#dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

[nepalniceties]

WHO Chief meets Health Min Giri

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization WHO, met with the Minister of Health and Population Padam Giri, who led the Nepali delegation to Switzerland for the Fifth Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety 2023. During the meeting, Minister Giri thanked the WHO for the support provided to Nepal’s health sector.  In particular, Minister Giri thanked Dr…

[afeelgoodblog]

Best News of Last Week - July 3, 2023

🐕 - This dog is 'disc'-overing hidden treasures! Get ready for the 'paws'-itively successful fundraiser, Daisy's Discs!

1. Most unionized US rail workers now have new sick leave

More than 60% of U.S. unionized railroad workers at major railroads are now covered by new sick leave agreements, a trade group said Monday.

Last year railroads came under fire for not agreeing to paid sick leave during labor negotiations.

2. Missing teen found after being lost in the wilderness for 50 hours

Esther Wang, 16, had been hiking with three other people through the Maple Ridge park on Tuesday.

The group made it to Steve’s lookout around 2:45 p.m. that day.However, when they headed back down to the campsite, after about 15 minutes of hiking, the group leader realized Wang was missing. They returned to the lookout to look for Wang but couldn’t find her. The leader headed to the trail entrance to notify a park ranger and police.

“Esther Wang has been located. She’s healthy, she is happy and she’s with family.”

3. A dog has retrieved 155 discs from woods. They’ll be on sale soon, with proceeds going to the park in West Virginia where they were found

Meet Daisy, the yellow Labrador retriever with a unique talent for finding lost Frisbee golf discs at Grand Vue Park in West Virginia. Four years ago, while on a walk with her owner Kelly Mason, Daisy discovered a disc in the woods and proudly brought it back. Since then, Daisy's obsession with finding stray discs has grown, and she has collected an impressive cache of 155 discs.

Mason and park officials have now come up with a plan to return the discs to their owners if they are labeled, and any unclaimed discs will be sold as a fundraiser to support the park's disc golf courses. Daisy's Discs is expected to be a success, with many excited about the possibility of recovering their lost discs thanks to Daisy's remarkable skills.

4. Australian earless dragon last seen in 1969 rediscovered in secret location

A tiny earless dragon feared to be extinct in the wild has been sighted for the first time in more than 50 years – at a location that is being kept secret to help preservation efforts.

The Victorian grassland earless dragon, Tympanocryptis pinguicolla, has now been rediscovered in the state, according to a joint statement issued by the Victorian and federal Labor governments on Sunday.

5. Detroit is going to power 100% of its municipal buildings with solar

All of Detroit’s municipal buildings are going to be powered by neighborhood solar as part of the city’s efforts to combat climate change – check out the city’s cool grassroots plan. Meet Detroit Rock Solar City.

The city has determined that it’s going to need around 250 acres of solar panels in order to achieve 100% solar power for its municipal buildings.

6. Canada Officially Bans Cosmetic Testing on Animals

The fight for cruelty-free beauty in Canada has seen a significant breakthrough as the Canadian government legislates a full ban on cosmetic animal testing and trade, marking a victory for Animal rights advocates and eco-conscious consumers.

This landmark decision is part of the Budget Implementation Act (Bill C-47), not only prohibiting cosmetic animal testing but also putting an end to the sale of cosmetics that use new animal testing data for safety substantiation.

7. Belize certified malaria-free by WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Belize as malaria-free, following the country’s over 70 years of continued efforts to stamp out the disease.

“WHO congratulates the people and government of Belize and their network of global and local partners for this achievement”, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Belize is another example of how, with the right tools and the right approach, we can dream of a malaria-free future.”

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That's it for this week :)

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[evilsoup]

Fuck yeah

“As a malaria researcher, I used to dream of the day we would have a safe and effective vaccine against malaria. Now we have two,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO.

[...]

Each dose costs between $2 and $4; four doses are needed per person.

[theiconicmeghanmarkle]

Prince Harry with Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organisation

Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, with H.E. Alexander Dee Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium and Forest Whitaker.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil eliminates lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem

The World Health Organization (WHO) congratulates Brazil for having eliminated lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

“Eliminating a disease is a momentous accomplishment that takes unwavering commitment,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “I congratulate Brazil for its efforts to free its people of the scourge of this painful, disfiguring, disabling and stigmatizing disease. This is another example of the incredible progress we have made against neglected tropical diseases and gives hope to many other nations still fighting against lymphatic filariasis that they too can eliminate this disease.”

Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, is a debilitating parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes. For centuries, this disease has afflicted millions worldwide, causing pain, chronic, severe swelling, serious disability, and social stigmatization.

Continue reading.

[reasonsforhope]

"A new World Health Organization (WHO) report highlights that 5.6 billion people – 71% of the world’s population – are now protected with at least one best practice policy to help save lives from deadly tobacco – five times more than in 2007.

[Note: Going by the math, that means just (roughly) 14% of people were covered by tobacco control policies in 2007. Talk about a huge increase!]

In the last 15 years since WHO’s MPOWER tobacco control measures were introduced globally, smoking rates have fallen. Without this decline there would be an estimated 300 million more smokers in the world today.

This WHO Report on the global tobacco epidemic, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, is focused on protecting the public from second-hand smoke, highlighting that almost 40% of countries now have completely smoke-free indoor public places.

The report rates country progress in tobacco control and shows that two more countries, Mauritius and the Netherlands, have achieved best-practice level in all MPOWER measures, a feat that only Brazil and Türkiye had accomplished until now.

[Note: In late 2021, the former Turkey changed official its name to Türkiye, shedding the English/Anglicized spelling.]

“These data show that slowly but surely, more and more people are being protected from the harms of tobacco by WHO’s evidence-based best-practice policies,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General...

Smoke-free public spaces is just one policy in the set of effective tobacco control measures, MPOWER, to help countries implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and curb the tobacco epidemic.

Smoke-free environments help people breathe clean air, shield the public from deadly second-hand smoke, motivate people to quit, denormalize smoking and help prevent young people from ever starting to smoke or use e-cigarettes.

“While smoking rates have been going down, tobacco is still the leading cause of preventable death in the world – largely due to relentless marketing campaigns by the tobacco industry,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries...

Eight countries are just one MPOWER policy away from joining the leaders in tobacco control: Ethiopia, Iran, Ireland, Jordan, Madagascar, Mexico, New Zealand, and Spain...

This report demonstrates that all countries irrespective of income levels can drive down the demand for deadly tobacco, achieve major wins for public health and save economies billions of dollars in health care and productivity costs."

-via World Health Organization, July 31, 2023

[sivavakkiyar]

Israeli forces intensified their attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital in besieged North Gaza on Saturday night after ordering people inside and near the facility to evacuate. Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the occupation forces are targeting all departments of the hospital with “all types of weapons, including sniper fire, tank shells, and quadcopters”.

“Evacuating the hospital within hours means relocating 66 patients, along with all hospital equipment and medical personnel, which could have severe negative consequences for the hospitalized patients,” Safiya said.

Amidst distress calls from medics and journalists in the hospital, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said reports of Israel’s attacks on the facility as “deeply worrisome”.

“reports of bombardment near Kamal Adwan Hospital and order to evacuate the hospital are deeply worrisome. The hospital has been in the midst of fighting for too long and the lives of patients are at risk.”

The hospital has been under deadly siege for more than two months with several medics in the facility killed in the Israeli attacks. The Israeli military is also using “booby-trapped robots” around Kamal Adwan Hospital, not letting anyone leave or come to the facility.

[thoughtlessarse]

Malaria killed almost 600,000 people in 2023, as cases rose for the fifth consecutive year, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). Biological threats such as rising resistance to drugs and insecticides, and climate and humanitarian disasters continue to hamper control efforts, world health leaders warned. Globally, there were 263 million cases last year, 11 million more than the previous year; the vast majority (94%) occurred in Africa. Officials said a $4.3bn (€4.1bn) annual funding shortfall was among further challenges, which also include the spread of a new insecticide-resistant species of mosquito, genetic mutations in the malaria parasite that stop tests working, and the emergence of a new type of malaria parasite in south-east Asia. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, said: “No one should die of malaria; yet the disease continues to disproportionately harm people living in the African region, especially young children and pregnant women.” There is now “an expanded package of life-saving tools” that protect against the disease, he said, but a need for more investment and action in the African countries with the highest rates.

continue reading

[darkmaga-returns]

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus used the UN agency’s Summit 2024 to launch into yet another tirade against online “misinformation/disinformation.”

The WHO’s contribution against that threat, Tedros said, was countering it by “working” with a number of companies and other partners.

In his speech, the WHO chief repeated the many-times heard accusations against social media as “turbo-charging” the spread of misinformation which then added to people’s skepticism toward vaccines and some other medical treatments.

Tedros added to this the “stigma, discrimination, and even violence” toward health workers, but also “marginalized groups,” allegedly all a result of said disinformation.

This one has also been heard many times from various politicians and affiliated media: that disinformation was “almost as deadly” as the virus (we’re talking coronavirus, not smallpox here).

[thatssosussex]

Prince Harry at the WHO (World Health Organization) dinner, at the start of UN Week in NYC last night. He was seen with Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Forest Whitaker, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the CEO of Together for Girls, and plenty others. (9/22/24)

[catdotjpeg]

For over 20 days, Israeli snipers and tanks have been besieging the Nasser and Al-Amal Hospitals in Khan Younis, the second-largest city in the Gaza Strip. Over the past few days, several videos appeared of Palestinians being shot while attempting to enter and exit the medical complex of the Nasser or Al-Amal hospitals. On Sunday morning, an Israeli sniper shot and killed a Palestinian man just meters away from the main gate of the Nasser. Cautiously and under the fear of being shot, Palestinian medics lifted the body back to the hospital amid the mourning and cries of his relatives.

A tweet with video of the man's body being moved is included in the Mondoweiss article.

The Nasser Hospital is the largest equipped medical facility in southern Gaza, which currently shelters at least 300 medical personnel, 450 patients wounded, and around 10,000 displaced Palestinians. Over the weekend, a woman who braved Israeli sniper bullets and rushed to rescue a bleeding Palestinian outside the Nasser hospital was identified as Dr. Amira Al-Assouli. She is a gynecology and obstetrics consultant from Khan Younis, recently retired from the Nasser Hospital but went back to volunteer and help her former colleagues following Israel’s aggression on Gaza in October. Assouli talked to the Wafa news agency about the moment that went viral on social media when she ran to help an injured man on Friday.

“God removed fear from my heart. I felt that someone needed help. I will not think about myself, I will think about saving people,” she said. Assouli had seen some of her colleagues get shot and killed near the Nasser Hospital, such as Dr. Muhammad Abu Lihiyah, who was killed by Israeli snipers when he tried to rescue an injured Palestinian.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the chief of World Health Organization (WHO), wrote on the X platform on Sunday that they are deeply “concerned about the safety of patients and health personnel due to the intensifying hostilities in the vicinity of the [Nasser] hospital.” Ghebreyesus said that Israeli forces denied the WHO mission entry to the Nasser on Sunday, which remains partially operating.  The Al-Amal Hospital has also been under Israeli siege for over 20 days. In January, Israeli forces raided the Al-Amal and detained dozens of medical staff, and patients and seized medical equipment. Israeli forces also mined roads and destroyed residential buildings around the Al-Amal and Nasser Hospitals in recent weeks.

“We urge for patients’ and health workers’ immediate release. Health personnel, patients and facilities MUST be protected at all times,” Ghebreyesus added. On Sunday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), which runs the Al-Amal Hospital, said three patients died after Israel blocked the delivery of oxygen cylinders. 

“[Israeli] occupation continues to prevent the entry of fuel, necessary for operating electric generators [in the Al-Amal], even though fuel stock is about to run out in two days,” PRCS added in a statement.  Since October, Israeli forces have pursued a policy of besieging medical facilities and intimidating staff as part of a goal to cut lifelines for Palestinians and to push them outside Gaza. The Al-Shifa’ Hospital is, perhaps, the starkest example of a Palestinian medical facility being targeted by Israeli forces. Israel claimed that Hamas housed a command center underneath it but has yet to provide any solid evidence. Israel bombed the vicinity of Al-Shifa’ for weeks, where hundreds of Palestinian families sheltered. Eventually, in November, it stormed the hospital, detained medical staff, and ordered displaced Palestinians to evacuate it before retreating from the area in December.

-- From "‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 128" by Mustafa Abu Sneineh for Mondoweiss, 11 Feb 2024

[tieflingkisser]

Gaza hospital issues 'last distress call' as fresh Israeli attack wounds patients

Gaza's health ministry says it seems a 'decision has been made to execute' staff remaining at Kamal Adwan hospital

Northern Gaza's Kamal Adwan hospital has issued a final plea for help after Israeli forces launched a fresh attack on it on Sunday, targeting its paediatric ward with artillery fire and seriously wounding a child who was recovering from surgery. Gaza's health ministry said the call for help could be the hospital's "last distress call", adding that “it seems that a decision has been made to execute all staff who refused to evacuate the hospital". In a video message, the hospital's director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, reported that the strikes “reached every corner of the hospital”, hitting its water supplies, courtyard and the electricity network. The Israeli attacks wounded six people, including a 13-year-old girl who had just undergone an operation, he said. “She was hit by shrapnel, she was already injured and receiving treatment for her first injury,” Safiya said. “She was struck again in this attack, sustaining a serious abdominal injury.”

[...]

Since last month, when Israel launched a new offensive on northern Gaza, believed to be part of the so-called Generals' Plan, Kamal Adwan hospital has been under siege. Barely any humanitrian aid has been allowed to enter the north since 5 October. Israel has ordered all of the 400,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza to move south, and issued expulsion orders to Kamal Adwan and the area's two other hospitals, al-Awda and the Indonesian hospital. Around 300 critically ill patients have been trapped in the hospitals, according to the UN. On Thursday, Israeli air strikes targeted the third floor of the Kamal Adwan, torching WHO medical supplies that had been delivered just a few days previously “via complex missions”, the agency's director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week

😷 - Mask off, but guard up! Seems like we're out of the tunnel

1. Abandoned dog seen wandering Detroit streets with stuffed toy rescued, now receiving care

An abandoned dog is preparing for a new home after animal rescue groups spent days trying to find her when she was spotted wandering Detroit with a stuffed toy. Nikki's owner recently died, and she was left to wander the streets with her favorite toy. 

As Nikki receives her care, the animal workers are making sure she is ready to head to her foster home. Almost Home is collecting donations to help pay for the treatment and Niki's care. Donate here.

2. New foster care agency matching LGBTQ+ kids with queer carers to become ‘their amazing, wonderful selves’

A new foster care service has been launched to help match LGBTQ+ young people with supportive carers and families in the South East of England. Apex Q, a service from agency Apex Fostering, will help encourage more LGBTQ+ foster carers, provide training and create more placements for queer children.

Apex Fostering, which covers north and east London as well as several southern counties, including Hertfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire, launched in 2021 and claims to have already placed more than 60 young people with foster families. 

3. Newquay Zoo celebrates birth of rare 'warty' piglets

A pair of rare piglets has been born at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall. The Visayan warty pigs, named for the three pairs of fleshy "warts" on the boar's face, which protect it while fighting rival pigs, are part of a breeding programme at the zoo.

The species lives in the forests of the Philippines, where there could be as few as 200 animals left.

4. New Alzheimer's drug slows disease by a third

We could be entering the era of Alzheimer's treatments, after the second drug in under a year has been shown to slow the disease. Experts said we were now "on the cusp" of drugs being available, something that had recently seemed "impossible".

The company Eli Lilly has reported its drug - donanemab - slows the pace of Alzheimer's by about a third.

5. Covid global health emergency is over, WHO says

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that Covid-19 no longer represents a "global health emergency". The statement represents a major step towards ending the pandemic and comes three years after it first declared its highest level of alert over the virus.

But Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the virus remained a significant threat.

6. Doctors have performed brain surgery on a fetus in one of the first operations of its kind

The baby’s condition, known as vein of Galen malformation, was first noticed during a routine ultrasound scan at 30 weeks of pregnancy. The seven-week-old is one of the first people to have undergone an experimental brain operation while still in the womb. It might have saved her life.

Before she was born, this little girl developed a dangerous condition that led blood to pool in a 14-millimeter-wide pocket in her brain. The condition could have resulted in brain damage, heart problems, and breathing difficulties after birth. It could have been fatal. The baby girl was born healthy. She didn’t need any treatment for the malformation.

7. Lastly, watch this father stork brings a blanket to warm up mother stork

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[owlservice]

However, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the patients could have more than one disease simultaneously. “Of the 12 initial samples collected, 10 tested positive for malaria, although it’s possible that more than one disease is involved. [...] The DRC’s health minister said last week that the disease had killed 79 people in the Panzi health zone since 24 October, with 376 cases identified. Most were children under five. [...] Dieudonne Mwamba, the head of the DRC’s National Institute for Public Health, said the symptoms pointed to a respiratory illness, but without a clear diagnosis it was hard to know the cause, and whether it was a virus or bacteria. He said the affected area was “fragile”, with 40% of people there experiencing malnutrition. The DRC is also dealing with an mpox outbreak and seasonal flu. [...] Officials said a respiratory pathogen such as flu or Covid-19 was being investigated as a possible cause, as well as malaria, measles and others. In an update on Sunday, the WHO said the affected area “experienced deterioration in food insecurity in recent months, has low vaccination coverage and very limited access to diagnostics and quality case management”. It said there was also a shortage of health staff, supplies and transportation, with “very limited” malaria control measures.

God I wish I was there

[bighermie]

Ya gotta step back and realize:  These people unleased COVID-19 on the world.  Individual’s rights were stripped.  Citizen turned on citizen.  The ruling elites got more and more powerful.  People got more and more poorer.  Law enforcement terrorized innocent civilians.  All because we were told to by the elites. NOW they’re so bold as to announce a new deadlier disease will hit us next year, in another election year.  Combine that with 30 tons of missing explosives and we have martial law, no elections and a total loss of freedoms. The only thing standing in the way is the 2nd Amendment and an armed citizenry. However, all of the US Senators receiving taxpayer funded satellite phones “just in case” does not bode well for the rest of us “common folk” who are armed to be able to communicate and organize. Plan appropriately.

[warningsine]

Two suspected cases of monkeypox have emerged in Somerset. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared monkeypox, now known as mpox, a global health emergency following a large number of cases in sub-Saharan Africa.

Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reveals that between 2023 and 2024, England experienced 269 instances of mpox. A breakdown shows 116 infections likely occurred within the nation, 82 contracted overseas, and classification is pending for 71 cases.

Notably, none of the UK incidents involve the clade I strain of mpox, which is raising alarms in Africa, reports Somerset Live. The suspected cases in the county are in North Somerset and Taunton Deane, near the Devon border.

A detailed look at the last 52 weeks up to the end of June uncovers 90 statutory notifications of infectious diseases (NOIDs) involving suspected mpox reported to the UKHSA. These notices are crucial for healthcare providers, serving as an early indicator for potential outbreaks across regions.

Although the bulk of these tentative diagnoses are concentrated in London - particularly Lambeth with 10 and Southwark with eight - other areas including Somerset have also reported cases, specifically one each in North Somerset and Taunton Deane.

Meanwhile, a surge in mpox cases within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and various African nations, has been labelled a "public health emergency of international concern" by WHO.

The same classification has previously been applied to Covid-19, Ebola outbreaks, and the 2022 outbreak of mpox in Europe. Professor Dimie Ogoina, chair of WHO's Emergency Committee, warned that the rise in cases - coupled with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain of the mpox virus - "is an emergency, not only for Africa, but for the entire globe".

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease caused by a virus. It can cause flu-like symptoms including fever, muscle aches, and a skin rash or pus-filled lesions that can last two to four weeks.

It can be passed on through contact with someone who has the infection or with infected animals. There are broadly two different strains of mpox, known as "clades". Clade I, the strain currently sweeping across Africa, is considered the more dangerous.

Dr Meera Chand, Deputy Director at UKHSA, said: "The risk to the UK population is currently considered low. However, planning is underway to prepare for any cases that we might see in the UK. This includes ensuring that clinicians are aware and able to recognise cases promptly, that rapid testing is available, and that protocols are developed for the safe clinical care of people who have the infection and the prevention of onward transmission."

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, expressed his concern, stating: "The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighbouring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it's clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives."