World Health Organization

Displaced Syrians gather inside a tent in the Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria in December.

World News

WHO Warns Of Dire Conditions, Deaths Of Children At Refugee Camp In Syria

4:52pm January 31, 2019

by Francesca Paris

More than 20,000 people, mostly women and children, have arrived at the Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria in just two months. The World Health Organization says aid workers are struggling to keep up.

A medical worker holds a measles-rubella vaccine at a health station in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Amid Spike In Measles Cases, Health Officials Warn Of 'Losing Decades Of Progress'

2:35pm November 30, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

The number of cases worldwide leaped more than 30 percent from 2016 to 2017, according to the World Health Organization and the CDC. And they say the rise has roots in failures to vaccinate children.

Health workers gather outside a newly built treatment center earlier this month in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Ebola Treatment Trials Launched In Democratic Republic Of The Congo Amid Outbreak

9:29am November 27, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

The virus has killed at least 240 people in the past four months, and it has shown no signs of abating. But the new trials may help end future outbreaks sooner.

Smoke rises above the skyline of Beijing on a moderately polluted day in 2017.

Air Pollution Exposure Harms Cognitive Performance, Study Finds

9:06pm August 27, 2018

by Merrit Kennedy

The researchers tested more than 25,000 people multiple times, matching the results with pollution data from the time of each test. Older adults were most affected by air quality.

The resolution at the World Health Assembly in Geneva in May was aimed at promoting breastfeeding.

Trump Administration Denies Threatening Ecuador Over A Breastfeeding Resolution

7:40pm July 10, 2018

by Merrit Kennedy

A State Department official says "reports suggesting the United States threatened a partner nation related to a World Health Assembly resolution are false." The New York Times says the U.S. did.

Health & Safety

Fake And Faulty Drugs: A Problem No One Wants To Talk About

7:00am May 19, 2018

by Susan Brink

A new book explores why getting a properly formulated medicine is hit-or-miss in much of the developing world — and why the issue is massively underreported.

A convoy of Syrian Red Crescent trucks arrives in Douma, in the Syrian rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, on Monday. This aid convoy is the first to reach the besieged area in weeks.

World News

Aid Begins To Reach Besieged Syrian Region, As Civilian Deaths Continue

5:28pm March 05, 2018

by Camila Domonoske

Trucks loaded with food people have entered Eastern Ghouta, but many medical supplies were blocked. Despite an ostensible "humanitarian corridor," shelling continued as the aid was being delivered.

Midwife trainees deliver a baby at the Juba Teaching Hospital in South Sudan.

New Guidelines Establish The Rights Of Women When Giving Birth

4:53pm March 01, 2018

by Susan Brink

To reduce unnecessary medical interventions in childbirth and respect the woman's wishes, the World Health Organization sets standards in a report.

Smallpox virus, colorized and magnified in this micrograph 42,000 times, is the real concern for biologists working on a cousin virus — horsepox. They're hoping to develop a better vaccine against smallpox, should that human scourge ever be used as a bi

Did Pox Virus Research Put Potential Profits Ahead of Public Safety?

1:05pm February 17, 2018

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Privately funded scientists made a virus related to smallpox from scratch, hoping their version might lead to a better smallpox vaccine. But critics question the need — and worry about repercussions.

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Health & Safety

Health Care Costs Push A Staggering Number Of People Into Extreme Poverty

6:25am December 14, 2017

by Nurith Aizenman

And half the world's population doesn't even have access to essential health services, according to a report from the World Bank and the World Health Organization.