Tag: UN

UN calls for global database of human gene editing research

The World Health Organization issued new recommendations Monday on human genome editing, calling for a global registry to track “any form of genetic manipulation” and proposing a whistle-blowing mechanism to raise concerns about unethical or unsafe research. The U.N. health agency commissioned an expert group in late 2018 following a dramatic announcement from Chinese scientist

Men outnumber women three to one on COVID-19 task forces

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Men outnumber women three to one on government coronavirus task forces globally, a disparity that risks creating an unequal recovery, the United Nations warned on Monday. Women made up just 24% of representatives on task forces set up to manage the recovery in 137 countries examined in a study

UN: More than 7 million malaria cases in Burundi outbreak

The World Health Organization says more than 7 million cases of malaria have been reported in Burundi this year. Officials blame the outbreak on factors including the lack of protective bed nets, problems with medicines and climate change. The U.N. health agency says malaria has killed nearly 2,700 people this year in the East African

New evidence proves the work of UN agencies is effective

Academics led by Professor Lucie Cluver at Oxford University have shown how key services in lower and middle-income countries can contribute to multiple sustainable development goals (SDGs), even for the highest-risk children and adolescents. The study, led by Oxford University in collaboration with the universities of Cape Town and Witwatersrand, University College London and the

UN: Polio remains global emergency, eradication at risk

The World Health Organization says the ongoing attempt to eradicate polio remains a global emergency amid an increase in cases for the first time in years and a worrying number of outbreaks sparked by the vaccine. After an expert meeting convened by the U.N. health agency this week, experts said Friday that failing to wipe

Governments to discuss tackling tuberculosis at UN summit

Governments from around the world will gather Wednesday to discuss the persistent scourge of tuberculosis, which last year claimed more lives than any other communicable disease. About 1.3 million people worldwide died of TB in 2017. A further 300,000 people with both HIV and TB died in last year, according to World Health Organization figures

UN warns of a possible new cholera epidemic in Yemen

The United Nations is warning of a possible “third wave” of the cholera epidemic in Yemen, which is already “the largest outbreak on record.” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday there have been more than 1.1 million suspected cases of cholera since April 2017, and the number is increasing. He said over 2,300 deaths have

Cholera kills 13 in Niger: UN

An outbreak of cholera has killed 13 people in Niger’s southern Maradi region, which is home to the country’s economic capital, officials and the UN said on Saturday. Nearly 1,000 people, most of them children, have been affected by the outbreak which was first detected just over a month ago, the UN’s Office for the