WHO Stories

WHO raises alarm as antibiotic resistance threatens global health gains
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Oct 14, 2025

The report links this growing resistance to the misuse of antibiotics, poor infection control, and weak surveillance systems, particularly in developi...

Inside El Fasher: A city under siege as hospitals and civilians face relentless attacks
Rachael Mutabasi  |  Oct 11, 2025

The UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented at least 53 civilians killed between October 5-8 alone in attacks across the El Fa...

Scientists discover brain cells linked to depression, offering hope for better treatments
Charity Kilei  |  Oct 11, 2025

The researchers focused on two types of brain cells. The first type helps control mood and how the brain responds to stress. The second type acts like...

WHO says rebuilding Gaza’s shattered health system critical to a lasting peace
UN News  |  Oct 09, 2025

Reconstruction will cost over $7 billion, according to WHO estimates, covering humanitarian response, early recovery and long-term rebuilding.

WHO warns of alarming teen vaping surge as 15 million adolescents now using e-cigarettes
Bashir Mbuthia  |  Oct 06, 2025

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the tobacco industry is “aggressively targeting young people” with new nicotine products.

Growing health crisis among Kenya’s elderly: Costs, care and insurance coverage
Charity Kilei  |  Oct 04, 2025

Kenya’s ageing population faces growing risks from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, as reported in the 202...

Gaza health system overwhelmed as WHO reports 42,000 people have life-changing injuries
UN News  |  Oct 03, 2025

WHO stressed the urgent need for fuel, medical supplies, prosthetics, and assistive devices, alongside protection for health workers. Medical evacuati...

Ethiopia makes history as first IGAD nation to secure WHO’s top medicine safety rating
Lucy Mumbi  |  Oct 01, 2025

The recognition, announced by WHO, highlights Ethiopia’s strengthened regulatory framework, ensuring that medicines, vaccines, and other medical produ...

Mental health takes centre stage at the General Assembly
UN News  |  Sep 27, 2025

Even where services do exist, they are often inaccessible due to costs, distance, or lack of integration with other health support. Stigma is also a s...

Paracetamol and vaccines not linked to autism, says WHO
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Sep 25, 2025

The global health body emphasised that autism remains a complex condition influenced by a mix of genetic and environmental factors, with no single cau...

WHO warns global fight against non-communicable diseases is stalling
Lucy Mumbi  |  Sep 21, 2025

According to WHO, NCDs, including heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory conditions, diabetes and mental health disorders, are responsible for mor...

UK, African researchers join forces in Sh1.4 billion battle against bilharzia
Bashir Mbuthia  |  Sep 18, 2025

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the disease is endemic in 78 countries, with more than 90 percent of cases occurring in sub-Saharan...

WHO begins Ebola vaccinations in DRC’s Kasai Province amid first outbreak in three years
Bashir Mbuthia  |  Sep 14, 2025

The DRC Health Ministry reports 32 suspected Ebola cases, including 20 confirmed infections and 16 deaths, with a new case 70 kilometres from Bulape r...

The night the mountains shook: A doctor on the front lines of Afghanistan’s earthquake
UN News  |  Sep 07, 2025

A native of the Jalalabad area, he knew first-hand what this new disaster would mean for the country’s northeast, where extended families all live und...

Kenya battles rising mpox infections as WHO lifts global emergency
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Sep 06, 2025

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral illness causing fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and a characteristic rash that progresses to p...

Mpox deaths near 2,000 in Africa since 2024 amid recent decline in cases: Africa CDC
XINHUA  |  Sep 05, 2025

Data from the Africa CDC showed that the average weekly confirmed cases fell by 52 per cent, from a peak of 1,441 weekly average cases in May to 695 c...

Ethiopia’s emergency medical response system is up and running – what other countries can learn from it
The Conversation  |  Sep 06, 2025

Ethiopia’s success offers a practical and scalable model for countries seeking to strengthen emergency medical preparedness.

Meet Tanzania’s ‘hero rats’ trained to detect landmines, TB and earthquake survivors
Bashir Mbuthia  |  Sep 04, 2025

The ‘hero rats’ begin training shortly after birth and are conditioned through food rewards to recognise specific scents, whether explosives, tubercul...

WHO sounds alarm as mental health conditions soar past one billion worldwide
UN News  |  Sep 03, 2025

The UN health agency stresses that mental health should be treated as a fundamental human right. Without urgent action, millions will continue to suff...

What chaos at the US CDC could mean for the rest of the world
The Conversation  |  Sep 02, 2025

RFK Jr’s department has dismissed and replaced the 17 expert members of the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices with eight new people, a numb...

Aid effort underway after Afghanistan quake ‘wipes out’ villages
UN News  |  Sep 02, 2025

On the ground, several UN agencies reported devastation across four eastern provinces of Afghanistan including Nangarhar and Kunar, where staff and hu...

Malindi measles resurgence linked to low vaccination rates
Farhiya Hussein  |  Sep 01, 2025

Sub-county Public Health Officer Alex Maitha said many children still lack the full two doses of the measles-rubella jab, despite recent nationwide ca...

Hunger and disease in Gaza will only worsen from ‘man-made’ famine: WHO
UN News  |  Aug 28, 2025

Across the Gaza Strip today, the WHO said that more than half a million people are trapped in famine, with destruction to food and health services, an...

WHO Africa summit urges investment to end maternal mortality
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Aug 28, 2025

WHO cautioned that current efforts remain uneven and inadequate to meet the sustainable development goals set for 2030.

African governments urged to boost funding as NCD crisis deepens
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Aug 27, 2025

Data from Kenya’s Ministry of Health shows that in the 2018/2019 financial year, only 11.6 percent of the national health budget went toward NCDs.

US suspends chikungunya vaccine after reports of severe side effects
Lucy Mumbi  |  Aug 25, 2025

Ixchiq is one of only two vaccines approved by the FDA for chikungunya, a mosquito-borne virus that mainly occurs in tropical and subtropical regions...

Heat stress on the rise, slashing work productivity by 2-3 per cent, report warns
Alfred Onyango  |  Aug 24, 2025

Manual labourers in sectors such as agriculture, construction and fisheries are particularly vulnerable, as they face prolonged exposure to dangerous...

It’s time to end physical punishment of kids once and for all, WHO says
UN News  |  Aug 21, 2025

But wherever it happens, this sort of punishment has wide-ranging effects, including increased risk of anxiety and depression in addition to reduced c...

Diphtheria cases surge in Somalia amid sharp US aid cuts
Bashir Mbuthia  |  Aug 19, 2025

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), some carriers may not show symptoms but can still transmit the infection, while others may develop m...

Over 600 million Africans still need treatment for neglected tropical diseases, WHO warns
Lucy Mumbi  |  Aug 17, 2025

In 2020, all WHO Member States endorsed the Road Map for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021–2030, which set a global target of freeing 100 countries fro...

Stay ahead of the news! Click ‘Yes, Thanks’ to receive breaking stories and exclusive updates directly to your device. Be the first to know what’s happening.