Feed aggregator

The World Health Organization (WHO) is marking its first official observance of World Prematurity Day with the launch of a new global clinical practice guide for Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) – a simple, proven and life-saving intervention that significantly improves survival for preterm and low birth weight babies.

Each year, an estimated 15 million babies are born too soon (before 37 weeks of pregnancy), and complications from preterm birth are the leading cause of death among children under five years of age. In the poorest countries, most extremely preterm babies die within days – whereas in high-income countries, almost all survive.

KMC – which combines prolonged skin to skin contact with breast-milk feeding – has been shown to dramatically improve outcomes for small and preterm newborns, and to be feasible and cost-effective in all settings. Among other positive impacts, it is associated with a more than 30% reduction in newborn deaths, a close to 70% reduction in hypothermia and a 15% reduction in severe infections – as well as improved weight gain and better longer-term health and cognitive development.

“KMC is not just a clinical intervention – it empowers mothers and families and transforms newborn care,” said Dr Jeremy Farrar, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Care. “It should now be universal clinical practice for all small and preterm babies, ensuring they have the best chance to survive and thrive.”

A lifesaving intervention for all babies born early or small

Geared at health workers, facility managers as well as caregivers, the new WHO guide offers detailed, step-by-step, adaptable guidance for initiating, maintaining, and monitoring KMC. It states that all preterm or low birth weight newborns should receive KMC starting immediately after birth - unless they are unable to breathe on their own or their blood pressure and circulation drops to dangerously low levels, requiring urgent treatment.

While mothers should typically be the primary providers, fathers and other family members can also give KMC if the mother is unable – as well as providing critical emotional and practical support. KMC can be practiced at all levels of health facilities – from the labour room or the operating theatre to postnatal wards and special or intensive newborn care units – and can be continued at home.

The guide includes practical tips on how to secure the baby in the KMC position, whether using simple cloth wraps, elastic binders or specially designed garments. It also outlines how health facilities create enabling environments for KMC through supportive policies and training staff. Family-friendly approaches are crucial for successful implementation, the guide notes – including ensuring mothers can always be together in the same room as their babies.

All small and sick newborns need dedicated medical care and attention

On this World Prematurity Day, with the theme ‘A strong start for a hopeful future’, WHO is calling on governments, health systems and partners to prioritize quality care for preterm and low birth weight babies. This means ensuring dedicated wards or facilities with specially trained neonatal staff providing round-the-clock care for small and sick newborns, as well as universal access to essential equipment and medicines like antibiotics.

Because they have less time in the womb, many preterm babies have underdeveloped lungs, brains, immune systems and capacity for temperature regulation. This increases risks from infections, hypothermia, heart problems, respiratory distress, and other life-threatening complications.

“No newborn should die from preventable causes,” said Dr Per Ashorn, WHO’s Unit Head for Newborn and Child Health and Development. “It’s time to ensure every baby gets the attention they need, by investing in special care for small or sick babies, alongside quality maternity services that can prevent many occurrences of preterm birth.”

European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) is a European health initiative coordinated by ECDC.

The COP30 Special report on health and climate change: delivering the Belém Health Action Plan, notes that rising temperatures and collapsing health systems are claiming more lives, and calls for immediate and coordinated action to protect health in a rapidly warming world. It follows the launch of the Belém Health Action Plan, a flagship initiative of Brazil’s COP 30 Presidency, unveiled on the dedicated Health Day of COP30 – 13 November 2025.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released its first global guidelines for the management of diabetes during pregnancy, a condition affecting about one in six pregnancies – or 21 million women annually. The new recommendations provide a critical roadmap to tackle this growing health challenge and prevent serious complications for both women and their children.

Germany’s health authorities have reported the detection of wild poliovirus type 1 in one wastewater sample in Hamburg.

ECDC has issued a rapid scientific advice on effective ways to mitigate the impact of RSV disease in infants through immunisation interventions.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers, claiming over 1.2 million lives and affecting an estimated 10.7 million people last year, according to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025, released today.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced that Egypt has successfully eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, marking a historic public health milestone for the country and WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO EMR). It is the seventh country in WHO EMR to achieve this milestone. The validation of Egypt’s achievement brings the total number of countries that have eliminated trachoma as a public health problem worldwide to 27.

“I congratulate Egypt for reaching this milestone and liberating its people from trachoma,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.  “This demonstrates the effectiveness of sustained national leadership, strong surveillance and community engagement in ending a disease that has afflicted humanity since antiquity.”

Following Egypt’s success, Trachoma remains a public health problem in 30 countries and is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of about 1.9 million people. Blindness from trachoma is difficult to reverse. Based on April 2025 data, 103 million people live in trachoma endemic areas and are at risk of trachoma blindness.

A century-long journey against trachoma

Trachoma has been documented in Egypt for over 3,000 years. Public health efforts to address its burden began in the early 20th century, when pioneering ophthalmologist Arthur Ferguson MacCallan established Egypt’s first mobile and permanent eye hospitals and laid the groundwork for organized trachoma control globally. Yet by the 1980s, it still blinded many adults and affected over half of all children in some Nile Delta communities.

Since 2002, the Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt, in partnership with WHO and other national and international stakeholders, has pursued trachoma elimination through the WHO-endorsed SAFE strategy, which represents Surgery for trichiasis, Antibiotics to clear the causative organism, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement. 

Between 2015 and 2025, extensive mapping and surveillance across all 27 of Egypt’s governorates showed steady reductions in the proportion of children aged 1–9 years affected by active (inflammatory) trachoma, and no significant burden of the blinding complications of trachoma in adults. Both indicators are now below WHO elimination prevalence thresholds nationwide. In 2024, Egypt integrated trachoma surveillance into its national electronic disease reporting system, which should facilitate rapid response to any future cases.

“Egypt’s elimination of trachoma as a public health problem underscores the nation’s sustained commitment to equitable healthcare delivery and the transformative impact of initiatives such as Haya Karima, which have expanded access to safe water, sanitation, and primary care services in rural communities,” said Professor Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population. “This achievement is a collective triumph for Egypt’s health workers, communities, and partners who collaborated to eradicate this ancient disease.”

Trachoma is the second neglected tropical disease (NTD) eliminated in Egypt, as in 2018 the country was validated by WHO for eliminating lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. In total, 58 countries have eliminated at least one NTD globally, nine of which are in WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region.

“This milestone adds to Egypt’s strong track record in eliminating communicable diseases, including polio, measles, rubella and most recently malaria. It demonstrates what can be achieved when political commitment, strong partnerships and years of sustained public health efforts, led by the Ministry of Health and Population, come together towards a shared vision,” said Dr Nima Abid, WHO Representative to Egypt. "Egypt’s achievement serves as an inspiring example for other countries in the Region and beyond."

Successful collaboration and partnerships 

Eliminating trachoma in Egypt was the result of strong national leadership, coordinated action and broad collaboration across sectors. WHO worked closely with the Ministry of Health and Population to provide technical guidance, monitoring and validation support throughout the elimination process. The achievement was made possible through the technical and financial contributions of many partners including the Haya Karima Foundation, the Eastern Mediterranean Region Trachoma Alliance, the Nourseen Charity Foundation, the International Trachoma Initiative, the Global Trachoma Mapping Project, Sightsavers, CBM, the Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology, the Magrabi Foundation and the Tropical Data global initiative.

“Congratulations to Egypt on this historic achievement in eliminating trachoma as a public health problem,” said Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. “Together, we have proven that with collaboration and persistence, elimination is achievable. This success reflects years of dedication and the tireless efforts of communities, health workers, and partners who stood firm in the conviction that everyone deserves to live free from preventable disease. Today, Egypt exemplifies what determination can accomplish.” 

Note to the editor

About trachoma and neglected tropical diseases

Trachoma, caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, is spread through contact with infected eye discharges via hands, clothes, hard surfaces and flies. Repeated infections can lead to scarring of the inner eyelid, turning eyelashes inward to scratch the cornea: a painful condition, known as trachomatous trichiasis, that can result in blindness.

Globally, the disease remains endemic in many vulnerable communities where access to clean water and sanitation is limited. In 1998, WHO launched the WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Trachoma by 2020 (GET2020), supported by a network of governments, nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions. WHO continues to support endemic countries to accelerate progress towards the global goal of eliminating trachoma as a public health problem worldwide.

 

In an important step, Member States started discussing for the first time the proposed draft text of the annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement that establishes the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system. The PABS system is a key part of the global agreement adopted earlier in 2025 to make the world safer from future pandemics.

Despite increasing recognition of mental health across UN policy frameworks, children and youth remain largely absent from global commitments, data systems, and financing priorities.

WHO joined parliamentary leaders at the 151st Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, held on 19–23 October 2025 in Geneva, bringing together nearly 1150 delegates, including over 600 members of parliament from 132 countries.

Concurring with the advice and considerations expressed by the Committee during the meeting, the WHO Director-General, on 5 September 2025, determined that the upsurge of mpox 2024 no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

The ECDC is marking its 20-year anniversary on a 4 November ceremony, bringing together representatives from the EU Institutions, Member States, international partners, and key stakeholders.

As wildfires, heat waves, floods, and other interconnected crises intensify in 2025, recognising the link between human, animal, and environmental health – and acting across sectors – is absolutely essential.

As wildfires, heat waves, floods, and other interconnected crises intensify in 2025, recognising the link between human, animal, and environmental health – and acting across sectors – is absolutely essential.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released new guidance for countries on ways to counter the immediate and long-term effects of sudden and severe cuts to external funding, which are disrupting the delivery of essential health services in many countries.

The new guidance, called “Responding to the health financing emergency: immediate measures and longer-term shifts”, provides a suite of policy options for countries to cope with the sudden financing shocks, and bolster efforts to mobilize and implement sufficient and sustainable financing for national health systems.

External health aid is projected to drop by 30% to 40% in 2025 compared with 2023, causing immediate and severe disruption to health services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). WHO survey data from 108 LMICs collected in March 2025 indicate that funding cuts have reduced critical services – including maternal care, vaccination, health emergency preparedness and response, and disease surveillance – by up to 70% in some countries. More than 50 countries have reported job losses among health and care workers, along with major disruptions to health worker training programmes.

“Sudden and unplanned cuts to aid have hit many countries hard, costing lives and jeopardizing hard-won health gains,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “But in the crisis lies an opportunity for countries to transition away from aid dependency towards sustainable self-reliance, based on domestic resources. WHO’s new guidance will help countries to better mobilize, allocate, prioritize and use funds to support the delivery of health services that protect the most vulnerable.”

This year’s funding cuts have compounded years of persistent health financing challenges for countries, including rising debt burdens, inflation, economic uncertainty, high out-of-pocket spending, systemic budget underfunding and heavy reliance on external aid.

Swift action guided by efficiency and equity   

WHO’s new guidance urges policy-makers to make health a political and fiscal priority in government budgets even during times of crisis, seeing health spending as not merely a cost to be contained, but an investment in social stability, human dignity, and economic resilience. 

The guidance emphasizes the need for countries to cushion the immediate impact of reductions in foreign assistance for health, and to adapt to a new era of reduced assistance. Key policy recommendations include:

• prioritize the health services accessed by the poorest;
• protect health budgets and essential health services;
• improve efficiency through better procurement, reduced overheads and strategic purchasing;
• integrate externally-funded or disease-specific services into comprehensive PHC-based delivery models; and
• use health technology assessments to prioritize services and products that have the greatest health impact per dollar spent.

Country leadership and global solidarity are critical

Several countries have already taken decisive action to strengthen their health systems and protect essential health services:

• Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa have allocated additional budget funds to health, or are awaiting parliamentary approval for increases;
• Nigeria increased its health budget by US$ 200 million to offset aid shortfalls, with increased allocations for immunization, epidemic response, and priority programmes;
• Ghana lifted the cap on excise tax earmarked for its national health insurance agency, resulting in a 60% budget increase. The country also launched “the Accra Reset”, a bold framework to reimagine global governance, financing and partnerships in health and development; and
• Uganda has outlined a clear policy agenda for integration of health services and programmes, aiming to improve efficiency and sustain service delivery.

The new guidance builds on WHO’s commitment to help all countries strengthen and sustain robust health systems, built on a commitment to universal health coverage, underpinned by strong primary health services delivering essential care to all who need it.

It also aligns with existing World Health Assembly mandates, including resolutions on “Strengthening health financing globally” and “Economics of health for all,” to translate global commitments into actionable policy steps. WHO and its partners are committed to providing technical support, analytics and peer learning to countries to manage the health financing crises and navigate the transition, including through the new UHC Knowledge Hub, a partnership with the Government of Japan and the World Bank, set to be launched in December 2025. 

With the new guide for decision-makers launched today, WHO provides concrete ideas to usher in a new era of urban health action. The Guide responds to the growing demand for integrated solutions that address health challenges and promote health more broadly in urban settings.

ECDC held a workshop in Oslo, Norway, focusing on governance mechanisms for the implementation of Public Health and Social Measures (PHSMs) during health emergencies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) condemns the reported killing of more than 460 patients and their companions, as well as the abduction of six health workers, on 28 October from the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher.   

This latest tragedy is taking place in the rapidly worsening crisis in North Darfur’s El Fasher, where escalating violence, siege conditions and rising hunger and disease are killing civilians, including children, and collapsing an already-fragile health system. 

On 26 October, Saudi Maternity Hospital, the only partially functioning hospital in El Fasher, was attacked for the fourth time in a month, killing one nurse and injuring three other health workers. On 28 October, six health workers, four doctors, a nurse and a pharmacist, were abducted. On the same day, more than 460 patients and their companions were reportedly shot and killed in the hospital.  
  
Since the conflict began, 46 health workers have been killed in El Fasher – among them the Director of Primary Health Care in the State Ministry of Health – and another 48 injured. The status of personnel working in three nongovernmental organizations in El Fasher remains unknown. WHO condemns these horrific attacks on health care in the strongest terms and calls for the respect of the sanctity of health care as mandated under International Humanitarian Law. 

More than 260 000 people remain trapped in El Fasher with almost no access to food, clean water, or medical care. Escalating violence has forced about 28 000 people to flee El Fasher Town in recent days, 26 000 of them to rural areas of El Fasher and up to 2000 to Tawila. Over 100 000 more people are expected to move to Tawila in the coming days and weeks, adding to the 575 000 already displaced from El Fasher who are sheltering there and other areas. Many of the displaced are women and unaccompanied children facing acute shortages of shelter, protection, food, water, and health care.  

In addition to violence, and the lack of basic essentials for life and health, cholera continues to spread rapidly in El Fasher as people lack access to safe water. Disease surveillance and response activities are reduced as a result of the deteriorating security situation. This year alone, El Fasher has reported 272 suspected cases of cholera and 32 deaths, an alarming case fatality rate of nearly 12%. Across Darfur, 18 468 cases and 662 deaths have been recorded in 40 localities.   
  
El Fasher has been cut off from humanitarian aid since February 2025, and malnutrition is rising sharply, especially among children and pregnant women, weakening immunity and heightening vulnerability to cholera, malaria, and other infectious diseases. Many families have exhausted food stocks or lost access to markets. 
 
Despite access restrictions to El Fasher, WHO teams are working around the clock to keep health services running where possible, particularly in areas where people displaced by insecurity arrive. Twenty metric tons of WHO medicines and emergency kits, including supplies for cholera and management of severe acute malnutrition with medical complications, are being moved from Nyala to Tawila to support medical and rapid-response teams providing care for displaced people. Health supplies handed over to partners at Abeche, Chad, are being fast-tracked for delivery to Tawila and other gathering locations.   

WHO is coordinating with health partners at reception sites in Korma, located between El Fasher and Tawila, to stabilize critically ill and injured people and facilitate referrals to Tawila. WHO is also preparing to deploy rapid response teams within Tawila and surrounding localities to respond to the urgent health needs of those arriving from El Fasher. WHO trucks are on standby in Darfur to join a UN aid convoy carrying food, medicines, and lifesaving health supplies into El Fasher as soon as access opens.  

WHO calls for an immediate end to hostilities in El Fasher and all of Sudan; for the protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and health care; and safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access to deliver lifesaving aid.  

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, marking a significant step towards closer cooperation on communicable disease prevention and control.