World Health Organization Who

'Body eats itself': What happens when the body is starved of food

Gaza is gripped by a man-made famine as starvation deaths rise sharply. Doctors describe mothers too weak to breastfeed and children unable to swallow. Experts explain how the body 'eats itself' in five stages of starvation — from burning stored carbs to consuming vital organs — in a crisis that aid workers say is entirely preventable

World Health Organization faces uncertainty amid US withdrawal

Staff have been getting ready - cutting managers and budgets - ever since Trump's January announcement in a rush of directives and aid cuts that have disrupted a string of multilateral pacts and initiatives

Europe has a new problem with mosquitoes. Here's why its serious

New research shows that dengue and chikungunya could soon become endemic in Europe. The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, was conducted by researchers in Sweden and Germany and examined the spread of dengue and chikungunya in Europe for over three decades. Here's what it showed and why it blamed climate change

Doctor explains: How Parkinson’s hides in plain sight and why early detection matters

Parkinson’s disease is often mistaken for routine aging—but ignoring early warning signs can delay crucial treatment. For Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Firstpost brings out a doctor’s view on how to decode symptoms, causes and the promise of newer treatments for the disease.

History Today: Why April 7 is celebrated as World Health Day

The World Health Organization (Who) was founded on April 7, 1948, to promote international cooperation in improving public health, a date now observed as World Health Day. Also on this day in 1994, genocide broke out in Rwanda, an East African nation, leading to the deadliest mass killing since World War II. It lasted around 100 days, during which more than 800,000 civilians were killed

Is Donald Trump’s America turning inward?

From pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord and the WHO to pushing steep cuts to foreign aid and questioning NATO obligations, the Trump Administration’s actions reflect a narrower conception of America’s role in the world

India, Pakistan & Bangladesh in same smog bloc, only 7 countries meet WHO air quality standards

India, fifth in the smog rankings behind Chad, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, saw average PM2.5 fall 7% on the year to 50.6 mg/cu m

Russia-Ukraine war has seen over 2,000 attacks on health facilities, can Kyiv still hold out?

Ukrainian healthcare systems have shown remarkable resilience, thanks– in no small part– to lessons the country derived from the 2014 takeover of Crimea. However, recent developments suggest the path ahead will not be so easy

WHO wants cigarette-style cancer warnings on alcohol bottles

Alcohol consumption has been linked to an increased risk of several types of cancer. WHO classifies alcoholic beverages as Group 1 carcinogens, indicating sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans

WHO has a 2030 deadline to eradicate sleeping sickness but is the world actually getting rid of it?

Civil unrest in key endemic regions, such as the Central African Republic and southwestern Cameroon, has hindered disease control efforts in the past