak health systems and inequitable access to care,” Ghebreyesus said.

“While we have the tools to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat, urgent scale-up of prevention, diagnosis and treatment is needed if the world is to meet the 2030 targets.”

In spite of the challenges, WHO pointed to the highly effective tools that are already available in the fight against the disease.

The Hepatitis B vaccine is more than 95 per cent effective against both acute and chronic infections, while long-term antiviral treatment can help manage chronic infection and prevent severe liver disease.

At the same time, short-course therapy for Hepatitis C, lasting 8 to 12 weeks, can cure more than 95 per cent of cases.

Source: NAN

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With advanced features like Evidence Gap Maps and an AI-powered tool, TMGL GPT, the Library promises to transform access to trusted information and accelerate research worldwide.

The UN health agency unveiled the digital library at the end of the second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, jointly organised with the Government of India, concluded on Monday in New Delhi.

Innovation took centre stage with the launch of Health & Heritage Innovations (H2I), an initiative to nurture breakthrough ideas that bridge traditional practices with cutting-edge technologies such as AI, genomics, and digital health.

From over 1,000 submissions, 21 finalists were announced at the Summit and will enter a year-long acceleration programme to refine prototypes, receive scientific and regulatory guidance, and connect with policy-makers and investors.

WHO also announced the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (STAG-TM), a new advisory body to guide the Global Strategy.

Comprised of 19 independent experts, STAG-TM will shape research priorities, develop standards, and advise on integration into health systems. At its inaugural meeting during the Summit, the group set urgent priorities: evidence generation, preservation of traditional knowledge, digital innovation, and capacity building.

Countries rallied behind the Delhi Declaration from 26 Member States signaling a new era for traditional medicine.

This collective pledge focuses on integrating traditional medicine into primary health care, strengthening regulation and safety standards, investing in research, and building interoperable data systems to track outcomes.

It’s a shift from recognition to results – ensuring traditional medicine is not a parallel system but a driver of universal health coverage.

“Through the Delhi Commitment, countries have agreed not only on why traditional medicine matters – but on how to act,”  Dr Tedros  Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said.

“Traditional medicine can help to address many of the threats to health of our modern world: the growing burden of non-communicable diseases; inequitable access to health services; and climate change.

“It can help to support care that is person-centred, culturally grounded, and holistic.”

Looking ahead, WHO will work with Member States to turn these commitments into reality– scaling access to trusted knowledge, accelerating innovation, and embedding TM into health systems everywhere.

The Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 charts a bold course toward a future where care is more inclusive, culturally grounded, and resilient.

The summit marked a major milestone for global health as it drew over 16, 000 online registrations and brought together 800 delegates from more than 100 countries, including ministers from over 20 nations.

Combined with a strong line up of 160 speakers, the global traditional medicine community shared insights on how traditional medicine (TM) can strengthen health systems with more safe, evidence-based, and affordable care.

The energy in Delhi was palpable as ministers, scientists, indigenous leaders, and practitioners came together to advance the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025-2034.

Source: NAN

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WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the platform X that 41 children, accompanied by 145 relatives and caregivers, were safely transported out of Gaza for specialized medical attention.

A WHO spokesperson confirmed all the patients were children, adding that due to “operational concerns,” the countries receiving the young patients could not yet be disclosed for security reasons.

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Tedros revealed that approximately 15,000 patients in Gaza were still awaiting approval to leave the enclave for medical care, underscoring the urgent need for faster humanitarian access.

He appealed to nations to “show solidarity” by supporting medical evacuations and opening all available routes to expedite the safe transfer of critically ill civilians from the conflict zone.

Medical evacuations from Gaza require permits from Israeli authorities, who control border access.

The ceasefire, in place since October 10, has faced periodic violations from both sides, according to local reports.

Source: dpa/NAN

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The Director-General of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus, is calling for “shifting the narrative” on the issue “to challenge harmful myths, reduce stigma and foster compassionate conversations.”

Speaking on the World Suicide Prevention Day, which is marked annually on September 10, Tedros said “each life lost leaves a profound impact on families, friends, colleagues and entire communities.”

All age groups are affected by suicide and was the third leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds globally in 2021, the last year for which data has been gathered by WHO.

Suicide does not just occur in high-income countries and impacts all regions of the world.

Close to three quarters of global suicides occurred in low and middle-income countries in 2021.

The average number of suicides across the world in 2021 was 8.9 per 100,000 people.

In Africa, the figure stood at 11.5, while in both Europe and Southeast Asia the number of suicides was recorded at 10.1 per 100,000 people.

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The link between suicide and mental disorders, in particular, depression and alcohol use disorders, and a previous suicide attempt is well established in high-income countries.

However, many suicides happen impulsively in moments of crisis with a breakdown in the ability to deal with life stresses, such as financial problems, relationship disputes, or chronic pain and illness.

In addition, experiencing conflict, disaster, violence, abuse or loss and a sense of isolation are strongly associated with suicidal behaviour.

Suicide rates are also high among vulnerable groups who experience discrimination, such as refugees and migrants, indigenous peoples, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) persons and incarcerated prisoners.

“We must move from silence to openness, from stigma to empathy, and from neglect to support,” Tedros said.

“We must create environments where people feel safe to speak up and seek help,” he stressed.

“Shifting the narrative on suicide also means driving systemic change, where governments prioritise and invest in quality mental health care and policies to ensure everyone gets the support they need.”

According to the 2024 Mental Health Atlas report by WHO, median government spending on mental health has remained at a modest two per cent of total health budgets since 2017.

Moreover, there is a significant disparity between high-income and low-income nations.

Whilst high-income nations allocate up to $65 per person to mental health, low-income nations spend as little as $0.04.

WHO recognises mental health as a universal human right.

WHO says that there are effective measures that can be taken to prevent suicide and self-harm.

Live Life, the agency’s initiative for suicide prevention, recommends limiting access to the means of suicide (eg, pesticides, firearms, certain medications).

It also recommended interaction with the media for responsible reporting of suicide.

Fostering socio-emotional life skills in adolescents, early identification, assessment, management and following up anyone who is affected by suicidal behaviours are other effective measures, according to WHO.

Source: NAN

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WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, made this known in a statement.

Ghebreyesus said the announcement followed the fourth meeting of the IHR emergency committee regarding the upsurge of Mpox, held on June 5.

According to him, the committee, recognising progress in the capacity to respond in certain countries, advised the WHO boss that the event continues to constitute a PHEIC.

He said that it was based on the continuing rise in number of cases, including a recent increase in West Africa, and likely ongoing undetected transmission in some countries beyond the African continent

“Ongoing operational challenges in responding to the event, including concerning surveillance and diagnostics, as well as a lack of funding, make prioritising response interventions challenging and require continued international support,” he said.

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Ghebreyesus concurred with the committee’s advice and issued the committee’s revised temporary recommendations to member states experiencing Mpox outbreaks.

He said the recommendations would guide countries’ efforts to prevent and control spread of the disease.

According to him, the full report of the fourth meeting will be issued in the third week of June.

“The upsurge of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its spread to neighbouring countries was first determined to be PHEIC by Ghebreyesus on August 14, 2024.

“Since then, the  committee has met on three additional occasions, each time, advising the director general that the event continues to constitute a PHEIC,” he said.

Source: NAN

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Ghebreyesus said this on Wednesday during an online media conference on global health issues.

According to him, in high-income countries, almost 90 per cent of children survive while in low-income and middle-income countries, survival rates are often below 30 per cent.

“In 2018, WHO established a Global Initiative on Childhood Cancer with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the United States and more than 100 other partners.

“As part of the initiative, WHO and St. Jude have also established a global platform to improve access to lifesaving medicines for children with cancer in low- and middle-income countries,” he said.

Ghebreyesus said that on Tuesday, it began distributing childhood cancer medicines at no cost in the first two countries: Mongolia and Uzbekistan.

WHO boss said that the shipments of medicines were planned for another four countries: Ecuador, Jordan, Nepal and Zambia.

“We estimate these treatments will reach about 5000 children with cancer across at least 30 hospitals in these six countries this year.

“Six more countries have been invited to join the platform, and over the next five to seven years, WHO aims to reach 120,000 children in 50 countries.

“We are very encouraged to see how this programme has grown since we started in 2018, and we thank St. Jude for its partnership,” he said.

On the world body, he said that the executive board was the second-most important decision making body in WHO after the World Health Assembly.

According to him, in 2024, the board dealt with a large agenda covering the huge range of WHO’s work: emergencies, polio, meningitis, cervical cancer, medical devices, air pollution, and universal health coverage.

“To support WHO’s work around the world, the board recommended that the Health Assembly approves the Programme Budget for 2026 and 2027.

“The Board also recommended that the Health Assembly approve the next 20 per cent increase in assessed contributions and the membership fees that countries pay.

“In 2022, member states agreed to gradually increase assessed contributions from 16 per cent of the base budget to 50 per cent,” Ghebreyesus said.

According to him, the increase approved by the board in the first week of February is the next step towards that target, and is critical for putting WHO on a more sustainable financial footing.

On Ebola, he said that so far, the Ugandan government had reported nine confirmed cases, including one death.

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The boss said that more than 260 contacts had been identified and were being monitored.

“I thank the government of Uganda for its leadership and partnership.

“WHO is on the ground supporting the government’s response.

“We are providing surge support for surveillance, laboratories, logistics, infection prevention and control in hospitals, treatment centres and research,” he said.

According to him, the National Emergency Medical teams, trained by WHO, are providing care for those infected.

The WHO boss said that it was also providing critical supplies from its logistics hubs in Nairobi and Dubai.

“There are no authorised vaccines or therapeutics against the species of Ebola virus responsible for this outbreak.

“But thanks to preparedness measures that the government took after the previous outbreak, and a global research collaboration led by WHO, we were able to start a trial of a candidate vaccine just four days after the outbreak was declared.

“A therapeutics trial will start as soon as national authorities provide approval,” he said.

Ghebreyesus said that to support the response, he was releasing two million dollars from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies.

“This is in addition to the one million dollars that we contributed earlier to set up the initial response,” he said.

Source: NAN

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Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organisation, WHO.

The statement reads: “The World Health Organisation regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the Organization.

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“The organisation hopes that Washington will change its decision.

“We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.’’

Source: NAN

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Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO, Director-General said this on Wednesday in a statement.

“In the meantime, I have given the green light to Gavi and UNICEF to proceed with procurement of vaccines, pending the EUL decision.

“It’s vital to stress that although vaccines are a powerful tool, they are by no means the only tool.

“There are many other things that WHO, the Africa CDC and our partners are doing to stop outbreaks and save lives,” Ghebreyesus said.

According to him, for years, WHO has been supporting affected countries in Africa to respond to sporadic outbreaks of mpox.

WHO boss said that for years, the organisation had been calling for more research, and for the development of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for mpox.

“We see now it’s attracting the attention of the international community.

“As you know, two weeks ago today, I convened an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations, and on its advice, declared a public health emergency of international concern over the outbreaks of mpox in Africa,” he said.

Ghebreyesus said that such was the highest level of alarm under international health law.

“Dr Jean Kaseya, Director-General, African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and I have spoken frequently to ensure our two organisations are working together closely to leverage our comparative advantages.

“And also to coordinate our work under one plan, with one budget, as Jean already indicated earlier,” he said.

According to him, he was proud to say that he actually proposed the idea of establishing the Africa CDC at the Abuja African Union Summit in July 2013, when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.

“So, I’m very glad to see how my daughter, the Africa CDC, has grown, and is now co-leading the response to mpox with WHO.

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“Credit also to all Member States of the African Union for establishing the Africa CDC.

“On August 23, we shared our global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, to stop human-to-human transmission and bring these outbreaks under control.

“I’m confident that mpox can be stopped if we work in unison under the leadership of you, the governments.

“On August 23, we received the information we needed from the manufacturers of both vaccines to evaluate their products for Emergency Use Listing,” Ghebreyesus said.

According to him, the organisation expect to be able to issue that listing within the next three weeks.

He said that they were providing PCR machines and kits; supporting laboratories and scaling up their workforce

Others, he said, were training of health workers and supporting clinicians and working with local partners and civil society.

Ghebreyesus said that they were engaging affected communities in the design, implementation and evaluation of interventions.

“The last thing I would like to say is that the mpox outbreak is another reminder, if any were needed, of the critical need for a legally-binding international agreement to ensure a coordinated and equitable response to pandemics,” he said.

Source: NAN

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The world body said on Tuesday in a statement that the fund would be used to implement critical activities outlined in the global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) released on August 26.

It stated that “the SPRP is a comprehensive framework developed by WHO to guide global response to Mpox, emphasising surveillance, research, equitable access to medical countermeasures and community empowerment.

“Following the declaration of a global emergency on August 14, WHO needs 87.4 million dollars over six months (September 2024 to February 2025) to work with countries, partners and other stakeholders to stop the current outbreak of Mpox.

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“The required fund will be used across WHO headquarters, regional and country offices, to enable coordination of the responses, provide technical assistance, run operations and deliver medical supplies.”

WHO, therefore, called on donors to urgently fund the full extent of the Mpox response to prevent further spread and protect those at risk.

Source: NAN

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