WHO Archives - PassBlue

Across the Globe, Domestic Violence Rises as the Coronavirus Rages

April 6, 2020 by Barbara Crossette

For many women worldwide, the fear and suffering caused by the catastrophic viral pandemic is made even more unbearable and frightening by gender violence, as orders to “stay at home” heighten domestic tensions. Reports are accumulating from virtually every global region, according to independent advocacy groups and United Nations agencies. “Over the past weeks as … Read more Across the Globe, Domestic Violence Rises as the Coronavirus Rages

Trump’s Pick for UN Diplomat in Geneva Vows to Oppose Reproductive Rights and Put America First

June 27, 2019June 26, 2019 by Stéphanie Fillion

“I am pro-life, I believe that all human life is sacred, and that human life begins at conception,” Andrew Bremberg told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently. Asked if rape victims should have access to abortion, he replied, “I don’t believe that abortion is a moral solution to any problem.” Nominated by President … Read more Trump’s Pick for UN Diplomat in Geneva Vows to Oppose Reproductive Rights and Put America First

Michelle Bachelet, Outgoing President of Chile, Gets a WHO Post

January 30, 2018January 19, 2018 by Chris Gelardi

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has agreed to chair the board of the World Health Organization’s Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health after she finishes her government role on March 11. The announcement came after a Jan. 10 meeting at the presidential palace in Santiago, during which the WHO leadership offered Bachelet the position. “This … Read more Michelle Bachelet, Outgoing President of Chile, Gets a WHO Post

Advice to António Guterres: A Leaner UN Could Be a Better UN

April 10, 2017March 27, 2017 by Stephen Browne and Thomas G. Weiss

GENEVA — Whether or not he is a fan of Chinese characters, António Guterres will have to discover the double meaning of a crisis as opportunity. United Nations corridors on First Avenue in New York are buzzing with anxiety about the possibility of impending cuts in funding from the United States, with hints from a … Read more Advice to António Guterres: A Leaner UN Could Be a Better UN

Universal Breast-Feeding Goals Blocked by Industry, UN Report Suggests

July 13, 2016June 14, 2016 by Dulcie Leimbach

Although more countries have been passing laws to promote and to protect breast-feeding, the breast-milk substitutes industry continues to present a formidable challenge to achieving universal breast-feeding goals, a new report by United Nations agencies and a large advocacy group reveals. The laggards? Some of the richest regions in the world. Europe, for example, remains … Read more Universal Breast-Feeding Goals Blocked by Industry, UN Report Suggests

UN Governance and the War on Drugs: Time for Change

May 5, 2016April 14, 2016 by Joanne Csete

“A drug-free world — we can do it!” was the tragically misguided slogan of the last major United Nations summit on drug control in 1998. UN member states will soon come together in the General Assembly, from April 19 to 21, for another try at getting drug control right. There is good cause to wonder … Read more UN Governance and the War on Drugs: Time for Change

A New Campaign, #EveryHourMatters, Urges Instant Post-Rape Care

April 13, 2016March 28, 2016 by Lori Silberman Brauner

Maureen Phiri, a young girl from a poor family in Malawi, was only 11 years old when she was raped by the man who had hired her to do housework for him and his wife. Not only did Maureen continue to experience sexual abuse from the man she worked for, he left her with another long-term … Read more A New Campaign, #EveryHourMatters, Urges Instant Post-Rape Care

World Health Assembly Backs Calls to Strengthen Clean Air SDGs

June 14, 2015May 28, 2015 by Shazia Z. Rafi

Negotiations are entering the last stages of formulating the Sustainable Development Goals. For over a year, governments, the United Nations system, nongovernment organizations and parliamentarians have been engaged in negotiations on the next set of development goals, called SDGs, to succeed the eight Millennium Development Goals, which expire at the end of this year. The … Read more World Health Assembly Backs Calls to Strengthen Clean Air SDGs

The UN Environment Program, Influential but Lacking Power

February 13, 2015February 5, 2015 by Helmut Volger

BERLIN — The history of the United Nations Environment Program is illustrative in two respects: it reflects the changing importance of environmental issues within the UN system and it demonstrates that dedicated people in a UN organization can master the difficult task of implementing an ambitious mandate without sufficient political status, funds and personnel and … Read more The UN Environment Program, Influential but Lacking Power

Ebola’s Treacherous Claw Reaches Women the Most

November 9, 2014September 23, 2014 by Sierra Ortega

A pregnant woman lays by herself on a stretcher as people watch from a distance, afraid to touch her as she is suspected of having Ebola, in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

The United Nations has been almost the sole international body to ring any alarm bells about the disproportionate effect of the Ebola disease outbreak on women and children, where it has found that up to 75 percent of reported cases are women and approximately 2.5 million children under 5 years old live in Ebola-affected areas. … Read more Ebola’s Treacherous Claw Reaches Women the Most

The Creation and Trafficking of New Illegal Drugs Widens, a UN Report Finds

June 18, 2014June 5, 2014 by Barbara Crossette

Confirming recent findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States and other agencies around the world, the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime said in its annual report that new synthetic drugs, sometime compounded or combined with other substances, are becoming a dangerous, often lethal, menace globally. The 2014 … Read more The Creation and Trafficking of New Illegal Drugs Widens, a UN Report Finds

Is a Better UN System Possible? Global Experts Respond to an Independent Survey

November 9, 2014May 26, 2014 by Barbara Crossette

An unusual survey of 3,400 people worldwide who know the United Nations has found strong support for some basic rethinking over the next decade on the organization’s work in development. Among the recommendations, over two-thirds of respondents suggested adding more nongovernmental representatives to governing bodies and better consolidating both organizational representation and programs in countries … Read more Is a Better UN System Possible? Global Experts Respond to an Independent Survey

For Women Over 50, the Top Killers Remain Heart Disease and Cancer

December 8, 2014October 13, 2013 by Yi Du

Regardless of a country’s wealth, cardiovascular diseases and cancers are the most common cause of death for women over age 50, says a new report from the World Health Organization. In developing countries, these deaths occur at earlier ages than in the rich world. Moreover, tobacco-related deaths in certain Western countries have doubled for this … Read more For Women Over 50, the Top Killers Remain Heart Disease and Cancer

The Importance of Recruiting Midwives

December 8, 2014September 22, 2013 by Elisa dos Santos

About 350,000 women die while pregnant or giving birth every year, up to 2 million newborns die within the first 24 hours of life, and 2.6 million stillbirths occur annually says the United Nations Population Fund. A push to train more midwives worldwide and to increase their role in preventing the persistently high number of … Read more The Importance of Recruiting Midwives

For Many Latin American Women, Abuse Never Lets Up

December 9, 2014August 19, 2013 by Barbara Crossette

Latin American and Caribbean nations have pulled ahead of most other developing regions on numerous measures of economic growth and human progress in recent years. The region has one of the world’s lowest poverty levels; hunger has been reduced to under 5 percent of the regional population; primary school enrollment rivals that of rich nations; … Read more For Many Latin American Women, Abuse Never Lets Up

The True Strengths of the WHO

June 10, 2013April 16, 2013 by Helmut Volger

BERLIN — The foundation of the World Health Organization in 1948 as one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations was a milestone in the history of global health efforts. It established not only the “highest attainable standard of health” for all people as a primary goal in the WHO constitution, but it also … Read more The True Strengths of the WHO

UN and US Congress Act to Curtail Female Cutting Globally

November 16, 2014December 23, 2012 by Barbara Crossette

Young girls in Sierra Leone about to be circumcised

Only four days before Christmas, when many minds were fixated on the year-end holidays, two important steps were taken almost unnoticed to combat female genital mutilation globally, raising hopes that millions of girls might be spared the excruciatingly painful and harmful yet persistent practice. In what Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called “historic” UN action, the General … Read more UN and US Congress Act to Curtail Female Cutting Globally

Buckle Your Seat Belt, the UN Says, and Save Millions of Lives

November 22, 2014December 6, 2012 by Alice Volkov

Not many people can honestly say they have heard of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, but at the United Nations road safety is one more topic on its long, long agenda. When the day was created in 2005, road injuries were a major public health concern. They still are today, … Read more Buckle Your Seat Belt, the UN Says, and Save Millions of Lives

Epidemics and Fake Drugs Hurt Global Health Improvements

November 22, 2014September 5, 2012 by Barbara Crossette

Polio vaccination team crosses the Ganges in India

A viral illness in Cambodia that killed scores of children this summer is a potent reminder that improving global health is not only a matter of measuring success against known diseases but also a constant battle to contain new ones and ensure that medications are safe. As cheaper generic drugs or reduced prices on rich-world … Read more Epidemics and Fake Drugs Hurt Global Health Improvements

Scrutinizing Millennium Goal Claims as 2015 Looms

September 5, 2012April 16, 2012 by Barbara Crossette

In early March, a report from Unicef and the World Health Organization proclaimed proudly that the world had not only met but also surpassed the Millennium Development Goals target of reducing by half the number of people without access to safe drinking water. The agencies said that 89 percent of the global population — that’s … Read more Scrutinizing Millennium Goal Claims as 2015 Looms